Contemplating Building a Trawler

I'm thinking about looking into building a trawler in the 40-45 foot range. Ideally it would be fiberglass construction with a single main, two cabins, salon, single head with shower, nice galley, and all associated systems. Plan is to take it down the Mississippi river and end up on the east coast in northern Florida or maybe a little further north. Plan to do some coastal cruising, jump over to the Bahamas and want the option to sail south towards the Caribbean. I'm in the early stages of planning now and looking for any suggestions of reputable naval architects that offer somewhat custom comprehensive plans. I would like to purchase several options for study plans and then ideally settle on an architect and go from there. Does anyone have any experiences that they can share?

Jeff

 

Buying a good condition used power cruiser will be an order of magnitude cheaper.

 

Thanks for your reply James. I'm sure you're right, but for me this is about the project and the journey.

 

You'll have more project and less journey. lol

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

You have a start of the list of things you want. The first step is a statement of requirements (SOR) which should be as detailed as possible. I find that categorizing the items helps a lot. For example, you can divide them by areas: galley, saloon, master cabin, engineroom, etc. On the other hand, you can group them by: cruising range, weather conditions, amount of crew/guests, etc. I agree that building a boat for yourself can be a great experience. Consider getting a long term lease in a building, unless you already own one. Setting up a shop will save you a lot of time and money. Also, paying someone to help organize the job is a good investment. They should generate a chart with time schedules. That will also save time and money by doing things in a more efficient sequence. Good luck.

 

I have experience in different types of boats (you can see some of my projects in My Gallery in this forum) and I would gladly help you, if you think I can give you something useful.

 

Excellent advice, thanks. I do have the start of a SOR, but like you mentioned there are quite a few gaps. I'm currently looking for shop space and have found quite a few deals in my area. Most of them also have commercial loading docs which would be nice when receiving materials. I didn't think of having a project manager, but that makes sense.

 

Something like this DSC001971 | Boat Design Net https://www.boatdesign.net/gallery/dsc001971.24432/#media is what I have in mind. Of course, without seeing the plans not sure how suitable it would be.

 

That is a longliner fishing vessel. I can show you some plan of that ship and modify it to approximate the design to the SOR of your ship. Better to exchange information through email.

 

My first, then second question would be what is your budget and involvement in the build. Build from scratch, finish a hull from a builder or just have a lot of input in the process with someone else doing the work?

 

Have you built a boat before?

 

This would be build from scratch by myself with detailed plans from a naval architect. My budget is around $100k US.

 

Not an entire boat, no. I have done extensive restoration and refits on small fishing boats. I have bought several fiberglass fishing boats that have been worse for wear and done complete stringer/transom and fiberglass restorations.

 

Sorry to say you will fall short of you goal. 30% of that will go to your engine and running gear at minimum. I am currently finishing 34 foot single engine power boat. Bought a hull and cabin (shell only) I purchased the engine the builder installed it along with shaft and rudder. Delivery to my shop was just under 100k. I have in my budget a line item of about $7,300 for sales tax for materials to complete.

Hope I’m not bursting you bubble but it is nice to dream. I really wanted a 38 footer but just couldn’t swing the additional cost.