Alvin 32-35, or other options
Looking at different used trawlers for island hopping in the Caribbean down to Venezuela. Been looking at the Alvin 32/35 and Mirage Great Harbors. The latter is roomy and a fuel miser but somewhat slow even for a trawler.
Some features I consider important are as follows:
- Low draft for ability gunkholing and to visit more coves and islands
- Fuel economy - prefer diesel
- Would like walk around deck
- Strong hull and prop protection to deal with shallow areas and other dragons that may lurk beneath
- Able to deal with reasonably inclement weather
- Bow thrust
I like the Alvin 32 and 35 for its sturdiness, but only comes with one engine, which I find somewhat risky.
Anyone owns or has owned an Alvin. Please advise your reccomendations and/or comments.
Al Rodriguez
Panga 22 LX
Fort Lauderdale
Great Harbor trawlers cruise at customary trawler speeds. The interior
spaces are unmatched. As with many other vessels, you pick your weather
before going out.
Ron Rogers
Ron:
My wife loves the GH37, we went to see the N37 at the Miami boat show - Mirage has not shown the GH37 lately. The thing is, it only does 8 knots max according to specs, and many trawlers do 10 crossing into the Bahamas where the Gulf current has to be overcome. I will need to keep up when going with a group of yachts. I'm also somewhat worried about the windage area which could either slow down or cause it to roll if the weather gets unexpectedly choppy.
In addition, being a novice with a large boat, I worry about docking it, since the cockpit seems a little high and my mate (wife) might have a hard time positioning the walking bumper. Also, there is a significant price difference to consider between the Albin and the Mirage GH37.
I realize this is a passage making discussion forum, and without wanting to deviate from world exploration, I thought some of you perhaps, have traveled the Caribbean, before you crossed oceans, and might have some good suggestions for newbies trying their luck in the more gentle Caribbean.
I've read a Gentleman's Guide to Passages South, but no suggestion is made in the book regarding what specific boats are recommended. The book is written for all kinds of yachts including sail boats.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Al
--- On Thu, 2/19/09, Ron Rogers rcrogers6@kennett.net wrote:
From: Ron Rogers rcrogers6@kennett.net
Subject: RE: [PUP] Alvin 32-35, or other options
To: alrod333@yahoo.com, passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009, 11:49 AM
Great Harbor trawlers cruise at customary trawler speeds.
The interior
spaces are unmatched. As with many other vessels, you pick
your weather
before going out.
Ron Rogers
Al,
Your concerns, except for speed, are all valid and are frequently the ones
articulated by prospective buyers of vessels with high freeboard. The very
best way to answer these concerns is to charter a GH37 from Mirage. They
probably offer some instruction.
But let's get something straight; there are times when most boats become
hard to control. My 20T Willard 40 with single engine and bow thruster was
extremely difficult to dock bow in (!) during a severe thunderstorm with
horizontal rain. Although I got her in, it might have been much wiser to
anchor until the storm had passed. You make choices. In my case, the dogs
wanted to go to the bathroom very sincerely.
Could I have moored in those conditions with a GH37? I don't know, I would
have to try. They have twin screws and a bow thruster and that combination
would help, but she has more windage. If I couldn't, I'd drop the anchor the
same as with my boat. In either boat, I would have been safe. In this
situation, I was often standing still and being blown sideways. Just before
that we were making 7 knots into 5-6 foot seas on the nose with 34 knots of
wind with the stabilizers off - it was very pleasant. When you have way on,
things are different.
Now about speed. Vessels in the 40 foot class making 10 knots are not true
full-displacement trawlers. They look like trawlers, but they have hard
chines aft and flatten-out aft. They are semi-displacement designs more
closely resembling a Downeast lobster boat than a trawler. And, these hulls
are not sipping diesel at 10 knots. At 7.5 knots, with the generator
powering the A/C, and the main driving the hydraulic stabilizers, my 40 foot
true trawler is consuming 2.5gph. With a more modern engine (John Deere
turbo) that would drop below 2gph. The Willard 40 can exceed hull speed with
the factory prop and reach 8.54 knots in a glassy calm while gulping fuel at
perhaps 6gph or more. The Albin does not have a true trawler hull. BTW,
running in a pack of companion boats is not easy owing to the differing
characteristics of the boats and the inclinations of the owners.
The boats that you have chosen to compare are apples and cumquats. The GH37
offers the liveaboard comfort of a large condo with great views. The prices
do not compare either. I'd set my dollar limit first and then look for a
boat.
Ron Rogers