Explain Trawler vs Motor Yacht Please...

You are perfectly right. There is a grey area. And that grey seems to be coming bigger every year! But a Mochi is not my idea of a trawler at all.

Kelly Cook

Nordhavn is though. You should check out them as well as some of the others in our Trawler brand section. You can see one of my writeups on the Nordhavn 86'

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/nordhavn-yacht/7426-nordhavn-86-a.html

Take a look at the exterior, the shape, hull form, arrangement and so on and compare it to a motoryacht. I mean these are just physical differences.

Trawler

Take a look here.
http://dieselducks.com/index.html

No question but that these are trawlers by just about any definition that I've ever heard.

Or maybe not. To me it carries too much sail. So I would classify it as a motorsailor.

Kelly

Troller not Trawler

Actually, George Buehler coined the term troller yacht for his Diesel Duck designs after modeling them on West Coast salmon trollers. He clearly prefers the term troller when referring to his boats. Chapter 3 of his book, "The Troller Yacht Book", explains the origins of his designs.

Without defining or differentiating the technical terms and formulas and disregarding any reference to fishing boats, there are several terms commonly used in regards to the yachting market.

IMHO, in general a trawler is a subcategory of Powerboat or Motoryacht and refers to a full displacement hull which usually has a maximum speed around 9 knots and carries sufficient fuel for long passages. There are semi-displacement hulls that have speeds in the range of 12-16 knots that I (with reluctance in using the oxymoron) call "Fast Trawlers" and while they don't have transoceanic range, they usually have engines and fuel capacity to go some reasonable distance without re-fuel.

While single or twin engines, hard chines, round bottoms, bilge keels, stabilizing sail, or flopper-stoppers, can differentiate manufacturers or their models, practical trawler attributes such as Portuguese bridge, forward sloping windows, and high freeboard frequently give boats the appearance that endears them to the trawler nomenclature.

Trawlers that go overboard (NPI) on amenities and grandiosity sometime deserve the label of Trawleryacht. Those that promote exceptional range or are capable of self-sufficiency in remote locales, use the newish term Expedition Yacht.

Judy