Just Got a 50' Trawler

[AlanT]

Congratulations! I'll look out for you when you get to the PNW! What are you naming her?

 

[Dwk]

WOW, what a find! Yachtworld build description is most impressive. Congratulations!

 

[GoneDiving]

Wow. Very nice. She seems to have a lot of volume and floor space for a 17' beam.

Well done?

 

[Flybull]

Absolutely beautiful..! Great acquisition. Enjoy!

 

[KnotYet]

Prior owner reported 3gal/hr at 8 knots. Sea trial we were doing 8.5 knots at 1150 rpms. Time will tell. I suspect when I do long runs, I'll run it 1000 rpms and ~7 knots. I'm hopeful and believe it will be very efficient.

I was truly blown away by the efficiency of the new 5kw gen from Northern Lights. At 1/2 load it burns 0.28gal/hr. I thought I was going to have to suffer, but with that fuel burn rate, we can stay out for months.

Congrats, she popped up on my boat searches often due to having several features I
also was seeking. I can tell you will have a grand time getting to know each other!

 

[Wentbig]

I believe the original owner had re-calibrated the fuel injection pump to limit full throttle to 175hp. Normally this engine would be 250+hp.

My Cat 12G Motorgrader had 3306 rated at 125 hp , no turbo. It has 32,000 hours with rebuilt head.

 

[amapola]

Congratulations and welcome from SW Florida. She's a beauty!

 

[MV Caroline]

Very nice. I love the 330 series cats too We have a 3304, 7.5 kts at 2.2 GPH.
You bought a boat that looks almost new in the pictures.

 

[Kit_L]

Can someone link me to the yachtworld ad? I did click on the link on p.1, but it took me to a page of super-duper yachts instead. Has the ad been taken down, perhaps?

In any case, that engine room looks amazing, and for me personally, 50' is a perfect length for a boat that can pretty much do anything you'd want. Congratulations.

 

[grahamdouglass]

Serious looking boat. Congratulations, welcome to the forum and I think you'll find the resources on this forum are really good. The amount of collective knowledge in this forum is pretty awsome.

 

[new2trawl]

She's a beauty there matey! Looks very clean and well kept. I own a 50' myself. Good length. They ride nice.

 

[Kit_L]

And a 50' boat can be single-handed, too, if necessary, which is very handy.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

Can someone link me to the yachtworld ad? I did click on the link on p.1, but it took me to a page of super-duper yachts instead. Has the ad been taken down, perhaps?

In any case, that engine room looks amazing, and for me personally, 50' is a perfect length for a boat that can pretty much do anything you'd want. Congratulations.

It’s gone. Here’s the cached version.

https://webcache.googleusercontent....234/+&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

 

[Skag]

Thanks for the positive comments. I chose 50’ for the reasons you guys mentioned. Much bigger and I’d struggle solo.

Curious if any of you guys have had your insurance carrier require training by a USCG licensed captain and endorsement before taking the boat out solo? I guess it makes sense. I’ve got thousands of hours operating boats but they flagged me for buying a boat more than 10 feet bigger than my previous boats. So if anyone is in the Bay Area with a captains license that wants a ride and six beers an hour, let me know.

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

Keel Cooled Dry Stack?

Max - Yep. That's the one! I'm sure I'll find something to regret. Everything is built to last. I love the traditional keel cooled/dry stack arrangement with the zombie apocalypse 3306 caterpillar - nothing to fail. 4" diameter shaft.

I've seen this before. What is a keel cooled dry stack?

 

[Skag]

I've seen this before. What is a keel cooled dry stack?

Keel cooled means that the engine coolant either runs through an externally mounted exchanger or in my case inside the keel itself. My keel is a massive I beam that is boxed in with baffles, the coolant flows through it and exchanges heat directly with the sea water. The advantage is no sea water pump, strainer or heat exchanger to maintain. Dry stack just means the exhaust is not water cooled and I exhaust straight up like on a ship/tug or a tractor.

I’ve had this arrangement before and prefer it for the reliability and simplicity it offers. My prior one was a fiberglass hull so it had an externally mounted copper-nickel pipe. My new boat because it is steel just uses the metal surface of the keel to exchange heat so even simpler. Only down side I see is the crazy amount of coolant I’ll need to buy when I want to replace it (100 gallons).

 

[Newtrawlerowner]

Thanks for the explanation. Typically keel cooled means steel hull? I've also seen this term with refrigeration.

 

[Skag]

Thanks for the explanation. Typically keel cooled means steel hull? I've also seen this term with refrigeration.

Not necessarily. It is simpler. But if you have a fiberglass or wood boat you just need an external exchanger like the one in the picture attached.

 

[Art]

Keel cooler

Only down side I see is the crazy amount of coolant I’ll need to buy when I want to replace it (100 gallons).

Skag - WOW 100 gals...!! I always appreciated their simplicity, but, never realized that volume of coolant-fluid in keel coolers. I imagine different size engines have different size cooler-fluid requirements.

Do you keep the fluid mix at 50/50 Antifreeze to water?

 

[koliver]

Skag - WOW 100 gals...!!

Not always.
Many metal boats have a half pipe welded to the inside of the plating, so only the volume of 1/2 of a 2" or 3" pipe, as long as the distance between frames, or several if that isn't long enough. A simple calculation of volume will get you to the length of pipe desired.

 

[Engineman3rd]

Thanks guys - a few more pics. I wrote the big check today, so hope to have it formally in a couple days.

Craig

Beautiful and Impressive, Welcome aboard! I certainly understand the "Big Check" remark after viewing your pictures. Good Luck Capt.