Commerial fishing boat to liveaboard

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by James Wellington, Aug 28, 2021.

  1. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    There was an unresolved controversy about only the specific issue of what to do about the huge fish holds of a wide beam trawler (the example was a Fred Wahl 58X28). Some said it couldnt be done, others that the fuel tanks could be reconfigured, others that its not even a major concern. Any bright ideas out there? The concern seems to be balance/ballast/stability.
     
  2. ondarvr
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    ondarvr Senior Member

    Cut, hack and rebuild as desired, there are no inherent problems.

    You just need to take all the variables into account, these are very dependent on the exact hull and your desired outcome.
     
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  3. TANSL
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    TANSL Senior Member

    These huge warehouses are used, when the ship leaves the port, it parses a lot of ice and when the ship returns, they are full of fish / ice. That is, they always carry a lot of weight of something, a weight that is usually very low. Therefore, there may be an issue of stability that it would be very convenient to study in depth.
    But before giving an opinion, it would be convenient to see the General Arrangement plan of your ship.
     
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  4. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Welcome to the Forum James.
    You might not be able to post attachments yet, as you have only just joined, but I will endorse Tansl's request for a GA drawing showing how you propose to convert your trawler.
    Have you sketched out any proposals yet re how you would like to convert one of these trawlers?
    They are interesting beasts for sure - here is a link to Fred Wahl's webpage -
    https://www.fredwahlmarine.com/boat-designs

    Edit - just a thought - re the 28' beam, any marina would tend to charge you the same rate as for a 58' catamaran, ie double the usual fee for a 58' monohull.
    Re living onboard, would you use it primarily as a static houseboat, or would you be wanting to do long passages with it?
    If the latter, then you would be better off with a more narrow boat (or even a catamaran......) re the fuel economy -I see that the Fred Wahl 58' boat has a 600 hp diesel in it.
    A displacement cruiser 58' long x (say) 18' wide would be able to cruise at the same speed as the Wahl boat with perhaps half the power (or less).
     
  5. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    Thanks for the 3 responses so far, points taken. The query is a general one, with a Wahl trawler as an example, (another was a new, Norwegian 21meter one) so there is no specific boat to show.
    Its known that some boats use fuel and even sea water as ballast. One friend seems to think reconfigured fuel tanks could be used here. Also, the only point in contention was this, not operating expenses. expenses. The peoposed usage would be for long distance passages, all seas.
     
  6. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

    Re the Wahl trawlers, I wonder if they are designed to be 'rule beaters' - for example there might be a rule that says trawlers cannot be over 58', but there is no limit on beam or displacement.
    I know that in the UK they have trawlers designed to beat rules re length, and they are usually pretty beamy as well.

    But you mention that your proposed usage would be long distance passages, in all seas - hence your miles per gallon will be important here. I am sure that a Wahl trawler probably works on gallons per mile.......
    Have you compiled a Statement of Requirements for what you want from a boat?
    If you haven't yet, can you make a list here of what is desirable - and what your budget is?
    I see that you also appear to be keen on Silent electric power cats re another post on this forum - and these cats are light years different to Wahl trawlers!
     
  7. ondarvr
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    ondarvr Senior Member

    Most of the production of this type of commercial fishing boat has moved from Washington and Oregon to Alaska. I was just in Alaska visiting my customers that build them, we also go out fishing on them while we're there.

    The design is to meet the length limits for certain fisheries.

    The allure is the tremendous amount of usable space, but that comes at the cost of comfort and efficiency. They tend to have a harsh ride and use a lot of fuel compared to a more typical design.

    If you were tied to a dock, or did limited travel in open water it might be OK, for extended trips at sea it wouldn't be a great platform.

    This is the customer we were fishing with, they mostly make a 32' version for Bristol Bay. The longer versions are for other fisheries.

    Boris Basargin https://www.facebook.com/boris.basargin.7
     
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  8. ondarvr
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    ondarvr Senior Member

  9. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    Yes these , like some others, are rule beaters. Some stupid gov regulations said max length 60feet. Sure, everything in boating is a trade off, compromise, and you
    cite comfort and cost of fuel, budget. I had said the only concern was the matter of safely reconfiguring the fish/ice storage compartments, nothing else. But certainly you are right in that since I said all seas, the boat would have to have a range of 2000 miles, and even if that meant at a speed of 4 or 5kts, still ok. My interest in Silent & Alva Yachts has nothing to do with this wide beam fishing trawler question. But in fact considering the wide beam, many solar panels could be fitted. Propulsion could also be hybrid.
     
  10. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    Thanks for your input, especially considering youve actually been on these boats, and do certain work on them. Ill also look up those others you mentioned. You mentioned fuel usage, and for sure it has to be high. But do you know what the approx range of these boats is. as presently configured? I notice they have about 9000+ gallons capacity.
     
  11. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    Ill bet in Homer they could build this beautiful one!
     

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  12. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

  13. James Wellington
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    Banjansailor thanks, but to big, and wide, even for me. I like trawlers mostly.
     
  14. tlouth7
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    tlouth7 Senior Member

    We all know that lead is more dense than water, and water is more dense than ice. I assume that frozen fish are also not terribly dense.

    It follows that you could replace the minimum weight of ice/fish that is allowed in the hold with the equivalent weight of lead, while occupying considerably less space in the boat.

    Alternatively, given that the lead will be lower in the boat you could replace with less weight but the same righting moment. This would have the disadvantage of allowing the boat to float above her lines, but might reduce fuel demand.

    Then you have to consider how you convert such a wide space into a liveable area, especially how you make it safe in a seaway and how you introduce natural light.
     

  15. James Wellington
    Joined: Aug 2021
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    James Wellington Senior Member

    You can also replace the fish with other things besides lead. Things like fuel and stored provisions/items, all of which are heavier than the air of the watertight compartments above them.
     
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