Any trashy Trawlers out there?

[floater]

As a new dreamer of one day owning a trawler I am put off by seeing all these fantastic looking boats. Does anyone have a trashier looking trawler? I'm the kind of guy who buys older cars and trucks and gets them on the road 'fast' and just works on them while driving them. I end up selling them for way less than I put into them but it's the whole learning process I like. With all these great looking trawlers all I can think of is "I will never be able to afford that". So I guess what i'm trying to say is there any Trawlers out there that look like crap but have good internals?

 

[Lollygag1]

Oh this will be a great thread.

 

[O C Diver]

There are trawlers from the 80's and earlier that can be had inexpensively and need some TLC. What will be important is knowing the difference between TLC and Trainwreck. It's all about knowing when to walk away and when to run away.

Welcome to the forum!

Ted

 

[OldDan1943]

One piece of advice and then I will sit back and read.

NO WOODEN HULL BOATS

End of my advice.

 

[Arc]

This Trawler has not moved in over 20 years. And I mean not moved

 

[tiltrider1]

Oh boy! The boat you want is a fine line away from the boat you don’t won’t.

If you have mechanical skills. You want the boat that has every option imaginable but nothing works except the engines and transmissions. If this boat has soft decks and dry rot move on.

If you have carpenter skills then you want the boat that everything works but some one paid big money to customize the interior to their eclectic desires and now the boat won’t work for a normal condition.

If you have none of these skills then you want an estate boat that has been sitting for years unattended because the owner lost his health but not his desire.

If you can’t afford any of these move on, you can’t afford the maintenance.

 

[rgano]

The OP speaks of finding a sad looker with "good internals." My problem with this approach is that more than likely a boat with poor curb appeal will have an equally poor looking interior and poor mechanical maintenance. The "bones" as some call the hull structure might be ok, but the boat would not be something that could be "put on the road quickly."

 

[MurrayM]

There are trawlers from the 80's and earlier that can be had inexpensively and need some TLC. What will be important is knowing the difference between TLC and Trainwreck. It's all about knowing when to walk away and when to run away.

Welcome to the forum!

Ted

We lucked out and it worked for us

There's the same view out the windows of a $30,000 boat as a $3,000,000 boat.

 

[Lollygag1]

We looked at a pilot 34 that was a mess inside but engine looked good. To me this would have been a project but I worry what the PO had ignored that I could not see?

Good luck

 

[Arc]

Ok so you don’t like that one. How about this one. Just need a little TLC

 

[Simi 60]

We lucked out and it worked for us

There's the same view out the windows of a $30,000 boat as a $3,000,000 boat.

Worked for us as well, same view out the windows of a $100,000 boat as a $3,000,000 boat

One piece of advice and then I will sit back and read.

NO WOODEN HULL BOATS

End of my advice.

Glad we never took your advice

If this boat has soft decks and dry rot move on.

We got some soft decks and dry rot
No biggy and reasonably easy fix
All cosmetics, not structural
Cost of repair was very well compensated for in almost give away price

If you have none of these skills then you want an estate boat that has been sitting for years unattended because the owner lost his health but not his desire.

This is how ours got cosmetically run down

The OP speaks of finding a sad looker with "good internals." My problem with this approach is that more than likely a boat with poor curb appeal will have an equally poor looking interior and poor mechanical maintenance. The "bones" as some call the hull structure might be ok, but the boat would not be something that could be "put on the road quickly."

Ours looked very sad externally, opened seams, rotten bulwarks bad enough that hawse pipes had fallen out, exterior varnish shot, covered in bird **** and dirt.
No one had enough vision to see past that
Internally she was fine, we were out of the water and back in using her inside two weeks, working on her as we live/cruise as the OP suggests he would.
Sand the shot varnish, rolled in brown paint.
4 years on and no issues that wouldn't be found on any vessel used full time over that timeframe.

 

[OldDan1943]

This Trawler has not moved in over 20 years. And I mean not moved
View attachment 111684

View attachment 111685

View attachment 111686

The owner died or perhaps forgot where he parked the boat?
A good washing and the rest will buff right out. LOL

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. f. Welcome aboard if I missed you eh? Are you asking because you don't have a big budget or because you like the work/challenge? What is your budget and desired size?

 

[psneeld]

Some of us have boats with workboat maintenance ( capable of safely functioning every day) with nice workboat finish level in and out ( or getting there).

 

[Lollygag1]

Couple cans of paint and a good scrubbing will be top of the fleet

 

[PM]

Nothing more expensive than a cheap or free boat.

pete

 

[floater]

I guess I should have been clearer in my original post. I'm actually looking for pics from owners who have a 'work in progress' boat. Maybe a few before and after pis. I'm looking for an older boat in reasonable shape that may look like a bad movie prop but can still fire up and cruise away. I really have no budget in mind yet as I am about 5 years away from retirement. I was just wondering if all boats look so good as the ones I've seen here.

 

[mvweebles]

As a guy who is finishing the restoration of a 50 year old boat, I would advise to spend as much time thinking about where to stop as where to start. This forum is a wealth of knowledge on identifying the expensive items - fuel tanks and teak decks being two.

Im not talking about making a profit. Far from it. Talking about only being upside down by 50%-100%.

Good luck. You'll need it if you move forward

Peter

 

[MurrayM]

Oops...didn't mean to imply we bought ours for $30,000

 

[rgano]

I don't have one, but I have enjoyed the view from very expensive vessels, and IMHO it is VERY different from the view from mine. not Better? Maybe, maybe not; depends on my mood, I guess.

 

[Flatswing]

As a new dreamer of one day owning a trawler I am put off by seeing all these fantastic looking boats. Does anyone have a trashier looking trawler? “

So “Trawler Trash”?

 

[GoneFarrell]

Here 'ya go...

https://portland.craigslist.org/grg/boa/d/cathlamet-classic-61-sternwheeler/7246802923.html

If that's too much dinero, there's this (but it needs a wench!)..
https://bend.craigslist.org/zip/d/bend-olympic-22ft-boat/7247203235.html

 

[boomerang]

When we bought ours, it had the basic mechanical good bones & while I can't say it looked too awfully bad for a 40 year old Mainship (from a distance), it needed lots and lots of work to bring it to a standard where we felt it was seaworthy & where we were comfortable with it not letting us down when we started cruising. It's taken several years to rebuild & repaint the decks, rewire everything and make numerous large and small upgrades but ,other than the deck replacement where it obviously had to be out of commission to have the repairs done, we've used it during the repairs & refurbishments. So, in answer to your question, yes, we used an inexpensive junky old boat and enjoyed it but we enjoy it a whole lot more now that we've made it better.

 

[psneeld]

Nothing more expensive than a cheap or free boat.

pete

Depends.....

 

[MurrayM]

Perhaps we should clarify our working definition of trashy?

Does trashy = skanky/dirty, or does trashy = naughty/fun?

 

[Dougcole]

I wish someone would come take away the 42 Grand Banks on the dock behind our slip. It’s got a tree growing up out of the swim platform. Grand Banks has their US headquarters on the other side of the canal and has now leased the 6 spots on our dock other than ours. There is a 60 something palm beach in front of us, then a 67 princess, then a big Hinkley, then a big Buddy Davis, then a new 50 plus GB and a new East Bay. Pretty much the same story on the other side of the canal.

On second thought, maybe it’s best if that boat stays, it’s the only thing keeping us from being the “trawler trash” of the neighborhood.

 

[floater]

Love that Stern Wheeler!! My kind of boat!

 

[GoneFarrell]

Go for it!

 

[Jmarsh203]

Here’s my trashy boat lol

The first two were pics from the day I inspected the boat. 42 foot twin engine trawler with paravane stabilizers carrying 1200 gallons of fuel. Broken mast, railing, and bent outrigger, also trash everywhere. Interior was just as bad, po had bare plywood floors and the interior was packed with almost nowhere to walk. Also the paint is trash. A few grand later it’s all bent and broken aluminum is repaired but paint is still trash. I’ll be pulling the boat in the next couple months and having the whole boat taken down to bare metal. Only decks and below waterline are getting repainted. Not bad a bad deal for 13k and a custom 1911 so deals are definitly out there. Could have gutted her and sold her for scrap for more than I paid for it. Btw the tanks were full and the fuel was good when I bought her.

 

[TheAtomicDog]

I guess I should have been clearer in my original post. I'm actually looking for pics from owners who have a 'work in progress' boat. Maybe a few before and after pis. I'm looking for an older boat in reasonable shape that may look like a bad movie prop but can still fire up and cruise away. I really have no budget in mind yet as I am about 5 years away from retirement. I was just wondering if all boats look so good as the ones I've seen here.

Lol. Are you talking to me? Check my posts (although I am at the very beginning of this journey).

For more inspiration, check out Dangar Marine https://www.youtube.com/c/DangarStu/videos

Good Luck!