Trawler Talk

Karly and Evan Nietzel—aka YouTube's @Navigating Nietzels—tailored their careers to remote work after relocating to Florida, buying a trawler and moving onboard to complete the Great Loop. Along with their pup, Ripley, they're just getting going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eight Bells for Chris Caswell. A titan of marine journalism for 50 years, Chris passed away on May 13. We are re-running this podcast from 2023 where Chris shared fundamental—yet off the beaten path—navigation tips that'll help get you home when things go bad or your electronics go out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry Graf, the founder, designer and lead engineer of Aspen Power Catamarans, doesn’t seem to stop moving and innovating—he just can’t help himself. The lifetime tinkerer fills us in on Aspen's unique proa hull designs and adventure cruising on his own creations from the Arctic to the Sea of Cortez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After navigating the Pacific coasts of the United States and Mexico then wintering in the Sea of Cortez, Jeff and Kami Fehr rang in 2026 by transiting  the Panama Canal aboard their meticulously refit Selene 59, Dock Holiday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Kraft wants everyone to love the power cruising lifestyle. His Traverse City, Mich.-based school, Trawlers Great Lakes, hosts an intensive program for new and potential boat owners, as well as bareboat and pilot charters. It's an increasingly rare and vital initiative designed to teach real cruising and informed decision-making as a helmsman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

Chris Leigh-Jones says he likes stories and he’s got a special one to share. The Welshman and former Merchant Marine followed a successful career with a return to the sea aboard Vanguard, his custom-built, 78-foot aluminum bruiser. After a Mediterranean wring-out, Leigh-Jones and a small crew embarked on a bucket-list journey to Greenland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

After fulfilling careers and raising a family in their native New Zealand, Mark and Fiona Rammell pivoted. They bought Hull No. 1 of Nordhavn's 51-foot series, picked her up in Turkey and embarked on a slow-burn circumnavigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Selene Yachts customers and dealers gathered in Zhuhai, China for the grand opening of its new, 400,000-plus-square-foot shipyard. We caught up with Selene founder and CEO Howard Chen to chat about the new boatyard, his invaluable workforce, the loyalty of its owners and the exciting things to come next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suzanne and Steven Webster have spent six years exploring the Pacific Northwest aboard Fortitude, their Kadey-Krogen 54. Their origin story of finding their forever boat and becoming liveaboards is a captivating one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supersede is replacing plywood-based building materials with an eco-friendly alternative that is waterproof, rot-proof and derived from 100 percent recycled plastic waste. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being prepared when boating in remote areas goes beyond your boat's sundries and spares. In the case of a true medical emergency, it can surpass the capabilities of those onboard and the nearest care centers. Anthony Marinello has decades of experience on elite helicopter rescue crews and, as you will hear, in areas ravaged by war and instability. He founded the subscription-based Tropic Air Rescu...

Nicholas and Johanna Baxter logged over 5,000 nautical miles in seven months on their Fleming 85, Freja, in SE Asia. But they were just getting started. We caught up to them on the Côte d'Azur after they shipped their boat to Europe to spend summer and beyond exploring the Mediterranean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Tokarz of Motor City Boat Werks returns to Trawler Talk and fills us in on his 16-day summer voyage in Norway's Telemark region on an all-electric yacht. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Along with her dogs and a (very) occasional guest, Maria Langer crossed her wake after more than 8,000 nautical miles on the Great Loop aboard her Ranger Tugs R-29 "Do It Now." Her adventure on the Loop is just as interesting as her multifaceted careers as a helicopter pilot, writer and jewelry artist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime sailors Ed Muir and his wife, Cory, were looking to navigate to the next phase of their maritime life onboard a power cruiser and set their sights on a Pilgrim 40. The couple talk about the multiyear process to find their forever boat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime boaters Nathan and Lindsay had high-octane careers in motorsports before deciding to slow down. The couple have moved on from coastal cruising to a life as liveaboards on their Nordhavn 41, documenting their explorations on YouTube @the71Percent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are joined by Power & Motoryacht Editor-in-Chief Daniel Harding Jr. to talk maritime medical emergency management with Dr. Robert Leviton, who tells us what you need in your onboard first-aid kit, how to handle the most common onboard injuries, when to call and pan-pan and when to make a mayday call, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andre Lay and Cavendish are back on the brine! Lay returns to his SeaPiper 37 in southern Mexico to resume his slow-burn journey, with the goal of circumnavigating North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These four intrepid women spent over two months on a North Pacific 28, cruising on the Inside Passage of British Columbia, inspired by the century-old adventures of a trailblazer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime boaters Alec and Laurie Thyrre first bought a trawler when son Jack was born and became enthralled with the safety, pace and ability to reach far-flung destinations. Taking an early retirement, they family spent several years cruising throughout Europe after crossing the Atlantic on their Nordhavn 64. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest host Dan Harding, editor-in-chief of sister publication Power & Motoryacht, joins the new owners of the Fleming flagship—an 85-foot, enclosed bridge model—to talk boats, cruising, why they chose Fleming Yachts, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After selling his tech startup, engineer James Waters and his wife nearly purchased a 63-foot trawler. But the jump was too big for insurers, so the Waters' pivoted. They bought a smaller vessel and cruised far and wide, learned its many systems and earned sea time with the goal of a life as liveaboards on a proper trawler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime liveaboard Stephenie Hollyman's life sounds like a fable. The seasoned captain and author was hooked early to the aquatic life, with stops as a New York Harbor tugboat cook, a Fulbright scholar and a lower Manhattan resident that shared a loft with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soundings Deputy Editor Pim Van Hemmen joined boatbuilder Sam Devlin on a summer cruise in Alaska aboard Puffin, Devlin's 1966 wooden trawler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Druek's professional life started in the commercial fishing industry which morphed into a successful career in custom homebuilding. When it came time to reward himself with a yacht, he became frustrated with the lack of customization available, so he built his own. Thus, Outer Reef Yachts was born. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices