back40:
I own a 21ft Cape Horn and love it. I have also a extended experinces with the 19 and 24 foot boats. From what I have heard from the Coast Guard most hate the new Whalers they have. They say they are great until you hit rough water and then you had better hang on. Also I thought all boats had to have floatation foam in them these days. Not that they won't sink to a point but the boats won't go to the bottom.
I would look at a 24ft CapeHorn with twin 200hp outboards and get a spray dodger to cover the front. Then you can put it down when you don't need or want it.
Just my thought. I am partial to Cape Horn, best ride for the size and easy to maintain.
back40
Lot's of good boats. The above statement is incorrect. The commercial version of the Whaler that the Cost Guard and military uses is made by Bruswck Corp. which also owns Whaler. Commerical "Whalers" are currently serving in the military and are in Iraq for example. The commercial boats use the old style hulls, new Whalers mostly have a deeper V and less of the "sea sled" look to them. The boats behave differently, most Whaler folks say the older hulls (such as currently built by the commercial division) are more seaworthy but rougher riding than the civilian Whaler products.
Yes, most boats have foam in them but only a few have the ability to float the engine out of the water with several times their capacity on board and still continue to make way and even drive up out of the water like a Whaler can. Lot's of good boats, most that have solid advantages over the Whaler also cost a lot more money--none are cheap. Few actually have the amount of floatation that a Whaler has.
Trailering a boat requires a compromise. Once a boat gets out of the 18 to 21 foot size it becomes increasing diffucult to launch and recover, it requires heavy duty towing vehicles, and is tiresome to tow long distances thus restricting the versatility. It is all a trade off--one thing for another thing.
Further, the military and the Cost Guard are more and more going to RIB and other types of non conventional boats. My bet is that 20 years from now inflatables and RIBs will dominate the sub 20 foot market. They carry more weight, are more durable, just as fast, more stable, more seaworthy, unsinkable and they are very expensive right now.
The military Whalers 9Brunswick Commercial Division--they have their own website) are gray hulled, have additional heavy duty features such as aluminum diamond plate armor, multiple heavy rubber strakes, machine guns, rocket launchers and are crewed by fellows in armored jackets and holding machine guns and displaying a really bad attitude towards the enemy. These boats are in fact in service now along with many other toys bought with tax payer money intended to cause a "bad hair day" for bad people. N