DECKBOAT BASICS

[12153dad]

LIVE CLOSE TO GULF; have always wanted deckboat type boat (family/fishing/tubing) but now would expect to do some ocean boating. i've heard some people say deckboat aren't for ocean going (5-10 miles out). ? reasons ? agree

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: DECKBOAT BASICS

Deckboat generally have a shallow "V' hull and the ride tends to be rough in even a 2' chop, little lone getting out in some pretty big ocean swells. I would suggest you stick with something with a deep V, if you plan on going out into the rough water. A deck boat will tend to plow into the waves and could be downright scary if you hit one wrong, whereas a deep V would tend to cut right through them. You may look into a Catamaran type deck boat, which is meant to handle the rough water. But they tend to be expensive!

 

[KCook]

Re: DECKBOAT BASICS

For serious offshore boating, all open I/O designs get criticized. Bowriders as well as deckboats. The nightmare case being: 1) Steep wave stuffs bow. 2) Lot of water run into bilge. 3) Bilge pump is not up to the game, boat now loaded with water stuffs more waves. 4) Water in bilge gets deep enough to short out motor. After that, things are bound to go down hill.<br /><br />But, numerous folks do run these boats in the ocean. Not far out, and only in mild conditions.<br /><br />So far I have not seen a conclusive argument that deckboats are any more risky than bowriders. Yes, the bowrider has the pointed bow that cuts the waves. Which also means less buoyancy in the bow. So it does not recover as quickly when it does stuff.<br /><br />What IS dangerous, of course, is an overloaded boat. I'm not sure why, but folks do seem more inclined to overload a deckboat than a bowrider. This is operator error, not a design fault.<br /><br />There are outboard powered deckboats. Which should be a plus in saltwater. And a few of the fish boat builders offer a deckboat or two. Hopefully they would know to setup a deckboat for saltwater. See Carolina Skiff, Century, Cobia, Key West, and Triton.<br /><br />Here is another thread on deckboat design and use - <br /> Let's call it a deckboat? <br /><br />Rent one and see how it goes,<br />Kelly Cook