 |
| Wanderbird |
Every now and then I come across a really unique yacht that gets my attention and Wanderbird really does. I decided to post this boat because they just lowered the asking price to where I think she is a great buy and she is probably my favorite trawler of all time. At a cost of nearly $12,000,000 to build she is an amazing buy at the asking price of $2,900,000. The overall design is by Greg Marshall using a hull based on an Ed Monk Sr. design that was updated by Ed Monk Jr. who also designed the super structure. She was built in British Columbia by Park Isle Marine. Without question this has to be one of the best designed and equipped blue water trawlers on the market today. I always say the second owner of a custom built yacht gets the best deal.
If you wonder how a 65' trawler can cost that much to build you need to investigate how it was built and dig into what was put in her. In an article in 2007, Yachting Magazine quoted George Baker III, the father of her current owners, "Twenty years of ideas, two years of engineering and four years of building." In Baker's essay about the build of Wanderbird he wrote "I spent nearly 30 years planning Wanderbird. It began one evening after a friend of mine handed me a book and said, "Here's something that will put you to sleep." It was Robert Beebe's Voyaging Under Power and I stayed up all night reading it." That statement sums up what went into the building of Wanderbird. Following in the seafaring footsteps of his father, grandfather and ancestors, George cruised the world on both power and sailing yachts. With all that experience to draw on he said "I wanted Wanderbird to have range, comfort, stability, safety and efficiency and I could only achieve those aims by building a full-displacement yacht." His life was cut short before he was able to follow his dream on Wanderbird.
Baker had an interesting view on get home devices. In his essay he said " My previous boat had a generator that could drive the shaft if the engine failed but I never used it in 20 years. For Wanderbird I decided to make sails my get-home engine. Not a common solution, I admit, but one that can get me 2-3 knots in a pinch." In addition to getting Wanderbird home the sails also contribute to fuel economy often giving a one knot boost in speed while adding to the stability of the boat.
Stabilization had to be simple and effictive. For that reason Baker chose flopper stoppers over a hydraulic active fin system. They work both underway and at anchor. The flopper stopper poles can also do double duty as spinnaker poles to support wing and wing genoas.
I wondered why he chose two 1 3/4 berths in the master stateroom rather than a center-line queen. Baker said in his essay, "When we're at sea, these bunks offer a safe, comfortable place to sleep, unlike those silly center platform beds from which rolling seas can send you flying." That totally made sense to me. The two guest staterooms and crew staterooms follow that same philosophy.
 |
| Guest Stateroom |
 | |
| Master Stateroom |
 |
| Fly Bridge |
 |
| Fly Bridge Helm |
Keeping in mind the scope of cruising envisioned, the galley had to be located and designed to be useful in rough seas. Using top quality appliances and creating points to lean against this galley is any yacht chef's dream.
 |
| Galley |
Propulsion is provided by a Caterpillar 3408 de-tuned to 396 HP mounted on Lo-Rez flexible engine mounts. She has twin 32KW Northern Lights generators. To ensure being able to plug into shore power in any country she has an Atlas frequency converter which can handle either 50Hz or 60Hz input. With two 4KW Trace inverters she has enough battery power to handle basic electric needs in cool climates for nearly three days.
 |
| Saloon |
 |
| Wheel House |
Principal dimensions
LOA 72'-0"
LOA 72'-0"
Beam 18'-0"
Draft 7'-0"
Displacement 204,000 lbs
Click here to access the full listing.
Wanderbird is for sale and also available for charter. Here is a perfect opportunity to charter before you buy. For more information on charter or purchase contact Jack Zacks, Certified Professional Yacht Broker at 305-588-6532 (Mobile) or email.
