Best First Boat If You Have Trawler Aspirations?

Hi all, currently spending some time on the Olympic Peninsula and have fallen for the big trawlers out here. I am weighing the Great Loop at some point but have little experience at the helm of any boat larger than a jon. Is there a particular style or hull shape in a smaller starter boat that is more inclined to lead to success in a trawler down the line? Or should I just find a first boat that will fit my current needs (wants) and learn the ropes of piloting, navigation, communication, etc. and worry about the specific operations of the boat later? I’d prefer something classy that will manage larger inland rivers as we live on the Ohio. Thanks for the input!

Oh boy, can of worms. There is no right answer. I'd recommend reading Beebes Voyaging Under Power to get an overview, but he skews heavily towards full displacement which is nice but not necessary except in limited applications.

Mostly, I think it helps to walk in a lot of boats and figure out what keeps you up at night dreaming and how you visualize your dream. Some folks are more motor yacht, some are more old school traditional. And be honest with yourself on your mechanical skills to keep it running.

Then ask more questions......TF loved to offer kind guidance.

Peter

adamb.hicks4 said:

Hi all, currently spending some time on the Olympic Peninsula and have fallen for the big trawlers out here. I am weighing the Great Loop at some point but have little experience at the helm of any boat larger than a jon. Is there a particular style or hull shape in a smaller starter boat that is more inclined to lead to success in a trawler down the line? Or should I just find a first boat that will fit my current needs (wants) and learn the ropes of piloting, navigation, communication, etc. and worry about the specific operations of the boat later? I’d prefer something classy that will manage larger inland rivers as we live on the Ohio. Thanks for the input!

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Absolutely yes to the bolded sentence. But not only the boat is important, it will be gaining the experience as you venture farther and farther and longer and longer from home port.

While either coast (Atlantic/Pacific) will give great experiences, they can be just different enough that gaining a lot of experience in waters you expect to spend most of your time in would be highly recommended.

Can of worms is right. @Adam since you specified a trawler or that style, just make sure it is large enough to have a permanent berth (not a settee table which converts), an enclosed head with shower (wet head is fine), a small galley and an enclosed pilot station (the flybridge is optional).
IMO if you go too small you will be disappointed very quickly. Any boat bigger than the jon boats you've been commanding will seem intimidating at first, but your self-confidence will grow very quickly, especially with some professional instruction.
I'd say go single diesel, fiberglass, 30-36 ft, as a rough starting point.

I am pretty happy with our choice of the marine trader 34DC.
If we didn’t need 2 staterooms I would have looked more for a trailerable trawler such as a nimble or an outer reef 26.

I'm certainly a fan of displacement speed (6 to 8 knots) and would tell you there are lots of boats to choose from. For me, it would be more about refining how many people, where you want to go, and whether you want to spend evenings at anchor in a quiet cove or tied to the dock with dinner out. Lots to consider. Hopefully with some forethought, you can avoid swapping every few years.

Ted

I think my initial goal is more of a trailerable boat prior to purchasing something that has to live in the water. Economics and my own personal time availability make me think a big capable trawler is probably not the best first step. I’m coming from an airplane background so I assume there are boats out there that are more like “trainers” and then there are the big comfortable trawlers and cabin cruisers that are liveaboard-able that I would eventually be qualified to step up to. I assume the insurance folks also look at experience when insuring larger vessels? Thanks for all the input so far.

adamb.hicks4 said:

I think my initial goal is more of a trailerable boat prior to purchasing something that has to live in the water. Economics and my own personal time availability make me think a big capable trawler is probably not the best first step. I’m coming from an airplane background so I assume there are boats out there that are more like “trainers” and then there are the big comfortable trawlers and cabin cruisers that are liveaboard-able that I would eventually be qualified to step up to. I assume the insurance folks also look at experience when insuring larger vessels? Thanks for all the input so far.

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Consider the Rosborough 26. Many of them were built (and trailers are fairly common) and there's a strong owner group (Groups IO). Resale is relatively quick so even though you pay more upfront recovery is fairly assured on the back end.

Peter.

First and foremost..... the main reason in my mind to own a trawler is for cruising medium to long distances (I know subjective terms)...but lcruising the Great Loop is a good example. Otherwise trawlers aren't what I consider the best boat for anything else on the water.

When you cruise, boat handling is only one tiny part of the mission. Just like flying, past takeoffs and landings...it's everything from weather to maintenance to seamanship, etc...etc...

So the trainer portion of it only comes from learning a bunch of the other stuff and combining it with learning the handling of the vessel that you intend to cruise. A single engine trawler handles completely different than the vast majority of other boats. Twin engine ones start to handle like a lot of other larger twin engine boats....but not twin outboards or sterndrives.

The bottom line is to spend as much time on the water perfecting those dozens of other skills and maybe working your way up though something nearing 20 feet, then something near 30 feet and you may be ready for a 30-40 something trawler. You don't have to own those type of boats, just get experience driving them.

The more you hang near marinas full of boats, the more chances of getting out on these larger type boats.

Before you get too far into it, talk to an insurance agent and find out what training and experience is needed for the size boat you decide on. Over a certain length and you are going to possibly need a captain for a period of time. Also, find out where you are going to keep it. There are places where finding a berth if harder than finding a boat.

Once you decide on a configuration, buy the most meticulously maintained and repair documented boat. All boats need repairs, but start with as clean a slate as you can afford. One hurdle at a time.

Trailerable means less than 30 feet long. Lots of folks like cutwater or ranger tug in the Puget sound. Both will hold resale value if you just use it as a trainer for a few years.

I wouldn't worry about what will set you up for a trawler later -- the answer there IMO is that any boating experience will help you.

Instead get the boat that best fits your mission NOW and enjoy it. Then when you're ready for something different you'll know 1000x more and make a good "next boat" choice. As the boating authors Pardeys said (as best I remember) "go small and go now!"

A trailerable sailboat is a great training platform. The price is right and the speed is similar.

One thing that has been true for my family is that you learn a lot of lessons the hard way. If it happens to work out that you get a starter boat for weekend trips or week long trips, you will also be able to work out a lot of bugs with that boat.

Just this weekend, I was working with my 12 year old on docking. We were headed into the dock, when my wife tells me the docking assignments all changed. The wind was very high and I had a 60’ boat right on my stern. Alls well that ends well, but I never should have had a 12 year at the helm in that moment. The lesson I learned was not to combine training for the kids with sticky situations. Seems obvious right? But when you get joy from working with your kids, it will cloud your judgement.

Not sure how I did that, but I just put that in the wrong thread. Sorry

Bmarler said:

Trailerable means less than 30 feet long. Lots of folks like cutwater or ranger tug in the Puget sound. Both will hold resale value if you just use it as a trainer for a few years.

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Or C-Dory, 22 or 25 feet. We learned on a CD22, worked up to a 2 month cruise of SE Alaska

I am definitely considering the small cabin cruisers. Have seen a ton of C-Dorys up here. They look like very practical boats but the interiors are a little spartan. I really like the Cutwaters and Ranger Tugs but they are both probably more expensive than I was thinking right off the bat. Really like the Beneteau Antares and Jeanneau NCs but man… $$$. Trying to get my head around some older cabin cruisers / sedans but there’s a million out there as everyone knows, so I’m just continuing to research. Thanks for everyone’s input thus far!

adamb.hicks4 said:

I am definitely considering the small cabin cruisers. Have seen a ton of C-Dorys up here. They look like very practical boats but the interiors are a little spartan. I really like the Cutwaters and Ranger Tugs but they are both probably more expensive than I was thinking right off the bat. Really like the Beneteau Antares and Jeanneau NCs but man… $$$. Trying to get my head around some older cabin cruisers / sedans but there’s a million out there as everyone knows, so I’m just continuing to research. Thanks for everyone’s input thus far!

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On a limited budget for a cabin cruiser I would seriously look for a well maintained older boat.
Something with a head/shower, galley, and cabin.

In the PACNW pilothouse designs are the sought after boats because of the enclosed raised helm station. Here are some really popular options.

Willard 30 pilothouse (this is a true trawler)
Nordic Tug 26 (my first love)

Bayliner 2859 (A great family cabin cruiser, and very popular design)
Seasport 27 (probably the most popular charter boat in Alaska. A bit small cabin, but huge fishing cockpit)
Tollycraft (beautiful boats)
Uniflight (classic design and the older models came with a raised pilothouse)

You can learn a lot (and have fun) with a used 18-20 ft runabout with an outboard.

There’s a nice Williard 30 for sale in Tacoma that you can grab for about $20k. I’ve seen it and it’s okay. They are advertising here on TF

Have decided I’m pretty set on an outboard runabout. Really liking the 20’ and 23’ Rossiters but they are spendy. Does everyone think a deep V outboard would be a good platform to start on? Any other options in this vein that would be better/worse? Thanks all.

adamb.hicks4 said:

Have decided I’m pretty set on an outboard runabout. Really liking the 20’ and 23’ Rossiters but they are spendy. Does everyone think a deep V outboard would be a good platform to start on? Any other options in this vein that would be better/worse? Thanks all.

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I have to disagree with the runabout recommendations...
Ask yourself why a trawlers appeals to you? And also what part of that is satisfied by a runabout?
If the simplicity of an outboard is attractive there are trailerable pocket trawlers. When I think of a trawler... even a micro one like a C Dory it's the ability to travel... medium to long distance and to stay over nights aboard. A CDory, Roxborough, CutWater, Ranger tug and others allow cruising to a distant location and staying over night(s). A runabout is a day boat that provides none of the trawler characteristics.
To me runabouts as a prelim to trawlers would be similar to trying day hikes to see if you would like a self container RV, motorhome or 5th wheel. There are more differences than similarities.
We started boating with a 24 ft i/O Cruiser and it convinced us we liked cruising but needed a different boat to fully enjoy cruising. A runabout would never have exposed us to the appealing aspects of cruising.
Just something to think about... define carefully how you want to use the boat, musts, wants and don't wants... all in writing. Then go walk docks to find others doing what you want to do and ask what they like about their boats that fits with their cruising style.
Thinking ahead let's you buy your second boat up front and avoid a costly swap to get what you really needed/wanted.
Consider renting / chartering as a way to explore different styles and to evaluate how well each satisfies your desires.

Agreed with Don. A runabout is a fine choice for its purpose, but it is not really related at all to operation or lifestyle of a trawler or even any small cabin cruiser.

A think a first question to ask is whether you are interested to spend nights on the boat. There are many other differences but that is a fundamental one.

Here is something from the OP.... " I am weighing the Great Loop at some point but have little experience at the helm of any boat larger than a jon."

If a person want to climb the boating ladder the old way... jon boat, to runabout, to small cruiser, to trawler... I say "good for him". Most of the better boaters I know came up that way.

Too many from nowhere to trawler as first boat (or similar vessel) have found their way into trouble one way or another.

You can learn a bunch from the deck of a runabout as well as a trawler about boating in general...many here did. Eventually the time will come to move up...some of us did it in decades, some may do it in years...it all depends on exposure and desire to learn.

I like the Rosboroughs but I’m doubting how much fun I could have with it on the Ohio. Don’t think I’d be as likely to take it out to just run across the river to eat or up river to hang out at the quarry. A decent sized runabout with a bimini seems more conducive to entertaining friends (with kids) and toting skiers and tubes. I just think I’d be more enthusiastic about getting out on a runabout at first vs the small trawler.

adamb.hicks4 said:

I like the Rosboroughs but I’m doubting how much fun I could have with it on the Ohio. Don’t think I’d be as likely to take it out to just run across the river to eat or up river to hang out at the quarry. A decent sized runabout with a bimini seems more conducive to entertaining friends (with kids) and toting skiers and tubes. I just think I’d be more enthusiastic about getting out on a runabout at first vs the small trawler.

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If you truly aspire to "Loop" or any other med to long distance cruising a trailerable cabin type Cruiser will allow you to transport it to many very interesting and enjoyable cruising areas. That type of experience will provide a much better base to decide whether a different / larger cabin vessel would be of interest.
If your only / primary interest is entertaining friends / relatives and tubing / water skiing... by all means a run about will satisfy that interest. I stand by my point that tubing, skiing or general entertaining via day trips on the water will do little to help you decide if you want to venture out for days or weeks at a time, never mind committing to looping.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a family having fun days on the water... I did that as a kid but it wasn't until my wife and I cruised for several weeks that we jointly concluded we enjoyed cruising to distant locations more than just spending a day on the water. It meant we needed to start looking for a better cruising boat. We are now on our 3rd boat and consider it our ideal and likely last boat... I know famous last words!

If you delete or downplay your goal of looping, I agree a runabout is an ideal and very typical starter boat.

adamb.hicks4 said:

Have decided I’m pretty set on an outboard runabout. Really liking the 20’ and 23’ Rossiters but they are spendy. Does everyone think a deep V outboard would be a good platform to start on? Any other options in this vein that would be better/worse? Thanks all.

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@Adam, along the lines of what everyone else has said, best recommendation is forget the runabout. I assume you have a truck and will trailer it, which seems much more desirable than paying hundreds a month on a marina wet slip.

But you're out here with us in the PNW. Boating sucks 8 months a year unless you have a pilothouse and a little bulkhead heater. Then it's wonderful. The winters are gorgeous for boating... with a pilothouse with heater!

Likely you're feeling intimidated by anything bigger than a bathtub. Seriously don't worry about it because a few lessons in handling will get you up to speed quickly.

For this first boat don't spend tons of money. Again, I'd recommend you go look at that Williard in Tacoma if it's still available. A perfect "learner" trawler, plus it has great features like a pilothouse, bathroom, bunk to sleep, galley to cook, diesel not gas outboard. (BTW, no, I'm not a broker and have no connection to the seller).

Or something similar to that.

From the OP....
" I’d prefer something classy that will manage larger inland rivers as we live on the Ohio. Thanks for the input!"

Says he is visiting the PNW, but sounds like his main use is in/near Ohio.

Trailering can be a nightmare if you don't have experience doing so. Launching solo or with an inexperienced person can be problematic especially if winds and waves are present. Trailing also takes away time. Cost of course is less and moving around is cheaper yet stress is higher.