What type of boat to buy??

[bgray]

Ok Nemrod, I'm sorry for attacking so harshly. I do agree with most everything you say, and you do have some very good info. Your previous posts just hit a little close to home when you start saying "it's still a Bayliner." While I don't own one, I have owned small I/O's that were ok for rec. diving as long as you know your boats limitations and make your decisions accordingly. I think that you should get the most boat for the money you have to deal with, and enjoy it!

 

[Nemrod]

I accept that as an apology and I am also sorry I was mean to bgray, however, the rest of it I stand by until proven different. And I am done with this thread.

N

 

[Cacia]

I LOVE threads with pictures.

Nice job you guys, I read every word and learned so much.

I still think a Whaler or a Twin V can be had for 15K used and be a great boat for what the OP wants.

 

[scuba pirate]

I totally agree with Nemrod on having a self bailing boat if your going in big water. A few years ago I was diving with two other people. Seas were about 2-4 feet, and as I practice I always make sure there is 1 person topside at ALL TIMES!!! Unfortunately what I didn't take into account was the guy I left topside didn't know jack about boats. Well apparently he got curious and started flipping switches, in the process he switched off the bilge pump. Well I get to the boat and there is a 5 gallon bucket floating in the BOW of the boat. I ditched my gear jumped in the boat, fired up both motors and was able to get the boat on plane and because it was self bailing It drained itself of the excess water.

 

[matt_unique]

"The Hull Truth" is another tool on the tool box for getting information, but in my opinion the site is unofficially dedicated to fisherman all with the same boat design. Virtually all of them are running single or twin outboards on deep v hull walk around boats. It is not a site where you will find balanced information on any other type of boat or engine configuration.

The real meat of research is taking all the websites into consideration to find trends. We're all consumers, and even factoring brand loyalty, we're all going to be p*ssed off and talk about it when something breaks or does not live up to our expectations.

Whaler has in impressive reputation and I like the picture of the dump truck on the hull But in reality how many news stories have you read where a Bayliner broke apart while out for a cruise? How many USCG safety reports have listed Bayliner Hulls breaking apart as the cause for an accident? Zero.....I have pitch poled my boat loaded with 1000 lbs (crew/dive gear/supplies/extra fuel) 23 miles from shore. My input comes from my own experience with my Bayliner. Question the accuracy of others when commenting about a brand they have never owned. "My buddy is a mechanic and he said.." does not tell the entire story. Who knows if the boat in question was maintained and regularly used by an owner or just a project boat that has been sitting uncovered for 3 years?

Anyway - prioritize what you want the boat to do, determine your max price, and do your homework. You will learn more in 6 months use and ownership then you will ever learn reading our posts.

--Matt

 

[rjack321]

I have a Polaris aluminum hulled 15.5ft inflatable. 60hp Yamaha, console, seats, and custom tank rack for 8 cylinders or 4 sets of doubles. Max speed is about 29 knots. Planes easily with 3 divers, 3 sets of doubles, and 3 scooters aboard. 3700 rpm kept us at 15 knots in wakes and light chop. I only have 4 hours on it right now. It was more than 15k though.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The Newfie goes well with your Polaris (and mine (RIP) went well with my whaler).


Chuck

 

[rjack321]

Thanks I'm surprised your recognized the newfies!
Here are a couple more pics. Polaris was nervous welding the tank rack down. So that came to me seperate and I thru-bolted it to the floor. It holds 8 cylinder (4 sets of doubles) 3ft wide x 2ft tall with tank attachment tabs every 9 inches.

Anchor locker

Transom with hull plate extension

Two person bench seat with mini-console. Console now has a grab rail (wasn't back from the powercoater when I picked up the boat)

Single piece hull plate (3/16" 5000 series AL)

I had a 12.5ft inflatable for 7 years and a 34ft trawler for 3 years. This is the culmination of those pluses and minuses for a local, up to 15 mile dive boat. 90% for diving, 10% for camping/other in my planning/concept.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

rjack, care to shrink those pictures a bit?


Finally something with aluminum came up! A RIB with alu hull seems to me as one of the greatest ways to make a dive boat. Unfortunately the few available around here are slim speed boats, and not of the roomy type like the awsome Zodiac SRNM series.

We are getting a 100% dive boat for nest season here, so this thread is interesting to us. Nemrod is pounding the all American Bayliner, and he's doing a great job. If he hadn't, I would have... As anything but a beer platform, they stink. Sorry guys!

Anyways, my experiences are with aluminum boats. And they are really great for diving. RIBs are of course just as good, but tend to be a bit wet. So wearing a suit is always nice... But since I end up beeing the sorry guy left in the boat after everyone's dropped in, I like a dry boat anyways. And a rather high shouldered aluboat does a great job for me there. We dive in the North Atlantic, and strong winds tend to be the regular weather. The Great Lakes however, is freshwater. And since I grew up on a large(?) lake, I too know how fast fresh water is stirred up from a little wind.

Our choice for next year seems to be between a Zodiac SRMN and a pure aluboat. I thought perhaps you could be so lucky as to find boats like these in the second hand market over there for around 15K+, but I don't know. We get to deduct the sales tax (25%) if we get a new boat, so new it is.

CE-approved for 200 hp outboard.

 

[rjack321]

How's that? Didn't realize they were so big.