Needing Serious Boat Advice

[CDFDiveMaster]

Ok, here I go. I'm currently on boat number three (wife's boat), What I mean is that we bought the boat because it looked pretty. It's an 18' bow rider Sting Ray with a 3.0ltr mercruiser 98'. We are obviously avid divers and have a family and friends with no boat. We travel to the keys every year for a week. Question; I want to buy another boat...(husband boat), like I wanted to the first three times. The wife now agrees to go for it....used that is. I really want a center console about 24-28' however, I don't want to be selfish and put them in the sund and weather while on the boat. How about some pros and cons on a Cuddy Cabin or....I'm open to suggestions. Any and all with thanks in advance.

Jay

 

[herman]

It depends on what you want in a boat.
I personally prefer one that's stripped of unnecessary stuff-carpet, teak, CD player-that kind of thing. That said, I do prefer one that has an enclosed cabin but not necessarly a true Cuddy Cabin- I am not going to sleep on it. Here is a link to the type I prefer, not necessaraly this brand but the style is what I like. I have owned a similar one for 10 years and have been very happy with it. It does not fish quite as well a center console but I ride dry and in the shade when the CC guys are getting sun burned or more importantly to me, in bad weather I ride dry when the CC guys are getting soaked. It gives the people on board plenty of shelter from sun and bad weather but at the same time giving you the most useable deckspace. Look at the 222 and 29 Sport Cabin.
http://www.chawkboats.com/boats.html#222sport

 

[matt_unique]

Ok, here I go. I'm currently on boat number three (wife's boat), What I mean is that we bought the boat because it looked pretty. It's an 18' bow rider Sting Ray with a 3.0ltr mercruiser 98'. We are obviously avid divers and have a family and friends with no boat. We travel to the keys every year for a week. Question; I want to buy another boat...(husband boat), like I wanted to the first three times. The wife now agrees to go for it....used that is. I really want a center console about 24-28' however, I don't want to be selfish and put them in the sund and weather while on the boat. How about some pros and cons on a Cuddy Cabin or....I'm open to suggestions. Any and all with thanks in advance.

Jay

I recently read a post from the Bayliner owners forum "my wife was happy with the center console until she found out these things come with plumbing". Ha ha ha!

It sounds like you have come across something similar. Center consoles are great for those of us who like to wear our Viking helmets and run WOT into a Gale with our fists in the air. YAR!

Seriously you need to choose a boat that will address as many of your needs and priorities as possible while understanding no one boat will cover them all. A cuddy cabin is great to keep the kids, Admiral, change of clothes, etc. out of the wind, rain, and sun.

The first place to start is your budget - from there you can search for used boats within that range to see what you got to work with. Do you plan to trailer, slip, or use a mooring? What is the tow capacity of your vehicle? Open ocean, bays, or lakes? Overnight trips or day trips only? Skiing or cruising/fishing/diving/etc.?

Plan to get a marine survey on any used boat you choose - about $350.

--Matt

 

[Nemrod]

Ok, here I go. I'm currently on boat number three (wife's boat), What I mean is that we bought the boat because it looked pretty. It's an 18' bow rider Sting Ray with a 3.0ltr mercruiser 98'. We are obviously avid divers and have a family and friends with no boat. We travel to the keys every year for a week. Question; I want to buy another boat...(husband boat), like I wanted to the first three times. The wife now agrees to go for it....used that is. I really want a center console about 24-28' however, I don't want to be selfish and put them in the sund and weather while on the boat. How about some pros and cons on a Cuddy Cabin or....I'm open to suggestions. Any and all with thanks in advance.

Jay

I don't understand your question at all. You don't want to put the wife and kids and guests in the sun and weather but the pointy little naughyde thingy you been driving around in did not put them in the sun and weather? Do you mostly boat in warm weather? If so get the center console, put a top on it and have fun. T tops or folding canvass tops shield you from the sun quite a bit and most cc boats can be fitted with canvass enclosures to extend the boating season in cold weather. It is hard to beat a cc boat for diving and fishing and exploring. True, certain aspects of a center console are a bit more primitive than some of the pointy carpet boats but what do you want, pretty or practical? The only thing I would suggest if you have a huge tow vehicle is getting a boat with a head. However, since that requires a fairly large cc boat with an equally larger tow vehicle with a huge year around fuel appeitite etc etc. The first time you launch off a four foot swell in a a solid built cc boat like a Whaler and get air under the hull and land with a solid thump you will know why quality center consoles are the most popular offshore type boats, little or big they are seaworthy and capable and practical and built for the sea. N

 

[saintsfan]

I think along the lines with Hermans post,I've had a 21' cabin cruiser and it wasnt the best to dive out of,so I went to a 26' flyingbridge carver the transom was so high it was hard to get on or off the boat with gear. now I own a 26' thompson with a step through rear gate buttttt I dont have a lot of storage in the cockpit area which means some gear has to go in the cabin which you have to get with wet gear on so now I am looking at the style herman posted because of all the open area for gear.
A centerconsole is a great boat for diving and I have thought a lot about getting one but for a cruising boat with family and friends not to mention overnight trips. A cabin with at least a portapotti and small sink is very nice to have. take a look at the post your boats topic

 

[cmcloughlin]

In the summer we (my wife and I) live on our 37ft sail boat. in 02 she let me buy
A Steigercraft, the Blockisland 21. No frills, but it comes with a small cabin w/porta potti
bimini top, it has a nice down east look to it. I got it with a 115 HP 4 stroke Yamaha,
not super fast but quiet and economical. The cabin is stuffed with my dive gear.
The boat is very sea worthy, its made on the south shore of Long Island NY
I paid 34000. for it new. concidering you can pay more then 70000 for a 23ft grady White
it is a great Value. You may have to be patient to find a used one in Fl. since they
are made in the north and not mass produced, but if you look you can probably find one.
Chris
Here is there web site:
www.steigercraft.com
www.steigercraft.com/main/docs/largeview.cfm?picture=bi21broch800.jpg

 

[Cacia]

I am looking at 26' Glacier Bays. Have you seen those? They apparently have strong resale which is a big consideration in my view, as things change.

 

[rmannix]

Just finished my second season with a SeaSwirl Striper 2601 walk-around cuddy cabin that I bought new with a Yamaha 225 four stroke outboard. Hardtop, optional private (but cramped) marine head, hand-pumped fresh water sink. My previous boat was a 1989 donzi 23 regazza with a 260 HP OMC I/O.

Keeping my boat in salt water all season I will never go with an I/O again. they're still in the water when tilted and too many nooks & crannies for stuff to grow in.

OK, the SeaSwirl:
Mid range in price. A buddy has a 26' Hydra Sports and it is definitley a better built boat. So is a Grady White. SeaSwirl has fuses where circuit breakers should be, cheesy seats, etc. Anyone who turns on the cabin or identical head lamp usually knocks the cover off it. Bennett hydraulic trim tabs are standard.
The instrument and switch panel has a pattern on it that makes seeing the switch labels nearly impossible, it's like the tough ones on a color-blindness test. Added stick-on labels. Access to wiring pretty good from the head compartment behind velcroed carpeting. 3 PVC tubes run from the aft compartment under the motor well forward for running transducer cables and the like.
Self bailing roomy cockpit, built for serious fishing. I fill the live baitwell with fresh water before I leave the dock, makes a great camera soak tank.
Walk-thru transom but needs a real dive ladder instead of the standard swim ladder. Salt water washdown, no FW option. Standard butane single burner stove. Rigged for shore power myself and added an onboard charger,small microwave and DC coffee maker. Really no room for a fridge if you wanted one. Comfy sleeping for 2, 4 if we bring the dogs.
Plenty of storage.
I would have preferred the "Alaska Pack" option which is all glass around the hardtop instead of removeable platic and canvas and includes a window defroster. My dealer only had one in I/O though and I'm not always patient.

I could do without the big "Striper" logo on the hull. Still haven't figured out why the boat model is "Striper" but has a marlin in the logo.
Has an optional bench seat aft, curved to fit around the baitwell. Must be removed to access the battery switch. I prefer to leave it in the cabin most of the time, would leave it in the basement if my wife didn't like to lounge there so much.

I would have preferred twin engines for going offshore, but its pretty expensive to buy and with the fuel prices this summer I had trouble feeding just the single. Fuel capacity is 160 gallons giving me a range of over 400 miles if I could afford to fill it up all the way. 160 gallons of gas is also nearly 1000 lbs.
Hull is rated for up to 400 HP.

Top speed with low fuel and no gear or passengers right around 40 MPH, realistic cruise with 50-60% fuel, dive gear and 4 on board about 24 mph AND 4800 rpm burning 10 GPH.

I trailer it just twice a year and only 5 miles from the ramp to my yard where I winter it. My half ton 5.3L Chevy Z71 is adequate, but I wouldn't want to haul it cross country or frequent trips over about 25 miles. My trailer is marginal for this boat, I already owned it. Too much fuel in the boat can put me over the weight limit. Has a pretty high profile trailering.

All the electronics I installed new on the old donzi and transferred to the SeaSwirl myself, including a JRC radar. The electronics box in the hardtop is fairly useless for anything but my VHF & external speaker and cable routing to it just plain sucks.


Overall I love the boat for the price and worship the Yamaha. Paid around $56K for boat/motor new in 2004. It can be viewed at the following link, there are links there to many mfrs too:

Seaswirl 2601

 

[k2rm]

I am looking at 26' Glacier Bays. Have you seen those? They apparently have strong resale which is a big consideration in my view, as things change.

Catherine,

I ran a brand new 26' Glacier Bay for a summer in SE Alaska. I put close to 1000 hours on it in varying sea conditions. This was the Summer of '93 so maybe the hull design has changed a bit, but I would never buy one after my experience in Alaska. Our company had two new Glacier Bays and one used 26' Olympic single hull. In short, the Glacier Bay Captains were envious of the Olympic Captain.

Glacier Bay Pros: Very stable when going against the chop. It could cruise at 40 mph in 2-3' chop and was very comfortable. The Glaceir Bay had twin displacement hulls so it would cut through the waves instead of riding on top. It was also a very well built boat compared to the Olympic. Very stable for a fishing platform at low speeds and in calm waters. Being twin engine spaced far apart, the boat was extremely maneuverable in harbor.

Cons: Extremely unstable when the waves are coming at you broadside even at idle speeds. Having twin displacement hulls, they would constanty try to counteract each other if the boat rocked back and forth. At times the boat would rock so violently I always made sure my customers were bracing themselves or sitting down. I always dreaded having to turn around in such conditions. In addition, the boat handled very poorly at high speed compared to a planing hull. Even at slight high speed turns, it felt like the boat would catch a wave and tip over because it wasn't able to "slide" on the surface like a planing hull.

The Olympic was faster on calm days and much slower on rough days, but it was much more stable and performed the way a boat should. (note: I wouldn't recommend an Olympic either)

If you consider a Glacier Bay, make sure you give it a good test drive to see how you like its handling. It would be a good idea to run a single planing hull for a comparison in similar conditions.

 

[shooter61]

SHOW HER WHOS BOSS!
http://www.fountainpowerboats.com/boats/sport/35ltg_over.asp