Size Relationship Between a Trawler and a Sailing Sloop

[Capt Phil]

Lived aboard a Transpac 49 Ketch for 4 years then a 54 DeFever for about 5 years. The living and storage space aboard the DeFever was about 1.5 times the size of the Transpac. I missed the offshore sailing but the comfort and space aboard the DeFever more than made up for 3:00 am sail changes! Never had a problem with the Niaad stabilizers in 5 years and several thousand miles off coastal passagemaking. I would have gone to power earlier but had a hard time letting go of the dream after sailing for 50 years.

[lieberts]

My wife & I have chartered many sailboats & recently purchased a Mainship 400 trawler. While we, mostly me, miss sailing, the trawler presents a very comfortable & spacious place to live and cruise. It living areas are much more spacious than a 40 or 44' sailboat. The salan is much wider, and more importantly for us, provides wonderful views of our surrondings. Then we have a reasonable size covered aft cockpit that is perfect in harbor when you want less sun. Above, is a huge flybridge with summer kitchen & seating for 8+. No sailboat I've been on can provide this kind of space. Our staterooms are slightly larger than a similar sailboat. Other trawlers provide bigger staterooms at expense of other tradeoffs. Bottom line is we think that there is no comparison in space, though we do miss the 20 mile beam reach in 25 knots of wind tack.