southport vs. regulator

[Fast Forward]

wbfish, how do you know the 26 is the worst?

[sclancy]

No doubt two very nice boats...Love the anchor storage set up on the Southport although i would like to see it better cushioned and the catch at the top should pressure fit against the anchor to keep it from moving.

Ok ,for all of those who own CCs in say the 24-33' class, how come so few people comment on the tackle and dry storage on these boats?? In each size class there are a number of boats with quality construction, solid sea keeping and great features. BUT as many if not all of us who buy these larger CCs, we have either owned smaller CCS or larger expresses. In the the case of smaller CC owners you know how much of a pain storage is. For owners of larger expresses "downsizing" to a CC, you know how important storage is and you do not want to lose it. SO, my question is how well do these boats or any others accommodate the following -

1. offshore type I PFDs. Southport shows a $4 inshore PFD stuffed in a side locker...Do type Is fit in the zippered overhead compartment? Fact: you need dry storage for 6 of them. They take up a lot of room...probably closer to 3 cu ft.

2. offshore tackle - either in lure bags and/or on lure reels. Are there sufficient drawers? What about wel built drawers or wells with drainage for sinkers? Those plano boxes look nice but we all know that they work much better for bass fisherman - i dont even like them for flounder rigs!

3. Dry storage for gear on. If you are going out for the day, your 4 buddies will each show up with a small duffle bag with their offshore stuff - sunscreen, glasses cases, dry shirt, foul weather gear and a sweatshirt. Where do these 4 or 5 bags go?? tosing them in the head is not the greatest answer...

4. bait - do the iceboxes hold a 5 gal bucket (chum)? what about a flat of butterfish?

5. Cushions - can yuo remove all cushions at night and store in the console? some of these bow seats look great until you realize that the cushions wont even fit in the console and must be left out or balanced on the console and the leaning post.

6. Curtains - i cannot even imagine buying another large CC without wing curtains that extend to the gunnel....Probably not standard but it is an option? Wings that hug the t top legs are useless IMO except to protect the driver...

SO... while i love a fully gasketed and insulated fish box as much as anyone, if it wont hold a 40lb YFT or a 5 gal bucket of chum or a flat of butters....well you get the idea.

And while lot of small tackle centers and zippered overhead storage look nice....do they really work for a boat that is going to spend much of its time 5-50 miles off trolling? (think tackle, PFDs etc...). which brings up - why havent any of the larger CCs figured out a place to mount a liferaft?? these guys are running 50-100 miles offshore....is there aywhere to safely store a valise raft let along a hardmount on dec with hydro?? there should be....

Ok so the one CC boat i spent some time on recenntly that impressed me in a number of these areas in addition to quality construction, nice features and good seakeeping/economy is the World Cat 33. Fantastic tackle drawers in a huge leaning post. Great dry storage forward for gear, rods, toilet, etc...Nice enclosure with full wings, room for 2 10" nav screens so copilot can have his "own" screen for watching radar, fish or using plotter - this is huge IMO especially when running offshore at night or early AM.

There is no doubt that I have to appreciate the little things when spending time offshore. Organization, efficiency, ergonomics, etc. really make it alot better. Kudos to those manufacturers that design their boats to be practical. To those manufacturers who show a staged product shot of a brand new boat running 4 trolling rods on a boat that has no tackle anywhere, no electronics, no gaff, etc......How about you show us a "real" boat loaded for bear with tackle, 4 or 5 guys, etc....

[wbfish]

wbfish, how do you know the 26 is the worst?

Cause I've been on the 23, 24, and 26 in both rough and relatively smooth conditions. The 26 has the bracket mounted engines and when the boat comes to the top of a wave the engines continue to push the boat out of the water causing it to get airtime. This happens even in 2-3 ft seas and forces us to go a slower speed than we'd like to go. Grady White makes a fine boat as well. Similar ride and layout to the Southport and cheaper.

[Dozer]

hey sclancy, those are all great points. I know the southport has storage on the top for the pfd's but I don't know how many will fit. I will probably only do day trolls offshore, at least in the beginning, but the cushions would stay home and the bean bags would be out. The dealer told me that the storage under the seats is dry and they seem pretty big. I am going to be going from a small cuddy to a cc so the cabin space is gone but I will be gaining a lot of fish/bait box room. I agree about space for a life raft, I quess you could mount one on the hard top if there is enough room. Again, all great points and I agree with your think ahead approach to the bigger cc. The 26 is the perfect size for me since I do about 60% of my fishing alone, you know the I can fish anytime you go story, that is until you call them to go. Thanks for the input.

[lsider]

hey sclancy, those are all great points. I know the southport has storage on the top for the pfd's but I don't know how many will fit. I will probably only do day trolls offshore, at least in the beginning, but the cushions would stay home and the bean bags would be out. The dealer told me that the storage under the seats is dry and they seem pretty big. I am going to be going from a small cuddy to a cc so the cabin space is gone but I will be gaining a lot of fish/bait box room. I agree about space for a life raft, I quess you could mount one on the hard top if there is enough room. Again, all great points and I agree with your think ahead approach to the bigger cc. The 26 is the perfect size for me since I do about 60% of my fishing alone, you know the I can fish anytime you go story, that is until you call them to go. Thanks for the input.

The overhead storage underneath the t-top will hold 2 type 1 pfds and 2 Wall Mart type pfds. If you need more you scatter them around. I carry 2 more stowed in the battery compartment together with the throw cushion. I have my life raft in the front lazarette together with buoys, ropes, etc.

The Southport 26 is an excellent choice for what I call a "mixed" bag use; inshore and offshore fishing. Wreck fishing, drifting and trolling. She is very stable at drift compared to other 26 footers and stays on plane at lower rpm which equates to a smoother and dryer ride in snotty conditions. Like with any 26 footer you need to pick your days or if its snotty you need to pick your heading. The boat shines to up to 3 foot seas. At these conditions (3 footers) you will have a comfortable cruise at around 26-28 kts unless they are from the bow and at a short period. She also does very well on steeper than 3' seas if you have them on the beam. She does not like 3'+ head seas but no 26' does. You need length and weight for that. I run mine on the autopilot 90% of the times; my opinions on performance are based on running the boat like that and without continously adjusting the throttles.

Two to three people could fish comfortably on the boat; more than 3 and you will be running into each other. Like you, I do a lot of my fishing alone and for what I do with her, she is a good match.

If you go after tuna or other pelagics you will need a fish bag. You can store up to 160 lbs of ice in each of the forward coolers to pack the fish bag as it gets full. I have a six foot bag which fits nicely between the FS coolers and its out of the way as I totally dislike a cluttered cockpit. The fish box in the back is used for the smaller fish like stripers, sea bass, etc or as a "kill" box for smaller tuna and mahi.

You mentioned rod holders. I have 12 mounted on the gunnells, including 2 in the bow. I like to drift fish beam wise and they are very usefull.

Overall, I have found the 26 Southport to be top shelf, both in performance and quality. If you decide to go for one, consider adding a battery dedicated to your electronics and live well. The boat comes standard with two batteries which I do not consider enough for engines, live well and electronics. I have rigged mine with a battery dedicated to each engine and a house battery for the electronics.

Good luck. You will not be dissapointed with the Southport but again, its your money, so try before you buy.

[alltackle]

For reference:

Regulator 26:



Southport 26:

[lsider]

...and side by side....