Trawler Selection Guide

Trawler Selection Guide

Trawler selection has gotten complicated with all the hull designs, engine configurations, and brand loyalties flying around. As someone who has owned, surveyed, and cruised aboard more trawlers than I can count on two hands, I learned everything there is to know about what to look for — and what to run from — when shopping for your passagemaking platform. Today, I will share it all with you.

Buying a trawler is nothing like buying a car. The variables are staggering: single engine versus twin, full displacement versus semi-displacement, fiberglass versus steel, and that’s before you even get into systems, layout, and condition. I’ve seen people buy the wrong boat and spend years trying to make it work for a cruising plan it was never designed for. And I’ve seen others find exactly the right hull and fall in love with the cruising life immediately. The difference almost always comes down to how well they matched the boat to their actual plans.

What I Tell People Shopping for a Trawler

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Prepare your vessel search by defining your cruising plans first — coastal hopping, the Great Loop, or offshore passagemaking each call for very different boats. Develop your understanding of hull types, because a full-displacement trawler that’s perfect for crossing oceans at 7 knots is miserable if you want to cruise at 12. Plan conservatively on your budget, because the purchase price is just the beginning — survey, refit, and the first year of ownership always cost more than you expect. That’s what makes trawler selection endearing to us passagemakers — finding the right boat is the beginning of the adventure, and there’s no better feeling than stepping aboard knowing you chose well.