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ScoobieDooo

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Location
Oneida, NY
I'm seeking to purchase my first new boat fairly soon and am looking for something that will work for Great Lakes diving for about 2 yrs until we move to Florida.

Is there any 'rule of thumb' on what is considered to be about the smallest length craft for saltwater diving that while still affordable is large enough so one isn't tossed around like a cork in 2-3 ft swells in Florida?

Up here a 17 footer is fine, but I'm thinking that that my not cut it in Florida.

???
 
Yeah, scoobie...

What you need is a 45 foot Island hopper... Very nice boat. That will be suffficient for what you are trying to do...

ANything smaller would be a pansy boat. IMO!!!!!!
 
Is from 20 to 25 feet down here, most of the time the boats are multi purpose (fishing, diving, family outings…

We decided to get a walk around to have some cover from the sun for the kids, for the best use of space of course an open cockpit boat would be great. Many of the smaller charter companies use these style boats.

Another consideration would be where you will be living in FL, longer distance runs to get to deep water of Tampa / St Pete, over 100 FSW within 10 to 12 miles of shore in Panama City / Destin…and then of course the Atlantic side…Farther off-shore I would look for good fuel economy and prefer two engines…

Are you planning to stay out on the boat sometimes?

Jeff Lane
Panama City
 
Jeff,
No, we would not be staying out overnight on the boat. We've also considered pontoon boots as well. We'd be on East Coast and it would be used fo family outings as well as diving.
 
are NOT suitable for open water.

If you're buying a boat for diving in the ocean, you must FIRST consider seaworthiness issues. To do otherwise is FOOLISH.

If you do not know what to look for, find someone who does (that "someone" is NOT a boat salesman!) and take them with you when shopping.
 
The Great Lakes ARE an ocean as far as danger is concerned - perhaps MORE so than many oceans, particular south, as the water is typically quite cold once away from land and if your boat goes out from under you survival time is going to be severely limited. Further, the Great Lakes whip up MUCH faster than the ocean does, and the wave period is much shorter - which makes it even more dangerous.

This is true even in the middle of summer.

Equip accordingly; a 406 EPIRB and raft (or equivalent) are essentials when out of sight of land on the Great Lakes.

The only two pieces of good news are (1) you can drink the water in a pinch, and (2) there aren't things in the water that will LITERALLY eat you if you end up in it unexpectedly.

A liferaft is actually MORE important on the Great Lakes than on many ocean waters!
 
Genesis once bubbled...
The Great Lakes ARE an ocean as far as danger is concerned - perhaps MORE so than many oceans, particular south, as the water is typically quite cold once away from land and if your boat goes out from under you survival time is going to be severely limited.
SNIPPED

Sound advice Genesis. Boating on the Great Lakes can be hell of a lot more challenging than some ocean work... ScoobieDoo how much of an issue is trailering the boat? And what experience do you have managing one? (On and off the water :wink:)

Either way, stay away from pontoon boats unless you are going to be doing inshore runs in very placcid seas. They do not handle large swells and running seas very well... I drove one for a while in the BVIs and vowed I would never do so again!

****ing thing would go every way but forward in anything that looked like weather.
 
and am relatively recent (3 years or so) to Florida.

People grouse about the ocean being tough. They do not know what they are talking about. I've been boating my entire life, and the Great Lakes are in many respects at least as, if not more so, dangerous than any ocean.
 
It's not the size of the boat, it's the knowledge of the captain that determines how safe boating in big water can be. Here in California, I've seen 45 footers crash into jetties and run aground, and I've also seen 17 footers way offshore. I myself have a 19 foot walkaround that I take 40 miles out on a good day. I monitor conditions and plan accordingly.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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