Need recommendation / dive boat

I will be in the market for a decent dive boat and the very most I may be able to scrape up will be $10,000... Anyone have any kind of recommendations on what to look for in my price range in order to get the most value per dollar?

Thanks

I'm actually doing some research as to what boat to buy for diving, fishing, and cruising. I'm also on somewhat of a short budget. I attended the fort lauderdale boat show this weekend and found some boats that were extremely appealing. I am looking center consoles specifically. The whitewater seemed to be an outrageous boat with tons of space and everything well laid out. The dead rise on there hulls were 24 degrees, a very important and good number. Just in case you're not familiar with dead rise, it's the angle of the keel at the stern. The sharper the angle the better the boats 'cuts' through ways and thus providing a smoother ride in rougher seas, however it comes at the cost of creating more drag and thus being less fuel efficient. The 25' or the 256 as they call it, started at $35,000 brand new without engine. Which was very cheap compared to alot of other center consoles i saw. The other boat which I liked, and recieved awsome reviews from a neighbor of mine who used to have one is the Dusky. It is built like a tank, and is an extremely dry boat in sea conditions that you could probably not withstand personally. It is more of a "no frills boat" which was fine with me, but was a little lacking with the storage compartments, although it was very spacious as well. What turned me down a little was the dead rise only being 20 degrees. The Sea Vee was another boat I liked, but it turns out that they used to be and may continue to be the same hull as the white water, and thus wasn't too different besides the accessories. Continueing on with the new higher priced boats, just as a personal comparison and opinion, I was a little disappointed with the Contender and Robalo which are boats starting around the 60-80 thousand dollar mark. Sure, these boats had some really neat features, but they were built up so much that they felt a little clausterphobic being restricting in space.

To more directly answer you're questions, you might be able to find an older one of these boats for around the price that you're willing to pay. Personally, if i were to go with an older boat, I would go with a Dusky, mainly because there hulls are incredibly thick, and thus more durable, and they have not made them with any wood since the late 80's or very early 90's. This is an important point to consider because with older boats, the stringers which are almost always made of wood can begin to rot, and can lead to expensive repairs.

If you give more specifics as to where exactly you'll be using the boat and how far of a range you want, and how many people you want to be able to fit comfortably, I may be able to give you more information.

Hope this helps.

Bond

Be carefully if buying a boat any where from Fl through GA, and upper pan-handle, as we had 6 Hurricane's hit these area's in the past 18 month's, and alot of boat's sustained damage as a result from these storm's, and some people may not be telling you about it. I just bought a 25' cabin cruiser , 2003, from GA a few month's ago, and I had it surveyed before buying it. I would strongly recommend that, average cost for a survey is around $150

As far as a dive boat, I had before this boat, a 2003 Angler,. 21' , which worked out great for diving. We dove ALL over Florida, Key's etc the past 2 year's owning that boat, and can fit 4 diver's no problem. Reason I bought the bigger boat, with a full cabin, is now we stay out on the water, and dive all day and night, and sleep right on the boat, with full accommodation's, it's really nice not to have to worry about hotel accommodation's, or paying $200 a night for a place down in the Key's .
Good luck !

aabond, that's also good advice, as my friend has a late 80's 27' Dusky, CC, with full electronics, and we dive off it also alot. it's a no frill's hull, but very solid ride, rides very dry, and heavy in the water. We commonly take it out 30+ mile's fishing also, and have hit 8' + Waves from squall's kicking up out in the Gulf Stream, and made it back with no problem's. Very heavy boat, and very solid, but they hold their value, like Boston Waller's, Mako's, etc

The biggest question is what do you want in a boat? Do you want one you want just a day time run about, do you want a boat you can over night on, do you want a boat you can do a lil trip to the Tortugas on and stay a few nights? Trailerable with a trailer? Stowed at a marina? Depending on what your after I or others could probably help narrow down some ideas or possibilities.

I actually just saw a boat that is a six sleeper in one of the local rags today for 7k that was powered by a Cummins diesel (major plus if you ask me, but hey, I'm not an expert or anything).. It's totally up my alley as far as a boat I'd consider getting.. others would pass it by as "oh, look at that junky boat".

BOAT OWNERSHIP, no thanks.

I can dive 166 dives for 10k and that is not counting launching fees, title, registration, fuel, repairs and just plain old boat maintence.

I personally know divers that dive everyweekend that belong to the higher tax brackets and do not own boats. I can jump in a car and drive to the keys and dive or wpb or jupiter and not worry about trailering. I for one am not buying a boat. Even when it comes to overnight trips the aggressor fleet or blackbeards comes to mind before I'd buy a boat.

Some people love to own the boat though so that is a personal choice.

www.boattraderonline.com and you can define your own used boat search parameters... things like year model range, price range, geographic area, boat type, and manufacturer. www.boats.com has a similar, those less popular, searchable database of boats for sale.

Duskys are great boats. Older Makos, Grady Whites, and Shamrocks are also worthy of consideration, in terms of quality and value. Remember that the definition of a boat is "a hole in the water that you pour money into", and that "the two happiest days in a boatowner's life are the day he buys a boat, and the day he sells it." Good luck!

Orlando Eric:

BOAT OWNERSHIP, no thanks.

I can dive 166 dives for 10k and that is not counting launching fees, title, registration, fuel, repairs and just plain old boat maintenance.

I personally know divers that dive every weekend that belong to the higher tax brackets and do not own boats. I can jump in a car and drive to the keys and dive or wpb or Jupiter and not worry about trailering. I for one am not buying a boat. Even when it comes to overnight trips the aggressor fleet or Blackbeard's comes to mind before I'd buy a boat.

Some people love to own the boat though so that is a personal choice.

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Your exactly right Eric, Some people love to own boat's. Me personally, I stay away from Charter boat's as much as possible. Number of reason's, there always crowded, THEY choose the dives, they rush you on and off the boat's, and many other reason's. We dive the dives we want, and COST is a big factor. When you take the cost of 4 diver's diving off a charter boat for a weekend, it comes out to over $800 for all of them, for me, it comes out to less then a $100 in gas , for all 4 diver's to dive all weekend, and all night!! We also do prolonged, dives, going into deco, scootering around, and many of my buddies are on re-breather's, and myself doubles.
WE WANT BOTTOM TIME !!! That's something you can't get off a charter boat also.

There are many con's and pro's to owning your own boat, for myself, I didn't buy it for diving either, I enjoy many weekend's with my wife and family, tubing, water skiing, and being out on the water. How can you be in Florida, where the water's are beautiful, Sunshine year round and not have a boat!!

I agree completely with FLTEKDIVER. We haven't had a boat in a couple of years and it sure makes a difference. We're looking at picking up a 26' Whitewater cc within the next couple of months. Heck we already have a deaded boat slip in our complex.

KeyLargoBrent:

www.boattraderonline.com and you can define your own used boat search parameters... things like year model range, price range, geographic area, boat type, and manufacturer. www.boats.com has a similar, those less popular, searchable database of boats for sale.

Duskys are great boats. Older Makos, Grady Whites, and Shamrocks are also worthy of consideration, in terms of quality and value. Remember that the definition of a boat is "a hole in the water that you pour money into", and that "the two happiest days in a boatowner's life are the day he buys a boat, and the day he sells it." Good luck!

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Hey KeyLArgoBrent, just wanted to say hi, and thank you for always coming onto the board and taking the time for your input. I dive alot, as you know with my own boat, but also sometimes just head down for a quick day and a half, and use Conch Republic diver's, but I'd love to come dive with you guy's also sometime, maybe when were down there Thanksgiving weekend, I'll stop by and say hi, as we will be down there for 4 day's diving, take care