Family looking for 1st Trawler

Well, I'm probably the least experienced here, but from what I know, a yacht to comfortably fit your family is not going to be on land when you are not using it. So, you will probably store it in a marina when you don't use it. Find one that is either busy all year, or well secured. One good option would be a marina that is very near a navy base, this is because some navy sailors own boats of their own, and they know how to keep them safe

Around here @JWY would be the person to answer any and all questions you have on trawlers... she'll surely see this thread soon enough.

+1 on Judy. Send a PM to JWY or she'll probably chime in here. In the mean time Google Nordhaven Yachts or plug them into the search feature above. Good place to start. First thing to think about is your budget for purchase and maintaining, fuel, dockage, etc. Then you'll know what ballpark you're in. Now the bad news. In order to get insurance you'll probably need to have a captain for the first year, and quite frankly you'll need him or her. Especially with your plans.

Every Insurance Co. will have their own requirements regarding the amount of time you will need a licensed captain on board. Some require a specific number of hours and some are open ended, simply requiring a licensed captain offer a letter outlining training provided and stating the insured's ability to competently and safely operate the vessel. My suggestion, reach out to a few yacht insurance companies, explain your intended use, and ask for their requirements to be insured.

Another brand to consider, Outer Reef.

What I'm missing in your information is your cruising plans such as where and how many months a year initially. What age are your kids? Are you going to educate them yourselves? You indicate the six of you plus a few guests. How long for the guests? I ask because the Nordhavn 64 is very tight for six people and not equipped for 6 plus more. Can be done, but challenging.

You talk of going around the world and that's more than an 18 month journey for most. Have you and your family been out in rough sea conditions, experienced 8', 10', 15', even 20' seas? I ask because the famous Nordhavn rally in 2004 resulted in a lot of spouses saying never again and owners putting the boat up for sale in Europe. It only takes one of the six of you having a severe reaction to the conditions, whether physical or emotional or both, to destroy the plans. That also makes me ask what your plans for medical care are as someone will get sick. As a pilot, you're likely aware of services that will provide help.

In any boat in this range, you're likely to be required initially to have a captain. You can work through that in your year of preparation as many allow you to prove to a captain you're prepared. I know all you've done, but the insurers are wise. You're not ready to go around the world. Trust the process and learn. I'd say you need at least a year of heavy boating on the boat, meaning half time or more, before even considering this dream trip. You need to encounter some significant problems and have to solve them.

For your size family a slightly larger Ocean Reef, as mentioned above, has great advantages with overall space and a 4th stateroom. A 66' Selene has the 4th stateroom and a lot of creature comforts beyond the Nordhavn. I don't know families of six plus guests who have circumnavigated. Kadey Krogen, Horizon, Cheoy Lee all merit consideration. Fleming, you'd need to go larger to have the range you seek. They are great boats, but not really boats for circumnavigation.

After 18 months are you looking to get out of boating entirely or some different boat? Is it something you could initially go to and bypass an intermediate move?

I know it's a lot of questions, but hopefully not much different than those Judy asked you as it's important to know the answers before making recommendations.

You have chartered a couple of mainshits trawlers in the Abacos and want to go Around the world ??

you are much braver than I am...

Personally I think going around the world is over rated. Start by exploring and cruising the med, the Bahamas and Caribbean and then consider the rest. There is enough between the med, carib, Bahamas and east coast to keep you entertained for 5 to 8 years before considering long passages and places with security concerns

I wouldn't call it overrated but could certainly enjoy some closer cruising for a good while first. To cruise just the combined coasts of North America and both the Eastern and Western Caribbean could take years, and that's without the Bahamas and the Great Loop and all the rivers. Maybe their plans are to do it in reverse, world first, near by second. We're into our eighth year and haven't yet crossed the Atlantic or Pacific, although they're both in future plans. We have shorter term plans to cruise in Europe but on a boat we're buying there. So far we've cruised nearly 150,000 nm just in the areas I've mentioned.

You mentioned working in Alaska. Was that on the water? As for where to keep the boat while you prepare I'd recommend the west coast as it will give you a feel for world cruising between big seas and long distances between ports. Maybe start with a cruise to Alaska and then come down to the Panama canal and proceed into the Caribbean. By the time you're done with that you may be done with boating, in which case the boat can be brought to the U.S. for sale, and you'll have gained much experience before heading across the pond and long before hitting some of the more politically sensitive and dangerous areas of the world. One thing to consider about cruising long distances. It's boring when the ocean isn't trying to kill you.

With only chartering "several times" as background...

A "few small passages" first sounds like trying to go from zero to hero in 45 seconds flat. I'd guess more like 2 years prep -- gaining experience on your specific boat along the way -- might begin to be adequate...

Took me about 10 years before I could say I really knew our last boat.

-Chris

Don't have a dog in this fight, but an interesting boat.
https://www.**************/boats/197...uiser-3800786/

Steel boats rust and aluminum boats corrode. Not horribly but enough to screw up a $300k paint job pretty quick. We repainted our hull and had to start spending $8-10k a year ( 2 years out ) on patching up corrosion. So that’s one downside of steel. The other that I can think of is resale. But perhaps it’s more accepted in the trawler market.

There was quite a debate on this site a couple of years ago on the relative merits of steel and GRP. It got quite lively and contentious. My recollection is that is ended in a draw except for two points. There seemed to be a (grudging) acceptance that fires were usually easier to contain or escape from on steel boats and secondly, for folks who dream of far away places with strange sounding names, there always seems to be someone, no matter how remote the place, who has the equipment and the ability to weld and repair steel. Not necessarily so with GRP.

It's an ongoing debate but I don't recall either of those arguments being agreed to in any debate on the subject I've had.

Generally the argument for steel is more forgiving if you hit something. I think that's true but caution anyone who thinks it can't be penetrated is misleading.

As to fires, I agree that GRP might help in the spread of a fire, but on most boats there are so many flammable materials and fires are most often electrical in nature. Often they originate in an engine room and the materials of the boat won't matter as the flammable materials there, including fuel, will quickly fuel a larger fire or explosion and the answer will still be to get off the boat. I'm very fearful of boat fires and no less fearful on a metal boat than a glass one.

As to people to work on steel vs. GRP, I don't buy that at all. I don't know of any area in the world where boats could dock and not find people to work on fiberglass. In some areas, one or the other may take precedence but smaller marinas and yards would be more likely to work on GRP than metal while larger yards would be inclined toward metal but still do GRP.

I'm not going to buy a full displacement boat so a steel hull isn't under my future consideration. An aluminum boat may be at some point. However, it won't be a strong view of aluminum vs. glass but it will be a matter of my favored builder in the size and type building in one or the other. Specifically, if I was buying in the 50 meter range and liked Westport, then it's glass and if I prefer Heesen, it's aluminum.