Contract Signed / New Build Underway

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Anyone who enjoys boat videos may enjoy a professionally developed video of our boat. The photographer exceeded my expectations with both stills and the drone video. It can be viewed on Yachtworld or the Helmsman Trawler Site.
I just viewed the video & think it's one of the best I've ever seen! :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Windy Day

So last week we decided to check on the boat and take her for cruise. It was a little breezy (10-15 knots) and bay was full of white caps. After backing out with some bow thruster help we headed down the channel and decided to empty the holding tank. Pulling against the wind went fine as I jumped off and tied up the mid ship line. By the time I got back to the stern the wind pushed the stern about 12’ away and the bow was heading towards the bock. I ran forward and started to push off. No luck, the best I could do was hold the boat off the dock. Mary ran to the PH as I told her to use the bow thruster which helped but wouldn’t be enough to get the stern in so I decide it was time to bail. I never untied a dock line so quickly and boarded a boat. Full reverse with a little bow thruster got us away safely as we headed to the bay. The breeze was definitely above 15 knots and we took spray above the PH instantly. Most boats had left the bay but a few big boys making large wakes stayed out. We were bounced around a little as we headed south then decided it wasn’t worth it turned around heading directly into the wind. More spray but excellent tracking made it fun. After returning to the dock we both agreed the boat felt solid and handled perfectly but remained surprised how the wind took more of stern than we calculated. Never to old to learn.
 
Hi N4061,
Do you think Having a stern thruster would have help in this scenario? Have you looked into the cost of adding ? I really love the Helmsman 38/43, when I finally make that purchase i will need bow/stern thrusters with a single engine and If there is only a bow thruster I will add the stern, You would think adding the Stern thruster would be less expensive than adding a bow thruster because the Stern thruster doesn't look like much fiberglass work needed compared to going through the Hull of the bow. Whats your thoughts
 
While a stern thruster would have helped significantly I will argue the added cost and complexity is not worth it. Having performed a better job judging the wind and docking strategy (stern in first, Mary off the boat and tiring us up) would have worked fine. I’m not a big fan adding equipment to boats that is only used a few times a year. I would rather improve my boat handling skills.
 
John, I agree, to use a boat a few times a year i wouldn't add the expense either. Every Captain can improve on their boat handling skills.
The 38/43/46 Helmsman will be my living/cruising on the Loop boat when I do purchase. I just sold my 2014 360 (reason; only used few times a yr) with twin 8.2l with axius joystick/skyhook etc... (so i'm spoiled with total control) Before that I had a 32' single engine for 23yrs and was all over the great lakes with her, i was much younger and was able to jump/leap/jog all over the boat and thrusters would have been nice but not necessary. Now older and less agile (bummer get old and falling apart) I will be shopping for a single engine 38 thru 46 and my must haves will be bow/stern thrusters fly-bridge for a piece of mind knowing if the winds/current picks up I will have total control at all ends.
The reason I asked if you ever looked into the install of a stern thruster is not in doubt of your captain skills, just curious because I have been creeping in on your beauty for some time now. Georgeous Helmsman you have John !

Bry
 
I have a single screw and no stern thruster. 99% of the time it is no bother. Once in while if I don’t get it lined up right, I need to swing the wheel over and bump it in gear, then back over, all the while not making headway. The 1% of the time would be for the convenience of tapping a joystick to get the stern over a few inches or so.

I wouldn’t depend on electric thrusters to save me when wind or current come as a surprise. Lean on the thruster for too long and it will time out. I try to save mine for if I really, really screw up. I would guess most installed aren’t sized to move you sideways against a stiff beam wind.

Take a look at the Sidepower EX thrusters. Designed to be retrofitted, bolt on to the outside. One thru-hull like hole and two smaller bolt holes. Wiring wouldn’t be any more difficult than any other boat project. I’m not sure how I would fit and size it for mine but I’m still thinking of getting one for that 1%.
 
Stern Thruster

Bry, we should talk over phone one day about your plans and different boats. Having lived aboard (part time) for about 5 years I may be able to provide a few thoughts. Let me know if your interested in speaking.

John
 
I'm a little late to this party but I just discovered Helmsman Trawlers and I am very impressed. I'm researching possible retirement boats (10-15 yrs out) for winter living aboard. I really like Pilot House/Tug designs because I actually like how they break up the cabin into several cozy "rooms" compared to the open studio apartment feel of some others (eg Swift Trawlers.) John's post #90 explains exactly why I really like the Helmsman 38 design.



As someone who will be very limited based on budget, I'm also attracted to the more affordable price point. How does Helmsman achieve these savings? Is it simpler and fewer systems? It certainly doesn't appear to be quality.
 
Late to the party

I'm a little late to this party but I just discovered Helmsman Trawlers and I am very impressed. I'm researching possible retirement boats (10-15 yrs out) for winter living aboard. I really like Pilot House/Tug designs because I actually like how they break up the cabin into several cozy "rooms" compared to the open studio apartment feel of some others (eg Swift Trawlers.) John's post #90 explains exactly why I really like the Helmsman 38 design.



As someone who will be very limited based on budget, I'm also attracted to the more affordable price point. How does Helmsman achieve these savings? Is it simpler and fewer systems? It certainly doesn't appear to be quality.

Welcome and you are not late to the party, if fact no one Is ever late since people continue to discover boating and trawlers ever day. Helmsman trawlers are a great find and definitely offer one of the best values anywhere. I cannot speak for the company but I believe when you combine a medium size yard focused on building similar size and design boats in a lower labor cost teamed with a small US based company who controls its overhead while offering great service the result is very competitive cost structure.

Having owned many different size, makes and models of boats, built is different locations, I have learned that price alone doesn’t equal value. I have spent more on some boats and ended up with less in the long run. Continue to explore, compare and educate yourself and in time you will make your own conclusions and find the boat right for you.

John
 
Cummins Engine

Last week we went through the sea trial and inspection process associated with the sale of the boat. What was interesting was the ability of the inspector to plug his lap top into the Cummins engine data port and see a lot of history on the engine including amount of fuel used and crankshaft revolutions. A quick calculation between fuel burn and hours confirmed an average performance of 2 gallons per hour since we owned the boat. Taking the engine to WOT also reconfirmed just how much fuel you can burn. When you normally cruise around 1450RPM reaching close to 3,000RPM definitely feels different. Having owned many different inboard engine makes including Yanmar, Luger, Mercruiser and Cummins I have to admit the Cummins has become my favorite.

John
 
Agree John, the Cummins QSB is a great engine. The Nielson Beaumont yard is replacing older engines on the Naval swift boats with the QSB and that includes the Seals who have a heck of a lot to loose if the engine is not reliable.

Don’t be a stranger on the Forum, and I hope to see you around town in the future.

Best.
 
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Sale Completed

It’s with mixed feelings that I write this post about completing the sale and transfer of ownership of Maria Elena, our H38E. Needless to say this boat was the most enjoyable build we experienced to date and we cannot say enough about the boat. She turned out perfect for our planned use but as with life there are no guarantees. Our plans to ship the boat to the east coast and spend a few on the ICW did not occur. Today I spent time with the new owners assisting them with getting familiar with the boat and it’s systems. Tomorrow they head north up the coast to the boats new home near LA. I plan to write more about selling Maria Elena and the interesting journey we experienced to assist others but I will take a short break and collect my thoughts. Walking away from the boat for the last time felt different then other boats and I’m still trying to figure out why. More to follow soon......
 
Last week we went through the sea trial and inspection process associated with the sale of the boat. What was interesting was the ability of the inspector to plug his lap top into the Cummins engine data port and see a lot of history on the engine including amount of fuel used and crankshaft revolutions. A quick calculation between fuel burn and hours confirmed an average performance of 2 gallons per hour since we owned the boat. Taking the engine to WOT also reconfirmed just how much fuel you can burn. When you normally cruise around 1450RPM reaching close to 3,000RPM definitely feels different. Having owned many different inboard engine makes including Yanmar, Luger, Mercruiser and Cummins I have to admit the Cummins has become my favorite.

John

For interest sake... what was fuel burn and top speed at WOT. Inquiring minds want to know! :whistling: :D :thumb:
 
Fuel burn at WOT is about 18GPH. About 800% increase to go from about 7 knots to 9.5 - 10.0 knots. I’ll take 2.0 - 2.5GPH and 7 knots all day.
 
Next

So the Helmsman is sold, or nearly so? Congratulations!


What's next? You must have it all planned out....

As with every next boat we will take our time, do our research and find the best boat for the mission. First we need to define the mission. The last one (ICW) didn’t work out for us and we are unsure what is ahead.

John
 
Looking Back

With the sale of Maria Elena behind us, personal items removed from the boat and stored away at home, it seems as though we have been down this road before. Having to focus on the new house and yard I know it will be a little while until we start our next boat building project but I plan to enjoy the time figuring out the next journey.

Last night I opened one of many new boating magazines sitting on my desk. I was a little surprised to see the number of builders who have jumped into the super large center console boats with three or four outboards. Talk about money to burn! I have to wonder who buys this type boat and how long these expensive, go fast, open style fuel guzzling rockets? I don’t think it is a potential trawler buyer ?.
An interesting observation I have made looking back over the past four years is the lack of a new builders focused on trawlers. When we look at FD trawlers I believe the number of builders entering the market is around zero. If we stretch the term “Trawler” to include non FD hull boats I believe we are also at or near zero. I have to wonder why as we see more people (a lot of sailers) recognizing the benefits of going slow in comfort. Maybe this is good thing for all the builders in this small market segment where they can each enjoy a piece of the action,, stay competitive and offer a good product to the consumer.
Getting back to the FD market I’m still baffled why there hasn’t been another builder stepping up to offer a line of “smaller” boats. Even with the sale of our boat I likely spent more time explaining the hull shape and relationship to a FD than any other part of the boat. The H38E hull is just great. While our H38E is one of the best boats we will have ever owned and perfect for it intended use I would still like to see a similar model built as a FD with longer range. Possibly a 42’ - 45’ FD with 1,600 mile range for a nonstop passage from SD to Cabo San, Lucas (1,000 miles) then further south. A heavy boat fully stabilized but similar to the H38 with limited levels and steps. I don’t think we would ever go back to a taller boat with countless steps, just too dangerous while at sea on rough days plus we aren’t getting younger. The boat would be wide beam, one side deck, large aft deck, large salon and PH with stand up ER and separate entrance and similar to our boat.
OK, I can see I’m already dreaming which is phase one of the journey and better not let Mary see this text. Hey Scott hopefully you will read this post and start getting ready! ?.

Time to start working on the yard. More to follow soon......
 
As to your CC comments...

"super large center console boats with three or four outboards. Talk about money to burn! I have to wonder who buys this type boat and how long these expensive, go fast, open style fuel guzzling rockets?"

At first glance it might seem that way but a lot of the popularity is cost savings for buyers who would like nice Sport Fishing boat. While some are just after speed, others are after speed to the fishing hole. The fastest boats on the water right now are the CC's, much like lakes where the fastest are the bass boats.

Also like the bass boats years ago the competition has been to have the biggest and fastest.

Interestingly, for decades Boston Whaler dominated the CC Market but then competitor after competitor gained business. Many of the builders were and many still are relative small builders. We have quite a few in South Florida operating out of warehouse strips. While Boston Whaler and Grady White may be readily available, companies like Seavee, Contender, Jupiter, Yellowfin, and Freeman may have a long waiting time.

HCB which has had the biggest, although may not now, is simply a reincarnation of Hydrasports. They go up to 65' and five or six engines up to 2700 hp or more. As long as talking speed, don't overlook Fountain, Cigarette (Up to 59' and 2700 hp) and Nor-tech are in this field. For them the CC has replaced their high performance inboards which typically had larger Mercury Racing Inboard outboards and so for the performance boat enthusiast, CC's also have been a lower cost option. They have led to the resurgence of these builders as they now provide the speed at a lower price.

There are more center consoles sold today in South Florida than any other type boat. I understand they make no sense to trawler boaters, but I'm thankful for anything that gets boaters out on the water. They also do have more than their share of accidents with operators not experienced or not experienced with speed and with operators under the influence, using them as party boats or to and from the party.
 
Looking forward to the new build thread! Jim
 
Looking Back

It’s been one week since I turned over the boat to its new owners and to be honest I have not had much time to think about the boat. Work and the new house continues to consume my time. That being said Mary and I took Sailor Blue to Dana Point last Sunday for a walk and enjoy the 72 degree weather. It was one of those great fall days in Southern California with clear sky’s and little wind. The harbor was jumping like a 4th of July weekend. Everyone one was out on their boats, paddle boards and kayaks. Dana Point is home to PAE the parent company of Nordhavn and I always enjoy seeing all the boats there either for sale or being commissioned. This visit I was fortunate to see the new N41 built in Turkey. While I didn’t go inside I did climb aboard and looked through the salon windows. As I expected the exterior is all Nordhavn with very nice fit and finish. The N41 was only two boats down from a N40 which provided a nice comparison. A few observations include the N41 is about a foot (maybe more) less tall than the N40 in the bow and the transom. I knew the boat was slimmer by a good foot but in person it looks even skinnier. With two side decks around the salon the interior is very tight. Not sure what they were thinking with two side decks on such a skinny boat. While the introduction price was a great value I’m not sure they nailed the design. As a day or weekend boat she is likely perfect but less accommodating for extended stays. These are just my observations and not meant to be a criticism of the designer who had his own vision and mission for the boat. I have a passion for boats with wide beams (N40 & H38E) and maximum interior space which supports our life style.
After viewing the N41 we continued our walk and enjoyed watching dozens of boats coming and leaving the harbor. Since we are not sure what our next journey or destination may be we just enjoyed seeing the vast selection of boats out there. More to follow....
 
John, I'm so glad to have read your adventure building your H38E. We're sailboaters from Ontario Canada going to the dark side haha.
We have another couple of years before the admiral retires and initially we were looking for larger sailboat to cruise the southern climes during the winter months. Then we hit on the idea of getting a trawler instead. Checking out videos on YouTube seems like forever !!
Then saw the Helmsman 38E. Instantly the admiral looked at me and said there's our boat. I joined the trawler forum to start looking in ernest. Came upon your thread. What an inspiration thanks.
We would be making a few changes ie. more solar and lithium batteries and more refrigeration as we plan to stay on the hook over longer periods.
Like you mentioned the 90% rule the boat is all we need and still easily able to handle short handed.
Thanks again
 
The Dark Side

John, I'm so glad to have read your adventure building your H38E. We're sailboaters from Ontario Canada going to the dark side haha.


Thank you for your post, I will provide you my contact information via a private message in case you would like to discuss the transition further.
 
John, I'm so glad to have read your adventure building your H38E. We're sailboaters from Ontario Canada going to the dark side haha.
We have another couple of years before the admiral retires and initially we were looking for larger sailboat to cruise the southern climes during the winter months. Then we hit on the idea of getting a trawler instead. Checking out videos on YouTube seems like forever !!
Then saw the Helmsman 38E. Instantly the admiral looked at me and said there's our boat. I joined the trawler forum to start looking in ernest. Came upon your thread. What an inspiration thanks.
We would be making a few changes ie. more solar and lithium batteries and more refrigeration as we plan to stay on the hook over longer periods.
Like you mentioned the 90% rule the boat is all we need and still easily able to handle short handed.
Thanks again

Would like to hear your thoughts on the lithium system you are planning.
 
The H38E hull is just great. While our H38E is one of the best boats we will have ever owned and perfect for it intended use I would still like to see a similar model built as a FD with longer range. Possibly a 42’ - 45’ FD with 1,600 mile range for a nonstop passage from SD to Cabo San, Lucas (1,000 miles) then further south. A heavy boat fully stabilized but similar to the H38 with limited levels and steps. I don’t think we would ever go back to a taller boat with countless steps, just too dangerous while at sea on rough days plus we aren’t getting younger. The boat would be wide beam, one side deck, large aft deck, large salon and PH with stand up ER and separate entrance and similar to our boat.
OK, I can see I’m already dreaming which is phase one of the journey and better not let Mary see this text. Hey Scott hopefully you will read this post and start getting ready! ?.

Time to start working on the yard. More to follow soon......[/QUOTE]

Add water tight doors to that and what a hell of a boat that would be.
 
Potential New Build On The Horizon

Hello, its been some time since I posted on this thread but I recently noticed a couple of Helmsman owners following my new thread focused the "process of buying a new boat" under "General Discussion". The thread title is "Potential New Build On The Horizon" and while the boat may be a little off subject for TF the process is the same. For those who have reached out to me both on the open forum and privately thank you for your comments and questions. Looking forward to hearing from others and talking about boats.

John - Former Owner of Nordhavn 4050, Nordhavn 4061, Nordhavn 3522, Helmsman 38E
 

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