Trawers VS Sailboats

I'm new to the Trawler World --having had cruising sailboats since 1971. Been looking for a Trawler for a few months The lack of ongoing maintenance on the used Trawlers I have seen so far is amazing. Admittedly they are all for sale but but but but . Sailboats are -on average- kept in far better condition than Taiwanese Trawlers. Of the six boats I have looked at none of them had ever had their bilge areas singularly cleaned (scrubbed) -all smelled of course. Don't know why this lack is so.

What size, age and price range are you viewing?

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sunchaser said:

what size, age and price range are you viewing?

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1978-1989 20-55k 32-42ft

Maybe you're looking at the wrong boats. The good ones are out there.

geoleo said:

1978-1989 20-55k 32-42ft

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Keep in mind that comparing a $50k trawler to a $50k sailboat is a bit unfair. The trawler is going to be older and in poorer condition.

For 32' boats (bottom of your range) I think even your top-end budget number of 55k is a bit light if you want something in very good condition and ready to cruise. I understand that at 80yo you don't want a project boat that will eat time and money, but I think you will either need a larger budget or smaller boat. But you might get lucky if you keep looking.

When looking for a trawler in the mid-to-lower 30-foot length some six years ago, used decently-maintained boats cost $100,000 or so (leastwise as advertised) in my market. Decided to buy new, but the builder has raised the price 50 percent since then.

There are probably more POS, pigstie sailboat out there than trawler just because of sheer numbers.

The bad thing about the Taiwan Trawlers is when they start falling apart from lack of maintenance, its an avalanche. I think many owners just give up from lack of energy and money.

I live aboard full time and snowbird for 7 months now. It is a constant struggle to keep the boat nice, let alone bristol and still enjoy some time off from the struggle. The boat was already over the edge.....it took 5 years and over $20,000 to get her barely acceptable while living aboard and cruising and still pkenty to go.

geoleo said:

1978-1989 20-55k 32-42ft

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That answers your own question.

Of course if someone asked me why my friends 2007, all glass, $250,000 42 foot sailboat seems much better kept than my $60000, poorly treated for 25 years, trawler..... I can always just say without much detail....

I used my boat more this week than he has used his sailboat in the last 5 years...

You are looking at boats that have spent 40 years in salt water and exposed to the elements and probably cruised for thousands of hours. Boats nearing the end of their useful life.

Unless you would rather be working on a boat than cruising on one, I suggest you confine your search to boats less than 20 years old.

All this depends on whether you are looking for a hobby or not. My “real” work is super demanding and very competitive. I only work a few days a month. I call my boat my hobby. Did I throw tens of thousands of dollars at her? Of course I did. I did not want a boat in pristine condition. What would I do? In short:

Cruised her to the Bahamas for a month for pleasure and maintenance

Run her 3 out of 4 weeks for 3 day trips. Sometimes just a day trip

The rest of the time? I’m working on my hobby.

It’s all about balance. Please don’t think you are going to get a boat in great condition and it’s going to stay that way. It takes work all the time. Maybe a boat isn’t right for you. They do have boat clubs that I think work like a timeshare and you don’t have any of the work.

geoleo said:

1978-1989 20-55k 32-42ft

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Ummm... well *clears throat*... I think we have found your problem. A 40 y/o boat for $20k is going to be a POS. Even a 30 y/o boat for $50k is going to be pretty low on the scale. While you may find a gem out there (and they are out there, I assume), with the current state of the market, it is going to take looking at far more than six boats. You are going to need to scourer YachtWold, Craigslist, and eBay for months to fill that criteria. Good luck though.

I disagree that old boats are going to be cheaper and POSs.... now older and cheaper fits one formula.... yep...project boat.

It IS all about construction and maintenance, not age.

Plenty of boats, plenty of everything, proves it.

Generally speaking....yes...but absolutely.... not even close but the pickings are extremely thin.

There are 3 main criteria in boat prices. Price, condition, and size. You get to pick two. If you're fussy, you pay more.

Another way to look at it - I'm 70, I can do or could do anything in boat building or repair. I bought an old boat because I got more boat for the dollar and knew it would force me into more activity.
I come from older parents in a once large extended family. I got to see many age. The active ones had great, active, long retirements, usually lived to late 80s or 90s (and many even smoked). The couch potatoes went early.

geoleo said:

I'm new to the Trawler World --having had cruising sailboats since 1971. Been looking for a Trawler for a few months The lack of ongoing maintenance on the used Trawlers I have seen so far is amazing. Admittedly they are all for sale but but but but . Sailboats are -on average- kept in far better condition than Taiwanese Trawlers. Of the six boats I have looked at none of them had ever had their bilge areas singularly cleaned (scrubbed) -all smelled of course. Don't know why this lack is so.

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Scrubbed?
What for? It’s a bilge.
On second thought I did go after my bilge a few years ago. Don’t recall if I used a brush. Just rags and solvent of some kind.
Spotless clean is ideal but who needs it? Too little gain and too much work. I’d rather change my oil or work on my anchors.
However when selling scrub and spotless is two thumbs up.

I did Find

FlyWright said:

Maybe you're looking at the wrong boats. The good ones are out there.

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I did find a good one, however while looking like a trawler type on top--------it had a V bottom and a 210 HP cummins and no protection for the prop --so I passed

psneeld said:

There are probably more POS, pigstie sailboat out there than trawler just because of sheer numbers.

The bad thing about the Taiwan Trawlers is when they start falling apart from lack of maintenance, its an avalanche. I think many owners just give up from lack of energy and money.

I live aboard full time and snowbird for 7 months now. It is a constant struggle to keep the boat nice, let alone bristol and still enjoy some time off from the struggle. The boat was already over the edge.....it took 5 years and over $20,000 to get her barely acceptable while living aboard and cruising and still pkenty to go.

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Yes indeed-- there are around 12 or so 34-40 Mainship (are they built in Taiwan?) old boats for sale in Florida in varying stages of avalanche condition that seem like deals--looked at one and the entire overhead was falling down.

geoleo said:

I did find a good one, however while looking like a trawler type on top--------it had a V bottom and a 210 HP cummins and no protection for the prop --so I passed

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You keep talking about protection for a prop. The only true protection is not running aground or into things. How did this become such a priority and what do you consider protection?

geoleo where is Lutz?

aboatman said:

You are looking at boats that have spent 40 years in salt water and exposed to the elements and probably cruised for thousands of hours. Boats nearing the end of their useful life.

Unless you would rather be working on a boat than cruising on one, I suggest you confine your search to boats less than 20 years old.

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Well at 80 I'm worried I will lose too much if I need to sell in 2-3 years, my last sailboat depreciated way faster than I could fix her .... as monohulls fell out of favor to Catamarans in the used sailboat market............ all boat buying is a gamble I recognize that for sure

geoleo said:

all boat buying is a gamble I recognize that for sure

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No, there is no gamble. Gamble is when you can win or lose. Buying a boat will cost you, plain and simple. You will lose money.

geoleo said:

Well at 80 I'm worried I will lose too much if I need to sell in 2-3 years, my last sailboat depreciated way faster than I could fix her .... as monohulls fell out of favor to Catamarans in the used sailboat market............ all boat buying is a gamble I recognize that for sure

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Mate at 80 stop dreaming and just do it .You cant see around corners

That's what insurance is for. Buy the boat you can and live without worries today. You'll be happy tomorrow. Life is good.

Cheers!

You seem to want turnkey, no maintenance, no depreciation, on a restrictive budget,and have some odd deal breaker ideas, like dirty bilges which many people would accept and clean after purchase, not having prop/rudder protection, and who knows what else.
I think it`s too big an ask. You might be better keeping your sailboating memories, and your money.

I am also 80....er....actually 81, but I am looking at a Mainship 34 (stepping down from a old 44 foot ketch. It took me years to make it almost nice. Sold it for half what I bought it for but considered a loss of $2500 a year payment on the enjoyment I got from it) that has some problems, but fixable and currently usable. I expect to live to 191 years of age. But I have no illusions about making money on a boat. Never did and dont expect to in the future. I use the boat and pay for the use n depreciation.

80+! Go for the boat you like to be aboard. Scrub it when the spirit moves you.

BTW, we 'sold' out of our '70 38' lovely sailboat by having to gift her to a museum for resale (she wasn't getting any prettier or maintaining her value on the hard). We bought an '84 38' TT with issues to discover in time. We're still discovering and there's still time...

The reason we scrubbed the sailboats was simply age, not the boats. My wife could no longer man the foredeck in a gale.....or on a calm day.....so from now to 191 it will be trawlers.

Get what you can afford both to purchase and to maintain. Do the very minimum required to get on the water. That's the objective. Doesn't matter if dirty or ugly, just will it take you somewhere. Don't postpone boating to work on cosmetics. There are alternatives. For the price range, there are boats that would be very enjoyable on lakes. Perhaps also staying on very protected waters. If what I could afford was a 20 year old, 19 ft Sea Ray Bowrider, then that's what I'd have and I'd be boating on it. There are many boats in my neighborhood that never leave the ICW. They're docked on canals and cruise the canals and rivers, primarily day trips. Sunday afternoon, they'll load up and go to a restaurant on the water for dinner.

Boating changes at every stage and age of life. What we're all forced to do is forget what we can't do, can't enjoy, and find that which we can. It might not fit our dreams. I don't know what it's like to be 80. I do know one thing though, it beats not getting old. For anyone 80 today, their life expectancy was 58 years if a male born in 1937. So celebrate 80. You didn't just win, you zoomed right past it.

And there also comes a time if we live long enough, boating just isn't practical. We can find a day cruise of some sort to satisfy the occasional longing. We can spend hours watching others and remembering all the good times we had. However, that's still all worth celebrating. I sure hope to live to 80.

geoleo said:

Yes indeed-- there are around 12 or so 34-40 Mainship (are they built in Taiwan?) old boats for sale in Florida in varying stages of avalanche condition that seem like deals--looked at one and the entire overhead was falling down.

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No, the Mainship brand started in New Jersey as a single boat model from Silverton. Later, Luhrs Group spun Mainship off into it's own company, and moved production to FL.

The early "trawlers" were 34' (original, then Mk II, then Mk III). Then Mainship went west or some such, producing non-"Trawlers" from later '80s through mid-'90s, returning to "trawlers" in approx '96 or so.

As with many builders, production quality usually improved over time... as they learned more about what worked, what didn't, what lasted, etc. Coring would be an example; decks cored with wood and then with penetrations improperly finished can leech water, core goes south.... whereas coring with Divinacell (sp?) isn't necessarily as unforgiving.

There is a whole class of "trawlers" built in Taiwan, various designers, brands, and yards; not connected to Mainship, and not all that similar.

-Chris