40-60 Foot Trawler Wanted

[Aurelia-Lang]

We are searching for a 40-60 foot trawler to liveaboard. Ideally on the west coast of the USA/Canada. Some of our must haves are:

• 2+ staterooms, prefer full size bed or larger for both
• Flybridge
• No aft cabins
• Under $500,000

Some models that we like are: North Pacific 49/52 and Seahorse 52. We are actively watching YachtWorld and working with a broker, but if anybody has leads on boats coming to market, that would be helpful.

We are ready to buy with cash pending the usual survey, etc. Thanks!

 

[tiltrider1]

Do you know where you plan to Moore it? Liveaboard moorage is currently easier to get but there is still a waiting period her in the PNW.

 

[Portage_Bay]

As tiltrider says moorage is tight. Especially for boats over 40 ft. Get it lined up, contract signed and start paying asap. I've had to do that with my last two purchases. Make sure it has liveaboard privileges.

 

[READY]

Not sure if this would work for you but has a slip and live aboard possible. We'll under your budget.Post in thread '1978 Egg Harbor 48’ Everett WA. $149,950' 1978 Egg Harbor 48’ Everett WA. $149,950

 

[READY]

I did not see any closure on this so perhaps still for sale?
Thread '2003 Pacific Trawler 40 in turnkey condition, lying Bainbridge Island WA -- $224,000' 2003 Pacific Trawler 40 in turnkey condition, lying Bainbridge Island WA -- $224,000

 

[sjisailor]

Welcome! Just wanted to +100 the advice to get on liveaboard lists. Your requirements are extremely reasonable WRT the boat, and the main difficulty is likely to be funding a liveaboard permitted slip.

The liveaboard wait lists are several years (or more) at the marinas I'm familiar with, although I do not at all have comprehensive knowledge. If you call them most marinas will try to give an honest estimate as best they can.

 

[Mako]

40-60 feet offers a big range of vessels. $500k is a very healthy budget to buy a non-project boat. West coast of USA/Canada is a large geographic range to hunt in.

You have many factor for success. What's missing is better definition of what you're looking for, so hit the road and start viewing everything you can, and you'll quickly narrow your focus.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

Do you know where you plan to Moore it? Liveaboard moorage is currently easier to get but there is still a waiting period her in the PNW.

We plan to have moorage only until summer of 2025 - after that we will not have moorage, we will just be out & about (our plan is to anchor as much as possible). We are hoping for moorage in Port Orchard (our daughter will continue at her high school in Gig Harbor until the end of the school year). If liveaboard doesn't work out while we have the boat at a dock, we will just continue to stay in our apartment and officially move aboard once we leave the dock.
We had assumed you needed to have a boat before getting on a waitlist. We'll start calling around to see if we can do this before officially having a boat.
Thank you.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

As tiltrider says moorage is tight. Especially for boats over 40 ft. Get it lined up, contract signed and start paying asap. I've had to do that with my last two purchases. Make sure it has liveaboard privileges.

We had assumed you needed to have a boat before getting on a waitlist. We'll start calling around to see if we can do this before officially having a boat.
Thank you.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

Not sure if this would work for you but has a slip and live aboard possible. We'll under your budget.Post in thread '1978 Egg Harbor 48’ Everett WA. $149,950' 1978 Egg Harbor 48’ Everett WA. $149,950

Wow. that is a lot of wood to maintain on the outside! It looks very well kept though. While this is quite different than what we have in mind, it is something we could consider down the road (if we don't find our dream boat!).
Thank you!

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

I did not see any closure on this so perhaps still for sale?
Thread '2003 Pacific Trawler 40 in turnkey condition, lying Bainbridge Island WA -- $224,000' 2003 Pacific Trawler 40 in turnkey condition, lying Bainbridge Island WA -- $224,000

Thanks for passing this along. Although, I am not seeing that it has a second stateroom - not shown in any pictures and not mentioned in their ad. That is definitely a requirement for us.
Thanks though.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

Welcome! Just wanted to +100 the advice to get on liveaboard lists. Your requirements are extremely reasonable WRT the boat, and the main difficulty is likely to be funding a liveaboard permitted slip.

The liveaboard wait lists are several years (or more) at the marinas I'm familiar with, although I do not at all have comprehensive knowledge. If you call them most marinas will try to give an honest estimate as best they can.

We had assumed you needed to have a boat before getting on a waitlist. We'll start calling around to see if we can do this before officially having a boat.
Thank you.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

40-60 feet offers a big range of vessels. $500k is a very healthy budget to buy a non-project boat. West coast of USA/Canada is a large geographic range to hunt in.

You have many factor for success. What's missing is better definition of what you're looking for, so hit the road and start viewing everything you can, and you'll quickly narrow your focus.

Thanks! We have honestly been going to boat shows for almost 20 years and we've been actively looking at boats for sale online for a few years (just to know what's out there & what we like). We definitely have specific boats we like, but there just aren't any of those for sale right now! (well, not on the west coast) We'll keep our eyes out & visit any boat that looks interesting! Thank you.

 

[Portage_Bay]

We had assumed you needed to have a boat before getting on a waitlist. We'll start calling around to see if we can do this before officially having a boat.
Thank you.

You don't need a boat to be on most wait lists. You will need to know the size of the boat. Get on every marina wait list that you think you'll be happy with. Once you move to the top of the list if you're not ready to occupy the slip then what happens next depends upon each marina's policies. How long can you keep the slip before occupying it? Can you sublease if you aren't ready to take the slip? If you turn down the offer where do you next stand on the list? Next inline? At the bottom? Best to ask. Each marina is different.

I have found that being polite but checking in often helps. Then jump when the chance comes up. My last two searches for a slip I went from 19 to 12 in one day then offered the slip in a few weeks. I didn't take that one, the slip offered had challenges I didn't want to deal with. The slip I have now I was told the wait list was long, very long. I was in in just a few months. I was in one marina office while the staff worked down the wait list trying to locate interested persons. Most didn't answer the phone or would not immediately commit. Many were like me, on multiple lists so you can move up quickly unless it is a very popular marina.

When purchasing a boat, at least for me, the time between accepted offer to ready to get underway was months. Negotiation then getting work done that I knew needed to be done and all the surprises found while there. Both purchases the boat was on the hard for 3 to 4 months paying slip fees the whole time. And that was after paying slip fees while searching. In my mind money well spent. I'd hate to have a boat with no place to go and pay transient rates for months and needing to move about.

 

[Portage_Bay]

We plan to have moorage only until summer of 2025 - after that we will not have moorage, we will just be out & about (our plan is to anchor as much as possible).
Thank you.

I've lived aboard off and on for many years in the PNW. The plan to anchor out year round is not in my opinion realistic. In winter you'll experience powerful storms, lots of rain, sometimes snow and ice. Not all the time of course but enough that life at anchor won't be relaxing or enjoyable in winter.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

You don't need a boat to be on most wait lists. You will need to know the size of the boat. Get on every marina wait list that you think you'll be happy with. Once you move to the top of the list if you're not ready to occupy the slip then what happens next depends upon each marina's policies. How long can you keep the slip before occupying it? Can you sublease if you aren't ready to take the slip? If you turn down the offer where do you next stand on the list? Next inline? At the bottom? Best to ask. Each marina is different.

I have found that being polite but checking in often helps. Then jump when the chance comes up. My last two searches for a slip I went from 19 to 12 in one day then offered the slip in a few weeks. I didn't take that one, the slip offered had challenges I didn't want to deal with. The slip I have now I was told the wait list was long, very long. I was in in just a few months. I was in one marina office while the staff worked down the wait list trying to locate interested persons. Most didn't answer the phone or would not immediately commit. Many were like me, on multiple lists so you can move up quickly unless it is a very popular marina.

When purchasing a boat, at least for me, the time between accepted offer to ready to get underway was months. Negotiation then getting work done that I knew needed to be done and all the surprises found while there. Both purchases the boat was on the hard for 3 to 4 months paying slip fees the whole time. And that was after paying slip fees while searching. In my mind money well spent. I'd hate to have a boat with no place to go and pay transient rates for months and needing to move about.

Great points! We will call around to get on waitlists. Thank you.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

I've lived aboard off and on for many years in the PNW. The plan to anchor out year round is not in my opinion realistic. In winter you'll experience powerful storms, lots of rain, sometimes snow and ice. Not all the time of course but enough that life at anchor won't be relaxing or enjoyable in winter.

Yep! We grew up here and know what winters are like. There may be times when we get a slip somewhere for periods of time, but we aren't planning to have a "home" slip. And, we will be able to be quite flexible with where we go for that slip. Thanks.

 

[sjisailor]

We plan to have moorage only until summer of 2025 - after that we will not have moorage, we will just be out & about (our plan is to anchor as much as possible). We are hoping for moorage in Port Orchard (our daughter will continue at her high school in Gig Harbor until the end of the school year). If liveaboard doesn't work out while we have the boat at a dock, we will just continue to stay in our apartment and officially move aboard once we leave the dock.
We had assumed you needed to have a boat before getting on a waitlist. We'll start calling around to see if we can do this before officially having a boat.
Thank you.

Many marinas have winter moorage available from October until May. If you then add some anchoring, sublet, or full price temporary moorage for a while longer, it could work out well. (The liveaboard aspect adds a complication but if you ask them, they may be a bit flexible on that for short term moorage unlike the long waits for permanent liveaboard status.)

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

Many marinas have winter moorage available from October until May. If you then add some anchoring, sublet, or full price temporary moorage for a while longer, it could work out well. (The liveaboard aspect adds a complication but if you ask them, they may be a bit flexible on that for short term moorage unlike the long waits for permanent liveaboard status.)

Thank you. This is pretty much what we are planning and have been thinking it should work out. It should also help that we will be able to be pretty flexible with where we want to grab a slip.

 

[Retriever]

Good luck with the boat hunt! Have you looked at this one, seems like it might check most of the boxes, but I've never been aboard. They didn't make many of these. https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2012-integrity-45-9055906/

Once you're empty nesters and looking for slips, you might try "full-time cruiser" instead of live aboard. Live aboard often conjures images of derelict boats and piles of stuff on the dock. There are lots of cruisers who live aboard and stay in one marina for months at a time as they move around the world. Especially if you're out of the marina regularly to go somewhere else, anchor for a few nights, etc.

I'd also reach out to current owners of boats you like. You never know when someone just needs a ready, willing buyer to nudge them to selling the boat.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

Good luck with the boat hunt! Have you looked at this one, seems like it might check most of the boxes, but I've never been aboard. They didn't make many of these. https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2012-integrity-45-9055906/

Once you're empty nesters and looking for slips, you might try "full-time cruiser" instead of live aboard. Live aboard often conjures images of derelict boats and piles of stuff on the dock. There are lots of cruisers who live aboard and stay in one marina for months at a time as they move around the world. Especially if you're out of the marina regularly to go somewhere else, anchor for a few nights, etc.

I'd also reach out to current owners of boats you like. You never know when someone just needs a ready, willing buyer to nudge them to selling the boat.

Hi! Thanks for sending the link. We do know about this one and we are definitely interested in it and have already seen it in person. This one matches our interest quite well.

Thanks for the comment about "full-time cruiser" vs "liveaboard". We will use that instead!

We have reached out to a few North Pacific 52 owners, but no one is interested is selling at this time. Darn!

Thanks for your comments!

 

[Portage_Bay]

You might consider joining a yacht club with out stations. Between out stations and reciprocals along with watching the weather forecasts you might get by without winter moorage.

 

[Aurelia-Lang]

You might consider joining a yacht club with out stations. Between out stations and reciprocals along with watching the weather forecasts you might get by without winter moorage.

Good point! Thank you for that idea.