Hello There, New member here,,,,

Hello Everyone, My wife and I are new members here. We've lived aboard (still do) sailing catamarans for the last 8+ years now, have crossed the Atlantic, , Done the Eastern and Western Caribbean, and SE US. Were getting to a point where we are thinking about our next boat, and trying hard to decide between a trawler or a Powercat. We want something with good fuel economy and decent range (Willard 40 comes to mind) reliability, comfort, storage, and ease of maintenance being very important too. I am sure I will have many questions over the next year or two and if anyone has cruising questions for us or Otherwise, fire away!!!

Welcome! The question I usually see to this kind of post is - what's your budget??

What is your target cruising area? Doing the Great Loop or Bahamas? Need stabilization?

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Welcome to TF!

Power cats are not nearly as popular for the powerboat set as are sail-cats so there are fewer options.

I'm biased, but a Willard 40 is a great option for recovering sailors. This one is in the upper midwest and has been owned by a knowledgeable owner for over 15 years. She has stabilizers and has been kept in covered, heated storage during winters so is likely in excellent condition.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1999/willard-marine-40-3617588/

Peter

Welcome. In regard to engine maintenance, the couple of cats I have seen stuffed the engines down aft in the hulls making access difficult. Now a single engine trawler with an inline 6-cylinder, that's ACCESS.

Welcome aboard.

Would like to stay under 175k. If we'll equipped,.

I have no idea where Tavernier is so its difficult to recommend as location/boat does matter if you want optimal results.

Knowing what I know now and spending what I have spent now, I'd look seriously at getting a power cat. Up here in God's country (PNW and coastal BC), Aspen is a popular brand. And I love the idea of this boat. My big problem with Aspen or any other power cat is - where is it going to be moored? Cats are wide, too wide for many boat jetties and finger spacing. Most marinas up here have been around a while and were built to standards set in the day with average beams and length. So for example, its much easier to get moorage for a boat 30 feet and under up here. And a boat 35 + will probably be on a longer waiting list than a boat at 30 feet and under. So sailboats in the 27 foot range were popular, think Catalina 27 and boats like these set the standard, sailboats were more popular.

My preference is speed with less fuel burn and Aspen delivers on that promise.

High Wire said:

What is your target cruising area? Doing the Great Loop or Bahamas? Need stabilization?

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Bahamas, SE, NE us, maybe the loop, want decent enough legs to get down to Bay islands of honduras, belize, Mexico.
Stabilized would be great not sure if it's necessary , would like parvanes for simplicity.

Mark P said:

Welcome! The question I usually see to this kind of post is - what's your budget??

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I echo the welcome, . but also, wearing my hat as a mod on the site team, I/we would really appreciate it if you would go back in a.s.a.p and edit your profile and tell us more about yourself, (nothing personal) , but mainly your city, state, even country, and where your boating area would be, and boat make and model, if settled - that sort of thing, which if not done early tends to never get done.

This is an international forum, so most would have no idea where Tavernier is. Yes, you go on to mention a lot of that, but once this 'Welcome Mat' thread is history, all that is gone. Unless in your profile, that is. Other folk might want to take note..? Just sayin..'