Size questions

Hello,
I am new to this sight and new to the idea of buying and spending time on a trawler. I am a 100T master captain and have spent the past 20 years working on boats. I currently run a 32’ pilot house with a 17’ flats skiff on the top that we use to access flats off of the gulf coast.

I am considering a 26’ Nordic Tug as a friend of mine has one for sale. My two major concerns are:
1. Will this boat handle a 14’, 500lbs flats skiff on top of it and a davit to take it on and off?
2. Can this boat handle a crossing such as one from Florida to the Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean? I understand that this is weather dependent but I mean in general.

I like the 26 because it is small. My wife and I spend a lot of time on smaller boats together and feel that this would be perfect for us for about a week at a time.

Thanks for any input.

Welcome aboard. Not familiar with that boat but someone will chime in.

I can’t figure out how you’re planning to carry a 14’ vessel atop a 28’ LOA boat. Where will the davit be, and how will the smaller boat deploy/retrieve?

Might make more sense to tow the flats boat. In weather you plan to cross to the Bahamas in, towing the flats boat shouldn't be an issue. 26' will require a lot of patience, waiting for weather windows.

Ted

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. I'm in agreement with Mr. PH not only with the launch/retrieval aspect but also from the stability aspect. You, being a 100T master, should be able to appreciate carrying heavy (in relation to the CG of the vessel) loads up high and how that will affect stability. Personally I would NOT want to attempt what you are considering with a 26' boat unless you can swim well.


Regarding a crossing to the Bahamas... 20'+ center consoles regularly make that trip IN GOOD WEATHER. Once in the islands, again weather dependent, you can go pretty well wherever you want.


What exactly is wrong with your current boat?

I have a Nordic Tugs 32 and carry a RIB on top with a davit. It is about 9'. I think 500 extra pounds up the salon roof on a 26 might be ok for relatively calm water but to fit a 17 foot boat it would have to overhang the pilot house putting it very high and further impacting stability. Also no idea where you could mount a davit as it would now be around midships.
Towing it over would be much safer, less expensive and easier to deal with. Given you appear to be planning extended cruising
I would suggest you consider the 32. No more difficult to handle than the 26 and much more room. Wife will love you for it.

Sorry but typo. Meant to say 14' boat. Same problem though.

Thanks for the input. Yes, I am aware that you can cross to the Bahamas in a good weather in a center console, I have done so a few times in a center console.

Someone asked what was wrong with current boat, it is a sport fisher and doesn’t have good living quarters. We can stay on it but it’s not great. But it does handle the heavier 17’ with a 70 horse on top of it well which is why I had hope for the smaller and lighter 14 on top of the 26’ NT but it sounds like that might not be possible. I do not think that the weight on top would be an issue but the overhang could be.

Getting a 70HP would add more to the challenge. If your current boat is not comfortable I would not see how a NT26 would be better. A NT32 maybe. Goid luck and let us know what you decide.

I have not crossed from FL to the Bahamas. But I have been caught out in significantly snotty short period seas. (Heading down Sutil Channel and turning into Baker Passage on a SE blow, for those familiar with the area.). I was pleasantly surprised how well the boat felt and handled. I had two kayaks weighing, SAY, 90 lbs total on the pilothouse.

The structure of the house would certainly support the weight you are proposing, but I would be concerned with both the windage and effect to the metacentric height in poor weather.

Perhaps Nordic Tugs could help you out. I know some models have EU ratings which require stability tests and calculations, but I doubt it has been done for the 26, as they only sold a handful when reintroduced in the mid 2000s.

Maybe your friend will let you load up the roof with some sand bags and you can do some roll testing.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ment_data/file/243952/draft-guidance-note.pdf

https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/0r967460r

14' skiff and davit. NO!

Bahamas. YES!

Caribbean. NO!

To answer your 2nd question....Currently in Guadaloupe. Left Fort Lauderdale in December. We have been running east against head seas and winds since our Florida departure. While cold fronts could give an occasional weather window for a boat of 40' or less in the Bahamas and maybe Turks and Caicos, the further south you go the less the influence of cold fronts.

This means beginning in the Dominican Republic and south even good weather days produce 4-6 foot seas and wind and swells from the NE, E or SE. If your boat can't handle these conditions to with tolerable creature conditipns, the Caribbean no place for you.

My opinion you be need to think Trawler of 55' feet or more.