Sailboat to trawler, but which trawler?

My Gosh, where to start?

The thing that will be difficult is spending time out at anchor. Trawlers, by their very nature, can be power hungry. Unlike a cruising sailing yacht, trawlers can look a little silly with loads of solar panels and wind turbines scattered over the decks.

A friend used to have a 55ft wooden trawler, custom-made and very classic. The aft cabin roof had 4 large (but hidden from side view) solar panels that worked very well. It was very solidly constructed, even the main engine was solidly bolted to the frames, so that in the event of a roll-over, the mounts would hold the motor even while upside down.

Over-built? Heck yes, but he cruised the Caribbean, mostly solo, for many years and burnt very little fuel.

This is just a quick post to narrow down just what sort of craft would fit your cruising life.

I agree 100% with your choice of candidates, and can't think of anything to add worth widening the search for. Also agree with not crossing that 60' line. I think the Kady would lend itself better to the addition of solar panels if that's your intention, and I think the Nordhaven might be more stable at anchor. One consideration you might want to check into is height. Not a factor with your current plans, but over 19' can hinder you if you decide to head north for a summer (in the canals). Also, an being able to grab an extra knot ot two can be of real benefit when you enter an inlet.

Hi Greg,

Privateer Trawler
Wim van der Valk Continental Yachts
Hardy Marine | Designers and Builders of Motor Boats

used and <60 foot should be in your price range.

Petr

For comfort on the hook you'll want to stay away from the taller boats for the most part. They're just more inclined to roll. Unless of course they have some kind of at anchor stabilization.

While they have had issues, Marlows are very stable at anchor and good sea boats. Wet boats but they are solid and handle seas well.

So that is the style of vessel I would be looking at. At least if you are going to be spending more time on the hook than the dock as you indicated.

If you don't want to add wind generators and/or several solar panels you might want to look at installing a small diesel Genset that runs a high capacity DC alternator. That way you could use the minimum fuel to charge your batteries.
Something like this that can also power a watermaker perhaps. Genie Diesel Alternators

But of course the reality may end up being if your cruising down south unless you have a high tolerance to the heat and can find a boat that has great ventilation while still being able to feel secure sleeping at night with what ever has to be open to get that ventilation, you will just end up running an AC genset to keep the boat cool.

Although they do make small marine DC powered A/C units.

I am traveling and posting by iPhone so please excuse typos and brevity. Seems like this is being made more complicated than necessary. This is not reinventing the wheel. Many if not majority of trawler owners have come from sail. Gyro stab requires generator so not a good choice for being on hook, nor is height, windage, shallow draft. Steel trawlers tend to be heavier, sit lower and thus more stable. Bilge keels provide passive stabilization. Inverters and good electrical management can present plenty of quiet time at anchor, forget solar panels. Lots of trawler choices. Do more research.

Judy

At the last Annapolis powerboat show I had occasion to go aboard a Grand Banks Heritage 43 EU. She would make a very nice liveaboard, and be of a very reasonable size.

I'm 6'4" and if I remember correctly there was enough head room.

Having been a sailor, I think you should take one more look around for a motorsailer


Alden 57
Trawler Forum - View Single Post - The ultimate trawler

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/178813-post108.html

...or a Rhodes 44
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/general-sailing-discussion/6710-motor-sailers-philip-rhodes-john-alden-8.html

There was a glass Alden for sale a while back but I can't find it just now.
Brian

Catamaran?

Looking in the under 60' range, certainly KK and Nordhavn are excellent boats to look at. Nordhavn tends however to be chosen more for crossing larger bodies of water than for coastal and looping. Grand Banks Aleutians fit in your range and are excellent loop boats. Fleming. Even some boats you don't think of as Trawlers, but Hatteras makes an excellent loop boat. Really two factors you need to keep in mind for loop and Bahamas, draft and air draft. Air must not exceed 19'1". Draft, less is better, and under 5' is best. I would not want to exceed about 5'6" and wouldn't consider over 6'. Most loop boats are even smaller than you're considering with heavy emphasis under 40', some 40-50' and very few 50-60'. Still when we began looking for a loop boat we wanted to get as close to 60' as possible since we do have a lot of guests. Some will tell you that over 50' causes problems with docking and they really haven't checked the loop carefully. We only found one small area, perhaps one night on the path. Otherwise 60' is well accommodated. Plus a larger boat lets you truly enjoy the Great Lakes and the Gulf rather than feel you have to hug the shore.

62 Powercat

Does sound that way, doesn't it.

Perhaps this great powercat from a friend of mine down in FL
economy, shallow draft, easy to handle....

Have a look at this powercat here:
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/123583-post41.html

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/123586-post42.html

Brian
RunningTideYachts

PS: here is a yachtworld listing
1999 Malcolm Tennant Power Cat Power Boat For Sale - www.**************

Quite honestly, for what you're looking for I would not overlook a Fleming. In my opinion the 55' is the perfect couples cruising boat. It can be efficiently run at trawler speeds, has a great layout and is really easy to get lines and such. You can always run a Fleming slower, but you can never run a Nordhavn faster.

While Nordhavn makes a great boat, they're not the easiest to dock in that size range due to just the deck layout and getting around on them as well as maneuvering with a single engine. If I was doing the Great Loop I would want twin engines and a bow thruster. I cannot remember how many locks there are, but the total is over a 100 of them and maneuvering with an owner operator couple should be a large consideration.

The Grand Banks Eluetion is another good choice as Olderboater pointed out. The only problem with both the Fleming and Grand Banks is they are high exterior maintanence boats with the amount of varnished wood and stainless.

I wouldn't even consider a Marlow. Both due to their business ethics and swim platform design. I was sitting next to one around 60' in Charleston and the integral swim platform was so low above the water that on an incoming tide the 8" waves would smash into it and shoot spray all over the aft deck and make the entire boat shudder.......piss poor design IMO. The owner of his almost new boat was pretty pissed off about it.

Hi,

That model appears to be discontinued, there is however a 55 ft Aleutian on the website.

Yes, Fleming 55

Yes it's Aleutian and the 59 is a very nice boat too. They have now added a 65, a 72 and a 76. I think the 55 or 59 would be a great loop boat. Also in the Heritage models they have a 54'. The one thing one must do on a GB is make sure they get a hinged mast and/or arch.

Fleming has added a 58, which is a very nice and updated model.

I agree with Capt J on Marlow and vote a strong "no" there.