Ahoy!

[Wahoo]

Just wanted to introduce myself to y'all. I've been lurking for a while ( like so many others ) and finally decided to say hello.

I reside in Colorado and have been sailing (racing most of the time) and have been dreaming of doing a circumnavigation since I read 'Dove', followed by Slocum and even Wm F. Buckleys' books. As my trip will be @ 7 yrs or so ( my motto being, "I have no set schedule, and I'm sticking to it!") I have decided against doing it via a sailboat and going w/ a passage-making trawler.

This decision was made for a number of reasons....most cruising blogs always mention that they are motoring @ 40 - 60% of the time, or so it seems, as a racer I know that I'll always be fiddling w/ the sails to get an extra 1/4 kt of speed ( now that's not relaxing), standing watch in a nice A/C or heated bridge in inclimate weather ( I'll have the option of a fly bridge) appeals to me, and I don't want to live in a cave for that many years <lol>.

The boats I'm looking at are as follows:

Nordhavn 47, 55, or a 57.

Krogen 58

Whether I build a new one or buy a used one hasn't been decided as of yet.

I realize that this is mostly a sailboat board, but I would appreciate any input y'all may have.

Wahoo

[Lighthouse]

Welcome aboard Wahoo.

Which ever way you do your circumnavigation you can always get good information here. Personally, I would do it with a yacht's keel or, consider a catamaran.

Welcome.

[imagine2frolic]

Since you are a racer you might consider a tri. Speed speed speed, and with very little wind. You mentioned building a boat. Then building a tri would be tons cheaper, and money left in the account. I would think a trawler to traverse the world's oceans would be a thirsty beast. How ever you decide. It is a good goal, and best of wishes in succeeding........

[Wahoo]

Thanks all, I appreciate the welcome and am looking forward to being a nuisance w/ all my questions <lol>.

I had looked at catamarans and tbh, I just like the feel of a PM trawler. Plus, I like many of the amenities available. Most of the PMTs ( passage-making trawlers) I am looking at have at least a 3000 nm range and that can even be extended by slowing down. So, they aren't as thirsty as one might think.

My goal, and this is if I get the boat (delivery or other) in Fla is to start w/ some coastal cruising, Bahamas and Exumas, Caribb, then through The Ditch and up the West Coast to Cali. Once in Cali get the boat all ready for the hop to the Marquesas. Then down the coast of Mex and make my way to the So Pac.

Now if I were to take possession of the boat on the Left Coast, depending on the time of year, I would either cruise Mex and Central America OR head up to Alaska, then end up in Cali to prep the boat for the hop to the So Pac.

Again, any suggestions or thoughts would be gratefully received.

Wahoo

[JeanneP]

After sailing for 17 years and selling our sailboat in Singapore, we decided to get a power catamaran, since we didn't plan to be crossing oceans anymore, and would be happy just cruising the east coast of the US. And we are. However.

We shipped the boat to the Baltic last summer, and had a wonderful time, even though it was more rushed than we like to do anything. The big difficulty was the cost of fuel. Some places it was USD $12.00 per gallon. Our 34' boat sips diesel, but still consumes between two and four gallons PER HOUR. A trawler of the size you are looking at consumes about double that and gets fewer miles per gallon than our light little boat does. Fueling the boat in many of the marinas was difficult, because they limit the amount of fuel that can be bought at one time. We had three credit cards that worked, tripling the amount of fuel we could buy, and it still wasn't enough to fill the tank. I understand that it is not so difficult in the Med. or in North America. Outside of there, however, you start looking hard for places to fuel.

Of course, this boat is not an ocean-crossing boat, it doesn't even like rough coastal seas.

I guess we were in the minority, we did not motor very much, unless there wasn't enough wind, and even then we often sailed. Sailing with a wind vane, even an autopilot is much more restful than being in a power boat. One of the times we wanted to motor because there was no wind, we lost our transmission and had to sail anyway. Here's the log of that trip, the transmission didn't go until March 12.

http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon22.asp

Sailing was how we were going to get home, and sail our trusty Watermelon did.

Here's another story for you. When we were anchored at Cocos Island - the one off the coast of Costa Rica, and owned by them - Gary and Ingrid, friends of ours who were sailing on their boat, Obsession, to meet us in Cocos radioed us that they had found a Costa Rican fishing boat that had lost its engine and was drifting towards the Galapagos. The fisherman were besides themselves with joy that they had been saved after drifting for about a week. Gary talked to the Costa Rican Coast Guard, who told him to tow the boat back to Punta Arenas or out to Cocos. Gary said that he couldn't do that, his boat wasn't big enough to be towing such a heavy boat for several hundred miles, and he asked the Coast Guard to come get their countrymen. They did, but rather grudgingly, probably concerned about the fuel they would have to use. Would really mess up their budget. No Tow Boat US out there, and it's worse further along.

If you're sailing in the tropics you're really not living in a cave, or at least I never felt that way. We lived in our cockpit most of the time, could entertain six or eight guests there, and I felt less "deprived" in that 39' sailboat than I sometimes do on this powerboat with the huge saloon that can seat eight around the table. I also felt safer on the sailboat then I feel on this powerboat im nasty weather and seas. I love it, but we accept its limitations.

You might want to charter a trawler and take it out in not-nice weather and see if you can stand the rolling. It's different, for sure.

[Wahoo]

Jeane:

A friend of mine who has a Nordy 55 ( www.alwaysfriday.com ) has given me the following info...he burned 6/2 gal an hr ( both engine and genny), running at 1650 - 1700 rpm at 7.5 - 8 kts. He ran from Dana Point, Ca up to Alaska for a few months, then back down the coast through The Ditch up to Florida. He has a pretty sweet set up on his PMT.

I look forward to reading your blog.

Wahoo

[MMNETSEA]

HI ,

Jeanne's advice very sound - the fuel consumption and the cost thereof a MAJOR factor !!!!

Have a look at this trawler - good consumption long range - good price

http://www.seahorseyachts.com/core/listing...amp;slim=broker

[Trim50]

All sounds nice until you need to get fuel in a place like Baja or South Pacific. Then there are the big seas...give me a vertical stablizer and a full keel anyday.

[MMNETSEA]

Wahoo,

If you proceed with a Trawler/Passage maker - do some research on Paravanes to stabilize when underway in rough seas - On the hook in a rolly anchorage :- Flopper Stoppers (not to be confused with medicine for a certain presumptive nominee) work wonders - seen on many trawlers in Alaskan and Mexican Waters - even seen on the odd sailboat!

Here's a shot of one with a single F/S rigged on a spinnaker pole - could have had two, using the boom to pole out another = double the stabilization.



Richard

[Wahoo]

Guys,

I've looked at the DD and they are nice boats...though a little cramped for me. I'll just say it, I like modern conveniences and don't feel that I have to be unconfortable and not have many amenities. There, I'm a pansy and I admit it!!

As for paravanes, I've researched them and have found that for boats over 50 ft or so they just don't make sense. Flopper stoppers are a different story and I'll def have them.

Fuel : I have looked into companies that arrange for fuel world wide and will most likely use tone of those.

All in all, I'm getting so jazzed about this I can hardly stand myself!!

Wahoo

[Makarios]

Wahoo - Have you looked at Selene Trawlers? http://www.seleneeurope.com/new-sele...ler-yachts.htm

I'm seriously considering their 43 for a lengthy Med cruise.

[Wahoo]

Makarios:

Yes, I have looked at the Selenes and hav even talked to a few owners of them. If I were going to just do some coastal cruising and the Caribbean then I would definately look at one seriously. Their layouts are great, but as I am going to do a circumnavigation I am very concerned about their passagemaking ability. I'm very open to being convinced otherwise...just hasn't happened as of yet.

I'll be very curious to hear how your cruising plans go.

Wahoo