Trawler Lifestyle | PassageMaker Magazine & Events

A few years ago, the owner of a new trawler visited the boatyard I manage. He sat in my office and dictated a moderately long list of improvements, modifications, and repairs that required attention. One of his minor complaints was that the engine-compartment door was sticking. He complained that when the engine compartment was hot, the door was difficult to open.

I transcribed his complaint into the work order and didn’t give it any further thought, until the boat arrived at the yard a few weeks later and work commenced. The carpenter assigned to this task—an experienced shipwright and skilled craftsman—called my office to say that he couldn’t find anything wrong with the door, as it opened and closed without difficulty. “Did you test it with the engine room hot?” I inquired. He hadn’t, but this was my fault; I had neglected to note in the work order that the problem occurs only when the door heats up and expands. A few hours later, he called back: “It still works fine—opens and closes without any difficulty,” he reported again.

Few people in our niche are unfamiliar with the Krogen trawlers offered by Kadey-Krogen Yachts. Since the late 1970s, the company has continued to satisfy a growing fleet of owners with these capable, full-displacement trawler yachts. The eager, cultlike following of Krogen owners is more along the lines of a large family, as all agree the liveaboard comfort of these boats is their most endearing feature.