Trawler Talk

Andre Lay and Cavendish are back on the brine! Lay returns to his SeaPiper 37 in southern Mexico to resume his slow-burn journey, with the goal of circumnavigating North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These four intrepid women spent over two months on a North Pacific 28, cruising on the Inside Passage of British Columbia, inspired by the century-old adventures of a trailblazer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime boaters Alec and Laurie Thyrre first bought a trawler when son Jack was born and became enthralled with the safety, pace and ability to reach far-flung destinations. Taking an early retirement, they family spent several years cruising throughout Europe after crossing the Atlantic on their Nordhavn 64. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest host Dan Harding, editor-in-chief of sister publication Power & Motoryacht, joins the new owners of the Fleming flagship—an 85-foot, enclosed bridge model—to talk boats, cruising, why they chose Fleming Yachts, and more.

After selling his tech startup, engineer James Waters and his wife nearly purchased a 63-foot trawler. But the jump was too big for insurers, so the Waters' pivoted. They bought a smaller vessel and cruised far and wide, learned its many systems and earned sea time with the goal of a life as liveaboards on a proper trawler.

Longtime liveaboard Stephenie Hollyman's life sounds like a fable. The seasoned captain and author was hooked early to the aquatic life, with stops as a New York Harbor tugboat cook, a Fulbright scholar and a lower Manhattan resident that shared a loft with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Soundings Deputy Editor Pim Van Hemmen joined boatbuilder Sam Devlin on a summer cruise in Alaska aboard Puffin, Devlin's 1966 wooden trawler.

Jeff Druek's professional life started in the commercial fishing industry which morphed into a successful career in custom homebuilding. When it came time to reward himself with a yacht, he became frustrated with the lack of customization available, so he built his own. Thus, Outer Reef Yachts was born.

Every September, the Côte d'Azur welcomes boatbuilders from around the world for the Cannes Yachting Festival. Trawler Talk host Jeff Moser is joined by Power & Motoryacht senior editor Chris Dixon to talk about the new boats, the trends, the sea trials and more that took place on the French Riviera.

Former naval officer Joe Lovejoy fell in love with the sea while stationed in coastal Japan. After completing his service, he figured that life as a liveaboard would suit his tastes and found his new home, a 1982 Ed Monk 36, near San Diego. Lovejoy details his search, the work he's done to her, the people that have helped him along the way and what's next for him.

This couple, their two kids and two cats spent 15 months traveling the Great Loop, documenting it all on their YouTube channel. We speak with the intrepid boaters for the inside scoop on their adventure.

Joe Tokarz has been restoring old boats as a way to unwind from his career as a federal agent. When he retired in 2022, he founded MotorCity Boat Werks, a YouTube channel that covers the how-tos in amateur boat restoration. Currently, he's working on a major refit of an Albin 27 pocket trawler. Last year, Joe and his wife spent 2 weeks on a chartered steel trawler "chasing windmills" in the Dutch province of Friesland.

Fort Lauderdale's first-class marinas, service yards, dining and nightlife—and its ideal location along the ICW and as a gateway to the Bahamas—makes it such an inviting destination for cruisers.

We meet with Selene Yachts founder and CEO Howard Chen as the company celebrates its 25-year anniversary building long-range, full-displacement trawlers. Chen is joined by Selene Americas President Wayne Goldman to discuss the company's expansion plans, new models and more. We also chat with technical Director Dylan Hildebrand about outfitting the new 60 Ocean Explorer.

Passagemaker's Trawlerfest is more than a boat show: it is where the builders, educators and community come together in an intimate, rendezvous atmosphere. We spoke to several exhibitors and educators at our Stuart Trawlerfest to get a sense of this incredible, not-to-be-missed gathering.

The Paulsons have spent the last few years blissfully exploring the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America onboard their 1968 Grand Banks 42 Classic, Splinters. It's a long way from the Colorado barn where the couple's herculean efforts gave the 42 a second chance at a seagoing life.

This couple had the boat of their dreams, a Marlow 62, built for them to take on the Great Loop—which they completed in 2023—and far beyond.

An intrepid couple who had undertaken a half-dozen refits bring Robert Beebe's Passagemaker back from the brink.

Longtime captain Nakomis Nelson shares the planning and preparation behind his bucket list, 4,200-nautical-mile trip from Holland to Maine via Iceland and Greenland on an Elling E6.

For over four decades, Steve Zimmerman has run his eponymously named repair and service centers along the U.S. East Coast. Zimmerman tells us about his beginnings in the marine trade, what to expect from a boatyard that's worth its salt and what you need to know when buying a used boat.

This seasoned waterman took delivery of his SeaPiper 35 and has started a journey that, when completed, will see his compact trawler circumnavigate North America.

A few years ago, April and Rio DeGennaro had never heard of the Great Loop. But once they did, they never looked back. They attended several AGLCA events and spent significant time finding the right boat for the singular American adventure, which they plan on tackling in 2024.

We agree on what defines a recreational trawler, but what about a passagemaker? Are they one in the same? Host Jeff Moser and longtime marine journalist Kenny Wooton discuss.

We chat with the director of America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association about this uniquely American adventure.

Cruising at displacement speeds? Why not troll for fish as well! Our guest, Anglers Journal editor-in-chief Charlie Levine, fills us in on the gear and techniques you need to supplement your sundries with fresh fish.

After extensive cruises on U.S. waterways, Robert and Graciela Gannon shipped their Ranger Tugs R-31 to Holland for a multi-year journey throughout Europe. This episode is sponsored by Imtra: https://www.imtra.com/products/anchoring

These Loop veterans cruised north on their powercat to explore Canada's lakes and historic canals.

Josh and Sophia Johnson found a Diesel Duck 462 in Hawaii and spent over a year traveling from their home in Arizona to get her ready for a 2,500 nautical mile journey to Alaska. But the story doesn't end there.

These fundamental, yet off the beaten path, navigation tips may help get you home when things go bad, or your electronics go out. 

Take these steps to ensure a trouble-free launch at the start of your boating season, or after having some work done on your vessel. This episode is sponsored by the Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show featuring Trawlerfest.

Editor-in-chief Jeff Moser is joined by Power & Motoryacht's Chris Dixon to discuss their journey to South Africa to visit Robertson and Caine, builder of Leopard Catamarans.  

Calling himself a designing boatbuilder, Sam Devlin has run Devlin Designing Boat Builders since 1978. An active proponent of wood/epoxy boats throughout his career, Sam is the author of the 1997 best seller Devlin's Boat Building on the stitch-and-glue method. 

Tony Fleming got into boatbuilding by chance and spent a quarter-century with American Marine, which would become Grand Banks Yachts. At age 50, Fleming founded his eponymously named yacht company, which would go on to be among the most successful lines of passagemaking yachts ever built. Fleming reflects on his early days, extensive cruising in his retirement and more.

Jennifer Johnson and Elliot Schoenfeld returned to the States after their around-the-world trip was cut short by Covid. But they wanted to keep moving. The couple—both 30 and with virtually no boating experience—tell us how they fell in love with life on the water while abroad, finding the right boat that would also be their home and how they decided to take on the Great Loop on a budget and while managing professional careers.

Addressing a maintenance checklist during the heart of the boating season will help to ensure trouble-free cruising. It's a good time to get everything up to snuff, and to ensure a better end to the boating season.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, boating newbies Kate and Tim Carney knew it was time to buy their first vessel and take on the 6,000-mile Great Loop.

Slipped on the deck and hit your head? Cut your hand on something in the engine room? Have a chronic heart or body condition? Whether you are coastal cruising‚ or headed well offshore, telemedicine is a must-have. While some injuries don't seem serious, they can become dire when they are assessed incorrectly. Our guest, Mike Dunleavy, discusses how DigiGone's portable medical kits can be used via satellite or Wi-Fi to virtually connect cruisers, in real time, to onshore physicians. 

For many of us, our boats are a floating home for large portions of the year, to be shared with family—and that includes dogs. For the uninitiated, there are more than a few things you'll need to know before inviting the pooch onboard, from bathroom breaks and doggie life vests to getting the dog comfortable being on a rocking boat and into the dinghy. Our guest, Betsie Tegtmeyer, who is principal of Krogen Express, has been cruising with dogs for over a quarter-century and shares what she's learned along the way.

Jim Leishman first built sailboats before launching Nordhavn and shifting to long-range, full-displacement trawlers. Over the last three-plus decades, Nordhavn has designed and built a line of robust vessels from 35 to 120 feet, earning accolades as one of the most esteemed brands in the recreational trawler market. Leishman talks about the success of the new N41, what's next from its Turkish yard, building fast trawlers while still staying firmly in its full displacement lane, and introducing new technology to venerable builder's model line. 

How does one become a professional delivery captain? Passagemaker editor-in-chief Jeff Moser is joined by Power & Motoryacht honcho Dan Harding and Pim Van Hemmen, executive editor of Soundings to chat with Capt. Jim Marshall of Reliable Yacht Deliveries, who shares his decades of experience in the marine industry and valuable insight on what it takes to be successful at what many would consider a dream occupation.

Want to take a Zoom meeting from the flybridge? Have a need to stream the NFL while on the hook? There are a few ways to gain access to the internet while onboard your boat and away from your home port. Our guest, Paul Comyns of Intellian, discusses both land-and satellite-based systems to provide different levels of connectivity, the hardware needed to get connected and what you'd expect to pay based on your needs.

Seventeen years ago, our guest Pat Schulte, and his wife, sold the farm to circumnavigate the globe—an unlikely chapter in their lives, considering Pat and his wife both grew up as landlocked Midwesterners, without a single boater in either family. They've been liveaboards ever since. In this episode, Pat shares his amazing story of jumping from landlubber to liveaboard, offering sage advice to anyone considering following in his footsteps.

In this episode, veteran cruiser Chris Caswell identifies the essential components you should be considering when shopping for the "perfect" Great Loop boat.

Contrary to common belief, the degree of difficulty in docking does not necessarily increase with the size of the boat. In reality, handling a larger boat in close quarters is no more difficult than handling a smaller one. It's all about strategy and overcoming two particular challenges. In this episode, boat-handling expert Bob Arrington reveals his keys to stress-free docking, regardless of the size of your boat.

Welcome to the YouTube Liveaboard Revolution, where tech-savvy cruisers are using social media to reach hundreds of thousands of followers, foregoing their own privacy to educate and inspire the next generation of trawler nuts. Join us behind the scenes of these trawler YouTubers, as we explore why they do it, how they do it, and what’s in it for them.

Over the last decade, we’ve been witness to a variable brokerage market fluctuating between buyers and sellers. Today, many brokerage experts see the market for trawlers and long-range cruising boats shifting once again. So how can you as a buyer or seller gain an advantage? In this episode, industry experts Jeff Merrill (JMYS) and Kevin Althoff (Burr Yacht Sales) reveal how you can become more "sales" savvy and set yourself up for success when it comes to any trawler transaction. 

What is it like to spend extended time aboard a trawler? What do you eat, where do you go, how are the decisions made? Who maintains the boat? Who navigates? And what are some of the responsibilities, jobs and tasks associated with living aboard and cruising? In this episode, we unpack it all from the cozy confines of the American Tug 395 trawler "Esmeralde," where Bruce and Dorsey Beard have been entertaining and inspiring trawler enthusiasts worldwide through their popular Facebook group "Trawler Life."

The trawler. It’s more than a boat. It’s a lifestyle adopted by the adventurous-at-heart who enjoy long-term cruising. From Great Loopers and coastal cruisers to bonafide ocean crossers, the trawler is the vehicle that binds us, where the galley is of equal importance to the engine room, and horsepower is as essential to us as the salty air we breathe. In this episode, recorded on location at TrawlerFest, we sit down with long-time cruisers Rudy and Jill Sechez, and Capts. Chris and Alyse Caldwell, for a deep dive into what the trawler life is all about. (Music: https://www.purple-planet.com)

Meet Brooke and Braden Palmer, who, along with their daughter Rooney (7), son Penn (5), and the two family dogs, have been living aboard their Nordhavn 55 Mermaid Monster for a couple of years now. Like many liveaboards, they bought the boat, liquidated most of their land-based life, and then embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Join us as we dive into the triumphs and challenges of living aboard and long-range cruising with kids. (Music: https://www.purple-planet.com)

Fascinated with the Great Loop and wondering how you can make it happen? AGLCA Executive Director Kim Russo joins us to help answer some questions about the Great Loop for those who might be considering the journey—plus tips and local knowledge to prepare you for the great American waterway adventure and inspire you to get out there and make the dream a reality. Sponsored by Ranger Tugs  (Music: https://www.purple-planet.com)

Weather expert Chris Parker touches on some key facts about marine weather you should know but probably don’t, the best weather apps and how to use them, and man’s entanglement with hurricanes at sea. Sponsored by Outer Reef Yachts. (Music: https://www.purple-planet.com)