Do Trawler Folks ever Return to Sailboats?

[markpierce]

hahahahaha

[SaltyMonkey]

Oh this is going to be interesting...

[Downtime]

Is it allowable to put a sail on it?

[BandB]

Most of the time they move for a reason such as age or health or just the amount of work required sailing and as those things don't change, it's very rare that they'd return. There is one situation where it happens. Move from sail to trawler at urging of spouse, then either spouse doesn't like Trawler either or loses spouse through divorce or death. Then they might move back to sail.

[gamayun]

I moved from trawler (Mainship and Hatteras) to sail. In my power boating days, I just never knew there was a better way...now I've seen the light. Hallelujah

Except just today as I was gloating about how much diesel I use compared to a power boater friend, he asked about my sails. I'd recently ordered a new main, and he said, "I could go a long way on $6K of diesel." Doh. I guess my next good argument might be that I can sail to Hawaii and he could not motor there....

[BandB]

Originally Posted by gamayun

. I guess my next good argument might be that I can sail to Hawaii and he could not motor there....

That is a reason some do make the move as well to cover greater distances.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by BandB

That is a reason some do make the move as well to cover greater distances.

If that was their goal, why did they leave sailboats and choose a motor vessel not capable of transoceanic travel?

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by gamayun

I moved from trawler (Mainship and Hatteras) to sail. In my power boating days, I just never knew there was a better way...now I've seen the light. Hallelujah ....

Moving from trawler to sail isn't the question. We're talking about sailboaters who have moved to trawlers and whether/why they moved back.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by markpierce

If that was their goal, why did they leave sailboats and choose a motor vessel not capable of transoceanic travel?

Ease of use. Less work. More space. Spouses. And perhaps no desire at that time to do transoceanic. In fact, it may well be when they return it's a larger sailboat too than the one they left. Start small sail. To Trawler. Return to Large Sail.

I'm not saying it's a huge number coming back to sailboats for that reason, but certainly a few.

Plus there is always the "Grass is greener on the other side" syndrome, or as Erma Bombeck stated, "The Grass is Greener over the Septic Tank." Simply people see the opposite and it sounds good as they see the best and don't realize the negatives until they get there.

Personally we do intend to do do some transoceanic cruising in a few years but in a powerboat.

[TeddyDiver]

Horses for courses.. I started sailing dinghies as a kid. Inland lakes and day sailing. Later went to motorboats (outboards and trawlers) again day sailing coastal seas for fishing. Timetables with quests aboard. After my first marriage (children in common custody so had real freetime) was over started sailing again (ocean crossings and island hopping) on my vacations OPBs.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by markpierce

hahahahaha

Did'nt know you'd ever had a sailboat to go back to... tho' I'm aware you go back to Cruise Ships now and then..

[Magnawake]

I see benefits on both sides. People really need to be honest with themselves about how they will use these vessels. If a person likes the ICW and pulling into marinas, using air conditioning, partying at the night clubs, heck get a trawler. The diesel fuel is not that big of a deal (cant believe I'm saying this). If you like making passages from point A to B, and want to go in the ocean, get a sail boat. Sail boats are better suited for ocean passages. I have grown tired of the ICW and want to venture farther out away from the mainland so thats why I am trying to sell our hatteras and buy a large sail boat. Things change in peoples lives with family, jobs, and interest. Its not about whats the better cruising platform, its about what better suits my needs over the next several years.

[Canibul]

well if y'all are gonna quote Erma Bombeck, I'll paraphrase Steve Wright:

You can go anywhere in the universe in any boat you like, if you've got the time.

[u4ea32]

I am.

I have spent my life pretty much evenly on power and sail: over 80K miles under sail, and another 80K miles on powerboats. I had planned to retire on a powerboat, following Steve Dashew's lead.

Luckily, before I bought or built the final boat (once retired, I figure I won't buy another boat), fuel prices went up. Otherwise, I would be stuck with a marina queen. Even at 1 or 2 or 3 mpg, its a hell of a lot of retirement checks to get anywhere.

So, I'm building a sailboat.

The key problem was the danger of sailing when one's bones get brittle, muscles get weak, reflexes fade. As we age, we heal much slower, if at all. And the typical sailboat, following race boat fashion, is very highly loaded.

Sure, Linda and Steve Dashew sailed Beowulf by themselves across oceans. But the reality was this: if anything went wrong, they would have been in deep yoghurt.

Fortunately, one does not need to have high loads, its just that the fashion-following designers follow the race boat style, which means very high loads. I chartered a gaff rigged boat in Maine, and discovered that the old ways had some huge advantages. Such boats have very low loads, so specialized equipment isn't needed, just rope, and sometimes a bit of tackle, but hydraulics, cross lined winches, electric winches, solid vangs, travelers, .... nope.

Also, the dominate factor in the cost of a sailboat -- mono or multihull -- is load. The taller the rig, the stiffer the boat, the heavier the boat, the higher the loads, the higher the cost. To build, to maintain, to repair the boat, to heal the injured.

So, with a suitable design, no problem.

The problem is there are exactly zero such boats available on the market, new or used.

So I'm building custom.

[rw58ph]

A lot of sail boaters buy trawlers, but I have not heard of any returning to sail boats. There must be a few?

Mark’s diesel duck trawler has sails, so he did not give it up completely. Some full displacement trawlers have sail as an option. However they do not sail well. The purpose of the sail to for stability and/or increase the range/fuel efficiency.

If a couple that sailed before, but bought a semi displacement that looked like a trawler but did not have the stability and range, might go back to a sail boat. However, if they bought a full displacement long range trawler that is fuel efficient probable not. So the term TRAWLER needs to be defined further. There are not many full displacement, blue water, long distance, fuel efficient trawlers.

Here is a sister 58 that was converted to a motor sailor as they were sailor and want the best of bother worlds. The converted the 58 to increase the range as they had plan on cruising the world, which they did not do for health reason, so they motored 90% of the time. However, that is what most sail boats do if they want to go from point A to point B is a given time frame and/or the weather is nasty.