Boat opinons.

[jlwest63]

In the future I may be looking to buy a boat for the family to dive from. I am wondering if I wanted something I could off the coast of Florida and also in fresh water what size would you recomend as a minimum? I don't have a million dollers but would like to own 1 boat that I could use in the Alantic or the Gulf and also in the fresh water areas here.

Thanks.

Jim

 

[ShakaZulu]

Rent one first and see if the family can handle it. The shorter the boat, the wilder the ride.

Checkout the yellow one at the bottom of the page, these things go anywhere........ You can even do shore entries, they are really fun.

http://www.makoinflatablesusa.com/gallery.html

 

[matt_unique]

In the future I may be looking to buy a boat for the family to dive from. I am wondering if I wanted something I could off the coast of Florida and also in fresh water what size would you recomend as a minimum? I don't have a million dollers but would like to own 1 boat that I could use in the Alantic or the Gulf and also in the fresh water areas here.

Thanks.

Jim

If you have women or children you need a cuddy cabin. Keep them out of the rain/sun if necessary. It's also nice to have a place to keep things dry, spend the night, etc.

--Matt

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I am looking in the same direction. Er, maybe opposite direction?

From the Texas side.

I agree a cudy (with head) is the way to go, and am thinking I should get the largest trailerable catamaran I possibly can. So far that looks like about 24 - 30'.

Some Texas divers have stated that they won't go out in the gulf in anything less than 40', but cats are more stable at rest or underway than a similar sized monohull, and get higher speeds more economically. Besides generally having more deck space for gear and such. Also you get redundancy of engines (required if you go very far out in the gulf), but still have room for a dive platform in the back.

My dream is to build one of these:

http://www.nzboatbuilders.com/Design.asp

but the beam would have to be < 8.5' to be trailerable.

While I'm dreaming, I also want jets so that my buddies don't have to worry about knocking their noggins on the props (doesn't hurt that they're faster, too).

And a flybridge, so I can spot the anchor points and divers in the water (never mind that they just look cool).

Good luck in your quest.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

How many people in the family? How many divers? How
many non-divers? Where are you going to
keep it (slip, trailer, where will the trailer be kept)?

Most importantly: what's the budget?

Jet boats are slower for the same horsepower than a boat
with a prop. And quite fuel hungry.

I have 17' Boston Whaler Montauk. No cuddy. Admiral Linda loves it
and DOESN'T want me to get something bigger. Whether
having a woman means you need a cuddy depends on the
woman. ;-) And BTW the Montauk has been clear down to Pt.
Sur and out to the Farallones (LONG runs).

 

[ShakaZulu]

http://cruzan.com/yacht_charters/luxury_yachts/mirage.htm

This will probably do with my wify...........

 

[jlwest63]

How many people in the family? How many divers? How
many non-divers? Where are you going to
keep it (slip, trailer, where will the trailer be kept)?

Most importantly: what's the budget?

Jet boats are slower for the same horsepower than a boat
with a prop. And quite fuel hungry.

I have 17' Boston Whaler Montauk. No cuddy. Admiral Linda loves it
and DOESN'T want me to get something bigger. Whether
having a woman means you need a cuddy depends on the
woman. ;-) And BTW the Montauk has been clear down to Pt.
Sur and out to the Farallones (LONG runs).

Let me add some more info.
4 in family and all are divers.

It will be trailered and keep at our house. That is not a problem as we have 6 acres and a 30x40 garage.

Budget? What budget. LOL. Of course I want the best I can get for next to nothing. Just kidding. We are not looking to spend alot of money since it is a first boat but want something that we can offshore dive and fresh water dive with and be kind of comfortable in. I do not see us going more then a couple miles off shore and maybe not that far but I dont want to be out there thinking "were going to need a bigger boat" . Also may like to take trips to the keys and offshore it there also.

P.S. A cuddy is a option but the wife can go in the water just like everyone else. Hope she does not read this....

Keep the ideas and opinons coming.

 

[captain]

Buy the best boat you can afford not necessarly the biggest you can afford. Thre are vast differencies in quality in boats. Go to marinas and ask around for opinions on various manufactures. Boaton Whaler is top of the line but there are others. Get on the boat forums iboats.com or the hulltruth.com and ask for opinions. I would guess 22 to 26 feet would meet your needs. When it comes to weather most boats can handle more than their operators can. Take a class from the U S Power squadron or the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Captain

 

[para45lda]

I bought a used 25' cuddy, put a new traile under it and had the motor rebuilt.

I have less than $12k in it.

my wife thought I was crazy buying such a big boat, but after going out a couple of times, she changed her mind.

One thing you definitely want to consider berfore you decide on the size is what are you going to pull it with. You wouldn't want to pull anything much larger than a 22 or 23' foot boat without going up to a 3/4 ton (F250) size vehicle or larger.Food for thought.

Good Luck. It took over a year to decide and find a boat like I wanted.

 

[cmm1970]

Concerning the recemmendation of the power cat...

I spent two seasons operating a 26' World Cat with a cuddy cabin and I have some strong opinions concerning them because of the time I spent behind the helm. I would travel approximately 150 miles a day fishing anywhere from 50-95 miles out of Galveston. Anyways, here it goes:

Positive: Yes, cats are more stable at rest in the water. I did not suffer mal de mer nearly as badly as I did on my 25' Wellcraft mono hull.

Yes, they are more economical concerning fuel consumption. I could average 1.25-1.5 miles to the gallon at a cruise speed of 28-35 mph seas permitting.

Piloting into a headsea was excellent. If they were tight, I could run right over the tops of the swells. Fun in the right conditions.


Negative: In following seas, the hull was miserable. It would not track down the face of a way with any amount of predictabliltiy. In fact, it was a Herculean feat to make it home in 4-6' following seas. No straight line navigation, no, in fact, zig zag was the name of the game.

In quartering seas, the bow would be caught and pushed relentlessly and at times, the boat would want to roll over. Scary to say the least.

Bottom line is that I sold the cat because it was squirrely. Going out in the northern gulf demands a long boat, narrow beam, and a deep, deep vee. Consider the likes of Contender, Intrepid, Fountain, Donzi and the other SKA designed, competition oriented hulls. You will get your best ride from this class of hull. Consider moving to something like 29-31'. You won't be disappointed.

Hope this helps,
Mike