T&T: Trawler vs Motoryacht

[C. Marin Faure]

The marketing types have gotten things so muddled up in their efforts  
to "enhance" the image of one kind of boat by calling it a different  
kind of boat that I can't keep the names straight anymore.   So maybe  
someone can enlighten me.

When I was first learning about this stuff, the term "trawler" in the  
recreational sense meant a displacement or semi-planing hull with a  
cabin configuration reminiscent of a working fish boat with  
relatively low power, good seakeeping abilities, and low fuel  
consumption at a relatively slow speed.

The term "motoryacht" was not used to describe a type of boat, but a  
specific aft cabin configuration---  it is the whole width of the  
boat and (usually) extends all the way aft to the transom.

So a "trawler" like a Grand Banks can also be a "motoryacht" if it  
has a full-width aft cabin.  And in fact that's exactly what GB  
called their boats with full-width aft cabins.  Their  
"trawlers" (although I don't believe GB ever used that term to  
describe their boats) were built in four different configurations.   
The "Classic" or tri-cabin, the "Sedan" which is essentially a  
Classic with a longer main cabin and no aft cabin, the "Europa" which  
is a Sedan with a main cabin overhead that overhangs the side and aft  
decks, and the "Motoryacht" which is a Classic but with a full-width  
aft cabin that extends back to the transom.

But now I see the term "Motoryacht" being used to describe a complete  
boat configuration, same as the terms "trawler," "express cruiser,"  
"lobsterboat,"  "tug," etc.  So what exactly is a "Motoryacht" these  
days?


____________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington