Celebrating Thirteen Years Online
Celebrating Thirteen Years Online
The 36' Trawler Yacht
Greatheart
Outboard Profile | Interior P & A | Perspective Forward | Perspective AftCopyright 1999 - 2009 Michael Kasten
General Concept
The intent of this design has been to create an aluminum trawler yacht as simply as possible for economy, and as rugged and seaworthy as possible for long range ocean passages. See the images available via the links above for detailed views of the interior and exterior.
Power requirements are very modest, therefore engine choices are many. An engine of any make having 50 hp will be very adequate to drive the vessel, and predicted top speed with that power is around 7.5 knots.
One very fine engine is the Lister 4 cylinder Alpha, available in horsepower ratings from 40 hp to 55 hp. It would be ideal to couple the Lister engine to a Sabb HVP-25 controllable pitch propeller. In fact, this very combination is available directly from Sabb, maker of the CP gear.
Dimensions of the 36' Greatheart are:
- DWL: 29' - 5"
- Beam: 10' - 3"
- Draft: 4' - 3"
- DWL Displacement: 17,500 lb.
- Loaded Displacement: 22,000 lb.
- D / L: 303
- Pc: .59
Interior Arrangement
The accommodations below and in the pilot house are intended to provide comfortable cruising for two people on extended passages, with the occasional addition of one or two guests.
One of the forward settees extends out to become a temporary double. A generous owner's cabin aft provides ultimate privacy and a true "double bed" size berth. With the wheel house above the engine room amidships, all is in balance and there is plenty of room for machinery and tanks. One great feature of this boat is the aft facing seat on the sun deck aft!
The Greatheart 36 will be an extremely economical boat to build and to cruise. By design, the Greatheart series of vessels are strong, safe, stable and efficient, offering trans-ocean capability and cozy local cruising. Possibly the ideal trawler for a cruising a couple....
Additionally, with a beam of just over 10 feet, and a "dry" weight of under 15k lbs, the boat could easily be trailered from one cruising site to another.
In short, quite an amazing little ship....!
Sail Rig...
The sail rig shown in the above images is only intended to be sufficient for get-home purposes in the event of engine trouble and to also act as steadying sails. In other words, sailing performance was not considered a top priority, thus the design is primarily that of a motor vessel.
The hull would however sail well if given sufficient sail area and a revised keel profile. In the Larger Color Image I have sketched a proposed keel profile and a proposed forward mast location. The sail rig for that configuration is yet to be determined. The amount of sail area possible would depend on the stability characteristics after adding ballast in a revised keel profile.
Design Genesis
Several of our designs share the same essential source hull type, in this case derived from the North Pacific fishing trawlers which operate in all weathers in the Gulf of Alaska, a place where the ocean is... well, not so nice. We refined the fishing trawler hull type to create a more yacht-like shape and that became the "Greatheart / Gulliver" series. See the following links for vessels in the Greatheart series...
Greatheart 36 | Gulliver 46 | Greatheart 48 | Greatheart 54 | Greatheart 60 | Swallows Nest 60
We then modified the hull to create the "Vagabond" series which makes use of a proportionately longer waterline and a more upright stem and transom. Combined, this reduces the overhangs and increases the WL length to gain more interior space with less overall hull length. Check out the following links for boats in the Vagabond series...
Vagrant 49 | Vagabond 50 | Voyager 52 | Valdemar 53
Another take-off on the Greatheart 36 interior design is the Wave Runner 36, which shares exactly the same layout as the Greatheart 36, but which has a sleek semi-displacement hull form capable of excellent semi-planing performance that can still motor efficiently at slower speed.
The most recent hull form that also makes use of the excellent Greatheart 36 interior layout is the Blue Horizon 36. While the interior remains un-changed, the hull has been made more full in order to allow construction in steel, and aft is a very elegant fantail stern...!
For more information on this or other designs, please inquire
Direct Quote from an aluminum boat owner...As an owner since 5 years of an aluminum boat I could not agree more with your preference for this material. She is a great boat and requires very little in the way of maintenance. I do a lot more reef snorkeling than the paint, polish, varnish and wax guys!--Peter Kminek
Please see the Plans List page to review our available Boat Plans.
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