HUBBY IS GETTING EXCITED - 36' trawler - sugg. needed

[dcsam]

Well, the more we keep searching for boats, the more confused and overwhelmed we become. We've looked at Skipjacks, 31' Albins and now he seems really excited about the 36' Trawler Express. BUT, in addition to using this as a cruising vessel, we'd be using it a salmon/tuna charter here on the coast of Washington. I'm not thrilled with the covered cockpit area, and back seating areas (are they removable?). What's the cockpit size? Has anybody every heard of taking off that back cover/overhang? He sure does like this boat, but I think he's dreaming, and it's just not practical. However, the price of these seem very reasonable compared to some of the other boats we've been looking at. What's the reason for that? So..... any other boat recommendations I should be looking at?
Thanks so much!
Caroline
WA state

[Mariner]

The cover is removable. You might have to do some custom work to cover some stuff back up, but yes, the cover bolts on. The seats, however, do not. They are molded in. In my opinion, this is just fine, as the locker underneath them can be converted into a very large livewell. The boat is already starboard-heavy, though (at least ours is), so you would have to offset this weight somehow. Also, if you filled the entire thing, you may want to add some structural support beneath it.

For the fishing that I do here in the Sound (salmon and crab), the cover is great. It keeps us out of the rain. I have the rod holders on the swimstep railing, and don't do a lot of casting. Downriggers are mounted on the larger railing, just forward of the swimstep. I pull crab pots from a block mounted in the starboard-aft corner of the flybridge, standing down below, just by the aft helm. This makes it a one man job when necessary, and keeps me out of the rain. I use a grappling hook rather than a boat hook to avoid having to reach over the side.

My opinion of the boat is that, while it is nice and beamy at the sheer line, it's not very beamy at the waterline. The boat tends to list a lot when unevenly loaded, and I suspect it would roll uncomfortably in large, offshore swells. I've had some pretty uncomfortable experiences crossing the straights.

One of the advantages of this boat, however, is how dual-purpose it can be. The carpets in the cabin are removable and underneath them is painted non-skid that matches the rest of the decks. Pull them out for charter work, bring them back in for cruising. There are lots of little features like that built into this boat.

Why the low prices? Well, all larger powerboats are being hammered in the market right now. But even before that, the 36 ET represented a lot of value for your dollar. Very few of these boats were built and apparently some of the early boats had problems with weight distribution that affected performance. But most of all, I think the extremely unique design of the boat, coupled with horrible mismanagement of the marketing effort on the part of Albin made for an unpopular boat, which has driven prices, particularly in the used market, down. It doesn't help that Albin abandoned the line in 2005, and then went out of business in 2009, voiding any hull warranties, and leaving owners hung out to dry in terms of dealer support (which was lacking from the beginning).

Build quality on the boats is good. I wouldn't compare them to a Hinkley or anything, but they used high quality components and thousands of hours of skilled craftsman labor to build each boat. Everything in the boat is over-done. Everything is solid wood (maple), stainless steel, and well put together. The hull is Airex cored, but that doesn't seem to have been a problem for anyone. There have been no reports here of waterlogged hulls, even including one that was holed and sank.

If you want the best of the best of this type of boat, a Coastal Craft is for you. But they are literally 6x the money.