new boat owner? looking?

[murphdivers286]

My wife and I live in Port St. Lucie, Florida (about 45 min. north of West Palm Beach, Florida. We want to buy a 22-23' center console with a 200 hp Yamaha OB. We are looking for a boat to ocean dive, fish, and just go boating with our 4 children. The price range we are looking at is $25,000-$30,000.

I have lived in the area my whole life. I grew up around boats and the water. I do not have the experience of being a boat owner. I do know it is a full time job. I have even built a boat motor from parts in a box that some one gave me. Believe it or not, it actually worked. Boat Maintenance is not a problem for me. I do have some questions about boats though.

1. Is a 22-23' cc big enough for our family?.
2. Is a 22-23' cc big enough to dive from in the ocean?
3. What would be the best make and models to consider?
4. Do you consider any other boats beside a cc?

Please feel free to add any other information I have listed, and/or answer questions you thought I should have asked.

 

[matt_unique]

My wife and I live in Port St. Lucie, Florida (about 45 min. north of West Palm Beach, Florida. We want to buy a 22-23' center console with a 200 hp Yamaha OB. We are looking for a boat to ocean dive, fish, and just go boating with our 4 children. The price range we are looking at is $25,000-$30,000.

I have lived in the area my whole life. I grew up around boats and the water. I do not have the experience of being a boat owner. I do know it is a full time job. I have even built a boat motor from parts in a box that some one gave me. Believe it or not, it actually worked. Boat Maintenance is not a problem for me. I do have some questions about boats though.

1. Is a 22-23' cc big enough for our family?.
2. Is a 22-23' cc big enough to dive from in the ocean?
3. What would be the best make and models to consider?
4. Do you consider any other boats beside a cc?

Please feel free to add any other information I have listed, and/or answer questions you thought I should have asked.

As you know there are advantages and disadvantages to just about everything. (i.e. Outboard vs I/O, etc.) So with that caveat....

The misses and the kids will REALLY appreciate having a cuddy cabin boat. You are in Florida so your weather is much nicer than my weather here in Massachusetts but you will still appreciate the opportunity to get out of the sun or elements.

I bought my 19' Bayliner Capri 1952 Cuddy brand new in 2000. It is a cuddy cabin with a stand up canvas enclosure that extends all the way to the stern if I want. I was out this past Sunday in the rain and everyone on board was warm and dry because I kept my canvas up all the way to the stern. I usually remove the stern piece and keep the cockpit canvas up. This design also helps with rougher seas. If you take a wave over your bow you will be glad you have a cuddy cabin because it just spills off the side. With an open bow you just got 300 pounds of water and even if your boat is self bailing that will be something to deal with. Before I decided on a Bayliner I looked at Regal, Sea Ray, and several others. Bayliner made some bad boats in the 80's and developed a bad reputation as a result. That was changed more than 10 years ago but some people do not know that yet. My Bayliner had the best space engineering out of all the boats I looked at, it has the exact same engine/warranty (Mercruiser with Alpha One Outdrive I/O), same hull warranty, same materials for construction, and $5000 less than the other boats. My particular Bayliner is the number one selling 19' cuddy cabin boat in the US as a matter of fact. This bodes well for me in terms of resale, parts availability, etc.

I use mine for diving all over New England up to 14 miles offshore. I can take 3 divers will full cold water gear and passenger. This weekend in fact I will have myself and another diver with doubles and a third buddy with a single hp steel 120. The name of the game for small boats is equipment and weather of course. I have a 10' inflatable boat I keep onboard (not inflated obviously - power pump), 3.3 hp outboard for the dinghy/backup kicker for my "big" boat, tri-lens radar reflector in case I am in a shipping lane, backup battery pack, gps, 02, etc., etc.

So to answer your question in short - 22 is definitely big enough for ocean use if you are equipped properly and you know your weather limits. I never go to sea with weather data that is more than 6 hours old. If I am spending the weekend at an island or such I monitor the weather frequencies of course. A CC will be nice in terms of open storage space but it will not be as comfortable in terms of cruising or getting out of the elements. If the misses or the kids need to use the head, they will appreciate a cuddy cabin even if it has just a porta potti. When we have our Florida like weather up here (2 weeks in July I appreciate my canvas top, in addition to my cuddy cabin, to stay in the shade. Because of the reasons I mentioned above I am totally sold on Bayliners. When I upgrade it will be another Bayliner. The retail for a hard top 22' Bayliner cruiser with enclosed head, 8cyl engine, trim tabs, fresh water with sink, etc., etc., etc. is $38G. This is the step up from my boat. My boat fully equipped and prepped for ocean use (bottom paint, all accessories, etc.) was about $20G.

Good luck.

--Matt

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I dive off my 17' Boston Whaler just about every weekend
in Monterey. Took it to the Farallones (80 mile round trip)
Saturday. If 17 is big enough, 22 must be. But it's
gotta be the right 17 or 22.


Chuck

 

[metaldector]

with a tool, you might consider a boat that requires a little work. Check out http://www.usauctions.com/InventoryView.aspx for boat in Florida. Hope this helps.

 

[captain]

A 23 footer would be big enough for your family. I feel any boat you plan on taking offshore should have a self bailing deck. You didn't say how many divers you planed to take with you but 3 and their gear is about max for a 23 foot boat.
A center console will give you more room but less comfort because it will be wetter and won't have a head which is a plus with women and children. My choice would be a walk around cutty cabin. It will give you easier access to the bow for anchoring and also some creature comforts like a head. You will need at least 250 horsepower either single or twin engine. My preference would be a single well maintained sterndrive. Mako, Wellcraft and Aquasport make good offshore boats but there are others. You can go to this site for a lot of boating information http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi I have taken 23 foot boats 50 miles offshore and feel perfectly safe doing it, but I have 35 years of offshore experience. Start slow and learn all you can about boat handling. Check with the local U S Power Squadron about boating classes.

Captain

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There are 23 foot boats with head in the console.

But a real divin' woman will hang it over the side or into
the motor well or into Little Johnny.


Chuck