Hello All, I made a mad dash through the Oakland in the water boat show today. Dealers displayed mostly Carvers, Sea Rays, Regals, Navigators, an Ocean Alex 60 and the like. There were also some sailboats. Very few trawlers were on display. What was there in the way of trawlers was very interesting. The Nordic Tug dealer had their usual 32 and 37 plus an Island Gypsy 32. Typical Nordic Tugs, very nicely done and highly desirable semi displacement cruisers. The Island Gypsy, also semi displacement, was also quite well finished. No earth shaking developments on either line of boats. As always, the local dealer rigs their boats up to a very impressive standard of materials and workmanship. There was a Camano Troll, the first I've personally seen on the Bay or Delta. The boat was very interesting and seemed to be an impressive value at $62K with only 150 hours or so on her. Very small Vee berth up front but an impressive amount of headroom. With 133 gallons of fuel I'm wondering what the 7 knot range might be. They trucked it down for the original owners so there is no way to tell what the boat is capable of and the broker wasn't a fountain of information. Strange there was not a starboard sliding door or even a deck-level sliding window so the helmsperson could manage the spring cleat. The materials weren't hand rubbed teak yet the boat didn't feel the least bit cheap. The flybridge is party town USA, generously sized with a funny ladder arrangement leading above (design flaw?). The head on this particular boat came equipped with a VacuFlush system but there is no room for a shower stall. Still, this trawler earned its' way onto our short list, assuming the fuel consumption is in the ballpark of a PDQ cat or Willard 30/36/40 (Yes, Larry Z, I know there is nothing as efficient as your little Willard, a virtual perpetual motion machine!) A DeFever dealer from Sausalito displayed a Linssen Grand Sturdy 43 footer. WOW! The boat was a new unit for sale, not a customer boat or brokerage boat. It came equipped with twin (my recollection is fuzzy) 135 or 145 Volvo's (what else), a genset, air conditioning, a hydronic heating system with very cleverly placed radiators and a modest assortment of electronics. The boat is equipped with outside and inside helm stations. The cabinetry was rounded, inlaid and simply gorgeous. The master stateroom was a work of art and I liked the idea of the separate shower stall on the forward port wall of the stateroom with the head and sink across the cabin door to starboard. The shower was nearly house sized and featured a full width tile seat. The pictures in the advertisements and in the PMM articles fail to do the hull finish justice. Fiberglass manufacturers would kill to produce a hull so fair. I wasn't able to learn the price but it "looked" expensive. The boat came equipped with a 4-burner Ceran cook top, small refrigerator, small freezer and an icemaker. There wasn't any kind of oven; no propane, electric or convection/microwave. That was a little odd and the salesperson said the Dutch don't think such a unit is necessary (?). Engine room was totally shipshape. The boat carries relatively little fuel and only displaces about 40,000 pounds. Probably meant for a coastal cruising owner. I could easily live on this thing with the addition of radar, an oven, a bbq and a little more tankage. The stern had a strange welded tab extension extending full beam at the waterline. I wonder what kind of wake this boat throws? They're just finishing straightening the side rail stanchions from where the salesmen was forced to pry my fingers off to make me leave the boat. Very nice, indeed. Margary Griffith, a new Linssen owner, may be able to enlighten us on some of the particulars. Another dealer displayed a 25' C-Dory with twin outboards. Looked like a nice dayboat but the cockpit was not sealed. I guess you'd have to purchase a custom canvas arrangement to "camperize" the boat. There were too few creature comforts on that particular boat for my individual taste. Despite being Spartan, it was nicely finished and the rigging of the outboard controls and cabling looked very thoughtful and competent. Club Nautique displayed their usual inventory of Mainships. As always, they showed both the trawler and pilot series boats and rented an inside booth showcasing their charter programs. We are still planning to charter a 390 and report back on the experience. Stand by, perhaps in a few months we'll have some time to take the trip and write the post. One thing strikes me about all the Mainship boats. They are very evolutionary with no radical changes from year to year. Apparently they have a good thing going and are smart enough not to mess with it. One dealer displayed an Albin but it was most definitely a fishboat. Nicely rigged with plenty of rocket launchers and the like but it really didn't seem to cross over into the trawler niche, given its enormous cockpit and relatively small pilothouse and below deck area. They are attractive boats. So...we finally visited a show that featured some of the trawlers and pocket trawlers we've only read about. Most of the trawler products, even the mass production Mainships, offered construction and rigging details that were noticeably superior to the large company "condo style" day cruisers. The day cruisers have it all over the trawlers when it comes to furnishing of any type with clear leads in thoughtful features and design. Only the sport fishermen like the Riviera, Rodman (who?) and the Royal Pacific seemed up to the construction and installation detail standard of the trawlers. Biggest surprise of the day: The Meridian (former Bayliner) boats were rigged meticulously, easily meeting or exceeding the standard of the national brands that are supposed to offer superior quality and longevity. There were lots of Volvo diesels, closely followed by Yanmars and a Cat or two. Sorry CCC but I didn't survey all the transmissions. Nobody equipped any of the boats with watermakers or other passagemaking specific equipment. This was definitely the wrong venue to shop for a world capable trawler. For what it's worth, boat shows are the BEST! Nothing beats actually crawling around on the genuine article. Mags, websites and advertisements are great but they can't relate the feeling of spaciousness and quality that the best trawlers strike you with as soon as you step aboard. I have to go change my blue jeans now, wore the knees right out of 'em. Best Regards to All, Frank & Claudette Weismantel Elverta, CA Boatless for a little while longer