Switching from a Trawler to a Sailboat

Greetings.

It is my understanding that people frequently go from owning a sailboat to owning a trawler for various reasons. I was wondering if anyone who owns a trawler has ever thought about getting rid of their trawler for a sailboat. I suppose for the sake of this thread a 50/50 motorsailer could count as a sailboat.

While the 50/50 was a great cruiser in its day , the science has progressed to the point where a 90/90 is quite easy.

The reason many folks choose to become marine motorists is the layout , they don't want to be IN the boat , they want to be up ON the boat.

At least as far as the main salon and pilot house for daytime,with a big cockpit or fly bridge for outside use.

Of course at 60-70 ft a MS can be a great vessel, but its out of the $$$$ reach for many folks.

The other problem is scantlings , a 50/50 or a 90/90 will by its nature tend to be an ocean going vessel.

Most "trawlers" or motor yachts do not have the hull robustness for extended blue water or the capacity for fuel and water to make an ocean passage.

For a "motor cruiser " style many folks think the cost of an ocean build will add about 200% to the price of a finished boat.

In small sizes a 90/90 is a great cruiser , but suffers from being IN , not ON the boat.

theTopsail said:

Greetings.

It is my understanding that people frequently go from owning a sailboat to owning a trawler for various reasons. I was wondering if anyone who owns a trawler has ever thought about getting rid of their trawler for a sailboat. I suppose for the sake of this thread a 50/50 motorsailer could count as a sailboat.

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Only every time I feel a vibration or hear something odd in the engine room, get a strange reaction from gears or props, look at 600 gallons worth of fuel tanks that are going to rust "when not if", or see a popped plug from my teak decks. Those are the only times.

With 7 grand kids wanting to crawl and run all around I'm afraid my sailing days are over! Good luck to you though. Lots of nice MS out there that are a pretty good compromise.

FF said:

The reason many folks choose to become marine motorists is the layout , they don't want to be IN the boat , they want to be up ON the boat.

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I guess there are not very many motorsailers that have dual helm stations with one being outside and another being in an enclosed pilothouse. I imagine most of the sailors would object to sailing a boat from an enclosed pilothouse while the motor boat enthusiasts would argue the cockpit takes up space from below-decks?

theTopsail said:

I guess there are not very many motorsailers that have dual helm stations with one being outside and another being in an enclosed pilothouse.

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I would definitely say, as a former and still current fan of pilot house sailboats and motorsailers, that most have dual helm stations.

My retirement boat will most likely be a motorsailor. Having been a sailor, and then a Trawler guy, what I miss about sailing is going out for the day with no destination in mind.

But it must have an enclosed, air conditioned and heated pilot house...

As one gets older, pulling and hauling on sheets and halyards gets a teeny wee bit more troublesome.

Hence the move against your grain!

That’s why they invented electric winches, isn’t it? [emoji847]

When I was young, I had several sailboats, but also ran boats for other people. The comfort level is much higher on a power boat. Now, to me, a traditional sailboat is like living in a cave. Small ports, your only connection to the outside is the door. The eventual replacement cost of sails and rigging might be more than fuel costs for a trawler.

I love my motorsailer.
I get a bit claustrophobic in most sailboats, but love having the pilothouse. I've got the option of the cockpit helm station but usually prefer the pilothouse because the 360 degree vision is so much better.

The main advantage I find over most trawler style boats in the same price bracket is the wider rage of weather windows when you can use the boat. The steadying effect of the sails adds so much comfort to the days when weather and wave conditions are less than ideal.

Moonfish said:

I would definitely say, as a former and still current fan of pilot house sailboats and motorsailers, that most have dual helm stations.

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I should have been a bit more clear. I was going for dual helm stations where you are able to control the sails on say hydraulic or electric winches form inside or outside. So this would manifest it's self in the form of buttons on the inside con.

theTopsail said:

I should have been a bit more clear. I was going for dual helm stations where you are able to control the sails on say hydraulic or electric winches form inside or outside. So this would manifest it's self in the form of buttons on the inside con.

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With the inexpensive electronics available today one could easily control winches with a wireless remote from anywhere on the boat.
I purchased a wireless remote (actually 2 remotes and controller) for less than $15 online for my windlass.

theTopsail said:

I should have been a bit more clear. I was going for dual helm stations where you are able to control the sails on say hydraulic or electric winches form inside or outside. So this would manifest it's self in the form of buttons on the inside con.

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Right! That's a wholly different animal!

SeaMoose said:

But it must have an enclosed, air conditioned and heated pilot house...

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One of my favorite things to do while out cruising around in our pilothouse sailboat in the San Juan Islands during January or February, was to slide open the pilothouse window and stick out my short-sleeved arm to wave hello to a passing guy wearing foulies, standing alone in the pouring rain in the cockpit of his sailboat...

My open-cockpit days ended with purchase of a pilothouse trawler.

markpierce said:

My open-cockpit days ended with purchase of a pilothouse trawler.

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Why is there no picture of the Coots yellow roof in this post?

CPseudonym said:

Why is there no picture of the Coots yellow roof in this post?

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It's noticeable in the avatar, but neither photobucket nor TF allows me to post my pictures which are stored at photobucket, or to repost those already in TF files.

To get a sailboat/motorsailer with a comfort level comparable to what we have now would easily cost 5X more so that ain't happening.

markpierce said:

It's noticeable in the avatar, but neither photobucket nor TF allows me to post my pictures which are stored at photobucket, or to repost those already in TF files.

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Sounds maddening. I hate it when I break the internet, fortunately still have a tech savvy teenager living at home to fix it.

FOG said:

With the inexpensive electronics available today one could easily control winches with a wireless remote from anywhere on the boat.
I purchased a wireless remote (actually 2 remotes and controller) for less than $15 online for my windlass.

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Nothing that a bucket full of water won't kill and a bucket full of cash won't fix.

Some just dont get the inexpensive upgrades available today and how to take advantage of them.

Motor sailer

Try looking at the Nordhavn 56 motor sailor.

IMHO - That is one motor sailor that is really done right.

I had an opportunity to go out on one & it really is a good combo of both.

Uses a controllable pitch propeller that works to really make this a good combo. Electric winches. Has it all.

Take a look. There are some good u-tube videos that can show you how it works together -- the key is the variable pitch control of the prop.

Motor is still running & sails are sailing.

Good Luck.

Alfa Mike

Moonfish said:

One of my favorite things to do while out cruising around in our pilothouse sailboat in the San Juan Islands during January or February, was to slide open the pilothouse window and stick out my short-sleeved arm to wave hello to a passing guy wearing foulies, standing alone in the pouring rain in the cockpit of his sailboat...

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Darren, I like your style.

Frequently operate with only one pilothouse door open, or even just the upper half of the Dutch doors, or even all shut in.

alfamike said:

Try looking at the Nordhavn 56 motor sailor.

IMHO - That is one motor sailor that is really done right.

I had an opportunity to go out on one & it really is a good combo of both.

Uses a controllable pitch propeller that works to really make this a good combo. Electric winches. Has it all.

Take a look. There are some good u-tube videos that can show you how it works together -- the key is the variable pitch control of the prop.

Motor is still running & sails are sailing.

Good Luck.

Alfa Mike

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Suppose the NH56 motor sailer is a good boat to look at when you can compare the price of the NH56 vs another trawler of the same size, even a NH55.

Looking at a listing for a 2010 NH56 on yachtworld, the boat is listed at around £1.1mil. A listing for a 2008 NH55 is £1.03mil. When you are talking expensive boats, that price difference is not too much.

On the NH56, are there buttons to control the winches inside the pilothouse?