Trailer Trash to Trawler Trash – Part 1

We had sold the Stray Cat and were now living in our RV in the trailer park section of the Indiantown Marina. Accordingly, we had become “trailer trash” while we looked for a new boat.

I am going to divide the transition from “trailer trash” to “trawler trash” into three parts”
- What we wanted,
- What we saw and
- What we got!

You will almost certainly notice some discrepancies between the three.

What we wanted:

Bev wanted space and all the comforts of home. I wanted simple and easy to maintain. We both wanted inexpensive.

To meet Bev’s needs, we were looking for a 40 foot sundeck model (classical motor cruiser with a big lounging space over an aft cabin and a roof over top) or a 44 foot classical trawler that had a significant on-deck lounging space with a soft roof over top. She wanted an aft cabin to create some semblance of privacy between ourselves and guests, a lounging area between, a large dining table, a good sized galley and a refrigerator that looks like the one at home. The boat should have a double bed in the aft cabin with access from both sides and lots of cupboard space. A gas stove would be preferable. A shower in its own space was also important as was hot and cold running water.

To keep things simple, I really wanted a boat with a single engine and a bow thruster. I wanted a full keel so that the prop would be protected in case we grounded (recognize that this is not a question of if but just a matter of when). To give us access to shallow bays, I wanted a draft of 4’6” or less. For anchoring out, we would need a generator. For getting to land and for exploring, we would need a substantial dingy and a means of storing it on deck or in davits. The more I read about trawlers, the more I became convinced that we wanted to avoid teak decks (if they don’t leak today, they will tomorrow and you will have to replace the entire deck including its core), iron fuel tanks (when they leak tomorrow, they will be almost impossible to replace) and wooden window frames (when they leak tomorrow, the interior woodwork of your boat WILL rot out).

To keep our operational costs low, a single small engine (or two very small ones) were felt to be important as well as simplicity in equipment. If it is not on-board, it is not likely to break. We wanted a displacement hull suited to slow speed cruising.

So this was a pretty simple list of basic desires. It should have been easy to meet. Right???