What should I look for in an ocean going trawler?

I could stretch this 20' and lengthen the house. Good efficient fast boat with a good ride for down in the Southern Ocean. Yacht grade fit and finish about $17MM in aluminium.

Hi,

I think you are looking at a lot of boat when the list of all the spaces you need are considered. The 10 ft high lab itself will probably not happen in an existing structure, the space above the deck heads in cabins is usually used for ducts and cables, to get a space such as you describe will probably have to be specially built.

There are not many deep sea trawlers that are twin screw either.

For the bucks you have to spend and the shopping list you have I don't think you will find the ideal vessel off the shelf, there will need to be a compromise somewhere along the line.

I would suggest that you look for an ex Oil Patch Boat that can be converted to your needs. You might have to accept a lower standard of finish in the cabins to get everything done cheaper but on a limited budget you need to get the best bang for your buck that you can.

What about something like this: http://ships-for-sale.com/research_catamaran.htm

Emerson,

I think this would be the way to go. If you do a little research on m/y Plan B (ex. Flinders), you can see what a conversion can do to an old military or commercial vessel.

It might be too much boat but the 180' Lady Chebucto is, I think, still available. Canadian Fisheries Coastal Patrol, 8,500 NM range at 16 knots(!), room galore. Ice class. Built like a brick s**thouse. Pricey to gussy it up as a yacht but might be workable without doing much. I think they want
$2M or best offer. Just a passing thought.

I'd guess that you'd be well off to consider a conversion, based on the fact that you have some very specific requirements with your research and lab equipment and sizing.

Have a look at Harbour Yacht Services. We've worked with them in the past and for being a small yard, they have an incredible ability to turn out some rather impressive conversions in both steel and aluminum.

http://www.hys-yachts.com/index.htm

I was looking on their site for a boat they were mid progress on when I was last at their yard named "Anda" which was a 42Meter steel / expo style "Gentleman's Boat" however I don't see it now, so you may want to inquire about it.

If you're going to icy water, I'd highly consider a steel boat over aluminum. For what you're describing, picking up a deal on a donor boat and taking it through conversion (about a 12 month process) may be an ideal scenario for you based on your initial requirements and considerations.

Good luck in your search.
It is indeed an adventure.

THERE is a boat in seattle called norseman 2 i belive is prety close to what you are looking for PM ME and i will give you the phone number of the people in the know

good luck travler

Am I wrong in thinking that the invasive mammal you refer to is homo-sapian?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a hard time looking at this seriously given several things said and your profile.

Biography:
I've worked on charters in the 40-70' range in Alaskas inside passage
Location:
Homer, AK
Interests:
Falconry
Occupation:
Deckhand
I'd recommend eyes and ears open and wait until the money comes into your hands before you even think about spending it. If you happen to get anywhere near the money you're expecting you'll be amazed at how many people will help you part with it. You might want to spend some time with the Sea Shepherd or Cousteau organizations to get a better feel for what's needed and involved before you shop. BTW, just in case this post comes off wrong I want to state that I'm not mocking. Dreams are a wonderful thing, and getting the opportunity to fulfill them can be amazing. You just want to become expert in a lot of areas for this one before you plunk down your money. Good luck.

That clears up alot. Thanks. Good luck.

What you're looking for is that Shadow boat they have for sale in Fort Lauderdale. it is a converted commercial boat. It has a very large garage that you could partition however you'd like to suit your needs with yacht like accomodations. BUT, for the requirements you have you're looking for a commercial vessel and can be well within $4 million as long as you're not looking to make a yacht out of a commercial vessel (you could still make a nice galley and staterooms).

Hi,

Before getting too deeply involved in your undertaking I would check with the DOC in NZ.

NZ is rightly concerned with any outsiders fronting up and doing anything they consider non pc, especially in the environment.

North American Shipyards, a.k.a. Edison Choest makes IMO the best of them. Halter Marine, a.k.a. Trinity made a bunch of them, they weren't flash hot though. Bloodworth Bond made some good ones. You can find a bunch of old mud boats in the 180' range for sale. Tidewater, the worlds largest work bvoat company always has a bunch for sale, but I wouldn't recommend buying one of theirs, when Tidewater gets rid of a boat, it's pretty much shot. TriCo marine takes good care of their equipment as does Edison Choest, if you can find one of their boats for sale it wouls be worth looking at, but the problem with old OSVs is they are meant to be cargo vessels, comfort and efficiency are not on the radar of the design specs. The only thing they are concerned with is the size of the P-tanks and mud tanks and how much you can haul on deck. P tanks and the gear in the mud tanks are very heavy and down in the bottom of the boat. When you remove all of that and open up the space, you start quickly running into stability issues. They're also big wide square bottom boats with a very high prismatic coefficient so they are slow and require a lot of horsepower (read fuel) and seriously pound into the seas. These boats don't cruise through the water, they bludgeon their way through. Survey boats generally have a better shape to them as do cable layers, but cable layers are typically larger, in the 240'+ range. Fitting out old work boats to yacht standards on the interior is no big deal really, it's just a matter of money. If you want them faired to yacht standards on the outside.... good luck. Most of the conversions don't bother and just put on a high quality industrial finish paint job. Fairing one out alone will cost you twice what the boat does.

If you don't care about speed, old Beauport is a decent girl, but personally, I wouldn't want anything less than 12 knots and prefer 18 for trans oceanic passages. 12 lets you stay in front of most weather and 18 lets you get away from it.

You know when you play Lotto Garage (all boys do this) and you think Ferrari and Astons.

The other day, someone in Wales won £56 Million on Euro Lotto. I did the big think, what would I buy?

I love Trawler Yachts but the boat that covers all bases and can be handled by just a couple was the Swan 75' from Finland. Rubbish website by the way.

Nauta make a nice boat, the 65' ketch is an old mate for cruiseing, everything is just there, at arms length, no hunting around for this and that.

Rag and Stick I know but it does what it says on the tin.

Trawler

This bears a similarity to a yacht built in New Zealand a few years ago. It has traveled many oceans and last I heard it was for sale. The owner is a very experienced sailor. The hull was left in original Aluminium finish.
I will do some more research and revert if I find anymore details.