Definition of trawler?

I've used this definition before somewhere on T.F. but I think it is fairly accurate, let me see if I can remember it..

When I tell non boating friends that I have a "trawler", they think shrimp boat or seiner, although they don't know what either of these are. If I show them a picture the general response is "Oh, a yacht" ( I cringe at that word)

I think they get a general idea with a very simple definition. " A trawler is heavy, slow and economical". If they are still with me I can add. "heavy in the bow, pretty stable and roomy, and it has a pretty substantial keel".

F.D and Semi D., single, double engine, plaining, relative speed and relative economy all actually play a part but like anchors, can be debated ad nauseum.

pete

The term trawler is as accurate description of a pleasure vessel as the term tug.

bayview said:

The term trawler is as accurate description of a pleasure vessel as the term tug.

Click to expand...

Well Put!!

bayview said:

The term trawler is as accurate description of a pleasure vessel as the term tug.

Click to expand...

Hey now, I frequently push gravel barges up the sound with my tug!

bayview said:

The term trawler is as accurate description of a pleasure vessel as the term tug.

Click to expand...

Although when someone says tug in a pleasure boat context, the mental image that appears (at least for me) does pretty accurately describe a certain type of boat (smaller Nordic Tugs, ATs, etc.)

Nomad Willy said:

There is a profound difference. In a sentence the GB is a SD hull (clearly so) and the Uniflite is a planing hull also clearly so. And beyond the weight that’s the most identifying feature of these designs. Being a planing hull the U42 is not a trawler.

Click to expand...

For the life of me, I can't remember what the hull of the Unflite looked like even though I did the bottom myself - twice. So I googled. Below is a pic of Uniflite 42 and a GB 42. GB has a small center keel, but dead-rise and trim tabs are more or less identical to the Uniflite.

From Dave Pascoe's review: "Dubbed a Trawler Yacht, it does not have a trawler hull. People often call it a semi-displacement or semi-planing hull, but neither of these are correct. The fact is that the Grand Banks hull is a planing hull as witness her top speed of about 18 knots with turbo charged engines."

I'm not saying one is better, worse, or otherwise. But labels are misleading. People chose their boat based on a number of factors.

I think the GB counts as semi-displacement or semi-planing for 2 reasons: Fine bow entry doesn't provide much lift up forward and the decent size keel adds a good bit of drag. So it'll plane, just not as fast or efficiently or nicely as a good planing hull design.

Interestingly, my planing hull (which will do 27 kts wide open, supposedly 28 out of the box at unknown weight) has a keel similar to the Grand Banks, but about half as tall. The GB 49 sitting next to me on land right now has keel well below the props, while mine ends a few inches above the lowest point on the props. I've got a much more full bow, however, so I get a lot more lift up forward and will go over waves more than through them. Both boats have relatively massive trim tabs.

By what authority is the word "motor" only supposed to be concerned with electric motors, and the word "engine" used in reference to gasoline, and Diesel reciprocating engines, and also for turbine engines?

"Motor" has been associated with "outboard motors" and "Motor Boats" for generations.

A friend (outside my boating interests) recently called attention to this same motor/engine thing and I did not understand where it comes from.

rslifkin said:

Interestingly, my planing hull (which will do 27 kts wide open, supposedly 28 out of the box at unknown weight

Click to expand...

Generally speaking, sea trials are conducted with 1/2 fuel load and 1/2 water load. NOTHING else. Not very real world is it.

OldDan1943 said:

Generally speaking, sea trials are conducted with 1/2 fuel load and 1/2 water load. NOTHING else. Not very real world is it.

Click to expand...

About as real a world as when promo experts began calling pleasure boats "Trawlers"! :lol:

The term Motor Vessel aka, MV has been around longer than I have been alive.
I guess some folks, electric boat people, are trying the highjack the word "motor" just as another group has successfully highjacked the word, "gay" So much for singing Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie .....

OldDan1943 said:

The term Motor Vessel aka, MV has been around longer than I have been alive.
I guess some folks, electric boat people, are trying the highjack the word "motor" just as another group has successfully highjacked the word, "gay" So much for singing Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie .....

Click to expand...

Hey Dan... think you should add the word "motor" in your Noah question??

Did Noah have a get home-engine/motor?

Art said:

Hey Dan... think you should add the word "motor" in your Noah question??

Did Noah have a get home-engine/motor?

Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestion. I'll just ignore it but thank you.

All I can tell you is Willards are true, ballasted, displacement trawlers. The only flat sections are the bottom of the keel - they wouldn't plane with a pair of Pratt & Whitney's bolted to their deck (in fact, they'd more likely be driven-under seeking more waterline). Willards have over 20% of their displacement from ballast (KK42 is around 7%, Nordhavn states their design criteria is 10%). All three have very low A/B ratios (around 2:1). This goes to self-righting angles and ultimate stability.

There are more criteria to consider such as ability to clear decks of water (ISO 12217, Small Craft Stability and Buoyancy Assessment and Categorization has a good list); and ability to carry enough stores and provisions for long passages.

My point is there is really only one point that can be agreed: full-displacement, ballasted motor-boats are trawlers - not the only trawlers, but the Venn Diagram of "Trawlers" has a fully encapsulated bubble of full-displacement/ballasted motorboats. After that, the line blurs. You end up parsing technicalities and relying on visual ques which is why most boaters consider a GB42 (and their knock-offs) trawlers.

My N46 was ballasted by the fresh water tanks, low but located in the owner's stateroom, midship.

Recreational trawlers are pleasure boats which resemble fishing trawlers. They can also be called cruising trawlers or trawler yachts. Within the category, however, are many types and styles of vessels.
A fishing trawler for example, always has a displacement hull for load-carrying capacity. Recreational trawlers, on the other hand, are as likely to have a semi-displacement hull. However, with the rising cost of fuel and the lower fuel consumption (though also lower speed) offered by displacement hulls, they are gaining popularity among some buyers. These displacement models typically have a cruising speed of 7–9 knots (13–17 km/h) depending on the boat length. Their maximum speed is often no more than 10–12 knots (19–22 km/h), whereas semi-displacement hulls can attain 14–20 knots (26–37 km/h). Recreational trawlers need only a small engine; 80 hp (60 kW) can be adequate in a 42 ft (13 m) boat, which will use less than 25 hp (19 kW) to cruise.

This is the Passage Maker's definition of a trawler.

https://www.passagemaker.com/trawler-news/what-is-a-trawler-capt-greg-parker-knows-guest-blog

Just our luck, it will add confusion to the discussion.

Greetings,
Mr. OD. "Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie..." Oh ya? Norah's freezing on the trolly...


Just saw your post #47. No confusion at all. The author is a rag flapper and owns a Bayliner. 'Nuff said.

OldDan1943 said:

This is the Passage Maker's definition of a trawler.

https://www.passagemaker.com/trawler-news/what-is-a-trawler-capt-greg-parker-knows-guest-blog

Just our luck, it will add confusion to the discussion.

Click to expand...

I dunno, I'm good with the following quote from this blog:

.

Baker wrote;
“The one company I know that definitely took advantage of the term is Mainship. It is right there on the side of the boat. "Mainship Trawlers". I had a Mainship Pilot that is NOT a trawler but there it was....plastered on the side of my boat.”

Who cares what Mainship thinks it is?
C-Dory called their small planing outboard boats “Trailerable Trawlers”.
As Marin use to say trawler is a marketing word. Not out of correctness or anything similar but pure marketing possibilities. Trawler is a recent word re usage so is vogue and people flock to that like electric cars. Heavy cruisers just about covers it but of course there are a few (very few) exceptions.

If a trawler has to have a full displacement hull, per your definition. That wouldn't leave too many boats in the non-commercial arena. Nordhavn, Selene, ummm, errr I can't think of any others. I know there are more.

Greetings,

Mr. d1. Cheoy Lee.

It`s like a hippopotamus. Hard to describe but if you see one, you`ll know what it is.

OldDan1943 said:

Thank you for your suggestion. I'll just ignore it but thank you.

Click to expand...

Did Noah have a get home-engine/motor? How bout eggbeater! -

dirtdoc1 said:

If a trawler has to have a full displacement hull, per your definition. That wouldn't leave too many boats in the non-commercial arena. Nordhavn, Selene, ummm, errr I can't think of any others. I know there are more.

Click to expand...

Willard, Diesel Duck, Krogen. Pretty well rounds it out.

I personally have a minimum comfortable range of 1500nms. Distance from SoCal to Acapulco; Acapulco to Panama; Panama to Florida. Not saying there aren't fuel stops between, but nice to have the range to not worry planning stops around fueling.

dirtdoc1 said:

If a trawler has to have a full displacement hull, per your definition. That wouldn't leave too many boats in the non-commercial arena. Nordhavn, Selene, ummm, errr I can't think of any others. I know there are more.

Click to expand...

dirtdoc,
Don’t remember if I said such a thing as most “trawlers” are SD.
But no trawler has a planing hull.
I looked though.
Tell me what post I was supposed to have said trawlers need to be FD.

Something TF members need to do is name the person addressed on posts so we all know who said what and to whom.

Weebles,
Perhaps your W36 isn’t a trawler either. The description of very long range smells distinctly like a passagemaker.

Nomad Willy said:

dirtdoc,
Don’t remember if I said such a thing as most “trawlers” are SD.
But no trawler has a planing hull.
I looked though.
Tell me what post I was supposed to have said trawlers need to be FD.

Something TF members need to do is name the person addressed on posts so we all know who said what and to whom.

Weebles,
Perhaps your W36 isn’t a trawler either. The description of very long range smells distinctly like a passagemaker.

Click to expand...

Sorry. I forgot to quote the OP, but you already knew that didn't you.

BruceK said:

It`s like a hippopotamus. Hard to describe but if you see one, you`ll know what it is.

Click to expand...

Eggzactly.

If you found the trawler forum and wasn't disappointed by the lack of topics on by-catch or net repair, you probably know what a "trawler" is.

Although, I own a "tug", so how did I get here?

[emoji53]

Nomad Willy said:

Perhaps your W36 isn’t a trawler either. The description of very long range smells distinctly like a passagemaker.

Click to expand...

Despite the fact that Willards have crossed a few oceans (including a sistership to your Willard 30 that went from Virginia to Bermuda in 2002 or so with Steve D'Antonio and Bill Parlatore aboard), I don't consider production Willards to be fit-for-purpose for ocean-crossing - too much glass, not enough freeing ports, installed systems are generally average.

I have little concern what a trawler is or is not. My wife feels safe and comfortable aboard Weebles and trusts Bill Garden knew what he was doing when he designed the Willard 36 Sedan in the 1950s. In 1961, Vega Marine began production of the W36 in Costa Mesa CA and started the production fiberglass trawler (or whatever) market in 1961, 25+ years before PAE/Nordhavn struck gold with the N46.

My personal cruising style is I enjoy long multi-day runs and desolate anchorages - sometimes, its necessary (avoiding Nicaragua/Honduras these days is a good thing). I don't like worrying about fuel, thus the personal benchmark of 1500nms of range (plus reserve). The 400g of diesel on Weebles gives that and a couple hundred nms more. If someone's idea of trawlering was the ICW or The Loop, well, that type of tankage is excessive and would more likely cause more problems than it solves given the possible issues with old fuel.

Silly me. I thought y'all would agree that a full displacement, full keel, ballasted, single engine boat with roughly 2000nms range would meet the criteria of a trawler. Not the only definition of a trawler, but easily rings the bell for the definition.

In theory, my AT34 with a Cummins 380 and 400gal of diesel with a burn rate of 2.1 at 8 knots, based upon sea trials data, should go close to 1400 miles but, I would not bet the farm on that.
One point to address and consider is where are the ER air supply is located. For the AT, the ER supply is on the side of the boat as opposed on the stack or the side of the boat inside the raised, protected deck.