Cheap small trawler

R

Roy

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
114
Messages
186
My gut tells me this is a dumb question, but for the life of me I don't know why. Looking for a small (25 ft), cheap trawler. Why can't I buy a used 25 foot sailboat hull preferably with a swing keel, strip the rigging, mast and all, and put a 25 HP outboard on it? Obviously hull speed would be slow, but why wouldn't that make my small, cheap trawler?
 
I see a lot of small sailboats used that way. Most of said owners are too cheap to go to the hassle and expense of taking down the mast, and it kind of maintains the mystique of having a "sail boat", yet many have long since dispensed with the sails. In our trips up and down the east coast of the US, "inside" or outside 95% of the cruising sail boats were under power, even in ideal sailing conditions. I suggest something with a small diesel rather than an outboard if it still fits your definition of "cheap".

George
Hatteras 56MY
Boston Whaler 130 Sport
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla

I see a lot of small sailboats used that way. Most of said owners are too cheap to go to the hassle and expense of taking down the mast, ..........
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"Hassle and expense" ? I watched a guy take down the mast of his sail boat the other day and it was easy and cheap. He loaded it onto a trailer and towed it up towards the parking lot, forgetting about the tree branches overhanging the ramp!

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Sorry about the focus. I was in a rush.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Roy

My gut tells me this is a dumb question, but for the life of me I don't know why. Looking for a small (25 ft), cheap trawler. Why can't I buy a used 25 foot sailboat hull preferably with a swing keel, strip the rigging, mast and all, and put a 25 HP outboard on it? Obviously hull speed would be slow, but why wouldn't that make my small, cheap trawler?

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You've defined the size, but define what you mean by "cheap"? And what are you looking for? Something to get you from place to place or something a little more luxurious?

Your converted sail boat with outboard will not have the lighting and refrigeration that a trawler designed and built for power will have. There are other differences.

There's a guy who has been living on a dismasted sailboat anchored in Charleston, SC ever since I've been in the area. He takes an electric powered canoe to work and back every day.
 
I'm sure it's done on a regular basis but it would be a real fantasy to call it a "trawler". It is and always will be a dismasted sailboat. Nothing wrong with that if the price is right and it fits your requirements and budget.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/09-Allport-25-Trailerable-Trawler-PT2-New-Prototype_W0QQitemZ110451652485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPower_Motorboats?hash=item19b76e7785 Not exactly cheap kind of fugly but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This one is new a prototype sans engine.
Bill
 
Hard to find but Bayliner made a 27 foot trawler in the early 80's, I think an RO here had one.
2670 Explorer had a small gas engine and some had diesels. Cruise all day at 7 knots while sipping fuel. Semi displacement hull with a keel and a lot more livable than a mastless sailboat. 10 to 15K depending on engine and condition. a couple at 3K.
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There are a bunch of 'sail boats' used exactly that way. Basic sail boats are a dime a dozen without rigging. I see them puttin' around the bay playing make believe sailors.
 
I have seen many 25 foot, or so, sailboats traveling the ICW on the way to or from warm water. The normal power package seems to be a 9.9 hp outboard which is more than enough to make reasonable speed.

Some have no mast, some have the mast down and the rest have to mast up but without sail.
 
Not exactly small, 31'L x 10'W but if we keep on our budget we'll put this together for <$50K

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Downside is it'll take us 2 yrs to build it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by KnottyBuoyz

Not exactly small, 31'L x 10'W but if we keep on our budget we'll put this together for <$50K

tw31.jpg


Downside is it'll take us 2 yrs to build it.

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What is that design - neat looking lines. Questions, if you are commissioning the design, have you thought of raising the pilto house and angling the fore windows towards the bow (forget the technical term right now)? It would give you a massive amount of space over the nside helm to mount elctronics and such.
 
quote:
My gut tells me this is a dumb question, but for the life of me I don't know why. Looking for a small (25 ft), cheap trawler. Why can't I buy a used 25 foot sailboat hull preferably with a swing keel, strip the rigging, mast and all, and put a 25 HP outboard on it? Obviously hull speed would be slow, but why wouldn't that make my small, cheap trawler?

"Livin' life in the laid back lane" - Sunny Jim
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For one, the weight of a 25HP OB would in all liklihood be too much for a 25' sailboat. Second, it would not be a trawler, but rather a dismasted sailboat.

Why not just get a 30-35' sailboat with a diesel and never hoist a sail on it?
 
Nimble Nomad. 24', trailerable with a 45 or 50hp Honda Outboard. We see alot of these in our travels on the Erie Canal, they seem quite suitable for long distance traveling as long as you don't mind tight spaces. They don't make them anymore, this one is in Florida and listed for 26.9k w/ trailer.

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http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Nimble-Nomad-24'/104542611
 
Albin made a small trawler for a few years. It was a double cabin with a diesel inboard and had a keel. A rather nice small trawler and very salty. I don't recall the LOA but believe it was around 24 feet + or - a couple. Had a nice big rudder and was easy to maneuver with the single diesel. I believe the engine was a Volvo but am not at all sure about that. The things were built like a tank.

If you can find one on the used market it should be available for very little. It would be a much better little trawler than a converted sailboat and have a lot of value in the future.
 
Here's something you'd look good in! Saw her tucked into a cove just north of Boothbay Harbor, Maine...

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One of the RO's on the board I think Greg from Washington state had a totally revamped pocket cruiser for sale for about 45-50k it had every option needed to live aboard including a diesel fired furnace and a small inboard Yanmar. It was built by a famous pocket cruiser guy. The boat was unreal for it's size.
Bill
 
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