Researching A Dive Boat

[Chuck Tribolet]

What makes a big difference in how a boat rides is the
shape of the hull. A deeper V will ride better, but not get
as good gas mileage and will rock more at anchor. A
flatter hull (like my Montauk) will pound more, but get
better gas mileage and be a more stable dive platform.
EVERYTHING about boats is a tradeoff.

Note that a given boat manufacturer will often make
models with different amounts of deadrise (V). For
example, in the BW line, my Montauk is the flattest
(though the new hulls have a little more V), the Dauntless
has more, and the Outrage the most.

And you can overnight on an open whaler. I have a friend
who's done it, without canvas. And Mill Canvas makes a nice
forward shelter that's popular with whaler owners.

 

[OE2X]

I Am Looking At Purchasing A Dive/family Boat In The 17 To 19 Foot Range.i Do A Lot Of Fresh Water And Wreck Dives Off The Coast (florida).i Need Something That Will Handle Good In The Ocean.any Opinions Would Be Greatly Appreciated.
Things I Am Looking For:
Between $20,000 To $30,000
Center Console
Easy Entry And Exit
150 H.p Engine(makes It Easy To Get In And Out Of Coast)
6 Person Capacity
Rear Room For Equipment

Get a Zodiac or rather a Bombard which is owned by Zodiac. I have a 24 Bombard DB Explorer that I dive out of. It is big enough to take 4 divers very comfortably. If I didn't have a huge rack on the back it would take 6 very easily. My friend Uncle Pug has an 18' Whaler. While it is nice the ride is not as smooth since it does not have a V hull. My boat is easier to get in and out of since it is lower to the water. You have to take your tank off and clip it to a dangling rope, then dolphin kick on board. The ride is very dry and you can take the boat out in the worst conditions and still get home. Mine has a 140 four stroke Suzuki which I really like. She only burns 7 gal. an hour at 23 knots. I'm thinking of up grading though to two 90 h.p. four strokes or a single 200 h.p.

I have a center console with Rocket Box seat made by Birdsall Marine in W. Palm Beach. Their work is exceptional. They also make T-Tops as well.

If you want to check out Bombards:
http://www.zodiacmarineusa.com/products/bombard.html

If you want to see how much abuse a Zodiac can take and see their sickest boat:
http://zodiaccz7.com

You won't go wrong with one of these boats. There is a reason why the US and Canadian Coast Guard uses them.

 

[the_bandit]

What makes a big difference in how a boat rides is the shape of the hull. A deeper V will ride better, but not get
as good gas mileage and will rock more at anchor. A
flatter hull (like my Montauk) will pound more, but get
better gas mileage and be a more stable dive platform.
EVERYTHING about boats is a tradeoff.

What abut a twin hull (Cat style) vs single hull... any benefits/disadvantages in either?

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Bought brand new 7 years ago? There were a few years when Bayliner produced sh*tty boats but that has not been the case for many years. Exact same engines, exact same outdrives, exact same hull warranty - at least $5000 more for the same size boat with another brand name. I had no bias for Bayliner until I researched and purcashed my boat. I have used it to the max for it's size and I am very happy with it. I don't know of anyone with a relatively modern Bayliner that has had bad experiences with them. Bayliner sells more boats than any other brand in the US (at least for the small size boats) and that allows them to offer better pricing.

As for the original prospective buyer, do your own research, sit inside the cabin's, make your own decision.


Matt i'll back you up on this also, we had a 25' Bayliner Ceria in NY, and loved it. We took it out 40 miles off shore shark fisihing all the time, staying over night plenty of times. I had it in 7' sea's many of times, and never had a problem with the boat, it's the most boat for your buck. Eventualey we upgraded to a 31' Sea Ray, and i now own a 21' Angler center counsoul, and love this boat also, great for diving off of. Most people that bash Bayliner's, never even owned one, and probley half of them never even owned a boat!! LOL

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I Am Looking At Purchasing A Dive/family Boat In The 17 To 19 Foot Range.i Do A Lot Of Fresh Water And Wreck Dives Off The Coast (florida).i Need Something That Will Handle Good In The Ocean.any Opinions Would Be Greatly Appreciated.
Things I Am Looking For:
Between $20,000 To $30,000
Center Console
Easy Entry And Exit
150 H.p Engine(makes It Easy To Get In And Out Of Coast)
6 Person Capacity
Rear Room For Equipment

Oscar, i looked at all the option's out there and dive off my friend's 25 boat with cabin, with twins, all the time. Then i have another freind who has a 27' Dusky he uses for diving as well. Both work great, and here in FL, the cabin to me is a waste unless it has A/C.

For myself, i wanted to spend around 20k, and go new so i would have all the warrenties with the boat, if an outboard breaks down they are usalley very expensive to fix.

I went with a 21' Angler, center consoul, and love it. I take 4 diver's out with no problem,with a 150 HP outboard on it,and most of the time we have 2 up and 2 down, so it's never really croweded. For my family, we wanted somthing we could trailer, that was most important, with size, and budget in mind going new. I must say, my 2 friends that have their boat's, trailer them, but not far cause of the size. Mine weigh's 3,300 lbs, and i pull it no prob. Ive been down the the key's, and as far up as Destin to dive with the boat, and love it, the flexabilty for me to dive anywhere in the state of FL, i have to say is awsome. What i found, is cabin boats tend to be more heavy, and inboards also add alot of weight.

Ive been boating all my life, owning probley over 20 boat's all ready.


For yourself, you'll have to find the best deal for your budget, and weigh all the pro's and con's when buying a boat.

1: Will you be trailering the boat alot?
2: How many divers will you be diving with most of the time?
3: Center consoul, cabin, deck boat, zodiac, and so on, once you pick what kind you want, focus on getting the most boat for your budget.
4: Single or twins, 2 stroke, 4 stroke, inboard, etc?
5: How easy will it be to dive and get in and out of the boat?
There are many more options to consider, take your time, and right now is the end of the year, there are many boats going up for sale used now, and new the 2005's arte rolling in, i saved over 6k on a 2004 cause it is considered a left over all ready.

Most of all , it's easy to get out of your budget, and get hooked on making a $500 a month boat payment, i left a deposit on a 25' boat, for $70k, payments were close to $500 a month, and when reality hit, i scaled back to earth, and bought a new boat for 20k, with payment's that i willn;t even feel now, There's nothing like owning your own boat, you can dive when you want, where you want, and take as long or dive how ever you want,and best of all, the people you are diving with are on the same profile as you, you dont have to worry about getting on a crowded dive boat, with diver's of all level's, and hope you don't get your mask kicked off, or have some diver doing spins upside down as you swin under them hoping not to get kicked in the head!! Hehehe, im diving off mine for over 3 months now, and love it!!!! Best of luck with finding a boat!!

 

[saildiver]

We have 23 ft precision sailboat that we tow preferably to the sea of Cortez(usually put in at San Carlos)or to Florida-either coast to the keys,the Tortugas-Bahamas next.We love exploring hard to get to places(where the good diving is),no reliance on gas(other than a few gallons just in case),,we get to have fun sailing with enough supplies to last for about 3 wks at a time,(Wind surfer,Barbecue,kayak,and all our dive gear),then,when we've dove and snorkled all we want,we find the prefect anchorage and watch another perfect sunset while watching the seabirds soaring and diving,as we take a warm solar shower and top it off with a perfect meal rocking under the stars,and finally curl up togethr in our cozy
v- berth for a great sleep.Ahhhhhhh.....thats the life.ohhhhh and then the sunrises........................................... Our boat has a 19 inch draft with center board up so we can anchor almost anywhere,we tow it with our Toyota Tundra and forget its even back there on the road.We carry a hand held gps,vhf,and emergency oxygen,and and a CD player with waterproof bose speakers(the music attracts fish).It works for us-we try to get on the water for 3 wks at a time twice a yr. And thats why we are .....Saildivers.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

We have 23 ft precision sailboat that we tow preferably to the sea of Cortez(usually put in at San Carlos)or to Florida-either coast to the keys,the Tortugas-Bahamas next.We love exploring hard to get to places(where the good diving is),no reliance on gas(other than a few gallons just in case),,we get to have fun sailing with enough supplies to last for about 3 wks at a time,(Wind surfer,Barbecue,kayak,and all our dive gear),then,when we've dove and snorkled all we want,we find the prefect anchorage and watch another perfect sunset while watching the seabirds soaring and diving,as we take a warm solar shower and top it off with a perfect meal rocking under the stars,and finally curl up togethr in our cozy
v- berth for a great sleep.Ahhhhhhh.....thats the life.ohhhhh and then the sunrises........................................... Our boat has a 19 inch draft with center board up so we can anchor almost anywhere,we tow it with our Toyota Tundra and forget its even back there on the road.We carry a hand held gps,vhf,and emergency oxygen,and and a CD player with waterproof bose speakers(the music attracts fish).It works for us-we try to get on the water for 3 wks at a time twice a yr. And thats why we are .....Saildivers.

Sounds beautiful, i bet you guy's must dive some great un-explored places in remote area's, my wife lived in Greece for 2 years on a 40' sail boat, and loved it, she's a sailer at heart, me im the type to turn the key and go, but ive always wondered about diving off a sail boat, now i have to keep it a secret from the wife, before she want's me to trade in my boat form a sail boat

 

[Chivas]

I've run a Mako 235 for 25 years. It is a walkaround with an Evinrude 225. 4 Divers and one non diver is max load unless you want to get real chummy, and then only in calm seas for short trips. I like 1 engine and 2 radios. Less weight and more efficient. Spend the extra money on preventive maintance.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I've run a Mako 235 for 25 years. It is a walkaround with an Evinrude 225. 4 Divers and one non diver is max load unless you want to get real chummy, and then only in calm seas for short trips. I like 1 engine and 2 radios. Less weight and more efficient. Spend the extra money on preventive maintance.

Mako makes a nice boat, i agree, i go with one engine also, forget the twins, unless your spending all your time 20 miles off shore !!

 

[Tom Winters]

If you're looking for a dive boat, and you're not all that familiar with boats in general, you might be better off finding a decent boat broker - someone you're comfortable with. Otherwise, there's no telling what kind of pig-in-a-poke you might drag on home. The broker is going to draw his end from the seller, so his/her service won't cost you anything.
If you're going to be spending a smallish fortune on something to take you offshore, do a bunch of research.
6 divers offshore on a 19' boat sure sounds a little crowded.