Hello from San Diego - Looking for a trawler

[Jayzona]

Hello Everyone
First, what a fabulous forum. My wife and I are in our late 50's, our 5 kids are out of the house and we have decided to buy a trawler, live aboard until retirement and then cruise the coast. I know you're all thinking this is my idea but my wife is actually 100% supportive and actually pushing me to make it happen. We own a share of a 46 foot sailboat right now and we're ready to do our own thing.

We've looked at a Defever 49, Defever 48, Hershine 48, CHB 45, Diesel Duck 41, and a Yachtfisher 48. I'm looking forward to getting your feedback and learning as much as I can so I screw up as little as possible.
Thanks in advance!
Jay

 

[Capitaine R]

Welcome Aboard.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[ksanders]

Go look at a Bayliner 4788 or Meridian 490

Also look at a Navigator of the same size range.

That way you have covered your bases in what appears to be your bujdget range and can have a comaprison.

Picture yourself actually living life. Getting on and off the boat with groceries. Making dinner, watching a movie. Doing laundry.

 

[Jayzona]

Good advice

Go look at a Bayliner 4788 or Meridian 490

Also look at a Navigator of the same size range.

That way you have covered your bases in what appears to be your bujdget range and can have a comaprison.

Picture yourself actually living life. Getting on and off the boat with groceries. Making dinner, watching a movie. Doing laundry.

Thanks that is good advice. Fortunately we've been living on our Hunter 466 for about a week a month for the last 7 years. That has given us a very realistic view of living aboard. Although, after a week we would move back home so there a lot of little things that we need to think through such as the fact that we have two dogs that need to be walked.

 

[PD Monkey]

Jayzona, I am also in San Diego (Poway) area and have been thinking about purchasing a trawler. Right now I am just in the research stage. I am thinking more of a weekend destination as opposed to a full time live aboard. I'll PM you my number, I would mind talking to someone that is "kind of" in my same situation.
Thanks and good luck!

 

[Pack Mule]

Welcome to Trawler Forum

 

[Harlyguynola]

I own a DeFever 40ft Downeast model built right there in Costa Mesa designed by the late Art DeFever who invented the Trawler so only in my opinion they are “great bones boat” I love mine

 

[LandLubberDuck]

Hi!
I’ve been searching hard in San Diego for the last month. It’s my first boat at 56 and not far from my first time ON a boat. I just had my offer accepted on a ‘79 34 Californian LRC and it is beautiful! It’s the boat that got me like my Cadillac CTS-V did when I test drove her. Looks like I’m a trawler man. Condo, bay cruising, deep sea fishing when I get a bigger live bat tank according to my friend who says 50 to small. True anyone? Anyhoo I know of some boats maybe if you haven’t found yours yet. TTFN

 

[PD Monkey]

Hi!
I’ve been searching hard in San Diego for the last month. It’s my first boat at 56 and not far from my first time ON a boat. I just had my offer accepted on a ‘79 34 Californian LRC and it is beautiful! It’s the boat that got me like my Cadillac CTS-V did when I test drove her. Looks like I’m a trawler man. Condo, bay cruising, deep sea fishing when I get a bigger live bat tank according to my friend who says 50 to small. True anyone? Anyhoo I know of some boats maybe if you haven’t found yours yet. TTFN

Did you buy Sweet Marie?

 

[Gmarr]

Another thread says it was still for sale as of 1/8

 

[Cavara49]

Hi Jay,

We are from Reno and had a 40ft Trawler in Huntington Harbor CA in the late 1990s. We started looking for another bigger, better trawler some 10 years later, but could not find a boat on the West Coast that had everything we wanted. We ended up looking on the East Coast, and it changed our lives forever.

If you are able to change coasts, you will find that boats on the East Coast outnumber the West Coast by about 100-1. Such a different lifestyle too. 400 year old towns every 25 miles or so especially from the Carolinas to the Chesapeake. Long Island Sound with Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket... Then there's Florida with the Bahamas just a 45 mile crossing. The Caribbean Loop to Panama, then north up the coast to Belize and Costa Rica. Not to mention the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway to Nova Scotia. We have had our boat 10 years, living and cruising full-time for the last 7 years and traveled over 20,000 miles. It's been awesome.

Our boat is about to go up for sale next Friday. She is a DeFever 49 Raised Pilothouse, the Classic Sen Koh model. She is stunning. New professional paint job (2017), new fuel tanks and ER redo 2013, new transmissions 2012 and new bow thruster just a year ago. She is FSBO right now, starting at the DeFever Rendezvous in Solomons MD May 17-20th. We have a website, but best to Google it, typing in: defever49rphforsale.com It will be the first line of the search response. Don't want to send you the link as it will put the whole website on this page!

At the bottom of the website is our contact info. Email or call if you have any questions whether it be about the boat or the different lifestyle on the East Coast. You can fly to see your kids, and vice versa!

Barb & Don Cavin

 

[Jayzona]

we bought a Defever 48

Hi Jay,

We are from Reno and had a 40ft Trawler in Huntington Harbor CA in the late 1990s. We started looking for another bigger, better trawler some 10 years later, but could not find a boat on the West Coast that had everything we wanted. We ended up looking on the East Coast, and it changed our lives forever.

If you are able to change coasts, you will find that boats on the East Coast outnumber the West Coast by about 100-1. Such a different lifestyle too. 400 year old towns every 25 miles or so especially from the Carolinas to the Chesapeake. Long Island Sound with Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket... Then there's Florida with the Bahamas just a 45 mile crossing. The Caribbean Loop to Panama, then north up the coast to Belize and Costa Rica. Not to mention the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Seaway to Nova Scotia. We have had our boat 10 years, living and cruising full-time for the last 7 years and traveled over 20,000 miles. It's been awesome.

Our boat is about to go up for sale next Friday. She is a DeFever 49 Raised Pilothouse, the Classic Sen Koh model. She is stunning. New professional paint job (2017), new fuel tanks and ER redo 2013, new transmissions 2012 and new bow thruster just a year ago. She is FSBO right now, starting at the DeFever Rendezvous in Solomons MD May 17-20th. We have a website, but best to Google it, typing in: defever49rphforsale.com It will be the first line of the search response. Don't want to send you the link as it will put the whole website on this page!

At the bottom of the website is our contact info. Email or call if you have any questions whether it be about the boat or the different lifestyle on the East Coast. You can fly to see your kids, and vice versa!

Barb & Don Cavin

Thanks Don. I just saw this note. We ended up purchasing a 1981 Defever 48 Tri-cabin LRC and moved aboard on 2/1. It's been a blast but we've done a lot of work to the boat and we have a lot more to do. 10 more years of work and then we'll start our Great Loop! Hope you had success getting your 49 sold.