Looking at a dive boat

[Hostage]

I am thinking of ditching my 19ft cuddy and getting something like a center console for diving. I don't use my current boat for diving and none of my friends are active enough to ski. Though I have a lot of friends who dive with me all summer long. Thinking of combining both hobbies. What suggestions do people have for a boat. I want better sea keep than a toon, though my tow limit is 4500lbs.

-Hostage

 

[tanksforthememories]

I have been dreaming of a Newton 36, I don't think my Toyota will be able to tow it. May not be the best choice for Canadian mountain lakes....

 

[keyshunter]

As long as you can't tow it, why not go to a Newton 42 or 46?

 

[Hostage]

Those boats are a little big for me and far surpass my towing ability. I want to be able to carry 4 divers at least and though prefer something to carry 6.

 

[tomfcrist]

Not gonna happen with that towing capacity. 4 divers plus gear would mean 25' minimum in my opinion. I would look at a Parker pilot house type setup with an inboard personally.

 

[Hostage]

I see this boat for sale locally: 1998 21' Penn Yan with Johnson 200 hp Motor & Trailer

There is a smaller one though it seems a bit pricey: Fiberglass/Inflatable Boat ~ 90 HP Yamaha ~ Great for Kids

 

[mmcdanie]

Not gonna happen with that towing capacity. 4 divers plus gear would mean 25' minimum in my opinion. I would look at a Parker pilot house type setup with an inboard personally.

The Parkers are great towables and you have some place to get out of the spray in the afternoon return trip when the wind comes up.

 

[Sitkadiver]

That 21' Penn Yan looks like it would meet your needs - and it's already set-up for diving. The Johnson on it is a 2 stroke, so you're fuel consumption will be a bit high while your running. I'm not certain about that particular hull(is it a Spectra?), but there's a lot of dead rise in it. That's great for taking seas and having free board, but your top speed may not be what you want. The good news about the Johnson 2-stroke is they run forever. If that one has a PTO, I'd carry a spare, but the best thing for those engines is to run them.

Four divers and all their gear may be optimistic. I have a 25' Outrage and with a 225 I have trouble getting on step if I'm loaded with 3 divers and all the gear. I can do it, but it's my limit. With a full load of fuel, which is 1,000 pounds, roughly(140 gal.) I'm better off limiting my load. with less than 1/2 tank, I can add some weight. My boat easily packs 6 people, but with 4 divers(+120 pnds of lead), 2 kids, 1 non-diving adult and all the tanks we could fit(I think we had 11 steel), it didn't want to plane. Keep in mind there are a ton of variables, like prop pitch, bottom contour etc... But 4 divers who plan on two dives each is pushing the weight limit of a 21' boat.

At any rate, it would be worth contacting the owner to see how he dove it and what his weight limits were. Looks like the owner was all set up to dive, so he/she will probably be able to answer all your questions far better than we can by looking at photos.

Goood Luck, and let us know what you end up with. If you go look at the 21', tell us how it looks. If it was closer to Alaska, I'd be all over it.

Here's my boat after unloading camping gear on the beach last summer:



Also, that 21' Penn Yan with a single axle will likely fall into your towing limit. I tried towing my boat with a V-6 Ranger.... Laughable.... So I had to buy an F-350, used, of course...

 

[clownfishsydney]

I have a 5.6 metre (under 20 feet) Marlin Broadbill, an Australian aluminium catamaran. With twin 75hp Mercury 2-strokes, I can easily take 6 divers for a single dive or 5 for a double. The towing weight is about 2,000 kg (say 4,400 lbs). Fuel usage is under 30 litres/hour (say 8.5 gallons/hour).

In our club we have about 10 boats. None are longer than 6 metres (20 feet) and all apart from mine are single hulls. All take at least 5 for a single dive and most will do this many for a double. Most are towed by medium 4WD (not wimpy SUVs) but one is towed by a 2WD. None of the single hull boats have a motor larger than 115hp.

 

[Tom Winters]

They don't have the aluminum cats in the US that you see in Oz. Fiberglass dominates the civilian market here. Your boat sounds pretty good. Have fun.