H2O_Doc
Veteran Member
Just joined the forum after reading many posts about Trawler life! One particular thread really struck a chord was the building and launching of Esmeralde - such a great journey that we hope to fulfill someday.
My background:
My wife and I live in Colorado with 3 teenagers in HS and College. At 53 yrs old, we are starting to dream and plan retirement ideas.
Our boating resume is not long, but I have been a "water person" my whole life. My family spent many weeks vacationing in Wisconsin and Lake Michigan / Door County in the 70s and 80s. During those trips, I had to be near, in, or on the water. My family never had boats, but I'd always be at the beach or walking the marinas looking at and appreciating various boats. As a kid, I bought a Walmart inflatable boat, named it "Shelly" and rowed around the harbor thinking I was one of the Yachties. Sad, I know!
In the 90's my wife and I lived in SoCal, so we decided to take sailing lessons, and joined a sailing club. We chartered quite a few boats from Cal 20s to Catalina 30s, 34s, and 42s. We took a 3 day trip to Catalina on a Peterson 44. We did a 10 day trip to the BVIs on a Morgan 45. Great memories.
Recently, we bought a Boston Whaler Montauk to explore Colorado lakes. We also keep a dual console 23' boat in Wisconsin for family vacations and spend most of the day on that boat. Salmon fishing from 4 am to 9 am, water skiing from 11 am to 2 pm. Then sunset cruise in the evening.
So, here we are hoping to someday try the Trawler lifestyle. I've always considered myself a purist and a sailor at heart, but reading more about trawlers has probably swayed us to the dark side!
Their purposeful look, design, and efficiency is very attractive. I'm a sucker for the reverse-rake window design of so many trawlers!
My favorite boating saying:
"A successful cruising couple includes an optimist and a pessimist. The optimist gets them off the dock, and the pessimist keeps them from losing the boat. "
That describes my wife and myself to a T.
So, there's our long-winded history. I hope to contribute meaningful information, but will probably post more questions than answers at this point.
My background:
My wife and I live in Colorado with 3 teenagers in HS and College. At 53 yrs old, we are starting to dream and plan retirement ideas.
Our boating resume is not long, but I have been a "water person" my whole life. My family spent many weeks vacationing in Wisconsin and Lake Michigan / Door County in the 70s and 80s. During those trips, I had to be near, in, or on the water. My family never had boats, but I'd always be at the beach or walking the marinas looking at and appreciating various boats. As a kid, I bought a Walmart inflatable boat, named it "Shelly" and rowed around the harbor thinking I was one of the Yachties. Sad, I know!
In the 90's my wife and I lived in SoCal, so we decided to take sailing lessons, and joined a sailing club. We chartered quite a few boats from Cal 20s to Catalina 30s, 34s, and 42s. We took a 3 day trip to Catalina on a Peterson 44. We did a 10 day trip to the BVIs on a Morgan 45. Great memories.
Recently, we bought a Boston Whaler Montauk to explore Colorado lakes. We also keep a dual console 23' boat in Wisconsin for family vacations and spend most of the day on that boat. Salmon fishing from 4 am to 9 am, water skiing from 11 am to 2 pm. Then sunset cruise in the evening.
So, here we are hoping to someday try the Trawler lifestyle. I've always considered myself a purist and a sailor at heart, but reading more about trawlers has probably swayed us to the dark side!
Their purposeful look, design, and efficiency is very attractive. I'm a sucker for the reverse-rake window design of so many trawlers! My favorite boating saying:
"A successful cruising couple includes an optimist and a pessimist. The optimist gets them off the dock, and the pessimist keeps them from losing the boat. "
That describes my wife and myself to a T.
So, there's our long-winded history. I hope to contribute meaningful information, but will probably post more questions than answers at this point.
