Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

[Saltwaterbaby]

really need some advice from you, the experts, about what boat to buy. I am a not so young Mom who wants to raise her 12 year old son in a healthy Florida boating lifestyle. I just bought an old house which is on a narrow canal off of a river near the intercoastal in Fla. I have some
historical experience with boats under 16 feet, although in recent years I have been dry docked. I am no expert on the water. I will be taking classes and hiring somebody to help to train me my
new, larger boat for as long as it takes. I will dock the boat behind the house most of the time. I do have what I think you call an electric lift, but one side needs a new motor. I would really rather leave the boat in the water anyway, as if I haul the boat up, I will lose my view. I need to
be able to trailer it when needed. I have a 2007 Ford Expedition which will rated at 9,000 lb. I need a Saltwater ready outboard on the boat for ease of maintenance and because during low tide
everybody gets stuck in the sandbars nearby. The neighbors warned me against an I/O or inboard for this reason. I need enough power and maneuverability to take the kids skiing and tubing, and I
need to be able to get in and out of the thing from the water. Since the canal is narrow, I am guessing it will not accommodate a boat larger than 28 feet. I will be using the boat for entertaining near the house, but then my son and I will take off for weekends, so it needs to sleep
myself and one or two mid sized kids as well as have deck space for the entertaining. For comfort and local compliance, I would love a pump out head (and freshwater sink). It looks like a tiny
galley is hard to come by in a boat with an outboard. I do not fish and most of the boats I have seen on the net with outboards seem to be set up for fishing, not for comfort. There are big,
empty cockpits with little or no seating. The comfortable used cruisers of the same size 25 feet or so, have terrific layouts, with great seating and berths and showers and galleys and are very
affordable, but they all seem to be i/o?s or inboards. Can anybody tell me why I can?t seem to find a comfy small cruiser with an outboard or twin outboards? How much would it cost to
install wrap around seating in one of these fishing rigs later? Now the worst part, It has to be a used boat and as far under $25,000.00 as reason allows. I have seen them out there, but I don?t know which is best to fit my needs. I would be really grateful in the $15,000 range and can go
with an older boat if you think its okay. I have found a 1999 24' Wellcraft online in that price range, but of course, it does not meet all these criteria. What should I buy, and what must I take off my wish list, my experts? Thank you so much for your thoughts.

 

[QC]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

Hey baby, hey baby, hey . . . Well you found the right place. Welcome aboard!! We're really nice to women here too, so you should be fine . . . Tough list you got there, but I think we'll come through, Hang here for a bit and we'll start posting pics and adds and ideas and then we'll do that some more . . .

Great thing you're planning . . . we have kept boating a part of our lives for a variety of reasons, but primarily for the great thing it is for a family. We have three boys and if you ask them what they want to do on vacation they'd say "go to the lake". Even the 19 year old would say that and he would mean with us.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

a really hard order. deck boat would accommodate the seating and space, potty. but not sleeping, and not a good off shore boat. you also have to consider draft, due to your canal depth. i think the closest you are going to get to the full list, is an outboard cuddy cabin.

 

[ilmostro99]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

Kind of depends on what you want to compromise. Most here have more experience with different types of boats and may be able to fill the order, but my first thought was a deck boat with a full canvas. I have full canvas on my 19' Sea Ray Bow Rider, and think it would work fairly well for sleeping under, though I haven't tried it yet, but mine doesn't have the any of the comfort accommodations that you are looking for. A deckboat with full canvas may work out for you.
Good luck
Erik

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

here's a sampling, i especially like the boston whaler.
http://www.iboats.com/boats/marine--1/boats--10/power_boats--100/cuddy_cabin--1011/

this is my 1999 Chris Craft 230 Deckboat 5.7 volvo, too much draft, and no sleeping, has sink and potty. but plenty of room, and luxury. great for skiing, tubing, diving.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

That is a really tough order. All boats are a compromise and you have to live with the items that are most important and put up with those that aren't.

Spend your weekends at the local marinas. Go to the boat shows. Beg rides from those that have boats close to what you want.

Above all, do not waste your childrens youth looking for the perfect boat. You will never find it. Pick the top two things you want to do with them on the water and find something usable that you can afford.

Personnally, I took two 1800 mile trips in an open 14 foot V bottom fishing boat. I had to put in to relieve myself, put up a tent to camp and usually had to put in to eat. I do not regret those inconvieniences as I took the trips as compared to wishing I had.

My son learned watersports behind a twenty five year old boat with an underpowered engine. He said the other day he remembers the time fondly and wants to take it out again. I'm glad I did not wait to afford a proper ski rig. He would have been to old to still be in the house.

Good luck in finding what you need and also in what you want.

 

[pjrogers]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

That is a tall order. Campion makes a couple of boats that might fit the bill. See http://www.campionboats.com/explorer/542/specs.php for an O/B 20' example. To overnight comfortably on any sub-25' boat you would probably want full canvas. For cooking, instead of a galley in the cuddy, you could consider using coolers and a propane grill hung off your boat's stern. Cheers, pjr

 

[QC]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

Well i did some poking around and there are a lot of what you want in . . . Australia They love outboards and they build some pocket cruisers with OBs, but they will be very rare here and expensive . . .

The closest domestic boat that meets your Criteria is actually a C-dory. Very well built, very sea worthy and economical to operate too. Not real fast, but OK and a great cabin for a small boat.

This is their 22 and it is even up on a lift for you (BTW, a lift will keep your bottom clean, so you don't have to use bottom paint, good thing ) The problem is they are gonna be hard to find in Florida and hot without AC.

There are a ton of Walkaround Cuddies out there:

This is a Robalo, but there are lots of manufacturers, but they are primarily setup for fishing although some have quite a few creature comforts. Would not be as hot when underway as the C-dory, but not as comfy at rest either. Both could probably be found used in your budget with some hunting. Some here at iboats

 

[bhammer]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

Why couldn't you use an I/O? I understand not a true inboard, but if the outdrive was raised while not in use, you shouldn't have an issue if you check the bellows frequently. I understnad the maintenance issue as I have owned both. But, I would think that in FL, half of the problem people have wiht I/O is gone casue you shouldn't need to winterize except in the rare case.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Wannabe Boater Mom Needs Advice

I have thought of the first thing that you should know before you hunt for a boat for your local. What is the depth of the water over the highest bar (least draft that you can have) both at high tide and low tide.

This will tell you if an I/O or an outboard can clear your canal. Everything else is inmaterial to your consideration as you have prsented it.

Each boat manufacturer can tell you the draft with the engines supplied. Used boats can be measured with a tape measure.

You may be surprised as to the abilities of an I/O with the outdrive raised to the maximum drive angle.

Waiting on the tide can be "charming" to your guests. I know that the tide has opened up many cruising grounds to me as my cruiser draws three feet.
It is how you approach life that is far more important than how life is dealt to you.