Camano Yachts for Sale

Camano was started in 1989 by the Vancouver naval architect Bob Warman, who built his pocket trawlers in a shop at Delta, British Columbia, about 128 boats in the first eight years. The hull is the point of the boat: a deep forefoot running to a flat, hard chined after body with a substantial keel, worked up with the University of British Columbia, so a single modest diesel pushes it economically and it stays steady. Warman sold the company to Brad and Jaslyn Miller in 1997, who moved to a bigger plant on the Fraser River and pushed output to roughly two dozen boats a year. The 31, in Troll and Gnome forms, is the one you see on the market.

The name has moved around since. Camano Yachts in Delta built its last 31 in 2007, Bracewell Boatworks in Richmond built one, Camano Yachts America built the last one in 2011, and Helmsman Trawlers of Seattle then bought the name and the tooling and now builds an updated 31 in China. Helmsman supports the boat it builds. It does not carry a warranty on a 1990s Canadian hull, so treat a used Camano as an orphan for factory purposes and buy on survey. The good news for an American buyer is that there is no import complication to worry about: these were built in British Columbia to North American practice, 120 volt 60 hertz, with a single Volvo Penta diesel that any yard from Seattle to Stuart can service, and almost all of them have been in United States waters for years. Look hard at the single engine installation, the fuel tanks and the window frames, and remember that a boat this size with this much glass is worth buying for the visibility and the fuel burn, not for speed.