Trawler Blogs

Last year, Bayliner Magazine interviewed us for a story about our travels
and experiences aboard Dirona, our Bayliner 4087 (article).
Soon we will take delivery of a Nordhavn
52, and turn the 4087 over to new owners.

We are, of course, eager to have the Nordhavn, but are not desperate to get off the
4087. Dirona has been a wonderful boat, far exceeding our expectations. We
would not sell Dirona if it weren’t for our desire to get into longer range
cruising. For coastal cruising, it’s near perfect. At 7.75 knots, it burns only 2.2
gallons per hour, making it even more economic than many trawlers. The basic design
has been ideal, with sufficient space to allow rigging for comfortable and independent
cruising (Dirona specifications
and features). It’s been our home for the past year (Living
aboard: one year later), and has taken us to some amazing places over the
past decade. Since purchasing it new in 1999, we’ve put 4,100 trouble-free hours on
the engines travelling between Olympia and the Alaska border, including the West
Coast of Vancouver Island, the Outside
Passage, and Christmas trips to Desolation
Sound, Princess
Louisa Inlet, and the
Broughtons. We have used the boat in all of the research for Waggoner sister
publication Cruising
the Secret Coast, and our published
articles.

While both our families had boats, it wasn’t until we bought the 4087 that we became
seriously hooked on boating to the point where we have sold everything that won’t
fit aboard, and can’t imagine life without a boat. Dirona has had a major
impact on our lifestyle and future plans, and it is with some wistfulness that we
prepare to leave it behind.