When the Going Gets Rough...

Among the most dangerous and thankless things anyone could ever do is suggest that one boat is better than another for someone they know nothing about, but, since I have never been credited with an overabundance of good sense and you asked ...

If you hire a very experienced and objective surveyor with a well founded knowledge of steel construction and have the boat surveyed thoroughly and it surverys well, there isn't even a choice in my personal opinion. If you want to keep your wife happy, buy the trawler and let her make it a home.

If you insist on running up and down the west coast and have the money, install stabilizers, if you don't have the money and still insist, install paravane type roll reducers. Some people call them "birds" and they work fairly well underway and at anchor depending on the design of the wet parts.

There are a thousand reasons I hold the opinion that I do but nobody here wants to read them, half will think I am nuts or stupid, but I do know how to be comfortable on the west coast so I would go for Antipodes in a heartbeat over those plastic Barbie things.

WELCOME STUART

you are wright there is a large wealth of info here and some very wise sailors and engineers having made the trip up and down the coast many times my personal preference is the trawler it is much slower but more fuel efficient and if the weather turns bad if my wife is knot on board we just keep going , i know a lot of people make the trip in all kinds of boats with good success i no a lot of boats travel much faster for example a few years ago we cleared customs in san diego just behind another boat they left before us and we watched them on the ais all the way up the coast , we ran day and night they ran only during the day hours they were going 20 knt's we were runing 8.8 knts average we pasted them in santa barbara they caught us just above point conception it was like this all the way to port angeles they arrived first it was a larger boat than hours length wise we way about twice as much as they do they took on 18000. gallons of fuel we took on 5100 . gallons after they did they so there is a huge difference in boat just do your home work and decide what fits you needs best if the steel boat is in san diego there are a couple of good surveyors that know steel boats well down there and one real good ultra sound guy for the hull
good luck travler

I was just asked this question yesterday from somebody wondering about whether a 30,000# 50 footer could handle seas as well as a 50,000# 50. The short answer I'd give is yes, because it depends on many factors, the most important being hull design. I pointed out that I'd rather go through a hurricane on a 26' sailboat than a 50' sport cruiser although the cruiser would handle it much more comfortably until it sank as the sailboat continued on. So it all depends on the circumstances, and whether you're talking about comfort or survivability. Personally, I like the option of outrunning the weather, and hate to wallow through inlets as waves sweep my stern.

"Now, your big issue if deciding on a MY is design and sea keeping abilities."

Look at the other two boat he is considering in (I presume) San Diego ... I wouldn't go outside the bay in either one much less head north or try and live on one of them.

And Ed, "hate to wallow through inlets as waves sweep my stern." doesn't often apply on the west coast. The inlets can be hundreds of miles apart and they are closed when the weather gets bad. The west coast is uphill headed north, and there is about a 3000 mile fetch to consider.

"...get to the shopping center and beauty saloon quicker ..."

Yeah, she's shopping while you're at the fuel dock watching the totalizer increment up faster than the national debt. Which one of those efforts will empty the bank account first?

Those other two boats might be nice in LI Sound or the ICW but for anything other than places to drink on the weekend they sure aren't cruising liveaboards for anyone over 30. But, that's just my opinion even though it is colored by making the trip between SoCal and the PNW and Alaska more than a few times on all sizes of boats.

For what your planning I think your wife would be happier with the motoryacht. It would give you the option of outrunning weather and fast moving inlets. I think the trawler would be more for economy and style, maybe sacrificing comfort for that.

Have you ever been on a trawler? Have you ever been on any boat offshore the west coast? There is a quantum difference between a 70 foot Stephens motoryacht and one of those other things. In the modern use of the term, the Stephens is a "trawler" to many folks. Even the Yachtsmiths has moderate chines, bilge keels, and a flat afterbody. It is not a round bellied full displacement hull by any measure.

I do believe you should Google the type of boats he is looking at in SD. Two of them are brokered by Crowsnest in SD, and it looks like JW has a listing on the trawler called Antipodes in SD. Maybe those are the exact boats.

And after reading his posts I also believe he hasn't been on either style in any kind of weather. There is a bit of a disconnect between cruising the west coast offshore "splitting through the waves" between Alaska and Cabo and not wanting anything to do with stabilizers.

I have this image of one of those toy boat things doing a Bertram in a 40 foot swell off the Columbia Bar or Queen Charlotte Sound. Geez just outside the GG the potato patch will make the little lady go off boating forever when that barbie boat has to slow to a crawl just to avoid lifting the engines off the mounts.

I live in Cabo, owned a 57' Mckinna. I have also delivered boats between Seattle and LA. The McKinna is a great day/ weekend boat but would not want to be out in a blow in her. A very wet boat in head seas and pounds quite a bit. Their just not made to sustain rough seas. Besides that, a great boat for the money and raises fish!