What is a trawler yacht?

[MapisM]

I don't consider it possible to call anything with a flybridge a trawler yacht.

That's a good point, actually. I can't remember to have ever seen any fishing trawler - which arguably are the only vessels deserving to be called trawlers without any further qualification - with a flybridge on top.
Wadduthink, is the one below enough in terms of no-frills design to qualify as a trawler "yacht"?
I assume you aren't meaning that Magnums and Otams are trawler yachts just because they surely don't have a flybridge...

 

[Bajansailor]

A few more photos of Dream Chaser here on the Builder's website

http://www.aftheriault.com/en/boats/pleasure-boats/dream-chaser-detail

 

[Bajansailor]

I don't consider it possible to call anything with a flybridge a trawler yacht.

ATB,
John G

Ok, this is a commercial Seiner rather than a Trawler as such, but she has a flying bridge - if she was converted, would the term 'Seiner Yacht' be acceptable?

https://www.platypusmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IMG_7678.jpg

 

[Robin]

we had a Marine Trader 47 CPMY ( cockpit motor yacht) that was described as a 'fast trawler' in USA terms. I was a semi displacement hull with 2 x 250hp Cummins diesels that could cruise economically at 6-7kts all day or hit 18kts if a tanker followed behind . IT had a flybridge and a lower helm inside. I only ever helmed from up top which had a full enclosure anyway with clear panel roll up sides and front. I did try the lower helm on the original sea trial. Looking again now as many will know from my occasional daft questions on here this time as a live aboard UK based. I like the SD option but then for live aboard comfort in harbour the planing hulls offer more at the expense of fuel consumption If money were no object a Fleming or similar would be wonderful and If one could be found in the UK then Longjohnsilvers Defever 47 would be great too for us but rather down market maybe for the OP who moves in different circles than us poor folk.:ambivalence:

Sorry for the slight off topic. Fred Drift.

 

[Piers]

I like the one Goldie Hawn fell 'overboard' from. Especially if the younger then Goldie comes with it.:encouragement:

Overboard! 'Oh my hair...'

 

[Piers]

Hi Mike,

That's a heavily modified Fleming 55 - extended bathing platform, extended aft flybridge and with the rear cockpit enclosed. Really unusual.

 

[Irish Rover]

After she stopped thinking of me as a young child my long departed mother always said I was a gentleman. I suspect my children occasionally think the same thing especially around Christmas and birthdays when I put my hand in my pocket. Unfortunately not too many others would agree with my mother or my kids but that doesn't change who or what I am. Fountaine Pajot wrote "Trawler" on the side of my motorised catamaran. Does that make it a Trawler? Apparently not, according to the majority on here. Do I care - what do you think?

 

[Jegs]

Each to his own. What's your boat?

Elderly Linssen.

ATB,
John G

 

[longjohnsilver]

Elderly Linssen.

ATB,
John G

Got any pics you can post?

 

[Wansworth]

Inchcape Class...modified fishing boosts built by Eyemouth Shipyard back in the 1960.Spent a few days on one called Doughboy owned by a Owner of a bakery chain....rolled like a pig but that is the nature of the hull form and may have been used to haul the nets in.

 

[KINGFISHER 9]

The one in pic 4 looks the nearest to a real trawler ... Malahide someone says above ... that or maybe a Herd & McKenzie based boat would fit the bill. Of moderns they're all nice, Fleming, Marlow, Outer Reef etc. If I had a Fleming I wouldn't worry about whether anyone called it a trawler yacht or a duck billed platypus! ... :encouragement:

 

[iapetus]

After she stopped thinking of me as a young child my long departed mother always said I was a gentleman. I suspect my children occasionally think the same thing especially around Christmas and birthdays when I put my hand in my pocket. Unfortunately not too many others would agree with my mother or my kids but that doesn't change who or what I am. Fountaine Pajot wrote "Trawler" on the side of my motorised catamaran. Does that make it a Trawler? Apparently not, according to the majority on here. Do I care - what do you think?

Slightly underpowered, as frugal as a squirrel, capable of 1000nm passages (if run at 5 knots), more stable than similarly sized monohulls -> it's definitely a trawler, all the more so at it doesn't have a flybridge. Oh, wait.

I spent a season on one of these FP motorcats (Highland 35, I think it was also advertised as a trawler), loved the space, versatility, the incredible stability at rest, but (alas) not so much how it behaved in choppy head seas (slamming and hobbyhorsing like mad, with everyone seasick on board). Same goes with the Leopard 39PC we rented a couple years ago. How's yours ?

 

[balder]

"What is the trawler lifestyle? Quite simply, it is the sailors cruising lifestyle in a power boat."

"What is the definition of a trawler? It is a power vessel that accommodates the cruising lifestyle."
These definitions ( cf link from Play d'Eau in Passagemaker's blog) cannot be more true.

I went on the dark side for comfort and more space aboard. To obtain that on my North sea Trawler 57', I should have been obliged to buy a 70' sailing or motorsailor yacht.
My criteria n° 1 was: silence. With my Aquadrive transmission and keel cooling, I just hear a gentle whisper abaord without vibrations and too much decibels as on certain kind of semi planning and fast cruisers.
Criteria n°2 is also a yacht with stabilization, because at 8 knts, we may need it sometimes..
And of course, all characters of trawler yachts: range, design etc.

 

[MapisM]

Fountaine Pajot wrote "Trawler" on the side of my motorised catamaran. Does that make it a Trawler? Apparently not, according to the majority on here. Do I care - what do you think?

Well, of course the semantic debate on when it is correct (or not) to use the term trawler to describe a boats can go on forever, these days. But in a sense, the marketing efforts behind the current use of this terminology are even more interesting.
Your statement shows how effective the marketing has been in creating the perception that any boat with the trawler label on it is bound to be a "good" boat - which is funny imho, because in many ways the most advanced vessels afloat are not trawlers, by any stretch of imagination (just think of turbine speedboats capable of 200mph, carbon fiber sailing vessels, and so forth).
In fact, 30 years ago, nobody would have doubted for a second that the only trawlers in the OP list (if any) are the Nordhavn and the Malahide. Nowadays, look at what we are debating...

In this context, I think it's interesting to re-read what the Cape Horn founder wrote on this subject, already in the late 90s, before concepts like "swift trawler" were even invented (underline is mine):

Today all kinds of boats are marketed as ‘trawlers’ or variations thereof, in order to appeal to the fast-growing cruising market. We have seen ads for “trawler catamarans,” “fast trawlers,” “coastal trawlers,” etc.
The “trawler” part is meant by the marketers to imply safety and offshore seaworthiness, often a misleading association.
We consider it an unfortunate, unnecessary, and inaccurate use of what is, outside yachting, a commonly accepted term for a specific type of motor vessel. “Fast trawler” is an oxymoron. A “trawler catamaran” is a two-hulled vessel with a superstructure we suppose. But more correctly, a catamaran is a catamaran. A trawler is a trawler.
We say it is unnecessary because there is nothing wrong with more honest terms like “motor catamaran”, “fast cruiser,” “coastal cruiser,” “coastal passagemaker” and other more accurate category names. There is nothing wrong with these boats or their intended purpose.
Indeed, we like catamarans as a hull form and they have advantages.
Many of the coastal cruisers are superb successful boats (such as Grand Banks, Fleming and their type) which we often recommend to customers over ours, if their cruising dreams are less far-reaching.
But they are not trawlers, even if their superstructures bear some resemblance to that of a fishing boat.

 

[Piers]

"What is the trawler lifestyle? Quite simply, it is the sailors cruising lifestyle in a power boat."

"What is the definition of a trawler? It is a power vessel that accommodates the cruising lifestyle."
These definitions ( cf link from Play d'Eau in Passagemaker's blog) cannot be more true.

I went on the dark side for comfort and more space aboard. To obtain that on my North sea Trawler 57', I should have been obliged to buy a 70' sailing or motorsailor yacht.
My criteria n° 1 was: silence. With my Aquadrive transmission and keel cooling, I just hear a gentle whisper abaord without vibrations and too much decibels as on certain kind of semi planning and fast cruisers.
Criteria n°2 is also a yacht with stabilization, because at 8 knts, we may need it sometimes..
And of course, all characters of trawler yachts: range, design etc.

If I was to change our Fleming, my list would start with a single engine keel cooled so there's no sea water involved, plus wing engine, and a full standing height engine room. Where does that lead me?

 

[Piers]

A vessel i've always thought superb is the Watson 72 (http://www.realtrawlers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=24). I remember an article in PM ages ago where a retired fisherman had bought one. En route to New Zealand he was caught in F12 storm and his main gripe was that he had to reduce speed by ¼ kt...

 

[MapisM]

Where does that lead me?

To something ridiculously expensive, I'm afraid.
Probably worth affording, if going offshore in any kind of weather to catch king crabs is your job - but is it?

 

[Irish Rover]

Slightly underpowered, as frugal as a squirrel, capable of 1000nm passages (if run at 5 knots), more stable than similarly sized monohulls -> it's definitely a trawler, all the more so at it doesn't have a flybridge. Oh, wait.

I spent a season on one of these FP motorcats (Highland 35, I think it was also advertised as a trawler), loved the space, versatility, the incredible stability at rest, but (alas) not so much how it behaved in choppy head seas (slamming and hobbyhorsing like mad, with everyone seasick on board). Same goes with the Leopard 39PC we rented a couple years ago. How's yours ?

I only bought mine recently after a very short trial in a calm harbour area so I've no experience really. It's on the hard in Preveza until I collect it first week of April and bring it to Turkey. Most probably I'll learn a lot about it crossing the Aegean W to E in early April. Here's hoping.

 

[Jegs]

Sorry, tried to paste a snap but no good. I'll have a look later.

ATB,
John G

 

[NBs]

Hi

Someone mentioned the criterion CE-A class and would like to convey that the CE class is only computational and only applies to the basic boat. If you have a boat loaded with new supplies and luggage, in addition to the big rib on your upper deck, all Stability bills change and whether it is longer CE-A or have you dropped a new GZ-Curves and other stability calculations for your boat in the current situation?

US "Trawler" boats are divided into two groups of costalcruise and blue water and both equally trawler ...

I like this artikel.."Not your father’s trawler"

https://www.soundingsonline.com/boats/not-your-fathers-trawler#!

NBs