Suggestions for boats to buy for diving

[arw]

I am looking to buy a boat that would serve multiple purposes; joy riding, near shore and inshore fishing, and of course diving. It will be used in the Northern Gulf of Mexico in the Alabama/Florida Panhandle area so it needs to be sea worthy but will not see seas greater than 6-8 feet. Just looking for any opinions based on first hand experience.

 

[Lee Taylor]

Island Hopper or Newton

Island Hopper

Newton Boats

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

For how many divers?

 

[Nemrod]

Six to eight foot seas, wow. Why stop there? If you are out in eight foot seas in the Northern Gulf you are in a storm.

How much money, center console, cabin, trailerable?

N

 

[a22shady]

Sent you a PM

 

[imwright1985]

we dive a 23ft keywest in the keys, a 23ft proline up here, and a 19 sailfish here. the 19 id only go out with 4 divers and that is loading the boat heavy where 3ft or less seas is the absolute worst we would want. the 23 proline and keywest work well for 4ft or less with 5 people but would troll at 8ft on either. between them all the KW is not a dry boat you get soaked if there is any chop. The main thing in finding a boat good for fishing is open deck space, bait lockers, rod holders, high gunnals. For diving you would want tons of room on the back of the boat, a notched transom is very nice for diving, but fishing full transom is better. a nice dive platform with a ladder is a great convenience too.

When diving on a typical private boat they can be trickey getting out of the water where it limits the height of the seas you would want to go out in. Just look at some of the options like tubs for keeping tanks contained, or tank racks. types of leaning post/seat options and rocket launchers for rods, and see what you could come up with. on the proline, we use a marine cooler to sit on, prop tank in corner with BC attached then sit down and strap up. There are various things to consider to better accomidate diving/ fishing you just have to be creative

 

[a22shady]

As Stated for what your looking for Money depending I would recomend a Walkaround to a Center console. More amentites can eb found you can get inside Depending on what you get the cabin can have A/C-Stove-Microwave-Full Head/Shower etc. If its a hot day during SI you can relax inside and stay cool. If a storm Pop's up you can get out of the Rain, or if it's cold out Stay warm.

 

[arw]

I should have been more specific I guess. Definately center console between 18-24 feet single or twin outboard power. I agree with the transom door/swim platform being a plus for diving and a detriment to fishability. I have not set a budget yet. And yes we get storms in the Gulf and they can kick up seas taller than myself in a hurry so seaworthiness is a must. It will be private only and no amenities needed; if it's hot, it's hot. No more than 3-4 divers on board at one time. I think that answers all the questions, just looking for experiences with makes and models.

 

[Cacia]

We had a 24 ft Glacier Bay, power cat and it did big seas very well.....interisland Hawaii, although I was scared the whole time.

I liked having two outboards, you lose an impeller or something you can stay off the rocks. Great dive boat, we would climb up between the motors.

We slept on it some, a small cuddy cabin. We could dive four pretty okay as long as they were fit enough to climb out.

If you want to be careful about liabilty, not making it too easy for somebody that is ripe for a heart attack isn't a bad plan.

Anybody that starts talking about their "settlement" should be a no go, lol.

http://www.glacierbaycats.com/

In this economy, you could get a lightly used one for about 40...maybe even less.

The freshwater lakes where they are used only in the summer and stored dry up near Wisconsin or Minnasota is a happy hunting ground for a great deal for one that hasn't been doing hard ocean time.

Boattrader is a good place to look

 

[captain]

3 to 4 divers gets real crowded in anything less than 22 feet especially if there are 2 or 3 non divers on board. I think you should look in the 22 to 24 foot range. 18 to 22 can handle 2 divers and a couple of non divers OK. In either case you need to be well organized with tank racks and storage area, preferably below deck.