Economy
Great news! You don’t need $millions to enjoy a comfortable cruising life!
When we look at what other boat builders and dealers are charging for a new boat, it’s no wonder the industry is going through unusually tough times. New cruising boats have become so expensive to buy and maintain, it’s becoming impossible for people with average means to buy a new boat and go cruising.
We’ve seen the prices of those popular brands of trawlers reach sky-high prices like over $1 million for a 44-footer that is nothing more than a rehash of a 35-year old design. Or how about $950,000 for a new 41-footer that has so many complex systems that its owner will be in constant need of high-priced service technicians to keep everything running.
And even if you can afford one of these gold-plated wonders, the cost of operating and maintaining it could easily keep you tied to the dock. Do you think it’s worth burning through 20 or 30 gallons of fuel per hour just so you can reach “semi-displacement” speeds of 14 knots? Or do you want to pay a boat yard $40-$50 an hour to keep all that “yachty” exterior varnish looking perfect?
The wood-free exteriors of Great Harbours require minimum maintenance. You’ll have more fun while spending less money.
Great Harbour Trawlers are the sensible alternative to all this craziness. Because of our intelligent, practical designs, low overhead manufacturing facility, and policy of selling direct from our factory, the cost of our new trawlers is often comparable to buying a used boat.
We have also resisted making our boats more complicated than they need to be. By keeping things relatively simple and straightforward, we can keep the costs down. A perfect example of this approach is the use of high quality home appliances in lieu of complex “marine” appliances. Most new cruising boats in our size range don’t have room for a full size household refrigerator, so they resort to complicated little marine units that cost a fortune and are a constant headache to keep running.
A Great Harbour galley features a full size household refrigerator which is not only much more convenient and enjoyable to use than a marine refrigeration unit, but it costs far less to service.
Another example of how our intelligent designs and “KISS” approach to boatbuilding pays off is our reliance on the inherent form stability of our hulls instead of complex and terribly costly stabilizer systems. What a costly shame that builders continue to build trawlers with sailboat type hulls that rock and roll even when sitting at the dock. Their only solution is to add expensive stabilizer systems that seem to have a habit of failing when they’re needed most – in rough seas!
The owner of this Great Harbour N47 heads out to sea confident that his boat’s inherently stable hull will give him a comfortable ride without having to rely on finicky, expensive stabilizer systems.
The cost to “stabilize” a 40-footer can easily add $50,000 or more to the price of a new boat. (If you wonder if our hulls are stable enough for ocean passages, consider that our little 37s have made crossings to Bermuda and Hawaii with no problem and with their crews never having to worry about whether their stabilizers would keep working.)
Today’s fuel prices are certainly an enigma. But one thing is certain. The cost of diesel fuel will continue to be a big issue for cruisers. We’ll never see $.99 a gallon for fuel again, and it wasn’t long ago that we were paying nearly $5 a gallon. Even at $3 a gallon, boats that burn 20, 30 or more gallons an hour are just too expensive for most people to run. Even 10-gallons-an-hour seems like a waste to us. In contrast, our N37 burns a total of 2.2 gph when running at her cruising speed of 7.5 knots. That’s an incredible 3.4 nautical miles-per-gallon for a boat big enough for full time liveaboards! Or, our GH37, which has the interior room of a Manhattan apartment , can cruise from Maine to Miami on a single tank of diesel fuel.
The Great Harbour 47 is powered by two small, efficient diesel engines which together burn less than 3 GPH at cruising speeds.
Many of our owners are happily cruising full time, and most are of modest means. Their Great Harbour Trawlers have proven to be economical to buy and even more economical to operate and maintain. Whether you’re a millionaire or not, we think you’ll appreciate our common sense approach to cruising.
