When did trawlers start being called trawlers?

[hollywood8118]

This topic has been debated here many times, the when and why doesn't really matter does it.
The reality is the term differentiates the slow(er) moving boats that are displacement or semi displacement from "motor yachts" sort of by looks more than anything else.
HW

 

[PierreR]

This topic has been debated here many times, the when and why doesn't really matter does it.
The reality is the term differentiates the slow(er) moving boats that are displacement or semi displacement from "motor yachts" sort of by looks more than anything else.
HW

Ahh yes, true trawlers are seaworthy. Ergo, if it looks trawler like above the waterline, it must be seaworthy below the waterline. Especially true for first time buyers. Of course this is the internet so I said that tongue in cheek.
The arguments start when we try to justify our spending mega boat units for a compromise boat trying to convince ourselves that we made a savvy well informed decision, rather than an emotional uninformed decision. Of course the whole purchase of a boat violates being savvy and therefore is an emotion based decision informed or otherwise.

 

[rslifkin]

Trawlers come in both motoryacht and sedan forms, plus the pilothouse layouts. To me the defining factors of a trawler is that it's generally slower (not meant for continuous cruising at planing speeds) and more optimized for travel (bigger tanks, carries weight well, etc.). But a trawler isn't necessarily any more seaworthy than other similarly shaped designs.

 

[PierreR]

Trawlers come in both motoryacht and sedan forms, plus the pilothouse layouts. To me the defining factors of a trawler is that it's generally slower (not meant for continuous cruising at planning speeds) and more optimized for travel (bigger tanks, carries weight well, etc.). But a trawler isn't necessarily any more seaworthy than other similarly shaped designs.

I would have agreed with you maybe 15 years ago but since the advent of boats with tier 3-4 engines that can run slow or fast and planning speeds of 17-20 knots, the idea of slow with carrying capacity and range is right out the window for the term "Trawler"
Soon it will apply to 40' boats with four 600hp outboards on it with a trawler styled light weight supper structure.
25 years ago I was somewhat of a "Trawler" snob going around defending my own bastardized term for what it meant to make myself pleased with the boats limitations. I now see it as ridiculous but still cling to the type, but money, maturity and pragmatism is changing that. I could easily see myself now doing the loop in a 25 knot Hinkley picnic boat with my dog in tow staying mostly a marinas. Getting rid of my Hatteras "Yachts" LRC for a simple little Hinkley "Boat" .

 

[psneeld]

Not sure it is that hard to classify the majority of "trawlers" certainly there are a few "hybrids".....

But I could never call a Hinkley Picnic boat a trawler or think they are simple... just because of the complex accounting it takes to own one.

 

[ranger58sb]

I would have agreed with you maybe 15 years ago but since the advent of boats with tier 3-4 engines that can run slow or fast and planning speeds of 17-20 knots, the idea of slow with carrying capacity and range is right out the window for the term "Trawler"

Naaw... it's OK as long as somebody tacks the word "Swift" onto something...



-Chris

 

[PierreR]

Naaw... it's OK as long as somebody tacks the word "Swift" onto something...



-Chris

Gotta laugh, this tread continues to mess with my head. Until now I have always considered the term "Swift Trawler" to be a total oxymoron. I now see it as an attempt by the marketing departments to kill off the whole idea of "Slow" but still retain the notion of great carrying capacity, economy and seaworthiness in the subconscious mind of the buyers.
I now realize that my whole idea of a proper boat has centered around my experience of living on Lake Superior when the Edmond Fitzgerald went to the bottom. I was 20 and it made a big impression on me. 95% of my boating over the last 50 years has been plying the waters of the Great Lakes. My idea of a proper boat has always been something that could handle full on Lake Erie gale conditions.
My present boat, a Hatteras 42 LRC, does not meet those design criterion. The worst I have had the boat in was bow into 6-8' waves of 5 sec intervals on Lake Erie and I felt the boat was about maxed out. Certainly I was. Time to put all that behind me and really open up the possibilities.

Trawler for me now can mean a boat style and layout with seaworthiness fit for the purpose of maximizing marina parameters. Swift Trawler is fine now for defining a boat/layout style with seaworthiness fit for the loop.

 

[Northern Spy]

Trawler Swift.

The next marketing derivative based on popular culture.

 

[ranger58sb]

Gotta laugh, this tread continues to mess with my head. Until now I have always considered the term "Swift Trawler" to be a total oxymoron.

Me, too... to the point where when we shopped last, I struck off those models completely, not even worth a look, because I don't much like the marketing. I understand it, just don't like it. Might be nice boats, though; dunno...

Trawler Swift.
The next marketing derivative based on popular culture.

A boat that writes its own music? Hmmm...



-Chris

 

[porman]

first trawler

Mainship 430 Trawler. First sold in 1999. I believe it's the first non-fishing recreational vessel to be advertised as a trawler. Prove me wrong. Sorry about the orientation.

 

[psneeld]

Easily can go back way further than the 1990s.

Don't have my old brochure, but found this on the web.

When looking, saw advertisements in Motor Boating and Sailing mags from the 60's referring to "trawlers". Whether manufacturers referred to their boats as trawlers I can't say for certain, but trawlers existed in the minds and mouths of boaters I hung with in the late 70's.

https://boatbrochure.com/products/albin-1980s-trawler-brochure

Original Manufacturer / Promotional Brochure
Date: 1980s
Pages: 8 in Color
Size: 8.5 x 11 opens to 11 x 17
Condition: C8
Brochure Covers: Albin Trawler 36, 40, 43, Sundeck 40 & 43

 

[SteveK]

I keep telling you guys, it was the Grand Banks. THE BIRTH OF AN ICON 1963
"While bearing scant resemblance to the elegant lines of a contemporary Grand Banks, this boat was certainly the design that introduced the concept of a production style trawler to the world. Its success led to a fundamental change in the company’s strategy. In 1963, designed by Kenneth Smith, ‘Spray’ was launched and became the prototype of a category that would take the marine world by storm – the finely built, 8 knot trawler."

 

[mvweebles]

Mainship 430 Trawler. First sold in 1999. I believe it's the first non-fishing recreational vessel to be advertised as a trawler. Prove me wrong. Sorry about the orientation.

Well, as Ted/OC Diver noted, you are off by over 30-years. Willard 36 Pilothouse was marketed as a "Trawler" starting in 1966 model year (see attached brochure). Six boats were built with the Trawler configuration from 1966 through 1969.

What I find ironic about these discussions is majority of TF'ers would agree that displacement hulls are a hallmark of a Trawler. But they are so unpopular that few TF'ers actually own/want a displacement boat. Yet they are revered. Go figure.

Peter

 

[SteveK]

Peter, Get Smart would say "missed it by that much", actually three years. Maybe the Willard was the first of many copies of the legendary trawler. That was the reason I had to have a GB36 like the one I saw in early 70's from my speedboat.

 

[mvweebles]

Peter, Get Smart would say "missed it by that much", actually three years. Maybe the Willard was the first of many copies of the legendary trawler. That was the reason I had to have a GB36 like the one I saw in early 70's from my speedboat.

To my eyes, the GB36 is the Post Child for "Trawler," even though it was never marketed as such. It was often copied but even from a distance, the plumb bow and faceted flybridge is obvious and beautiful. And they handle like a dream (the GB42 Classic is decent, but there is a kismet about the 36 in close quarters). A truly remarkable boat that defines the Trawler category.

When someone says "Trawler," I think of the GB 36/42. But the exam question was when did the term start being used.

Peter

 

[SteveK]

Peter, post 42 did you read the story of GB
In 1963, designed by Kenneth Smith, ‘Spray’ was launched and became the prototype of a category that would take the marine world by storm – the finely built, 8 knot trawler."

 

[mvweebles]

Peter, post 42 did you read the story of GB
In 1963, designed by Kenneth Smith, ‘Spray’ was launched and became the prototype of a category that would take the marine world by storm – the finely built, 8 knot trawler."

I did. And I don't dispute that the GB is the quintessential trawler. But they were never marketed as a trawler, rather a cruiser. No doubt observers may have called them a trawler, likel RRy some has the same view of Willards when they launched in 1961, especially since Wm Garden designed many commercial west coast fishing trawlers.

Splitting hairs here. If you think about it, none of these boats look like a true trawler (Willard included, though the pilothouse trailer does have a certain "schooner" look reminiscent of the older style workboats along the west coast. But what we know today as a trawler - a trunk cabin or tri-cabin - has defined the category. But if bears little resemblance to a trawler.

Peter

 

[porman]

OK, I admit defeat. But do any other boats have Trawler in writing on the cabin side?

 

[Lepke]

Just a term dreamed up by yacht makers like cruisers, tug, or any other boat type. I'm unaware of any world wide registry of yacht terms that exactly defines a trawler or any other boat type.
Yacht makers and sellers define their boats to reach the most buyers.

 

[PierreR]

I did. And I don't dispute that the GB is the quintessential trawler. But they were never marketed as a trawler, rather a cruiser. No doubt observers may have called them a trawler, likel RRy some has the same view of Willards when they launched in 1961, especially since Wm Garden designed many commercial west coast fishing trawlers.
Peter

Are we talking about a magazine editor bastardizing the term and other media picking up on the term? Lord help us, they would never do that.

 

[PierreR]

OK, I admit defeat. But do any other boats have Trawler in writing on the cabin side?

Not defeat but you may be stepping in it. They were the first that I know of to actually market the type as "fast" with the introduction of the Mainship 34 in 1978. The 34 would cruise at 12 knots. Mainship almost had to market the term "Trawler" to keep from being lumped in a different category they did not want to be in. The first true oxymoron. Others later added "Swift" to push Mainship into the slow category.

 

[ranger58sb]

I keep telling you guys, it was the Grand Banks. THE BIRTH OF AN ICON 1963
"While bearing scant resemblance to the elegant lines of a contemporary Grand Banks, this boat was certainly the design that introduced the concept of a production style trawler to the world. Its success led to a fundamental change in the company’s strategy. In 1963, designed by Kenneth Smith, ‘Spray’ was launched and became the prototype of a category that would take the marine world by storm – the finely built, 8 knot trawler."

Seems like that's contemporary language from the current GB website... so doesn't necessarily indicate the word "trawler" was used by GB beginning in 1963... even though that's when Spray was launched. [Insert "Wayback Machine" analogy here.]

Could well mean Willard use of the word starting in 1966 was first.

??

-Chris

 

[mvweebles]

Could well mean Willard use of the word starting in 1966 was first.

First use perhaps was Willard (Vega Marine at the time). But with a scant 6 hulls, hardly a trendsetter. The oil crisis of the early 1970s gave birth to an untapped market for relatively economical powerboats. They had relatively small engines so were slow, an attribute that became a feature when coupled with "Trawler," a venerable and stalwart term.

Comes down to marketing. Not unlike when the three surfer dudes who sold boats on the side decided to have a boat built under their tutelage. They hired a well known NA and produced the Mason 43, a respected sailboat that showcased that a high quality boat could be built inexpensively in the far east. For their second design, they went with a powerboat with offshore capabilities. Their NA - a brother of one of the three - was fresh out of school and has zero creds, so they needed a stout name to connote pedigree of North Sea capabilities. They landed on "Nordhavn" for their first model, the 46.

Short and long answer is Marketing.

Peter

 

[slowgoesit]

Naaw... it's OK as long as somebody tacks the word "Swift" onto something...



-Chris

Kind of like a "Racing Turtle", right?

 

[Pirate]

Trawlers were full displacement, usually single engine, fishing boats. Even the early (1060s) Grand Banks were never full displacement hulls. Willard, Krogen, Nordhaven, and a few others starting building full displacement ruining boats for the efficiency of the hulls. They called them trawlers after the commercial boat category. It was a marketing ploy that others adopted and misused.

 

[SeaDogAK]

Trawlers were full displacement, usually single engine, fishing boats. Even the early (1060s) Grand Banks were never full displacement hulls. Willard, Krogen, Nordhaven, and a few others starting building full displacement ruining boats for the efficiency of the hulls. They called them trawlers after the commercial boat category. It was a marketing ploy that others adopted and misused.

The old wooden Grand Banks Alaskan, which started production in the 1960's, which inspired a lot of later pilothouse trawler designs, was a full displacement boat.

 

[OldDan1943]

Only IMO

Originally, updated fishing trawler hulls. Then things went crazy

 

[SteveK]

The old wooden Grand Banks Alaskan, which started production in the 1960's, which inspired a lot of later pilothouse trawler designs, was a full displacement boat.

Agreed. thereafter only above the waterline mattered for the often copied look.

As someone else pointed out TF is for all boaters that travel at hull speed. We even seem to have sailboaters here that still operate a sailboat.

 

[Judy at JWY]

From a Trawler broker's vantage point: Not only do I specialize in selling trawlers, but I am also a writer and have written dozens of yacht reviews; therefore, I try to be accurate in my nomenclatures and descriptions. So here goes:

I consider trawlers to be in 2 classes: Trawler (full displacement hull) and Fast Trawler (semi-displacement hull). As much as I hate using the term "fast trawler," I think it is an accurate description for manufacturers such as Fleming, Outer Reef, Ocean Alexander, Taiwanese Tubs, etc. Those manufactures have at least a few aesthetic appearances of a trawler and/or have equipment a trawler would have such as water maker, fuel economy, range, etc. BUT, I usually put the term "fast trawler" in quotes or I add parenthetically (oxymoron). Because yes, fast trawler is an oxymoron. To me a fast trawler is a full displacement yacht that maxes at 9+ knots.

I was asked to write a review on a major manufacturer's new trawler model. I said that there was nothing that defined this as a trawler to me. After a trawler definition tug-of-war, I came up with trawleresque as a compromise. Sounds sissified to me, but I subsequently saw this term used by other writers in their reviews.

I have no input on the history of the trawler labeling, but the first trawler I ever saw was a Cape Horn. I had sold sailboats, sportfishermen (I worked at Bertram for a stint) and was so blown away by the trawler concept that I started doing research and discovered the Nordhavn 46 and 62. I have specialized in trawlers of all descriptions since 1997. At that time I was working for a Ft. Lauderdale brokerage and when I got a Cape Horn listing, I was told they didn't hire me to sell tugboats. After a few other negative stints, I started my own company specifically to specialize in trawlers. Btw, that FLL company now promotes itself as a trawler brokerage.

As corny as it sounds, I am proud to end this with one of my favorite salutations originally learned from someone on T & T:

Trawler on!

 

[Fish53]

A trawl was a type of net first used to catch fish and prawns on the Thames estuary in the seventeenth century which was pulled by a sailing vessel called a trawler. Of course much later steam, gas and ultimately diesel power replaced sails. The term trawler as applied to recreational vessels is a marketing device.