The 50' Trawler Yacht
"Vagabond"
Exterior Profile | Exterior Deck
Interior Profile | Interior Plan Aft | Interior Plan Below | Alternate Plan Below
Rendered Perspective Forward | Rendered Perspective Aft | The PramCopyright 2005 - 2007 Michael Kasten
General Concept
The goal with this design was to take the excellent attributes of the 46' Gulliver, and lengthen the waterline for increased speed and more accommodation space below. As with the Gulliver and the Greatheart series, the Vagabond hull form has been adapted from working West Coast fishing vessels. The intent has been to capture the excellent sea keeping qualities of those working craft, but to refine the lines into 'yacht' form in order to achieve an easily driven hull having relatively light displacement.
Particulars are:
- 50' LOD
- 45' - 7" DWL
- 13' - 7" Beam
- 4' – 11" Draft light
- 5' - 2" Draft loaded
- 45,500# light
- 59,700# with tanks full, ready for a voyage.
Hull, decks and cabin are planned for steel construction with scantlings according to the ABS Rule. The house top is cold molded plywood, laminated into a single large structure then sheathed in GRP. Plating, framing and other internal structures are intended to be detailed for NC cutting, including integral tanks, engine girders and bulkheads.
Power & Range
The engine specified is a John Deere 6 cylinder diesel for 175 hp at 2,400 rpm, mated to a Twin Disc gear using a 3:1 reduction to drive a 34" propeller. The "cruising speed" for long range voyaging with this hull is assumed to be around 8 knots. Theoretical hull speed is around 9.5 knots, however due to having relatively light displacement the hull should reach around 11 knots with the planned horsepower.
Using 1,250 USG of fuel and keeping a 12% reserve, the Beebe algorithm shows range in the average load condition to be around 3,200 NM at 7.8 knots. Other range prediction methods yield a slightly higher result but we have noted the more conservative Beebe results here.
Exterior Arrangement
Deck structures provide 6' - 6" standing headroom throughout. The aft deck, side decks, and interior pilot house decks are all at one level. There are three exterior water tight doors. The side and aft decks are surrounded by substantial bulwarks, and the fore deck by a toe rail. The aft deck and the well-deck forward are surrounded by a welded steel pulpit. The side decks are surrounded by welded stanchions and Dacron lifelines.
The fore deck spans the full width of the boat from bulwark to bulwark. This provides an enormous volume within the forward accommodations below. Davits allow placing a shore boat onto the fore deck. A substantial vertical capstan anchor windlass is located in the well-deck forward.
Right aft is an aft-facing seat that can be converted into a double berth for sleeping outdoors. The aft deck is planned in order to be easily enclosed by screens and / or vinyl - canvas, depending on the season.
A mast and paravane rig are located just aft of amidships. The mast is arranged with a boom to allow a second shore boat to be placed on the house top.
Interior Arrangement
The accommodations are intended to provide comfortable cruising for four people, plus one extra stateroom planned for use as an office. See the links above for a comprehensive view of the interior and exterior layout.
Beginning aft on the main deck there is a generous cockpit with aft facing seats, fixed table, and movable folding chairs. The pilot house is located at the forward end of the deck house, and has an entry door to port and starb'd. Just aft of the pilot house is a large U-shaped galley to port, plus refrigerator and freezer to starb'd. Right aft in the deck house is a large wrap-around dinette and table, plus two easy chairs. The intent is that this will be the primary living space. It will be light and open and will have good views in all directions.
Beginning forward on the lower deck, the large owner's cabin is forward, for maximum privacy and also to be sleeping in the best spot for keeping an intermittent anchor watch during the night. The owner's cabin has a queen size berth, plenty of shelves and two good sized hanging lockers. A hallway leads aft from there to access a shower and bath room (yes, a real bath tub...), plus a separate head and wash room. Two cabins are located amidships. One is planned as a guest cabin, and the other is planned as an office and laundry area. The office contains a 'berth-in-a-box' which serves as a large desk. When extra sleeping is required, the desk top flips out of the way to reveal a standard mattress. It is rather nice to have full use of that cabin, both day and night...!
An alternate layout for the 'midship area below turns the second stateroom into a large lounge in order to extend the office, and to provide a 'library / den' arrangement with wrap-around seating that can easily be transformed into a large double berth. With half-partitions and curtains, privacy for guests would be afforded. With this layout the 'midship cabin would be quite large, and would provide the ultimate in terms of dual use when guests are not aboard.
At the aft end of the hallway is a ladder to the pilot house. The engine room is located below the galley / saloon sole and is quite large. Access to the engine room is via a door behind the stairway and also via large opening hatches in the galley and saloon soles.
With all three cabins arranged for sleeping, plus the double berth on the aft deck, there is generous sleeping for eight...
Design Summary
Overall it has been a primary goal to fit two staterooms and an office into a sea-going boat of around 50 feet on deck. The alternate interior layout substitutes a nice "den" or library for the second stateroom, but still allows that area to be converted into a temporary guest cabin. I'm pleased to observe that the Vagabond interior has worked out nicely without making the boat seem crowded.
A secondary goal has been to enable easy canal cruising, therefore we have kept a relatively low profile. Air draft is under 10' - 9" in the half load condition. This opens the door to nearly all of the European canal system...! In all, the design is intentionally quite simple, so should be economical to build, to maintain, and to travel with.
Design Genesis
As with our other designs in the Greatheart and Voyager series, the hull form for this vessel has been adapted from real trawlers - US West Coast fishing vessels which have to operate in all weathers - including in the Gulf of Alaska, a place where the ocean is... well, not so nice. Our aim has been to retain the excellent sea keeping qualities of those working craft, and to refine their lines into 'yacht' form to achieve a more easily driven hull with relatively light displacement. See the following links for vessels in the Gulliver / Greatheart series...
Greatheart 36 | Gulliver 46 | Greatheart 48 | Greatheart 54
Greatheart 60 | Swallow's Nest 60 | Braveheart 53 | Braveheart 63In order to achieve a proportionately longer waterline and more interior space without increasing boat length, we developed another series of designs based on the same hull form, but with 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
For more information on this or other designs, please inquire
Please see the Plans List page to review our available Boat Plans.
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