You're likely looking for a trailerable sailboat.

You won't get a powerboat of sufficient size, in any kind of condition at all,
for the amount you're budgeting- particularly since
extreme fuel efficiency is important.

If you want to cruise for several weeks at a time, you'll need some room aboard
for stowage and comfort.

At $15k, you're looking at maybe a 20- year old, 25-foot powerboat with
(typically) a big block gas engine and needing some serious repairs.

If you can find a trailerable sailboat, it will be powered with a small
outboard or, if you're lucky, with a small diesel perhaps replacing the
original Atomic 4.

Sailboats are less beamy than powerboats, and you might get into a longer boat
before you run afoul of the wide-load restrictions.

Besides, darn few sailors ever succesfully tansit to a powerboat- other than a
trawler.
Trailerable diesel trawler for $15k? Certainly not a commonly available
critter.

On 06 Jan 2004 23:24:58 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:
Besides, darn few sailors ever succesfully tansit to a powerboat- other than a
trawler.

I know quite a few exceptions to that, including myself. Trawlers are
popular because of their shippy appearance and a perception of sea
worthiness, but there are many other options that work. Transitioning
to power is a very significant trend among the slightly aging baby
boomer crowd.

Trailerable diesel trawler for $15k? Certainly not a commonly available
critter.

That's for darn sure. There is however a nice little trailerable
mini-trawler available with a number of different power options,
including diesel:

http://www.rosboroughboats.com/rf246/sedan/246Sedan.htm

http://www.powerboat-reports.com/pub...es/5004-1.html

I've seen these on the water and they look like a decent little boat.

With a decent sized pickup truck you could trailer it around anywhere
and use it for an RV when landlocked. It would be quite a
conversation piece parked in the back quarter of your nearest Walmart
parking lot. With a camper back on the pickup, you'd even have a
guest house. :-)

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 16:49:21 +0000, QLW wrote:

We are looking for a reasonably comfortable, displacement hull, trailerable
"cruiser". Sail or power...which ever seems best.


Although I'm a sailor at heart, I find trailerable sailboats kind of an
oxymoron. You might find what you need (esp. if you're willing to forget about
sailing and run the sailboat as a powerboat), but you might want to check out
the Nimble Nomad: 25ft long, uses an outboard in a well for power. The website
is supposed to be www.nimbleboat.com but that doesn't seem to work (are they
still in business?) There's a pic of one at:

http://www.cbmmag.net/resources/trawler_03/

There are also many plans for "mini-trawlers" (like:
http://www.boatplans-online.com/prod....php?prod=MT24 ) - donno if you want to buy
someone else's "project" though...

I'm also a Keen Fan of the diesel inboard, but as Chuck says, you won't find
a diesel trawler for $15K.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Lloyd,

The fact that you find trailerable sailboat an oxymoron is kind of a
suprise.

After many years of sailing lots of sizes and shapes of boats, I decided
I wanted to trade for a trailerable. I settled on a 26' S2 with keel
that pulls up flush to the bottom. I'm a ship's engineer by trade (so
diesel is a good friend), but I elected for the outboard version because
I would never loose sailing time to an engine problem and I and take it
home to my shop if I actually need a wrench.

OK, We are both about 5-6 and we can not quite stand erect on the cabin,
but the is lots of sitting and bunck space.

There is another couple of charms, the boat winters in my barn so I can
do all the "yard work where it is at least dry if not maybe warm and
long passages that are accessable by land are optional.

Years ago my father had finally settled into a trailerable, he liked it
even more when we cruised both the Chesapeake and the Bras D'or in the
same season from his mooring in Mystic.

Matt Colie
Congenital Sailor

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 16:49:21 +0000, QLW wrote:


We are looking for a reasonably comfortable, displacement hull, trailerable
"cruiser". Sail or power...which ever seems best.



Although I'm a sailor at heart, I find trailerable sailboats kind of an
oxymoron. You might find what you need (esp. if you're willing to forget about
sailing and run the sailboat as a powerboat), but you might want to check out
the Nimble Nomad: 25ft long, uses an outboard in a well for power. The website
is supposed to be www.nimbleboat.com but that doesn't seem to work (are they
still in business?) There's a pic of one at:

http://www.cbmmag.net/resources/trawler_03/

There are also many plans for "mini-trawlers" (like:
http://www.boatplans-online.com/prod....php?prod=MT24 ) - donno if you want to buy
someone else's "project" though...

I'm also a Keen Fan of the diesel inboard, but as Chuck says, you won't find
a diesel trawler for $15K.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Matt Colie wrote:

Lloyd,

The fact that you find trailerable sailboat an oxymoron is kind of a
suprise.

Not really (for me at least). Most people who shop for trailerables consider size &
performance & probably looks higher on their priority scale than 'trailerability.' The
result isn't surprising, most trailerable sailboats are cumbersome & difficult on land. The
few boats that have been designed to trailer well are easy to rig & launch & retrieve, but
they get rejected out of hand and so they don't command much of the market.

My wife & I cruised several weeks out of each of the past ten years in a trailerable
sailboat. Many of our trips were made in company with a club of others with such boats,
between the inherent design & the awkward practices of most owners, we always had by far
the easiest time trailering. At times we waited on others literally for hours, sometimes I
helped them but had to give this up as some individuals quickly came to regard me as unpaid
coolie labor.



Years ago my father had finally settled into a trailerable, he liked it
even more when we cruised both the Chesapeake and the Bras D'or in the
same season from his mooring in Mystic.

Yep, it's amazing how much cruising ground you can cover in a boat that makes 55mph VMG
dead to windward. We ranged a lot further than our friends with big in-water boats, come to
think of it we havent' yet covered half as much ground ourselves in our trawler. But the
big boats feeds the romantic dream of the 'someday cruise' much better.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King