Trailerable Trawlers
The cover story of the current issue of Passage Maker Magazine is an article on trailerable trawlers. In a previous post I wrote about voyaging motorboats and how most production motorboats are built for speed and luxury instead of seworthiness or cuising comfort. Although saltwater fishing boats have much better seakeeping abilities than your average runabout or cruiser, accomodations are usually minimal and fuel economy of the larger boats leaves much to be desired. In that post I referenced long distance cruising motor yachts called trawlers that are normally large and expensive. According to PMM, smaller trailerable versions of these stout boats are gaining popularity. Although these pocket trawlers won’t cross any oceans, they are generally more fuel efficient than traditional planning hulls of the same size and some have more spacious and comfortable accomodations for cruising. Besides, the fact that they are trailerable compensates for their shorter range since they can be transported over land at highway speeds or as cargo in larger ships accross oceans.Â
Introduced at the Seattle Boat Show, the C-Ranger R-25 is a prime example of this category of boat. The C-Ranger features powerful and efficient diesel power and a light and airy floor plan with a full galley and an enclosed head. Optional equipment includes a diesel stove and heater, generator and airconditioning, making for very comfortable cruising. Starting at around $116,000 it is more expensive than most 25-footers; however, this is bound to be the case with many of these limited production boats.
Other models such as C-Dory, Rosboorough RF-245 Sedan Cruiser and Retro Marine use outboard engines and are less pricy. Outboards offer the advantage of easy access for maintenance and can be tilted up in shallow water. Additionally, some of these boats can be equipped with dual engines or smaller quicker engines for redundancy and added safety.
We saw the C-Dory and the Rosborough at the US Powerboat Show in Annapolis last year. The fit and finish did not seem up to par with the larger trawlers at the show but this is to be expected as profit margins in smaller boats are much tighter and builders must save wherever they can. I have heard reports that the lightweight C-Dory tends to bob excesively; however, the boat has proven itself in long voyages on inland waters such as writer’s William Least Heast-Moon 5000-mile trip accross America on rivers, which is the subject of his book River-Horse.
If you have the time and ability to build a boat yourself, there are some interesting small trawler designs for the amateur builder. These designs could also be built by a boat yard for little more than a premium production boat. Chesapeake Marine Designs has several power crusiers under 30′ including the handsome Trailer Trawler 28 with extensive accomodations for a trailerable boat. CMD’s website says the materials cost for this design should be about $35,000.
Sam Devlin is a well-known wooden boat designer and author of a book on stitch-and-glue boat constructions. He is also the designer of the venerable Surf Scoter line of small tralwers. This design is available in both 22-foot and 25-foot versions. Devlin Boatbuilders can also deliver a completed 22′ Surf Scoter for around $49,000 w/o power. Not bad for a boat similar to the one that graces PMM’s latest issue.
