< WOW! A 140' trawler is an awful lot of boat for 2 people. Surely they must have a crew. > Big boats aren't that much harder to handle with two than a small boat, just takes a bit more coordination and pre-planning. My wife and I cruise our 60' by ourselves, my 75 year old parents cruised their 60' by them selves, I did a salvage with my 80' Dutch fishing trawler where a friend and I steamed 150 miles out in the ocean, hooked up to an eighty foot derrick barge and towed it home. The 140' probably worked with a crew of five or six, one person in the pilothouse, one "engineer", and the rest for when they were fishing; cut out the fishing part and, other than docking, you need about two people. Okay, it would be nice to have a full time cook, which I did when I brought my 60' down from Nova Scotia; stood the odd watch, but primarily kept us full of good food. Bob Phillips, Another Asylum, 60' custom trawler

> other than docking, you need about two people. In the open ocean, it doesn't take much to keep a functioning boat headed in the right direction. The problem is indeed close quarters, logistics, and mechanical aptitude. Large boats often have multiple electrical systems (12VDC, 24VDC, 120VAC, 240VDC, sometimes 3-phase). Sophisticated hydraulic systems with valve farms that resemble a nuclear reactor. Shafts, couplings, steering linkages, etc are all designed differently and require different tools and knowledge - along with brute strength to handle. There are lube-oil reservoirs and centrifuges. Multiple generators and massive electrical transfer panels. Head systems are typically different. A/C and heating may be much larger. Even fresh water pumps are different on large boats. This is all special knowledge that isn't acquired at a 2-day diesel engine seminar. Depending upon configuration of the boat, docking may be a realy challenge - an 80-foot sport fisher has great access in/out of the cockpit. But a motoryacht style boat may need the companionway steps lowered in many instances - it helps to have a nimble deckhand (or two) who can scramble around. And that's not to mention any differences in USCG requirements (like lights). When the boat is in top condition and everything is working well, 2 people can easily run it (though they had best be near-professional crewmen), perhaps even dock it in the right conditions and location. But how often are the stars lined-up so perfectly? I heard a knowledgeable boater observe a long time ago that 70-foot yachts are awkward - too small for professional crew, too large for the average couple to operate comfortably. While bow/stern thrusters and electronic navigation systems have helped, running a 70-footer is not trivial. Peter