When did trawlers start being called trawlers?

[GraniteStater]

Just finishing Tony Fleming's memoir. Great book although the first third is unrelated to boating and I found that part a little boring.

Interestingly, when he talks about his 20+ years at Grand Banks he never refers to any of his boats as trawlers, never uses the term at all from what I can remember.

Its only after he is fired from Grand Banks and is thinking about starting his own company that he starts referring to the popularity of "trawler" boats.

I'm curious if anyone has any idea as to when and how the term trawler became popular. Thanks

 

[O C Diver]

I don't know for sure, but my guess would be more likely with Willard boats.

Ted

 

[Portage_Bay]

It's hard to say and I don't think anyone really knows when trawlers started being called trawlers. Here's an interesting read on the subject

TRAWLERS:ORGINS OF THE SPECIES

 

[mvweebles]

I don't know for sure, but my guess would be more likely with Willard boats.

Ted

Could be. The Willard 36 was built from 1961 - 1970. 39 hulls were laid with mine being the last one. However, the sedan body style (close to 30 of the boats) were called "Cruisers" similar to Grand Banks. Around 1967, Blaine Seeley adapted the topsides into a pilothouse configuration which was called *Trawler.". Five hills were laid in this configuration. There were also a couple motor sailor boats.

Peter
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[murofrelwart]

Just finishing Tony Fleming's memoir. Great book although the first third is unrelated to boating and I found that part a little boring.

Interestingly, when he talks about his 20+ years at Grand Banks he never refers to any of his boats as trawlers, never uses the term at all from what I can remember.

Its only after he is fired from Grand Banks and is thinking about starting his own company that he starts referring to the popularity of "trawler" boats.

I'm curious if anyone has any idea as to when and how the term trawler became popular. Thanks

I can't answer your question but I too have read Tony's memoir. I found the entire book fascinating - especially his car tour throughout the African continent, including being an Ethiopian police officer for a while! Also his lifelong love for film making provides background to his amazing YouTube videos that he continues to publish.



Funfact; his inspiration for the Fleming Yacht layout came from seeing a Bayliner 4588 (not sure if this was the exact model, but it was a Bayliner) at a boat show!

 

[sean9c]

Trawlers were likely first called trawlers when they started towing a trawl net.

 

[Moonfish]

Trawlers were likely first called trawlers when they started towing a trawl net.

That would be the "correct" definition of a trawler. But the use of the term related to recreational boats that never trawl is the question, and the root of many debates on this forum!

 

[SteveK]

When this forum debut. Until then they did not exist. Seems like one name for a variety of well known boats travelling at hull speed or less even when powered to go faster.

 

[psneeld]

I remember yacht broker's and water rats calling Grand Banks and similar boats trawlers back in the late 70s when I first got interested in living aboard in the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area.

Yes I know GB never called their boats trawlers, but they were lumped into a general design that was becoming more and more popular to a select cruising group.

Much like "tugs" became a popular group a bit later.

 

[SteveK]

They were not originally called trawlers, but they became the reference for what a recreational trawler is.

 

[mvweebles]

I remember yacht broker's and water rats calling Grand Banks and similar boats trawlers back in the late 70s when I first got interested in living aboard in the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area.

Yes I know GB never called their boats trawlers, but they were lumped into a general design that was becoming more and more popular to a select cruising group.

Much like "tugs" became a popular group a bit later.

My first crush was a CHB 34 in the 80s. Heart still skips a beat.

My hunch is you are as correct as possible. Low power trawler-style boats proliferated after the gas crisis in early 1970s. Some marketing genius probably coined 'trawler' as a way to differentiate from motoryachts. Rhythmic term "Taiwan Trawler" didn't hurt either.

Other than that, I cannot think of a formal reference to 'trawler' that predates the pilothouse Willard 36 I mentioned above. That said, I cannot imagine it influence the market to any great degree.

Peter

 

[PierreR]

Peter you might be onto something there. Troller may have preceded trawler in reference to Bill Garden and Ed Monk Sr. designs. I suspect the Taiwanese coined the term with original and copy cat designs in the early 70's. The market was flooded with Taiwan and Chinese boats and it became synonymous with "Trawler"
If I recall, Bill and Ed Monk Sr. did not like the term but may have accidently gotten the term started by trying to explain their designs and inspirations.

 

[Moonfish]

I've always guessed that the origination of the trawler designation for full displacement recreational boats was not coined by Taiwan or Chinese boat yards, but by a US importer/distributor or marketing guy.

 

[PierreR]

I've always guessed that the origination of the trawler designation for full displacement recreational boats was not coined by Taiwan or Chinese boat yards, but by a US importer/distributor or marketing guy.

Yeah that is what I meant but did not say.

 

[mvweebles]

I've always guessed that the origination of the trawler designation for full displacement recreational boats was not coined by Taiwan or Chinese boat yards, but by a US importer/distributor or marketing guy.

No way Asians would come up with 'Trawler' as a marketing term. They'd come up with something more literal like "Sloth Yacht." A quick scroll through English translations on a Chinese menu is revealing. A favorite Vietnamese of mine restaurant calls meatballs "Cow Balls." They are pretty good, but not many Caucasians order them.

Peter

 

[Northern Spy]

I remember tootling around the Seneca Lake State Park Marina in my parents 1971 14' Winner looking at the "big boats" on what was called "Mahogany Row" because of all the Chris-Crafts moored there. I pointed out that I liked the brand new Gulfstar that had recently arrived. My dad scoffed, and said, "Really? All the pretty boats, and you like the trawler"?

So that was my introduction to the "T word". I think that Lazzara might have been one of the first to market the boats as a trawler in the early 70s.

Poetic justice. After messing around with a couple of sailboats for 15 years, my parents ended up owning a Mainship 34 "trawler" moored on mahogany row for 26 years.

And yes, I still like Gulfstars.
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[GrandWood]

Funfact; his inspiration for the Fleming Yacht layout came from seeing a Bayliner 4588 (not sure if this was the exact model, but it was a Bayliner) at a boat show!

Fleming yachts look a lot more like a GB Alaskan to me, even the interior layout. Personally never seen a Bayliner that looks anything like a Fleming. Just my opinion.

Seems he wrote that blurb so as not to get sued over the design :lol:

 

[mahal]

fleming yachts look a lot more like a gb alaskan to me, even the interior layout. Personally never seen a bayliner that looks anything like a fleming. Just my opinion.

Seems he wrote that blurb so as not to get sued over the design :lol:

Noooo.
Defever (designer of Alaskan) sued several, so we can't be sure about not getting sued.
[/attach]

 

[GraniteStater]

Rhythmic term "Taiwan Trawler" didn't hurt either.

Fleming called them "Taiwan Turkeys" quite a lot but I notice that name never stuck

 

[SIBERNUT]

No way Asians would come up with 'Trawler' as a marketing term. They'd come up with something more literal like "Sloth Yacht." A quick scroll through English translations on a Chinese menu is revealing. A favorite Vietnamese of mine restaurant calls meatballs "Cow Balls." They are pretty good, but not many Caucasians order them.

Peter

Next time there ask if they have any
Khoudung

 

[Delta Riverat]

I thought they were called that because they resembled the commercial fishing boats that "trawled"

The recreational ones were "trawler yachts"

 

[markpierce]

Your boat is a trawler thinking that is a requirement for posting on the trawler forum.

 

[Delta Riverat]

OK, huh?

 

[SeaDogAK]

I thought it was because Art Defever started out designing tuna trawlers before he adapted the design for pleasure boats.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Just my recollections but I remember boats that are called recreational trawlers now were called “heavy cruisers” perhaps in the early 50’s. Larger recreational boats in the slower cruiser category that weren’t under- powered eventually became “trawlers” and I have no guess as to who started it or why.
But I do wish the name heavy cruiser had stuck. I’ve always contended that weight was and is the common factor identifying the type. If your boat is too heavy and won’t plane and it’s not underpowered it’s probably a trawler.
I’m certain that running your boat as a trawler (speed wise) most of the time does not change the type of boat you have. Nor does having a FD hull. It takes a specific style and higher than usual weight to make a trawler. Most all trawlers are Semi-displacement powered boats, rather beamy and … heavy.
If they are not unusually heavy for a pleasure boat they probably are not a trawler.

 

[Nomad Willy]

OK, huh?

DR,
I believe Mark has in mind the people seeking membership in/at Trawler Form can’t be had simply by being owners of boats considered to be trawlers. Actually was actually easier than that.
There were strange notions about trawlers and TF membership in the period of approximately 07 to 2010. They would appear asking in a post on TF asking if their boat was a trawler or not. So I think at that time skippers had the misconceived notion that if they had a trawler they could be TF members.

 

[SeaDogAK]

Heavy cruiser would make me think of one of these:

 

[markpierce]

USS Salem (#139) played the role of the German pocket battleship in the movie of the of the river Platte

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-co...lphabetical-listing/s/uss-salem--ca-139-.html

 

[murofrelwart]

Fleming yachts look a lot more like a GB Alaskan to me, even the interior layout. Personally never seen a Bayliner that looks anything like a Fleming. Just my opinion.



Seems he wrote that blurb so as not to get sued over the design [emoji38]

"Another boat we studied was a Bayliner 45 Pilothouse. While not known for rugged build quality, we found the layout ingenious and interesting. I made the comment that it differed from the boats we had been considering in that it was a pilothouse design. This prompted Anton to cry “Alaskan!”—rather in the manner of Archimedes shouting “Eureka!” from his bath more than 2,000 years ago. And it was indeed a Eureka moment because it set us on the path that ultimately led to the creation of the Fleming. The Alaskan had been built by American Marine in wood in Hong Kong. The design had been introduced to provide an alternative to the Grand Banks, and it had sold well until the yard’s closure in 1974. I had an old brochure I had brought with me from papers I had cleared from my office. I dug it out and we realized that there was nothing really comparable currently on the market. Bob Dorris had been the designer of all the Alaskans except for the Alaskan 46, and he lived in Newport Beach, so we approached him. He had now been retired for a number of years and was reluctant to get back into boat design. However, he said he would look at some of his old drawings. We waited a couple of weeks but nothing was forthcoming. Anton and I were in a fever of impatience, but Bob’s nature was such that the more you pressured him the more he dug in his heels, so we dared not get too pushy. I heard that Bob’s schooner Faith was in a slip being varnished by volunteers, so I went down and offered my services. This produced the drawings almost immediately. I think that Bob was worried about the mess I might make of his varnish! We never had any intention of copying the Alaskan design, but it provided a paradigm for us to follow."

 

[SeaDogAK]

It’s funny that he says there was nothing like the Alaskans on the market, when the Defever 49, which was derived directly from the GB Alaskan, was in production at the time — and he doesn’t mention Arthur Defever’s role in designing the Alaskan. It does sound like he was trying not to get sued by Defever.