Fu Hwa or ???????

[ForeverYoung]

We are looking for a 90% ready-to-go 36' or 38' used trawler, and are considering one of several makers. Age is 1984-1999, with a budget of $50,000 to $100,000 maximum. We want to cruise, not spend excessive time working on any boat -- some changes will need to be made on any boat we select, we know, and we also know we will not find the "perfect" trawler.

What are your opinions on a Fu Hwa (lower end of budget, a Grand Banks (higher end) or any others that we might consider?

We are an older couple with all adult children so two staterooms are more than adequate. We plan to spend our summers in our home state and winters cruising Florida and Bahamas, with the trawler moored in FL for convenience.

Suggestions and comments appreciated.

 

[CPseudonym]

Smack in the middle of your range you should find Monk 36'. In my humble opinion probably the pick of the litter as they typically came stock with all fiberglass decks and just enough exterior teak for you to know its a boat.

Good luck with your search and welcome.

 

[BobH]

Foreveryoung, have just what you are looking for. '86 Present, two cabins, two heads, new radar/chartplotter and much else. Prepared the boat for the Great Loop but decided that was not our cup of tea and would like to get back into a sailboat.


Located in Kemah, I can give you a link to the YW listing if interested.

 

[DavidM]

I will strongly second the Monk.


The low end TTs can be highly variable. Some yards and crews built them right and others were crap. A good friend of mine sawed off the superstructure of his TT and rebuilt it from scratch- totally rotted out.


Grand Banks and Monk supervised the crews in Taiwan and got a decent product. Monks are now built in Nova Scotia.


Here is a good read on the good, the bad and the ugly of the TTs: http://www.baris.net/boats/lf3/pdf/articles/venerable%20taiwanese_trawlers.pdf


Also read Jack Horner's review of the Monk 36: BoatUS - Boat Reviews - Monk 36


David

 

[bayview]

the boats you are looking at have a lot of teak. Teak = work.


Look at some US boats not called trawlers for comparison. ex Carver 36'

 

[FF]

winters cruising Florida and Bahamas, with the trawler moored in FL for convenience.

Let me know when you need a Hurricane Hole storage.

"the boats you are looking at have a lot of teak. Teak = work."

Plan B is to varnish the teak 3 or more times , not fancy , you only want zero bare wood,then PAINT all the teak trim.

Paint will go 3 or more years with no effort , and the next owner can easily strip the paint down to the quick varnish job with chemical paint remover.

 

[ForeverYoung]

Fu-Hwa or ??????

Thanks for all the advice. The Monk is a good boat, in fact the first one we looked at. But the interior wasn't exactly what we were looking for.

But, we did locate a 36' Grand Banks (1986) and are in final negotiations now. It is as perfect for us as anything we have seen, and is in a ready-to-go condition, so any work will be minimal.

Thanks again for your advice.