Speaking of books and blogs, everyone devotes a chapter about the reasons they chose their particular boat. In the case of a "trailerable trawler", there is also the decision of a tow vehicle (unless of course you already own one). We had always been sailboat owners; first owning trailerable sailboats; eventually graduating to a 34ft keel Hunter which had all the creature comforts. After several years, though, of sailing San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River Delta,we longed to take to the road again and buy another trailerable boat. We decided to try a power boat because it would be more useful in areas we hoped to boat in the future: Lake Powell, the Pacific Northwest, and areas on the Great Loop....it also would provide more livable space than a trailerable centerboard sailboat.
In the book, Upside of Downsizing to a Trailerable Trawler by Jim and Lisa Favors, the authors had a large Trawler which they took on the Great Loop, selling their house, storing their belongings and cruising for a year. They then went back to their hometown and re-established their home with the idea of buying a trailerable boat the next time around. Why? Because they wanted to do short trips by car to places they probably couldn't reach with a bigger boat. For them, since they were from the Great Lakes, they wanted to see the West... as well as make trips to lakes or rivers they could reach more quickly by car.
In their book, they discuss their choice of both boat and vehicle; considering all the same candidates we looked at. Their choice was a 27 ft Ranger Tug which is a gorgeous boat with loads of creature comforts. But it is a huge boat on the trailer, and needs a very powerful pickup truck to tow it. We seriously considered its little brother, a 25 ft Ranger Tug, until we helped someone tow theirs down the street to launch. We realized, then, that we wanted a smaller boat that we could go anywhere with...on the water or the road. We enjoyed beaching our little sailboats; and we also knew that areas on the ICW were very shallow. We also really didn't want to buy a pickup but preferred an SUV. Based on the weight we could tow, we reduced the list of possible boats to a C-Dory 22 or a C-Dory Venture 23 (Cape Cruiser). They look about the same, have the same layout...the cockpit (which I think of as the porch) is a foot bigger; and there is a little more headroom and a slightly different hull shape in the Venture 23. There is a link to the specs and the layout at the bottom of this page.
This decision meant making many compromises. For me, the boat seemed "utilitarian"... basic fiberglass walls (not lined with headliner or wood veneer).. so not 'homey" and very noisy. Being a small boat, it also bangs around alot when underway...so not built for comfort. And speaking of comfort; there is no separate head (only a porta potti), no hot water, and no shower. That means more visits to marinas and less "anchoring out". To add living space, our cockpit has a bimini and camper enclosure... so we effectively add a room at night and additional privacy if needed.
The boat is divided into 3 sections: The V Berth is 6'4" ft long and about 8ft wide (at the widest), the pilot house is 6'6'" by about 7'.5" wide and the cockpit is 5" x about 7"5" wide. I calculate that to be living in about 86 sq ft plus a somewhat claustrophobic cubby hole for our bed.
Another big reason we chose the C-Dory was a very active owners community on C-Brats.com. There are many gatherings organized around the country during the year...and a rich "library" of posts about every conceivable question, problem or enhancement of these boats. The Brats are very knowledgeable boaters, fishermen and cruisers and always eager to help out. We've been to one outing (at Lake Powell) and are planning to attend a few along the way during our adventure on the loop.
As you will see, there are other cons to cruising with a trailerable boat versus a "real" trawler. I'll discuss those on the next post.
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