I'm looking at buying a boat for the Florida Gulf Coast.
My name should come up on the waiting list for a slip at my condo sometime in the next few months--hopefully coinciding with a massive crash in prices for quality used boats. When it does, I'll have 90 days to acquire a boat and qualify for the $100 per month slip license fee, including electricity and water. (I'll have to install my own lift at my expense.) So I need to be doing homework now.
My priority is diving. My wife's priority is socializing and maybe a little weekend cruising. So it needs a cabin and room for non-divers to sit around.
My first constraint is size:
The condo association has a length limit of 26 feet, but they'll waive it up to 28 if the boat on its lift doesn't impede people walking along the pier. If I get a 28-foot boat with twin outboards, I may need to back it in to comply.
The lift rails would have to rest on top of pairs of pilings whose inside edges are 11' 3" apart. That means a boat with a 9' 6" beam would have 9" of clearance on each side at its widest point.
My second constraint is seakeeping ability:
At present I have access, through friends and through a boat club to generic lightweight center console monohulls in the 22- to 24-foot range. Most of our decent dive sites are at least 10 miles offshore, and I'm tired of getting pounded and soaked whenever a calm day picks up a bit and we have to plow home through even 2-foot seas. I want something I can take 15-25 miles offshore and not be concerned if the weather turns a little snotty on the way home. Comfort is also important for the young bride: it's gotta be fun for her or it won't work.
I was looking at WorldCat's, particularly the 27-foot express cabin models (both Glacier Bay and WorldCat), but we decided the cabin is too cramped and the whole layout is too fishing-centric, so I've moved on.
So now I'm thinking hard about a Boston Whaler 285 Conquest (9' 6" beam--theoretically could fit in the condo slip) or a 315 Conquest (10' 8" beam--no way it can fit in the condo slip). Other than price and width, the biggest drawback to these models seems to be the swim ladder--but if I get the boat, I'll figure that out.
If the 285 Conquest will fit in the slip and give a stable enough ride, the sweetheart slip rental would make it ideal. But I don't want to get an unsuitable boat just because it fits in the slip.
I was surprised by how much the price difference between such differently sized boats goes down as they get a few years on them. So if the 285 either won't fit practically into the slip or give me the ride I want, I might look at a 315 (though the added fuel consumption and high-and-dry fees would disrupt the whole can-I-swing-this spreadsheet).
Any insights on this decision? Experience with any of the boats under consideration? Wisdom on the max beam or seaworthiness questions?
Thanks,
My name should come up on the waiting list for a slip at my condo sometime in the next few months--hopefully coinciding with a massive crash in prices for quality used boats. When it does, I'll have 90 days to acquire a boat and qualify for the $100 per month slip license fee, including electricity and water. (I'll have to install my own lift at my expense.) So I need to be doing homework now.
My priority is diving. My wife's priority is socializing and maybe a little weekend cruising. So it needs a cabin and room for non-divers to sit around.
My first constraint is size:
The condo association has a length limit of 26 feet, but they'll waive it up to 28 if the boat on its lift doesn't impede people walking along the pier. If I get a 28-foot boat with twin outboards, I may need to back it in to comply.
The lift rails would have to rest on top of pairs of pilings whose inside edges are 11' 3" apart. That means a boat with a 9' 6" beam would have 9" of clearance on each side at its widest point.
My second constraint is seakeeping ability:
At present I have access, through friends and through a boat club to generic lightweight center console monohulls in the 22- to 24-foot range. Most of our decent dive sites are at least 10 miles offshore, and I'm tired of getting pounded and soaked whenever a calm day picks up a bit and we have to plow home through even 2-foot seas. I want something I can take 15-25 miles offshore and not be concerned if the weather turns a little snotty on the way home. Comfort is also important for the young bride: it's gotta be fun for her or it won't work.
I was looking at WorldCat's, particularly the 27-foot express cabin models (both Glacier Bay and WorldCat), but we decided the cabin is too cramped and the whole layout is too fishing-centric, so I've moved on.
So now I'm thinking hard about a Boston Whaler 285 Conquest (9' 6" beam--theoretically could fit in the condo slip) or a 315 Conquest (10' 8" beam--no way it can fit in the condo slip). Other than price and width, the biggest drawback to these models seems to be the swim ladder--but if I get the boat, I'll figure that out.
If the 285 Conquest will fit in the slip and give a stable enough ride, the sweetheart slip rental would make it ideal. But I don't want to get an unsuitable boat just because it fits in the slip.
I was surprised by how much the price difference between such differently sized boats goes down as they get a few years on them. So if the 285 either won't fit practically into the slip or give me the ride I want, I might look at a 315 (though the added fuel consumption and high-and-dry fees would disrupt the whole can-I-swing-this spreadsheet).
Any insights on this decision? Experience with any of the boats under consideration? Wisdom on the max beam or seaworthiness questions?
Thanks,
