SAGE

Offered by her family · Bay City, Michigan

She has already done the Great Loop. · 1992 Custom 54′ Steel Trawler · $349,900

Inquire about Sage · (989) 357-8543 · sagetrawler.com/#inquiry · Updated September 7, 2026

Inquire about Sage
(989) 357-8543 Watch the 2:16 Film See the Steel & Specs
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4,500nm
Great Loop, completed
2011
Owner-reported refit
500gal
Diesel capacity

Aboard Sage 2:16 owner-guided film

Step aboard.
See how she lives.

Jim walks through the details that make Sage more than a set of specifications: her easy boarding, working galley, private accommodations, Loop-ready deck gear, and machinery spaces.

  1. 01 Decks & boarding
  2. 02 Galley & master suite
  3. 03 Tender, crane & hinged mast
  4. 04 Engine room & systems

Closed captions · filmed aboard in Bay City, Michigan

Read a film summary

Jim introduces Sage, a 54-foot steel trawler built in Port Dover, Ontario, in 1992. On the upper deck he shows the Great Loop flag, the port-side entrance ramp built for floating docks, and the tender deck.

Inside, he points out the chest freezer, propane stove and oven, microwave, galley storage, television and sound system, and mini-split heat and air conditioning. He continues to the queen-size master berth and master bath with shower.

Back on deck, he shows the Achilles tender and Tohatsu outboard, dock boxes, folding bicycles, electric crane, and the hinged mast designed to reduce bridge clearance on the Erie Canal. The current tender specification is 11 ft 6 in; its inclusion and that of other pictured equipment will be confirmed in the final signed inventory.

In the engine room he identifies the 23 kW Cummins Onan generator, Detroit Diesel 4-71N main engine, hot-water heater, fuel polisher, water filter, and washdown pump.

Press play to watch here, or open the dedicated film page.

Complete owner tour 4:48

Want the full walkthrough?

Take the complete 4:48 owner-guided tour: pilothouse, living spaces, accommodations, Loop gear, machinery and steel.

Chaptered · closed captions · filmed aboard Sage

Press play to watch here, or open the dedicated film page.

Her story 43°36′N 83°53′W

Most boats dream of the Loop.
Sage has crossed her wake.

America's Great Loop, roughly six thousand miles of rivers, canals, Great Lakes, Gulf and Atlantic coastline, is the trip most cruisers spend a lifetime planning. Sage's owners cast off and did it: down the inland rivers, across the Gulf, up the Eastern Seaboard, and home to Lake Huron. In the Loop community that's called "crossing your wake," and it is the one credential no brochure can fake.

Sage was welded in 1992 by Mummery Boat Works of Dover, Ontario. Her owners report a 2011 stem-to-stern refit with all-new marine-grade wiring, plumbing, water and holding tanks, and custom woodwork throughout. A steel trawler finished as a comfortable home afloat.

Her owners are ready for their next chapter. Which means, for one buyer, the rarest thing on the used-trawler market: a Loop boat that isn't a theory. The gold burgee is the AGLCA's badge for crews who finish the Loop; hers was earned aboard, and it still flies from her rigging.

Sage underway with her crew aboard The gold AGLCA burgee flying aboard Sage
Underway · the gold burgee aboard

Out of the water

Steel rewards a thorough inspection.
So we'll start one for you.

The first question any smart buyer asks about a 1992 steel boat is "what's the metal like?" Fair. So here she is hauled out in indoor storage: full keel, guarded running gear, welded thruster tube, steel bow and stem. These photographs are a useful starting point for an independent survey.

Sage hauled out in indoor storage showing full keel
Full-length keel and protected running gear
Keel shoe, rudder and propeller protection
Keel shoe, rudder & prop, guarded
Welded bow thruster tube
Bow thruster, welded in steel
Sage in the travelift during haul-out
Haul-out day: she rides the travelift
Sage's bow and topsides ashore in indoor storage
Bow and topsides, in indoor storage
Engine room with Detroit Diesel main engine
Engine room: the single Detroit Diesel main
Sage's stern quarter hauled out, whole hull visible
Stern quarter: the whole hull, out of the water

Take this to your surveyor

The spec sheet prints the current owner-supplied specifications plus the haul-out frames, so you can hand it to a surveyor before you ever drive to Bay City. Questions about available records, survey scheduling and sea trial go through the family's monitored inquiry line.

Download the Spec Sheet (PDF) Request Records or an Inspection

The 2011 refit

A 1992 hull. Owner-reported refit in 2011.

Sage's owners report a stem-to-stern refit in 2011, aimed squarely at extended cruising. The scope they report is substantial and specific; buyers should ask the owner what records are available.

Owner-reported refit scope

  • All-new marine-grade wiring throughout
  • All-new plumbing and lines
  • New tanks: water, holding
  • Custom woodwork, stem to stern
  • Mechanical spaces gone through end to end

Power & comfort

  • Cummins Onan 23kW generator
  • Twin mini-split heat & A/C, quiet and deck-mounted
  • Battery charger, 12 and 24V system
  • Hot water, three electric heads
  • Full-size fridge plus chest freezer

Ready for the miles

  • Bow thruster and oversized rudder
  • Electric windlass and ground tackle
  • Crane with tender: an 11 ft 6 in Achilles hard-shell inflatable with a 20 hp Tohatsu, subject to the final signed inventory
  • Garmin electronics

The galley

Her owner is a chef.
It shows.

Most boat galleys are an apology: two burners and a bar fridge. This one is not. Sage has a propane range with an oven, full-size refrigerator, chest freezer, ice maker, microwave, quartz counters, and a Big Green Egg shown at the rail. Sale inclusion is subject to the final signed inventory. The galley supported extended cruising throughout Sage's completed Loop.

  • Propane range with oven: real heat, no marina reservations required
  • Full-size refrigerator and a deep chest freezer: the provisioning depth a long Loop leg actually needs
  • Quartz counters with genuine prep space
  • Custom cabinetry throughout, a place for every pan
  • Big Green Egg shown at the rail; sale inclusion subject to the final signed inventory
Chef's galley with quartz counters, propane range and custom cabinetry Chest freezer open and provisioned SAGE-lettered canisters on the galley counter
Breakfast set on Sage's covered aft deck overlooking the water Covered aft deck with dining table and Big Green Egg at the rail Aft deck seating along the rail

The aft deck

The Loop is made of mornings.
Most of hers looked like this.

The covered aft deck is where the Loop actually happens: coffee over a new anchorage, dinner under the hardtop, and the Big Green Egg shown at the rail while somebody watches the sun go down. Sale inclusion is subject to the final signed inventory. Shade for a Gulf-coast July, cover for a Georgian Bay drizzle, and open air the whole way around.

  • Hardtop-covered, open-air dining
  • Big Green Egg shown at the rail; sale inclusion subject to the final signed inventory
  • Bench lockers swallow the deck gear
  • Protected side decks with real rails, bow to stern
Sage's traditional ship's wheel, binnacle and Garmin electronics in daylight Pilothouse with helm chair and wrap-around glass windows Chart desk with Waterway Guide and instruments

The pilothouse

A wheel you'll
want to hold.

Stand at Sage's helm and you understand the whole boat: a proper ship's wheel, wrap-around glass, and every system labeled and in reach. Garmin radar overhead, chart plotter, depth, VHF. Modern eyes on a traditional bridge.

The bow thruster assists close-quarters maneuvering. Ask the owner how Sage handles underway, in locks, and around the dock.

  • Garmin radar, GPS chart plotter, depth sounder, VHF
  • Bow thruster to assist close-quarters maneuvering
  • Glassed-in breaker cabinets, brass clock and barometer, a chart desk with the Waterway Guide still on it
  • Wrap-around pilothouse glass with true sightlines

America's Great Loop

She crossed her own wake.
The Loop is already behind her.

Rivers south, Gulf coast, Atlantic north, canals and Great Lakes home. Sage has closed that circle once already, bridge by bridge and lock by lock, and her next owner starts with that voyage in her logbook.

5,250+statute miles is the Loop's minimum distance; most Loopers report voyages in the 6,000-mile range once route choices and side trips are included.
100+locks most Loopers encounter, demanding alert approaches, good line handling, and a boat that behaves predictably in close quarters.
272boats crossed their wake in 2025 by AGLCA's count; 12% were 50 feet or larger.
Goldthe AGLCA burgee color reserved for crews who have finished. Sage's crew flies it.
G U L F A T L A N T I C G R E A T  L A K E S Straits of Mackinac Chicago Mobile Norfolk New York Erie Canal BAY CITY Sage is here. Start your Loop from her home port. N Schematic chart, decidedly not for navigation

The chart shows the circle.
The photographs show the life inside it.

These are the owners' photographs from Sage's completed Loop, shown in voyage order. Great Lakes. Chicago. Locks. Florida. A dolphin off the rail. Not staged. Not stock. A working record of this boat doing the trip.

  1. Sage cruising in full profile with several crew members aboard
    Sage underway with crew aboard.

  2. Great Lakes to Chicago

    Big water. Then the skyline.

    Mackinac Bridge off the bow. Chicago from the aft deck. Between them, the kind of miles that turn a boat from a promise into a known quantity.

    Sage's bow pointed toward the Mackinac Bridge beneath a gray sky
    Mackinac Bridge off the bow.
    Chicago's skyline seen across Sage's aft deck with the grill in the foreground
    Chicago skyline from the aft deck.

  3. Down the rivers

    Bridge by bridge. Lock by lock.

    The route gets intimate on the rivers. Steel rises on both sides, spans fill the glass, and every lock puts boat and crew to work. Sage has already done this part, one careful approach at a time.

    Sage's bow and starboard rail passing close to a tall lock wall
    Lock walls close enough to touch.
    A sunlit steel arch bridge and distant tow framed beyond Sage's bow rail
    River miles, bridge by bridge.

  4. Across Florida

    Lines ready. Lock ahead. Crew smiling.

    By the Caloosahatchee and Okeechobee Waterway, the routine is practiced: approach, secure, rise or fall, cast off. The photographs say what a spec sheet cannot: people lived this voyage aboard her.

    Two women in Sage caps and life jackets smiling on deck with a river lock ahead
    Crew on deck, Caloosahatchee River.
    Sage's white bow, green rail, and coiled lines approaching a Florida lock entrance
    Okeechobee and the St. Lucie Waterway from Sage's bow.

  5. The miles between

    Some passages bring their own escort.

    A dolphin keeping pace is the kind of moment no brochure can promise. It is also why people do this trip: not simply to complete a circle, but to have a life underway.

    She did not merely reach these places. She carried her crew through them.
    The Loop is in her logbook. The next voyage belongs to her next owner.

    A dolphin swimming just below the surface alongside Sage's green-and-cream hull
    A dolphin keeps pace alongside Sage.

Particulars

The ship's papers.

Hull & Dimensions

Type
Steel trawler, full keel
Builder
Mummery Boat Works
Year
1992 · owner-reported refit 2011
Length on deck
54 ft
Length overall
60 ft
Beam
16 ft
Draft
5 ft
Air draft
20 ft*
Dry weight
70,000 lb

* 14 ft with the mast lowered. Confirm the exact configuration with the owner.

Machinery

Engine
Detroit Diesel, 4-71N
Transmission
Twin Disc, 3:1
Cruise
Owner-reported 8+ kn
Generator
Cummins Onan 23kW
Electrical
12–24V · charger
120V AC
Shore power or generator; no inverter
Tender
Achilles 11 ft 6 in hard-shell inflatable, 20 hp Tohatsu; subject to final signed inventory

Tankage & Accommodations

Fuel
500 gal · four original 125-gal steel tanks
Fresh water
150 gal
Holding
140 gal
Cabins
2
Heads
3 (electric)
Climate
Twin mini-splits, heat + A/C
Galley
Propane range, fridge, freezer, ice maker, microwave; Big Green Egg shown aboard
Registration
MC 3343 TK
Download the Spec Sheet (PDF) Request Records or an Inspection

Fair questions

Answers from her owner.

Could I live aboard her full-time?

She was lived aboard for the length of a Great Loop, which is the honest test. Two cabins, three heads, a chef's galley with real refrigeration, a chest freezer for provisioning, 23kW of generator, mini-split heat and air for both ends of the thermometer, and a covered aft deck that works as the summer living room. She is closer to a small home that moves than a boat you camp on.

How does the power work away from the dock?

Jim confirms that Sage has no inverter. A selector switch changes the 120V AC supply between shore power and the 23kW Cummins generator, so the generator supplies AC power when away from the dock. The boat also has separate 12V and 24V battery systems. For a closer look at the setup, send the family a note.

What is your favorite memory of the Great Loop trip?

Her owner's favorite part of the trip was going through the Erie Canal. All 35 locks.

Why is Sage so comfortable for the trip?

It's ease of operation and maneuverability, the friendly ports along the way, and her range and larger tankage to hold fuel, water, and waste.

What advice can you give to anyone who plans to do the Great Loop?

Plan accordingly. Crew changes, so be flexible about where they drop off and pick up. Bring a good book and playing cards. Plan on plenty of helm time.

Where is she, and how do I see her?

Bay City, Michigan, on the Saginaw River just off Lake Huron: about 25 minutes from MBS International, an hour from Flint Bishop, two from Detroit Metro. And she is docked a day-cruise off the Loop route itself, roughly 110 nautical miles north of Port Huron and 160 south of the Straits of Mackinac.

Come see her

The Loop starts
in Bay City.

Step aboard and Sage's scale, care, and liveaboard comfort become clearer than photographs can show. Her home port sits a day-cruise off the Loop route itself.

Getting here: MBS International (25 min) · Flint Bishop (1 hr) · Detroit Metro (2 hrs).

Her family built this page for one reason: to give you the level of detail we wish we'd had when we were the buyers.

Ask about Sage

Questions, records, or a private showing

Inquire about Sage
(989) 357-8543

Submitted details are processed by Formspree and used only to respond about Sage.

Showings, survey and sea trial are coordinated with her owner. Inspection methods must be agreed in advance.

Request records or schedule an inspection at sagetrawler.com/#inquiry