Walking down a dock filled with trawlers and Downeast boats at the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, something new (at least new to me) caught my eye. There, in an area filled with Sabres, Grand Banks, MJMs and Hinckleys, was a Norseman 48, a traditional-looking trawler with clean and classic lines that was almost beckoning me to step aboard.
This Norseman, brought to the show by Schooner Yachts of Fort Lauderdale, is a twin-diesel, two-stateroom, two-head relatively fast trawler with a standard trawler layout and enough teak to keep a traditional trawler owner happy. Powered by two 440-hp Yanmars, the Norseman cruises at 21 knots and tops out at 26 knots. It has a Side-Power bow thruster to make docking easy, and a 12kW Onan genset to keep you comfortable while cruising.
The new boat carries forward the spirit of the line of Norseman Yachts designed by Bob Perry in the 1980s. It has a relatively fine entry, a straight sheer, and a classic trawler profile. You climb on the teak swim platform and enter the cockpit, with a teak deck, from a transom door on the starboard side. A large settee, with a table sitting on two stainless steel pedestals, is aft.
A glass door leads to the salon, with a teak-and-holly sole. An L-shaped settee is to port with a table; the galley is opposite to starboard with a long countertop. The helm station forward on the starboard side is teak, as is the destroyer steering wheel.
Four teak steps lead to the accommodations deck below, with the master forward with a queen berth, two side windows, an overhead hatch and an en suite head with a stall shower with a seat. The guest stateroom has two berths and an en suite head with a stall shower.
Up top, the flybridge has a centered helm seat and an L-shaped settee and table on the starboard side. The overhang from the cockpit protects the forward half of the cockpit below.
The Norseman 48 is a straightforward fast trawler that should serve the needs of many cruising couples or families. But what really caught my eye was the introductory price of $739,000.
Specs.: LOA: 48’0”; Beam: 13’11”; Draft: 3’2”; Disp.: 38,000 lbs.; Fuel: 600 gals.; Water: 200 gals.; Power: 2×440-hp Yanmar diesels.
