UPDATE: Requesting tips for SOLO living aboard a trawler

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I did some very rough calculations. Small trawler with a single diesel engine might burn about 1.5 gallons/hour running 6-7 knts so approximately four miles per gallon. The trip you describe would be roughly 4000 miles so at least 1000 gallons. Prices in the islands can be $4-$5.00/gallon so you could easily spend $4-$5,000 just on fuel.

Fishing very problematic. I have trolled for days without a bite. Other times maybe more consistent but I wouldn't plan on that as my main source of food. Also, in case you ask there are not wild fruits hanging everywhere for the picking. Most of the fruit trees will belong to someone.

Buying food in the islands can be expensive even if you never eat out so you could spend $4-$5000 on food.

Now you're down to $10,000 for the boat and I don't see that happening. Marinas? No way.

Sailors have no clue what it takes to run a trawler. Sure, diesel jn the islands is $5/gal or more. But that's why a trawler fuels up at a low price dock in Florida for $2/gal and doesn't buy a drop for over 1000 nms of cruising. Only sailors pay that type of money for fuel (and water).

As far as consumption, a sistership to my Willard 36 went from San Diego to Hawaii and burned 335 gallons.

But alas $20k is unrealistic budget for any boat unless a pure derelict anchor out. OP may want to consider Van Life. Spend $5k on an old but decent van and drive to Mexico and Central America . Much more likely to have a successful experience.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

You would spend $20,000 (roughly) in the first 3 months alone on fuel for a trawler.

Learn to sail!

Originally Posted by captlloyd

Exactly. The lad didn’t give a time frame but he has so much to learn.

He has many misconceptions
.

Like the misconception that a small diesel engine will burn $20,000 of fuel in the first 3 months of operation?

I probably haven't gone through that in 4 years running a big motor buying fuel at more expensive prices than in the US

[mitiempo]

As I posted this trawler is affordable, sips fuel with a 36 hp diesel, is seaworthy, and has the space the op wishes for. Many were made, easy to find, and for a budget cruise through the Caribbean in a powerboat would be my choice.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

As I posted this trawler is affordable, sips fuel with a 36 hp diesel, is seaworthy, and has the space the op wishes for. Many were made, easy to find, and for a budget cruise through the Caribbean in a powerboat would be my choice.

Well, its not a trawler but I agree with the rest (-;

[denverd0n]

Yeah, that's a good option, mitiempo. But the OP is still not going to buy one of those in ready-to-go condition, AND pay all of the expenses of the kind of journey he is planning, on a $20k budget. Just no way.

[Papasail]

JP,,,

Don’t feel too shot out of the water where folks are telling you that you don’t have enough money. I have been hatching my plan for over 10 years (and don’t let that get you down either, other things affected my timeline). What is critical, is that you continually build on your dream: whether it costs money or not. I was landlocked in Arkansas, but I spent a (huge) amount of time just learning how to buy the right boat: which one, the right one, how old, what the common problems are, etc. For example: how big should the motor be on a sailboat?
(1.25 x the length, should be it’s horsepower)... in this way, learning, which is FREE, is like experience you simply can’t buy.
How do you make a fiberglass hull? What is gelcoat? You MUST learn about the full spectrum of batteries, recharging, and shelf life.
Learning how people build boats, teaches you how they break down.
Often, the topsides of a boat are way more important than the bottoms (think rain, blistering sun, and water invasion)(and rot). A cool thing I learned about wood rot for example: there is a super thin epoxy on the market that will wick up into rotten wood through capillary attraction... but not when it’s saturated with water. What’s the answer? Well drying it out is the answer, and one passage I read was to soak the area in (old school ethylene glycol/ antifreeze): it forces the water out of wood), then you can use the wicking epoxy/ good as new. What about a Sailing certification course? What are coast guard regulations, how do you navigate? How do you read weather patterns? What things do you have to do to enter a sovereign country? Not to overwhelm you, but learning these things will help you feel more secure over time, and keep up your enthusiasm while you’re earning those trip dollars.
I just moved to Maine, and if it weren’t for CoVid, I’d already be on the water. Think of your dream as a lifetime destination or direction. Every little thing you learn along the way, every experience you have, every breakdown you (fix), no matter what the type, slowly turns you into a BOSS.

*Specifically, a trawler is not the way to go, unless you have BUCKS-A-PLENTY. A trawler depends on it’s engine (enormously expensive) with no back up plan. A sailboat has (((redundant))) systems: a motor AND a sail. Learn what redundant systems are, and how to think in terms of redundant systems.

Winter: House, tent, sleeping bag, coat, sweater, thermal underwear, heater, woodstove, fire, electric heater, propane heater, blanket...

Every item on every boat should be thought about this way...

YES! You CAN do it!!!

Start small-er...

Bill

[Papasail]

Part Two:

What is an anchor?
How many types are there?
Which ones are good in sand?
Which ones are good in mud?
Which ones are good in gravel?
Which types do all of these well?
How (big) should your anchor be?
What is rhode?
What is scope?
How many anchors do you need?
What is a snubber?
What is a mooring?
Should you trust moorings?
How do you know if it’s any good?
How much distance should you allow when anchoring next to another boat? Why? What do you do when someone else drags their anchor line across yours?
What is liability insurance?
What does it cost?
Where can you get it?
How old of a boat is too old to insure (contact the insurance company before buying).
Do you have to have insurance?
Why?
What happens if you don’t have insurance and try to enter (some) foreign companies without it?
How many lights should you hang off your boat at night when anchoring?
Where are the best places to put them?
What is dragging anchor?
What anchors drag, reset, drag again, reset again, until you become grounded?
What if my boat hits another?
What if someone hits me?
What radio do I need to communicate with other boaters at anchor?

You CAN learn these things...
so start....

Hot tip:
Buy a toolbox, (and) a tool satchel.
FILL THEM UP.... buy one tool (every time) you get paid, or whenever you need a tool to fix a problem.
What tools are the most important?

What is a list?
How many categories should I put on these lists to help me organize my dream into a coherent reality?

GET STARTED...

) I really would start with the toolbox and satchel. You will find tool lists on this forum.

GO!!!!!!

Bill

[LittleWing77]

Here's an additional perspective:

Originally Posted by Group9

We made the switch from a sailboat to a power boat a few years ago (I've actually switched back forth before).

We sold our 1990 Catalina 42 sloop and bought a 1973 Bertram 42 motor yacht. One of the big selling points was that it had recently been re-powered with brand new Yanmar 370 HP diesels.

My wife and I were about to hit 60 and had just returned from a year long cruise, where we had found ourselves motoring more and more, when we could have sailed. And, my wife has a degenerative leg condition (HSP) that made it harder and harder for her to work the deck at all as the years went by. We decided that when we went cruising again, it was going to be on a powerboat.

Things to know:

Costs: It costs a lot more to maintain the powerboat. Those turbocharged, after cooled, diesels, take a lot more maintenance that the little Yanmar 4JHBE we had on the sailboat. For instance, to change the oil in the 4 cylinder took about 6 quarts of oil. To change the oil on the 370HPers, takes 11 quarts (and there are two of them). Plus two oil filters instead of one. Another is that each of the 370's has seven anodes that have to be changed. Our 4JHBE didn't have any anodes to change (it took me a month to believe that when we bought it).

Fuel: We burned more fuel to bring the Bertram home from Kemah, Texas where we bought it, on a four day trip, than we burned in two years sailing Florida and the Bahamas on the 42 Catalina. It's a wallet shock to go from needing $100 to fill up the tank, to needing $1000 to do it. There are lots of powerboats out there that get pretty good mileage. Ours is not one of them. But, it has a deep v hull that can take a lot of slop and waves and shrug them off.

Unlike the sailboat, every route has to be planned for refueling. Our range can only be counted on to be about 500 miles under best conditions (415 gallons tankage).

Even the generator on the Bertram (8.8 KW) takes twice the diesel the generator on the Catalina (5.5 kw) used. There are a lot of electric appliances on the boat. The Catalina had one small and one large AC. The Bertram has three large AC's on it (and a full size refrigerator. We downsized the fridge on the Bertram to cut the KWs it used and can barely keep our batteries up with solar panels we installed on good sunny days. We had half the solar on the sailboat and could go weeks without having to crank the generator and charge them.

And, that's all money that could be used for eating out, staying at marinas, flying home, renting cars, etc. when you're cruising.

Luxury wise: Once anchored, there is no comparison in comfort. The Bertram is like a floating condo with a back porch.

Engine noise: I do get tired of hearing the diesels running all the time sometimes. But at lower speeds, 5-6 knots, the noise isn't that bad. Up on plane, 12-14 knots, it's loud (and our boat will only do about 16 knots WOT).

I guess the bottom line is, some days I really miss the sailboat, and some days I'm really glad we switched.

I do realize now, that we could have had everything we wanted, and still had more room than on the 42 sailboat, with a 32 or 34 foot power boat. I wished we had at least considered a smaller power boat, possibly a trawler with a single engine, mainly thinking about how much cheaper it would be to maintain and operate.

But, I'm not switching boats again. We'll have this one until the end.

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Not likely. With our 900 hp, we spent "only" (?) ~$3500 for our last trip from Annapolis to JAX and back... and while we run "trawler-like" as often as practical, that trip included several more on-plane sessions than usual.

I'd expect a legitimate 6-kt trawler to better that by a factor of at least 2, maybe 3 or even 4. OP's dream route is much longer than ours was, but I'd guess fuel would be a much smaller expense category.... off-hand guess, maybe $5k or less for the whole magilla.

If the boat -- some smaller percentage of a $20K budget -- floats that long.

-Chris