Dry Boats... which one?

[Iwannacentury]

I have been looking for a boat for a while ,but i cant decide on which one.
i need one with a head, one that will salt water fish(not flats) and cruise on a nice evening or afternoon.I am looking into century's but i will take anyones info/advise.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Change your name to Ihavacentury

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

If you're thinking "Century", it might be a great time to take one home. We received this announcement today. The name has been around a long time. It's a sad day to see household brands leave for good.

Captain Chris

Soundings Trade Only Today
Daily news for marine industry professionals
December 01, 2009

Yamaha discontinues Century Boats
Posted on December 01, 2009
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Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. announced today it will discontinue production of Century Boats effective immediately. The company has 63 full-time employees.

 

[767Captain]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

There are plenty of good boats that fit your needs. I don't see many Century's out fishing though... Wellcraft, Striper, Pro-Line, Grady White, Boston Whaler, Contender, Osprey, Davis, Farallon, Skipjack, Parker, Shamrock, Ocean Sport, Blackman, Defiance, World Cat, etc. etc. etc...

 

[mikeroche]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

ifyour in the ocean you'll want one with high sides you dont want your shin at the gunnel when a big wave hits, i have a gradywhite 205 overnighter,great off of capecod and boston ,

 

[ken52]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Depending on your budget get yourself a nice 21-24 WAC (walk around cutty). The 24 will probable have a head. my 21 Proline just had a port a potty in it which I took out because I didn't use it anyway. Stay pretty dry too.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

For open water and a dry soft ride, I like deep V 's with lifting strakes, to cut through the water, not bounce over it, a wide (flared) bow to deflect very large waves as you head directly into them (and the wind) or run from them, and if possible either horizontal or reverse chines to deflect spray out or down.

A deep V trihull is a good combination of all that but they aren't as popular as they once were back in the '70's era. Don't really know why unless it was just sales promotions to keep things changing to keep you wanting and buying what you don't have.

Only thing I didn't like about one was if you were quartering waves (heading at 45 degrees into them and the wind) with the wind blowing across you, the spray from the waves would blow all over you and the chine on the windward side would dip, lowering that side of the boat which made things worse. Course most any boat will do that but trihulls seemed to annoy me more.

Course the solution is to do a zigzag to get to your desired destination. Drive directly into the wind then turn at a rt angle and motor in the troughs and peaks (assuming the boat/weather/wave combination allowed you to do that safely) then repeat. Or you could drive into the waves and go past the required destination then reverse course and do your 45 degree angle in following seas which are dryer and much more forgiving.....course this is where the wide flared bow comes in. If the following seas drive your bow into the next wave, the flare rides over the wave and blows the spray out to the sides, nice and safe and dry and actually it's fun to do and the ride is very soft.

My 2c.

Mark

 

[Iwannacentury]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

So much good information! why would a century not be a good fishing boat?

 

[767Captain]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

A Century is probably OK. We just don't see many of them out fishing. I think they are perceived as not a super robust offshore boat. Best thing would be to look at as many boats as feasible, compare quality and features. Some boats stand out as either good or poor quality, and some are more spartan or well equipped than others. If you look under the bling, you'll readily see the differences. I would most strongly recommend buying a nice used boat. Let the other guy take the huge initial depreciation, and pour money into outfitting the boat. I honestly don't know why seemingly intelligent folks buy new boats, get them all set up and then sell after a couple years. Good thing they continue to do so though...

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

You don't say where you are sowe don't know your air temps. But if all you want is a head and not a cabin, consider the center consoles at 21-24' (or more) with heads in the console. Get a deep V with high sides to stay dry; they are comfortable for cruising around; lots of room to spread out--I got a 21' Sea Hunt this spring for the lower chesapeake bay area and my wife and I love cruising on it and fishing, and occassionally taking children tubing.
trim tabs help immensely with staying dry; you can raise the windward side slightly to get more deflection

 

[Iwannacentury]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

you know i forgot to mention that i am in the fort lauderdale fl area.

 

[ReelPlumber]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Hey Iwannacentury,

I will say that there is no such thing as a dry boat that I am aware of. Some are just put up less spray than others. Depending on swell direction and wind direction there will be times the you will get wet.

One of the things you need to do before you buy any boat is to sea trial them.

I sea trialed 3 boats before I bought mine. I set up all three sea trials on the same day out of the same inlet so I would have a good comparison. I tested the Boston Outrage240 and the Grady White 257Advance and the Robalo R240. What we found during our test was that the Boston Whaler and the Robalo had excellent rides. The Grady had a good ride but seem to stick to the water like an anchor was dragging out the back. We liked all 3 boats but it was the layout and the options of the Robalo that made us go with it.

Century is a good solid built boat. Yamaha bought them a couple of years back and Yamaha makes quality equipment. My brother has a 2006 Century 2400 and he is very happy with it. I think my R240 has a little more fishing room, wider beam, better layout. But he got what he likes. I have been on his boat several times and it rides nice in choppy seas but still got wet.

What it all boils down to is what you can afford and what suits your needs. It can be the dryest boat in the world but if you are not comfortable or like the layout the ride, etc, it can be a choice you regret for years.

SEA TRIAL!!!!!

Good Luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

There is an Aussie on here that has a white Bertram Yacht (25 roughly feet) as his Avatar. That is what I'm talking about.

Mark

 

[Iwannacentury]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

very well put.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Well I can't find it. His logon name is "achris" and his Avatar is the Bertram design I am talking about.

Mark

I thought I put this in earlier but it didn't indicate that it took. If it did, you get to see 2x. If not you at least get to see 1 ea.

Mark

 

[dbkerley]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Any boat is dry taking it out on flat days. Everything depends on how far you go - when you go - and what you fish for.

There are alot of nice boats out there that many people will prefer one to the other for some arcane reason or other. Get them out and get them wet to know what you really want. Take it out as many times and in as varied conditions as you can. You can only buy the boat one time and it helps to get it right.

I am real happy with my little Aristocraft 19 and have added a few rocket launcher style rod holders to it. It does everything I want and handles the waves we deal with immensely better than my bass boat ever thought of. The sliding hardtop gives me just enough of a cabin to get out of the weather and I still have as much open deck aft as many of the 24's I have seen. I have heard of folks using them nearshore for coastal salmon fishing and even some using them as "commuter" boats between Florida and the islands.

I don't think I would want to venture that far out in one. But, that is me. Check out the Aristocraft section if you want to see some pics of them.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Any boat is dry taking it out on flat days. Everything depends on how far you go - when you go - and what you fish for.

There are alot of nice boats out there that many people will prefer one to the other for some reason or other. Get them out and get them wet to know what you really want. Take it out as many times and in as varied conditions as you can. You can only buy the boat one time and it helps to get it right.

I am real happy with my little Aristocraft 19 and have added a few rocket launcher style rod holders to it. It does everything I want and handles the waves we deal with immensely better than my bass boat ever thought of. The sliding hardtop gives me just enough of a cabin to get out of the weather and I still have as much open deck aft as many of the 24's I have seen. I have heard of folks using them nearshore for coastal salmon fishing and even some using them as "commuter" boats between Florida and the islands.

I don't think I would want to venture that far out in one. But, that is me. Check out the Aristocraft section if you want to see some pics of them.

Back in 1965-68, I was stationed in the southern US. I liked to fish the Gulf of Mexico south of Gulfport, MS. My next door neighbor had a 15' red and white AristoCraft with the Scott 3 cyl 60 hp, and I thought that was the most beautiful boat I had ever seen. I absolutely loved the creativity of the design team in creating a top that you could slide back to access the anchor/mooring forward cleat. Beautiful design. But I was poor and had a POS small boat, but it was adequate to get me out to the fishing grounds.

Mark

 

[Iwannacentury]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

i think i should make myself a little clearer,

i have heard of boats being "wet".... and if im gonna purchase my first boat i would like the best info from all of my fellow boat owners who have the much needed experiance that i do not have.

i have heard that a sea fox is a" wet boat"

what excatly does that mean?? sea fox seems like a fair option for the price heck anything is a fair option if the price is right.

im sure that any boat you put into water your gonna get some spray or wet to a point heck your on the water!!! for cying out loud.!! i just wanted my list of things i need to be filled so that i can make the wife happy and of course myself as well.

 

[Philster]

Re: Dry Boats... which one?

Are you staying 'near shore'? How/where/when will you use the boat?

"Back bays" and channels... small/medium lakes/rivers?

Some boats with low sides, dropping noses and other features are 'wet', because they are designed to save weight, look good, or... well, they don't have a lot of $ invested in offshore design. The sea will beat you up offshore, and some boats are built for it, and they can offer some more 'dry' performance: Crash through waves better, deflect the spray and let you cruise out to the open waters, like oceans and large bays (Chessie, Delaware) or massive lakes like Michigan.

You don't sound like someone running offshore. It's probably moot whether a boat/hull is dry.