ok...
The best trawler is one that was continously maintained and upgraded without regards to cost.
The worst trawler is one that was purchased, and never used, and never had any work done to it.
The best trawler typically has higher hours, and might scare away a buyer with those hours.
The worst trawler is often advertised as "low time" or "almost new" and because of that attracts the unknowing buyer.
Forget brands. Look at and buy what you like
And the brand of oil!simple.
it depends on the anchor!
My votes (all are production boats, widely available):
Best: Grand Banks, Kady Krogen, Albin
Worst: Marine Trader,?,?
Albin??? I agree Albin isn't the worst but one of the best? I'm NOT disputing your opinion. It just surprised me.
I own an older Mainship 34 and think it's probably the Worst trawler. Great boat but build quality is so/so but more importantly it's not really a trawler nor does it look like one.
Cant beat the price for a "see if it's for me" boat.
PS I really like my boat but someone has to come last.
Of the boats that actually look like a trawler it should be obvious which ones are top tier vs bottom tier boat(Example Nordhavn vs Marine Trader) when you write the check.
Comparing top tier boats would be silly because IMO they are all very very well built and it's going to come down to layout which is person to person.
IMO it's easier to compare older/lower tier boat construction.
Albin??? I agree Albin isn't the worst but one of the best? I'm NOT disputing your opinion. It just surprised me.
I really liked my 1978 Mainship for many reasons - it was very economical, handled head and quarter seas well, a pretty good layout for a 34' boat of that era. It had a number of the typical assembly issues that many boats of this time suffered from.