From sailboat to trawler...but which one?

[CapnD]

Howdy, sailors. Long-time sailor, myself. I currently own a 30' sailboat, but since turning 70--still in fine fettle!--my thoughts have been turning to trawlers. I've always liked the look, but back where I hail from, they were always referred to as 'stink pots'. We were somehow 'purer' for using sail...then spending 80% of our cruising time with the Yanmar shaking our teeth. I have looked at Grand Banks, but they don't seem as sea kindly as I'd like (married, you know?). I have a budget of $150k. I know this might be a seriously frustrating thing to ask (as everyone has his/her opinions), but any suggestions for a trawler in my price range that is in the 40+ LOA category? Thanks in advance!

 

[dhays]

Welcome. Many long time sailors around here. I made the move about 8 years ago.

The most common, and best, advice is to try chartering before you buy. You can charter different designs and sizes of boats to get an idea of what things work for you and your wife. You will discover what you don't like, what you like, things you really want, and things that you decide are critical. This will best inform your choices as you look at boats.

How and where you intend to use the boat will also dictate what to look for. Do you want to go fast, or are you content with continuing with the slow life? How much range, water, black water tankage, etc... will you need for your envisioned activities?

You mentioned 40'+ LOA. Do you really need and want that much boat? Costs go up dramatically as you increase the size. Additionally, the amount of work goes up as well. I'm younger than you, but find that I have given up trying to keep a boat clean and shiny. Or I should say my back has given up.

A 30' sailboat is still a relatively light and nimble boat. A 40'+ trawler is not. So one suggestion I would make is to not buy more boat than you need. That flies in the face of many who argue (for good reason) to buy your second boat first.

Lots of words to say that I have no idea at all as to a good recommendation for you at that price point. Others here have much better knowledge and experience. I just have words.

 

[DavidM]

What do you mean by “seakindly”.

If you mean a boat that you can comfortably cruise to semi-blue waters like the Caribbean, then you will find few options, the Kady Krogen 42 being one of them.

If you want a boat to cruise in coastal waters but one that does not rock and roll in heavy winds, then you probably need a hydraulically stabilized boat but those are rare in your price range.

But if you want a boat for coastal cruising and if you can accept the rocking and rolling in heavy winds/seas (or stay in port) then the Grand Banks and similar trawlers should fill the bill.

FWIW, the difference between a sailboat and a trawler in heavy seas- 20+ kts of wind and/or 6+’ seas is that the sailboat will be healed over and just bounce around a bit but stay on one tack, but the unstabilized and unballasted trawler like the Grand Banks is going to rock back and forth quite a bit in those conditions.

I took my Mainship 34 across to Catalina island from Long Beach in those conditions and it wasn’t fun and we should have stayed home. But 90% of the time the wind and seas are lighter and the crossing is a pleasure.

David

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[O C Diver]

Echoing what has been already said, you will find significantly more space inside and out on a 30' trawler than a 30' sailboat. I would guess a 36' trawler has twice the space of a 30' sailboat.

For the money you're willing to invest, stabilizers probably aren't going to be part of the package. The nice thing about trawlers is the ability to travel on a straight line with a reasonable expectation of 6 to 8 knots (depending on the thickness of your wallet). As a result, it's easier to avoid bad weather and stay put on bad forecasts. I did mostly coastal cruising and was usually able to anchor in protecting waters each night.

Ted

 

[CapnD]

Interesting. We're in the PNW, so our cruising grounds (Columbia River now) will encompass the San Juans, Nia Bay, etc. I definitely like the salty look of a GB 42. I guess that's where I got stuck in the 40s. Being a boat Jack-of-all-trades, I understand the significance of adding 10 to 14 more feet to a vessel. You're right about this--trawlers are FAR more roomy. This is a great start, both to my search and to my membership here. Thanks, y'all!

 

[BruceK]

Welcome Aboard!
A 30ft trawler will have more space than a 30ft sailboat but not enough space for many couples. I`d suggest 35-40 ft as a better option, but space varies a lot boat to boat. Don`t exclude the GB42 that attracted you but a GB36 might well be enough boat.

 

[SteveK]

Fifteen years ago I sold my 30' Catalina which filled my need to sail for pleasure. That was after earlier years crew on sailboats in races.
My GB36, a trawler was a bucket list boat I had eyed since the seventies because of the iconic look, but was not ready for as I worked my way through a number of boats that had the speed to get me there and back, as I did not have the time to go slow.

My current boat was based on all previous types and sizes under 40 feet. Your plan to consider 40+ I applaud.
Boats in the 30-40 range, I had 3 were always big but not big enough. More expensive to operate, moorage & repairs, but were still just boats.
My 45 (marinas say 50) is a home away from home. If/when we have guests there is still room. Consider the Bayliner 45.

 

[Hippocampus]

Been there done that as they say. Was fortunate enough to have friends who explained to me the decision wasn’t brand or size but rather semi displacement v full displacement for a coastal cruiser.
Virtually all sail monohulls regardless of size are full displacement boats designed to travel below hull speed. Motor boats come full displacement (nordhavn, KK, Northern Marine etc.), semi displacement (most recreational trawlers) and planing (express cruisers). It’s the transition from full displacement to semi or planing that’s your major change coming from sail.
As you go away from EU-A full displacement hulls seaworthiness declines as does comfort quotient. But for coastal cruising full displacement makes little sense. You can’t speed up to make that bridge or lock opening. You can’t get where your going before the onset of weather or to dock before dark in a new to you marina. Your range for day trips is markly decreased.
We have a SeaKeeper. It costed half your budget uninstalled. But we use it rarely although it came with the boat. Our more common technique is to just speed up to decrease roll. Both semi displacement and planing hulls develop dynamic stability
when going faster than hull speed. It’s the full displacement hulls that can’t benefit from that trick and are more dependent upon some form of active stability.
Just went from Deltaville Va, to Delaware City to East Greenwich RI. Wife couldn’t do the second leg so took two guys as crew. Did it in 2 1/2 d with no stops for water or fuel. Did stop in Sandy Hook to time Hellgate and grab some sleep. Then used our berths/staterooms ( master, guest, saloon) so hot bunking was avoided. But that’s very unusual. Used the SeaKeeper for 4 h. Had the genset on for 4h. But 95%+ of our travels including the AICW are mom and pop and daytime. Buy the boat you need. Don’t go bigger than that need. Sure buy a pretty boat but only after defining your needs.
Regardless of what you end up with have a AIS transceiver and a decent radar. It will save your bacon if you’re on the water a lot. We had dense fog for nearly all of our recent trip. It wouldn’t be possible to do safely without both. We used a spotter and a watchstander most of the time.But all too often the spotter wasn’t as good as the instruments. Particularly in NYC and near the LI sound race. Our particular issue was going through the tight spots and avoiding the push barges. Here AIS gave us the data quickly and at distance so we could speed up or slow down to avoid getting near them. Being a transceiver traffic knows your name and sees you.point of closest approach is immediately obvious to you and them. VHF conversations are possible. While Radar helped as our eyes in the fog. Didn’t get any “state intentions “ calls and had no drama at all. The one exception was going through the defunct railroad bridge at cape may. Here the thrusters helped line us up correctly when we got close enough to see things and deal with the bit of swirl in the current from it.