What type of boat to buy??
- Thread starter DOkie
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Not intending to post anyting further in this thread I came across this thread at another website which illustrates why the wrong boat in the wrong place can be a bad thing, especially small generic "family" I/O bowriders.
Quote for instructive purposes only:
"This afternoon I was entering the Merrimac River in Newburyport MA. The current was ripping out and there were 3-5 foot rollers at the entrance. Challenging but I have seen it much worse. There was a small I/O bowrider struggling in the mouth. My brother mentioned the boat looked over loaded and I thought it was sitting low. The boat was moving slow and as soon as we exchanged our opinions a wave washed over the stern and swamped the boat. The captain rushed to the back of the boat and started handing out life jackets. I called in a mayday and changed course to approach the sinking boat. Within seconds, the next wave swamped the stern the the boat was on its side. The Coast Guard asked how many people were aboard and the vessel type. I expected that question and counted nine people, but now they were all in the water. I couldn't give them a vessel description because it was under water. Within 45 seconds of taking the second wave the boat was under with about 3 feet of the bow above water. We were about 30 feet from the boat and started to throw life jackets. My brother yelled to swim to the boat and the 4 kids (all with life jackets) and one woman (with life jacket) swam to the boat. We got them aboard. Luckily I have an euro transom with a swim ladder. The woman was paralyzed with fear, and it took two of us to drag her on board. We had five on board and four still in the water (two with life jackets). I asked the oldest kid,about 14, if everyone was accounted for - he said yes. Two other boats came to assist and retrieved the four adults from the water. The Coast Guard arrived and did another head count, everyone was rescued."
end quote.
I hope this is useful as to why small overloaded bowriders are not intended to run inlets and take on open water conditions. The gentleman who wrote this piece obviously went out of his way, possibly endangering himself to save these people, good that there are such people.
Again, I retire from this thread, hope this story was useful.
N
Quote for instructive purposes only:
"This afternoon I was entering the Merrimac River in Newburyport MA. The current was ripping out and there were 3-5 foot rollers at the entrance. Challenging but I have seen it much worse. There was a small I/O bowrider struggling in the mouth. My brother mentioned the boat looked over loaded and I thought it was sitting low. The boat was moving slow and as soon as we exchanged our opinions a wave washed over the stern and swamped the boat. The captain rushed to the back of the boat and started handing out life jackets. I called in a mayday and changed course to approach the sinking boat. Within seconds, the next wave swamped the stern the the boat was on its side. The Coast Guard asked how many people were aboard and the vessel type. I expected that question and counted nine people, but now they were all in the water. I couldn't give them a vessel description because it was under water. Within 45 seconds of taking the second wave the boat was under with about 3 feet of the bow above water. We were about 30 feet from the boat and started to throw life jackets. My brother yelled to swim to the boat and the 4 kids (all with life jackets) and one woman (with life jacket) swam to the boat. We got them aboard. Luckily I have an euro transom with a swim ladder. The woman was paralyzed with fear, and it took two of us to drag her on board. We had five on board and four still in the water (two with life jackets). I asked the oldest kid,about 14, if everyone was accounted for - he said yes. Two other boats came to assist and retrieved the four adults from the water. The Coast Guard arrived and did another head count, everyone was rescued."
end quote.
I hope this is useful as to why small overloaded bowriders are not intended to run inlets and take on open water conditions. The gentleman who wrote this piece obviously went out of his way, possibly endangering himself to save these people, good that there are such people.
Again, I retire from this thread, hope this story was useful.
N
matt_unique
Guest
Examples like this are always useful. Overloading a boat and choosing to cruise in the wrong conditions has nothing to do with the boat.
Last Monday night in Boston Harbor a 28' sailboat capsized ejecting all the crew. One of my colleagues happened to be the closest vessel and pulled three of them from the water. Other boats picked up the rest. They did not spill the sail in time to account for a strong gust. This sailboat would handle open seas better than any powerboat of the same size (in terms of sheer stability) yet the captain still managed to swamp it.
--Matt
Last Monday night in Boston Harbor a 28' sailboat capsized ejecting all the crew. One of my colleagues happened to be the closest vessel and pulled three of them from the water. Other boats picked up the rest. They did not spill the sail in time to account for a strong gust. This sailboat would handle open seas better than any powerboat of the same size (in terms of sheer stability) yet the captain still managed to swamp it.
--Matt
captain
Contributor
matt_unique:
Which brings up my belief that most boats are capable of much heavier weather than the average recreational boat driver is capable of handling.
matt_unique
Guest
So true....
In fact, for all the discussion of what various boats can "handle", you never see the owners out in conditions that would demonstrate or utilize these capabilities.
--Matt
In fact, for all the discussion of what various boats can "handle", you never see the owners out in conditions that would demonstrate or utilize these capabilities.
--Matt
steintheman
Guest
Lively discussion guys! I just picked up a 1998 20' Boston Whaler Ventura with a 200hp Merc for just over $16k. Its in fantastic shape and the sellers threw in a ton of great accessories. I hope to get her rigged for diving soon. Hang in there, DOkie, you can find a great boat at or close to your $15,000 budget. I spent months looking for the right boat. Be patient and you'll find your perfect diving vessel.
mitchsea
Contributor
I was in the same boat buying situation last summer and after much research and many visits to boat dealers and marinas I purchased a 2002 Scout 185 Sportfish center console. I Had tank racks installed and have spent the past year diving with 3 or 4 people very comfortably. Great boat, plenty of space. One issue I had while shopping was the that many builders clutter boats with rear seating, side upholstery and other items to make them seem more comfortable, but not ideal for a diver. Maximizing the space is important in a small boat. Ease of getting in and out of the water is also something to consider. It can be very difficult to climb over transom seats or a livewell with gear on.
Technology_Shark
Guest
I'm currently looking at a Wellcraft Sportsman. They are wide open, the hull is actually taken from Wellcrafts offshore Center Consoles but they have seating for guests and wide open space for diving. A very comfortable and versatile boat.
I immediantly see several things wrong with the bow rider above:
1) bow riders are bad about stuffing the bow and tend to go down rather fast with bow seating area filled with water
2) the guwales are awfully high and not suited to a back roll entry
3) a lot of carpet and nuagyhyde
4) not self bailing
5) sit down design, boats meant for offshore and rough water use are stand up boats, they may have seats for relaxing when in smooth water but they are operated standing up--this allows your legs to absorb the pounding, not your spine as is the case when seated as in the boat above.
Good luck, but that is a lake boat in that configuration regardless of where the hull design may come from--or not.
N
1) bow riders are bad about stuffing the bow and tend to go down rather fast with bow seating area filled with water
2) the guwales are awfully high and not suited to a back roll entry
3) a lot of carpet and nuagyhyde
4) not self bailing
5) sit down design, boats meant for offshore and rough water use are stand up boats, they may have seats for relaxing when in smooth water but they are operated standing up--this allows your legs to absorb the pounding, not your spine as is the case when seated as in the boat above.
Good luck, but that is a lake boat in that configuration regardless of where the hull design may come from--or not.
N
I am not coming into this thread to ruffle feathers or anything of the sort but I have been diving for the last couple of years off a "pointy hulled" bowrider in the Great Lakes for the last few years without incident.
Nemrod, great you like your "Boston Whaler" , you have made that abundantly clear you offered to butt out, please do. Coming back with a report of a boat swamped because it was overloaded does very little to furthur the discussion.
I live on the Great Lakes literally Lake Ontario is in my BACK YARD, grew up around boats and the boat that's on the dock is a Doral 185BR.
Yep is got carpet, when it gets wet, you just snap it out lay it on the dock and in it's dry in about an hour if it's really drenched. The large swim platform is only a couple of inches off the water there's a halfway decent ladder, you have to remove fin's for re-boarding though. I have had 4 divers on the boat with a driver and it was still within the limits of capacity with the weight of the gear.
How it handles OK in rough water, and as stated above operator skill is more important than the type of boat that the people are out in. I have also been out on the lake and passed a swamped whaler on the way in. The one thing you need to remember is that weather is not a surprise, there's a forcast, and you need to check it out before going out on the water and go out when it's acceptable. You can call the dive before you leave the dock, not just when you hit the water.
Nemrod, great you like your "Boston Whaler" , you have made that abundantly clear you offered to butt out, please do. Coming back with a report of a boat swamped because it was overloaded does very little to furthur the discussion.
I live on the Great Lakes literally Lake Ontario is in my BACK YARD, grew up around boats and the boat that's on the dock is a Doral 185BR.
Yep is got carpet, when it gets wet, you just snap it out lay it on the dock and in it's dry in about an hour if it's really drenched. The large swim platform is only a couple of inches off the water there's a halfway decent ladder, you have to remove fin's for re-boarding though. I have had 4 divers on the boat with a driver and it was still within the limits of capacity with the weight of the gear.
How it handles OK in rough water, and as stated above operator skill is more important than the type of boat that the people are out in. I have also been out on the lake and passed a swamped whaler on the way in. The one thing you need to remember is that weather is not a surprise, there's a forcast, and you need to check it out before going out on the water and go out when it's acceptable. You can call the dive before you leave the dock, not just when you hit the water.
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