What type of boat to buy (new search)

[readytotravel]

good evening ok I have been doing all kinds of boat looking trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. i am figuring totally outfitted and gone on the water with a budget of no more than 150,000 that has to include any things i need to upgrade or buy I am wanting it to sleep 6 to 8 people 40 to 55 foot or a trawler type say with fuel economy of say 2 to 4gph with extensive fuel tank for range.. or can i modify with prop or turbo or add fuel tanks? what type of boat should i be looking for? can you get this type of fuel economy with a 2 diesel motor boat? please any and all advice would help I am currently selling my house and going to take the leap...thank you all

[nuccifilms]

i'm certainly no expert, but being much in the same frame of mind, i think i can offer up quite a bit in what i've researched and relaying feedback i've gotten

1st point i'd like to bring up, the cost of boats (not just in purchase) but ongoing maintenance and operation, i'm thinking of all costs summed up per foot charge. i lived in an (80 sqft) studio apt in NYC for 2 decades, so why can't i settle with a midrange 30 something yacht, instead of looking at these 50-60 foot behemoths?? pushing your budget on the biggest boat you can afford sounds foolish from the get-go. i plan on selling 1 of 3 houses i own to finance my $100k-$200k 28ft-36ft trawler, and i feel i'm still being way too extravagant at that.

2nd point, the added fuel premium of getting anywhere fast, particularly from my retiree perspective, is an indulgence i'll plan to be prudish with.

3rd, i've been looking at the hybrid yachts; greenline and greenaval, which i think compliment my frugal operating practices.

4th, i'm doing my homework on marinas, as berthing in different regions of the world will vary GREATLY. i plan on being parked in a quaint island marina, where the US dollar is strong. i don't need the most opulent or prestigious hub of the world. there's internet now.

i'm sure i'm leaving out several great points, some more important than what i've mentioned. still, going into this with humility & frugality in mind, even coming from a newbie like me, can't be bad advice?

anyone, please be generous, and add my reply

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by readytotravel

good evening ok I have been doing all kinds of boat looking trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. i am figuring totally outfitted and gone on the water with a budget of no more than 150,000 that has to include any things i need to upgrade or buy I am wanting it to sleep 6 to 8 people 40 to 55 foot or a trawler type say with fuel economy of say 2 to 4gph with extensive fuel tank for range.. or can i modify with prop or turbo or add fuel tanks? what type of boat should i be looking for? can you get this type of fuel economy with a 2 diesel motor boat? please any and all advice would help I am currently selling my house and going to take the leap...thank you all

The bigger the boat, the bigger the engines. Most 40'+ trawlers struggle to get 2+mpg. Most 48-50+ trawler owners I have worked with or spoken to are happy to get 1-1.5mpg. You would probably get better advice on the trawler forum than here.

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[nuccifilms]

i left out perhaps the most important consideration in buying a boat, i feel i must say this. time management! the extra revenue i could make over the next 10 or so years could put me in a mega-yacht. how i'll feel by then in my mid 60s and how many good years i'll have left to enjoy, no one can say. what i can say is, an early retirement in my 50s on a smaller, newer, with less to manage and maintain vessel, is the way to go for me. keep your 60 footer with spare bedroom and 2nd bath.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by readytotravel

good evening ok I have been doing all kinds of boat looking trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. i am figuring totally outfitted and gone on the water with a budget of no more than 150,000 that has to include any things i need to upgrade or buy I am wanting it to sleep 6 to 8 people 40 to 55 foot or a trawler type say with fuel economy of say 2 to 4gph with extensive fuel tank for range.. or can i modify with prop or turbo or add fuel tanks? what type of boat should i be looking for? can you get this type of fuel economy with a 2 diesel motor boat? please any and all advice would help I am currently selling my house and going to take the leap...thank you all

Count on fuel economy being close to 2mpg.

Not being a trawler guy I can't really suggest a make or model

There are arguments for 2 engines, but I believe a single engine installation is significantly more efficient.


A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[Boydski]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

The bigger the boat, the bigger the engines. Most 40'+ trawlers struggle to get 2+mpg. Most 48-50+ trawler owners I have worked with or spoken to are happy to get 1-1.5mpg.

Most of the full displacement, single engine trawlers in the 48-50' range can pretty easily get 2+ Nmiles per gallon. As length increases, so does hull speed, which decreases wave making resistance and increases mileage, as long as you stay below hull speed.

I have had no trouble getting 2.5 Nmiles per gallon, running 7.5 knots in Nordhavn 47's or Kadey Krogen 48's. At those speeds, the engines are only running at 50% or less of their small HP ratings (~ 50-60 HP). Try to push them faster than that, and your mileage drops rapidly.

Finding that style and size of boat for $150k may be a challenge, but isn't impossible. Don't forget that the bigger the boat, the higher the expenses.

Good Luck,

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by readytotravel

good evening ok I have been doing all kinds of boat looking trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. i am figuring totally outfitted and gone on the water with a budget of no more than 150,000 that has to include any things i need to upgrade or buy I am wanting it to sleep 6 to 8 people 40 to 55 foot or a trawler type say with fuel economy of say 2 to 4gph with extensive fuel tank for range.. or can i modify with prop or turbo or add fuel tanks? what type of boat should i be looking for? can you get this type of fuel economy with a 2 diesel motor boat? please any and all advice would help I am currently selling my house and going to take the leap...thank you all

You'll probably find more info about long range powerboats on trawlerforum.com (sister site). A few weeks of reading research there (browse, and also see the Search Tool) should be very helpful.

6-8 people all the time? Or you, all the time, and guests sometimes? How often, how long? All that will impact your choices. Hint: Occasional guests can often pay their own way in a nearby hotel thereby reducing your acquisition costs by an order or two of magnitude.

2-4 NMPG and long range is possible, generally at slow speed. Hence the pointer towards "trawlers" although you should know that's more of a marketing term than a hard-and-fast boat description. There are other useful models, sometimes called "long range cruisers" and so forth.

Often boats offered in either single or twin configuration actually end up with a similar total horsepower... so fuel economy can be similar in either configuration. As long as you compare apples to apples. OTOH, a whole extra engine is an upfront expense as well as an on-going additional maintenance expense. Spend a few days on trawlerforum with the search tool and read the 476 (or so) threads discussing advatanges/disadvantages of each. The you can pick whichever floats your boat.

Cost is mostly a function of size and age, influenced by the builder's reputation and a few other smaller things (who's in vogue, today?) so you'll see models all over the map. Define for yourself the list of features you need (must have), would like (want), would be nice to have, wouldn't turn down -- in a priority scheme like that. Then rummage through yachtworld.com and find boats that appeal to you. Then start comparing those that satisfy your prioritized list of requirements.


Those requirements should include some info about where you intend to get wet. Inland boats and coastal boats and island hoppers and n-kidding bluewater boats often share some degree of overlap... but sometimes not.

Once you have some candidates, and can explain why they may meet your needs... it's easier for the rest of us out here to better comment on your thoughts.

-Chris

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by Boydski

Most of the full displacement, single engine trawlers in the 48-50' range can pretty easily get 2+ Nmiles per gallon. As length increases, so does hull speed, which decreases wave making resistance and increases mileage, as long as you stay below hull speed.

I have had no trouble getting 2.5 Nmiles per gallon, running 7.5 knots in Nordhavn 47's or Kadey Krogen 48's. At those speeds, the engines are only running at 50% or less of their small HP ratings (~ 50-60 HP). Try to push them faster than that, and your mileage drops rapidly.

Finding that style and size of boat for $150k may be a challenge, but isn't impossible. Don't forget that the bigger the boat, the higher the expenses.

Good Luck,

The Nordhavn 47 is a killer boat, congrats! Having read their article on it they did everything they could (taking all their rtw data) to make it as fuel efficient as possible. And with that its best is 2.8mpg @6.8;in flat dead calm. Which rarely happens. Many 50' + I have been on have twins and when I ask the owners their real life data is always 1-1.5mpg. Speaking of real life data the 47 nordhavn that crossed the atlantic in their rally averaged 1.4 mpg. Its funny how real world use is so much different.

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