Tell us what's great about your boat-and what's not.

[storm petrel]

I would like to hear from people what it is that makes their boat a great one...economy, range, safety, sea-keeping ability, saltiness, looks.
I also would like to hear about what isn't so great. The trade-offs that every boat represents. Great in a head sea, bad in a follower, excellent safety, bad economy. whatever.

I bought my present boat(a 26' Ridgeway express with 320 hp 3208 cat and tuna tower) solely as a business decision. My boat is great for me because it is cheap to run, is a diesel, can be singlehanded for charters, can be stored in my yard (no more yard bills!!). It is a great boat because at only 26' in length, she carries twelve feet of beam(!). No more snap-rolls in the current-meets-wind off the southwest of B.I. She will run all day and all night at 20 kts, burn only six gph. She will go into an eight foot head sea, and although very wet, will NOT ship water over the bow. She will cruise at twenty knots in a considerable following sea and not pound. She is a salty-looking craft, obviously meant for fishing. Lastly, I bought her for very very short money.

The bad; primarily, handles like shit in close quarters. A nightmare to back down, and therefore to dock. Has a giant turning radius because she is a single screw w/ no keel. Could be considered slow by outboard standards for offshore. She is set up as a center console, using the engine box. I will need to cut the engine box down (to be used as seating, and to open up the cockpit) and move the steering station forward. I also need to build a windshield to create more space up front, the isinglass curtains follow the tower angle and cramp space up front. I took the leaning post out, and that created a lot more space. Cutting the engine box down should open her right up.

Ok, let's hear about YOUR boat. I know that there are plenty of boats owned by posters here that I am interested in hearing about.

[chumtini]

She's mine and I can go fishing any time *I* want . 150 gals with twin HPDIs means she's fast and nimble. Max 50 and cruises at 35 with 1 mi/gal range. The boat is well thought out for the most part. But that adds to the price. Example, the deck hatches provide access to just about everything. They even provided a sealed "hatch" to remove the fuel tank.

Twin outboards have +'s and -'s. They obviously gas. These are the original engines when I bought the boat new in 01, so they're 2 strokes. Big high power band, but they're messy, noisy and less efficient the 4-strokes available these days. And don't get me started on the E10Outboards are nice in that there's much more room in the boat. But those babies are exposed. I got caught during the 06 OBMST in what was easily 8-10s. We were watching a mako we hooked up when a wave came over the stern (and engines). Not good for outboards.

The boat is built like a brick s*house and can take some pretty lumpy seas. One thing she has a tendency to do is lift spray off the forward chines. No biggie head on or following. But running W with those southwesterlies coming across Nantucket Sound from Chatham in an open CC is one cold, miserable, wet ride home to Falmouth. The enclosure I added last year solved that. I should have got one years ago. Another thing Pursuit did with the 01 model is lower the rails. Looks much sleeker and I'm not bang rods on the rails. Integrated trim tabs mean I don't have to worry about lines getting hung up. That's probably moot with a pair of big outboards right there.

The helm is huge compared to some CCs. So there's plenty of room to install the goodies. I've a pair of L series (7"x7") plotters side by side and a pair of radios and there's still plenty of room. One dumb thing is the flourescent light above the helm. It's white and blinding. I disconnected it years ago.

The boat seats 5-6 people comfortably (if you like flying off waves). One is a very large locker and the other is an insulated killbox big enough to hold a 60" bluefin and plenty of ice.

There's a head under the helm with a sink and running fresh water. There's a pair of sinks one with fresh water and another insulated cooler thats big enough to hold 15 bags of ice. And another builtin cooler under the "jump seat" in front of the helm. Nothing drains into the bilge except the "dry locker" up front. Usually, there's plenty of space to store everything. If not, it gets tossed in the head.

The live well is under the bench behind the helm. For the few times I use it, it's adequate. It can hold and keep 3 or 4 small snappers.

The T-top is sunbrella fabric. It's adequate but prefer a hard top. Damn seagulls!! The frame has all the right stuff in the right places to mounting riggers, radar, lights, antenna, etc.

My next boat will be an express in the 30' range. I'm getting too old to be blasting around in a CC.

Here's a pic from last spring getting ready to rumble. Man, I can't wait!!!!

[storm petrel]

Chum,
That's a lotta boat for 24'! Have you thought about smart rails? My last two boats have been wet rides. I hear the smart rails work great keeping you dry.

Oh, another thing. My old Mako 23 cc had fabric; I bought some 1/4' aluminum, cut it with a jigsaw, drilled holes, and RIVETED it on!! Loved it & was cheap.

[backman]

1998 version; been re-engined once and with 1600 hr's on the second pair I have a decision to make in 2-3 years at 2800-3000 hrs.

The boat is a tank; its 15,000+ pounds empty and with a 24 degree deep V is an unreal running and trolling boat. I can only cruise at 25-26; but I outcruise a lot of boats in snot at 20-22, and can stay on plane if I have to at 16. Its still a 28' boat but it can hold its own w/ lots bigger boats and has proved itself in some truly ugly situations.

Dual diesels; I have Volvo D-4 260 HP engines which give me a 25-26 knot/20 GPH cruise; I can hit 33 knots WOT if I were stupid enough to want to; there is a FAC fast cruise of 27-28 knots/ 22GPH for the rare days the sound is nice to me. The 1.25 -> 1.33 nmile/gallon burn rate is excellent for what the boat can do. The 210 gallon tank is a weakness as a canyon trip burns 180-220 depending on which one I go for. I carry a 50 gallon ATL bladder strapped to the foredeck and gravity drain it on the way out; often when running at 20 knots. i used to keep the tank in the cockpit and pump it into the tank. This setup is simpler, cleaner and makes the heavily loaded boat run better as it trims the bow down.

Construction is massive, Mac designed for strength and everything that matters is overbuilt. Fishes well on the move, sucks on the drift in any sort of steep sea state; more on that in a bit. Cockpit; fishboxes and rigger setup was designed for fishing not looking pretty at the dock.

I've come to love the 11' high marlin tower versus either tuna towers or flying bridges on larger boats. I have full 360 visibility and can hang on up there even in 3-5's as long as the boat is moving. I see less than someone 15' higher but can remain up there when they have to retreat.

Weaknesses:

* fuel tank is 50 gallons to small; an item addressed in 2005 or 6 by a redesign.
* the boat drifts terribly in a rip and will scare the heck out of you in a 3' rip face if you go through it sideways; the 1-2-oh my god-3 snap roll can make you think the boat is going to flip; but with 2000# of fuel and 3000# of engines down low its actually a highly stable platform.
* maintenance and access - I have 4 cylinder engines because my 1st set of 6 cylinder's were a ***** to get around. While the engine room was redesigned in 2002 or so; its still a tight engine room for the newer 300+ HP 6 cylinder engines.
* cabin layout. Its a fishing boat; the V berth, galley and head is pretend cruising comfortable. I'm sure there's a woman somewhere who would find it comfortable for a weekend . It really should be designed as storage and up and down bunks so 2 guys can sleep at the same time without being face to face or toe to toe.

[dunn6253]

Not so good- no boat

Good- No payment (not yet anyways)

[AlloyToy]

Well I think I'm one of the few that owns a beer can on this forum 23' Pacific with a Yammie 150 4S outboard. Tuna door, Riggers,Front storage closest, B2B seat with storage, The motor is on the low end of the power spectrum (they now put 300's on them) but still gets her shy of 40 with 2 POB.

Good:
Very economical to run, light to trailer, easy to put on/off the trailer myself, very seaworthy, deep cockpit, built like a tank, not the best ride (18 degrees deadrise aft) but will punch through anything and get ya home. Center pilot house so plenty of fishing room, VERY low maint. just hose it off, and watch the anode. Throw lobster traps on the floor, bang cod jigs off the side....I don't give a damn No preseason waxing, buffing etc... Gives off a HELL of a radar signal (I've been at coxes in the fog and been radioed asking the size of my vessel) Just an all around low maint. fishing machine

Bad:
Can be wet in a steep chop at high speeds, cold in the late fall and early spring, center pilot house so there not a lot of protection for any more than 2, No live well (40 gallon trash barrel), No fish box (tuna bag), No head (5 gallon bucket if needed)

[backman]

The guy behind me for years at my marina had a pacific 23 with 225 or 250.

I recall it as wet also but was impressed a couple times just how well it handled Vineyard Sound's notorious wind against tide fun and games. Really great boat for the Elizabeths because so what if you drifted over a rock as long as the motor was up. Clang and go...

[hotreels jr]

30' rabco CC

Pros- VERY fuel efficient with a 250 zuke on the back. Great in most seas. Had it doing 20 mph in honest 6-8 footers coming back from peaked hill to GH. T-top is strong as hell! Trailerable. Built like a tank. Trolls great...Can run 1-8 lines off of it with only single out riggers.

Cons-Wish it was a bit wider. Wish the gunwales were a BIT stronger to fight 130s out of. Nothing some fighting posts can't fix in the back and front (winter project). Wish it had more tackle storage, but the front holds plenty of tackle bags.

[misokat]

Good? Only 6 of her ever built,
Bad? Ask My Wife , She's keeping Score!

[backman]

That's a hell of a center console there to be able to do 20 knots in 6-8's. I have an enclosed boat and a lot more weight and have to slow to 18 knots to stay in the water if its more than 4-5. 6', I'm down to 14-16 knots and taking water over the hardtop.