Time to Change Your Boating Style? 4 Types of Boats For Slowing Down
Longtime boaters know their boating lifestyle evolves with them. Maybe you’ve noticed that already and have looked at other types of boats. When you’re young, you want to go fast. You look forward to festive afternoons on the hook or at the nearest sandbar. Many of you crave high-octane tubing, skiing, and boarding.
When you start a family, many of you shift gears and move up to comfortable cruisers with plenty of space for little people who need to take naps, play in the shade, and toddle safely in the cockpit. Later, if these growing children share your enthusiasm for watersports or fishing, you likely will level up with larger, more capable models.
Eventually, however, these children grow up and start lives of their own. Then you face an empty nest—and a sea change. Not only are you not hauling gear and groceries for a crowd anymore, your own needs are changing.
And that might mean looking at different types of boats.
1. Day Boats
After decades of wrangling large cruising or sportfishing yachts, some boaters seek to downsize when their children are grown. Some simply want a vessel that’s easier to manage with just one or two people. If overnight cruising or passagemaking no longer appeals to you, day boats are an ideal choice.
Designed for elegant day outings and sunset cruises, these boats typically feature open layouts, plush seating, and amenities such as wet bars, refrigerators, grills, sunpads, and transom showers. Some even offer partial or full enclosures, allowing you to extend your season into spring and fall, especially up north.
Mainstream boatbuilders with day-boat models include Jeanneau, Axopar, Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, Bayliner, and Chaparral. For a classic Downeast vibe, look at Hinckley Picnic Boats and Back Cove Yachts.
2. Pocket Tugs
Want to stay trailerable while also enjoying the occasional overnight cruise? You’re in luck. Pocket tugs blend charm, capability, and community.
Compact and efficient, these little powerhouses are beloved by cruising couples who appreciate their nostalgic lines, smart layouts, and fuel efficiency. They’re also easy to tow and launch, providing opportunities to explore different cruising grounds without losing valuable time in on-water transit.
Look for models from Ranger Tugs, C-Dory, and Cutwater. You’ll quickly find yourself joining rendezvous events and trading stories with fellow owners in a tightly knit cruising family.
3. Small Sailboats
While some sailors shift to powerboats later in life, others remain committed to canvas. If you belong to the latter camp, the key is to find a sailboat that’s easy to manage solo or with a partner. Especially if your physical agility isn’t what it once was.
Today’s smaller cruising sailboats often include user-friendly features such as electric winches and roller-furling, self-tacking jibs. They’re all designed to make shorthanded sailing easier.
Manufacturers such as Catalina Yachts, Com-Pac Yachts, Beneteau, Jeanneau, and Sage Marine offer well-equipped models for coastal cruising and gunkholing. I have happily owned both Catalina and Com-Pac sailboats, logging countless single- and double-handed hours on boisterous Lake Michigan as well as tranquil inland lakes in Wisconsin’s North Woods.
If you still crave speed and plan to join the local racing scene, check out J/Boats. And if you still love offshore cruising, consider Island Packet Yachts among the types of boats you research.
4. Trawlers
Plenty of boaters dream of long-range cruising during their golden years. Perhaps that means exploring the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), cruising the Great Loop, or harbor-hopping through the San Juan Islands or Chesapeake Bay.
Trawlers are among the types of boats built for the journey. These comfortable, stable, full- or semi-displacement vessels cruise efficiently at 6 to 8 knots, provide excellent fuel economy and offer spacious accommodations. Many are optimized for easy handling, making them ideal for couples.
Beneteau, Nordhavn, Nordic Tugs, Kadey-Krogen, and Grand Banks are excellent choices.
Trawlers: What to Consider Before You Buy
If you’re not an experienced cruiser but are looking for the right model for your dream cruise, make sure your boat is appropriate for the proposed route:
- Draft. Shallower is better for rivers, bays, and the ICW. For the Great Loop, max draft is approximately 5 feet, and less than 4 feet is better.
- Height. Know your boat’s “air draft” from the waterline to its highest fixed point. This cannot exceed the height of your route’s lowest fixed bridge. On the Great Loop, for example, that’s 19 feet, 6 inches in Chicago.
- Fuel Capacity/Range. For long legs between available fuel stops, aim for 300 to 500 nautical miles of range.
- Holding Tank Size. This is a critical number if you’ll be far from pumpout stations while passagemaking or if you’re cruising in a remote or protected area.
The Next Chapter Begins
The joys of boating don’t fade with time. They simply shift, and a slower life doesn’t mean that adventure is over. It just looks a little different. Fortunately, no matter what your next chapter holds, you have different types of boats to choose from.
Images are courtesy of the manufacturers.
Find Trawlers in the Marketplace
Heather Steinberger
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