Trawlers and skiffs

Hi, I am looking for a trawler that can carry a 17’ skiff. Is that a crazy? Any thoughts on this? I have a 17’ Hewes skiff and would love to fish the Bahamas and of course US flats. I’m willing to make some modification for davits and mounting. The skiff is around 1250 lbs. not sure how this would impact COG. I saw a C&L 46 that appears to have potential. Can the motor of the skiff extend over the transom of the trawler.
Thx in advance!
Billy

If I were looking to carrying something that big and heavy, I'd be thinking many 60 footers are too small. You could tow it with much less boat than you'd need to carry it on deck, but towing comes with it's own issues.

Welcome aboard. Most trawlers in that size range won’t be able to carry that size and weight aboard. Towing is much more doable.

I would tow.

Either a 17 footer on davits or towing, marinas can be a bit of an issue...but anchoring out is easy....especially with a nice skiff to go ashore in.

Lots of people tow all sorts of boats to the Bahamas... not sure what additional regs you have to adhere to in the Bahamas.

We looked at a Hatteras 58LRC that could have handled it on the flybridge but I don’t think you will find many 46’ boats that will do it on top of the boat.

Thank you. I’m concerned about towing the skiff in less than very calm seas. It is a skinny water boat and does not like much in the way of waves. Does the weight make the trawler top heavy or is it too much for the typical structure of the deck? Or just to much length?
I appreciate the info! This is a great site!

Both, it is pretty heavy for a 46’ boat. Also quite large. It would take a crane that would be unusually large for this size boat. Usually dinghies are about 700 to 800 pounds in this size range. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done but this skiff is really large and heavy.

Putting that much weight aloft would be a big concern to me. Could seriously compromise rough weather handling.

Friends have a Great Harbor N47 that has a huge foredeck/bow area. I always joked that it'd be perfect for a flats boat and that if it were mine I'd still have my old Egret 167 up there...

DWJensen said:

Friends have a Great Harbor N47 that has a huge foredeck/bow area. I always joked that it'd be perfect for a flats boat and that if it were mine I'd still have my old Egret 167 up there...

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Storing it on the bow and on top of the sundeck are two different things. Differences in height above the water.

A year or two ago, a large Nordhavn was towing a sizeable tender (38+ feet if I remember). They towed it very long distances across open ocean. The setup parted and they lost the towed boat and eventually found it a week or so later.

They towed in very difficult conditions - worse conditions that you'd want to be in in a well found boat, and it worked for a long time.

They had a special towing bridle fabricated. I have no idea what it was or how to go about doing something similar, but my strong sense is towing is the answer for you. There are towing solutions out there but they are not the run-of-the-mill rope and caribiner type setups commonly used for dinghys.

Good luck. Wish I had a link or something for you.

Peter

Comodave said:

Storing it on the bow and on top of the sundeck are two different things. Differences in height above the water.

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No argument on that point. I guess I didn't see where this discussion was about mounting a boat up high...

Maybe a retired purse seiner? Their skiffs were much heavier than this one.

I have 54’ of boat and a 1500lb crane. While the weight is not an issue the length would give me trouble. I currently have a 12’ dingy. Even at 12’ I have 18” sticking off the back deck. There is only enough room for me to walk around the rest of the dingy. I could add 5 more feet of dingy but then everyone would be hitting it with their head as they came up the stairs. No to mention you would need to climb over the dingy to reach the starboard side of the boat.

50’ Post with a 12’6” tender. I think you’re going to need a pretty big boat for your skiff.

My slip neighbor sunk and lost his dinghy while towing along the Texas coast when he was hit by a storm. Had to cut it loose and left it drifting submerged.

I have been in a few storms along the Atlantic coast that I am pretty sure would have sunk my dinghy if I were towing.

OTOH I ran into a guy towing a 16’ center console with his 38’ trawler in the Abacos. He obviously hadn’t been in a bad enough storm yet.

David

Still think it would be a big boat to carry a 16 foot skiff (size and weight wise). So I would think towing if you are willing to learn the process.

Full time towing is always dependent on waters towed, weather forecast, towing rig, vessel towed, combination or towing/towed vessel and speed, towed vessel loading, and ability to change towing rig while underway towing. There may be more, but have learned these in years of assistance towing and towing my own dinghies.

There is always a risk of towing the dinghy, just like there is a risk of the mothership catching fire or sinking... many times the towed dinghy , even with a life raft handy, it can be a welcome sight.

There were days where I got underway with a dinghy stowed on board that I would have reconsidered if I was towing a large skiff. Even then I saw boats towing dinghies pass me where the dinghy/mothership were happily cruising along.

So there are compromises. Had I kept my boat when I moved to Florida.... I definitely would have bought a skiff to tow to the Keys and the Bahamas. I guess it depends on how important a good fishing/diving platform is to one's cruising style.

If one does start towing a larger vessel they ever have, like many boating endeavors, start with easy experiences and work your way up. It's jumping in with 2 feet that can get us all in trouble.

A good source of towing information might be an local assistance tower. Buy them a cool one and pick their brain for the combo you plan to tow.

We towed a Grady White 20' Adventurer, behind a 42 foot Symbol. Most of the boats we see towed in Florida, had a special fitting fabricated to attach the tow bridle, just above the waterline. Also fit a bilge alarm with a good noise maker and strobe light if the bilge is accumulating water. I know that some of those skiffs have the deck pretty well covered with water tight hatches--if yours does, that would be a good feature for a low freeboard boat.

Your biggest problem will be handling the skiff when you come to dock, or even anchor. The marinas may require a substantial size slip, so that the skiff does not obstruct the maeryneuvering of other boats.

We also carried a 12 1/2 foot RIB, with a 25 hp OB 9 gallons of fuel and battery. We modified the aft deck and transom of our Cal Cruising 46 (pilot house motor sailer. The boat was brought up over the transom into a cradle with an electric winch--we also used a block and tackle hung from a 9' tall SS pipe Radar arch on the transom, to bring the bow and tow eye to the level of the trailer roller on a SS rod which went athwart ships between the aft leg of the radar arch. The outboard and stern hung over the trailer roller by about 18"--no problem with that. We carried that from Alaska to Pensacola via Panama Canal with no problems. We also could launch and retrieve while still running at 7 knots.

You probably will get the space on the foredeck of sport fisher Also the weight will have less effect on the center of gravity, than on a flying bridge or aft davits (aft davits being the worse choice in my opinion.)

Think of this as a great opportunity to buy another boat. You need to buy your trawler first & then get the biggest dinghy that it will carry. If you plan to use davits then nothing wider than the transom.

Carl Martin said:

Think of this as a great opportunity to buy another boat. You need to buy your trawler first & then get the biggest dinghy that it will carry. If you plan to use davits then nothing wider than the transom.

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I think he lokes fishing and the Hewes skiff is probably exactly what he wants.

Getting it to the Bahamas. towed behind a trawler is no big deal except for the weather windows. The Keys/other US fishing are even easier. That's if the trawler isn't big enough to take aboard/on davits.

Yes.... the motor can stick out. My rigid 12 foot dingy and engine was wider than my trawler...you just have to be careful around docks.

Yes, you can have your dinghy stick out past the end of your transom. It's not very smart but you can do it. You can also tow a boat that's too big to get on board. Again, not very smart but you can do it.

I guess the definition of smart must not include enough experience to think both are no big deal as long as one is aware if the risks and takes precautions/practices in suitable situations.

My first reaction would NOT be to get rid of my skiff or not take it to great fishing grounds.... at least not untill I tried and decided for myself either or both were bad ideas.

While I never took my boat to the Bahamas nor towed my dinghy more than a few times, strapping the dinghy down to a sturdy cradle on the upper deck offers great peace of mind.

One of the occasional stories I hear from the Bahamas and Caribbean is the loss of a dinghy and or outboard. Pirates of the anchorage. For me, that was enough to improve my technique of lifting the boat onto the cradle for the night. As with anything, practice and improvement of technique, reduced time to a minor inconvenience. There's also a lot to be said for the dinghy not banging or rubbing against the hull.

As far as weight on the upper deck, you may have to be diligent about removing weight before hoisting aboard. Fuel at 8 pounds per gallon, and other easily removed items, need to remain on the lower deck. If it were me, I would remove everything reasonable and then get an accurate weight before going any further. If a boat trailer is available, most towns have places to accurately weigh the trailer, with and without the boat.

I saw a boat at the Crisfield marina with two large motorcycles on the upper deck. The owner was very adept at lowering them with a boat crane onto the finger pier. There was also a serious dinghy on the upper deck. Know what the real weight is before deciding one way or the other.

Ted

I have an 1820 Action Craft and a 40' Mainship. My wife and I have been spending between 3 weeks and two months a year in the Bahamas every year since 2007. At this point I primarily go over there to bonefish and freedive.

Many, many times I have wanted to tow the skiff over, but I have never done it, though I know lots of people who do it every trip. Counting over and back as two crossings, I have crossed the stream to the Bahamas about 50 times and I am always very, very careful about weather windows. About 20 of those crossings I could have run the skiff over it was so calm. Another twenty would have been OK towing it. Five of them would have been really challenging with a tow. And the last five I am pretty darn sure we would have lost the skiff and possibly put the big boat in trouble as well.

In the end, I have decided it is just not worth it. Instead I have a really good tender (a tricked out 11'6 Highfield classic with a 20hp electric start Merc). I usually use it to get to the flats, then get out and wade. I bring a push pole with me as well and can stand on the yeti box I use as a seat and pole it, but most of the time I wade. It's a good dive platform as well.

Here are my random thoughts.

It's darn near impossible to pole and fish at the same time, so if you don't have another person with you who can pole you are better off wading in most situations. A trolling motor in shallow water will spook bones most of the time.

Bahamian law technically says you can't flats fish without a licensed Bahamian guide on board. Most areas don't enforce that law, but some, notably Andros and Eleuthera, are very serious about it. Wading from a dinghy doesn't stir anyone up, but showing up in a skiff with a poling platform on it will attract lots more attention and could get you in trouble.

My skiff tows pretty well at up to about 8 knots. Above that it gets squirrly.

You will burn more fuel.

If there are three or more of you aboard that are good boat handlers it will be easier. If just two, like us, it means you are singlehanding into docks and anchoring while your mate runs the skiff.

A 17' Hewes would be a great Bahamas platform but it is too big to put on anything under 70'.

My buddy has a 62' Princess with a 14' Marsh Skiff on the hydraulic swim platform. Last year my brother and I helped him deliver the boat to the Bahamas (his first trip with the skiff) and "guided" him on some of my favorite flats. We caught a ton of bones, more than I do wading, but it was a lot of work having two real boats to deal with. We went out through Ft. Pierce inlet on the way over on an outgoing tide with standing 6' waves, it was rougher than forecast. Despite being tied down with four 2" ratchet straps the skiff slipped sideways and tore one of the pad eyes out of the platform. It also filled halfway up with water. While we were over there the jackplate broke with the plate raised all the way up and it had other issues as well. I ended up doing a LOT of mechanical repairs.

A microskiff like my buddies might fit on a bigger trawler. Microskiffs work great for bonefishing, but are not great for diving (too tippy) or getting groceries, bringing the dog to the beach etc.

Hope that helps!

Doug

Keep in mind that your fwd stateroom hatch is there for escape purposes also. Even though the Hewes may fit on the bow it will probably restrict the hatch from opening unless you're on something in the 70 ft range.

You also have a 1200 lb moment trying to rip itself off your deck. That moment is transferred into the upper deck by whatever your blocking and backing system is and then transferred into the upper deck/hull seam. Also a wave over the bow will try to float the dinghy which can be a considerable force.

If you're towing at least you can cut it lose. But as pointed out, that has its limitations also.

I towed for years watching the weather window without issue. If you go that way, buy a suction cup rearview mirror on Amazon to watch the dinghy. Much less neck pain than looking over your shoulder.

One of our vessels previous owners towed a 13 foot Boston Whaler around the Bahamas. No bad things happened that I could find.