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If I was to buy used cruiser 27-29 ft. and wanted to spend under $30,000 to cruise Florida intercoastal, which boat would be best choice?<br />Searay, Fourwinns, Rinker, Wellcraft, or another?
None of the above.<br />I would be looking for a trawler design.<br />More room and comfort for extended cruising.<br />My top choice would be an Albin then Mainship or Marine Trader.<br />Diesel over gas. Volvo a good choice<br /><br />Got run on of these for a few days while surverying it. Great boat<br />Yes you can get a used on in your price range<br /><br />Link to Albin Marine<br /> http://www.albinboats.com/28tournament/28tournament.html
Between the 4 noted my choice would be SeaRay or Wellcraft...mainly because I know they are ok for doing what you want. There are probably more used SeaRays around (in Florida there are 100s to 1000s of 25'-34'SeaRays)in this size to choose from.<br /><br />Albins are nice but don't confuse the older 26 aft cabin with the newer 28. The old 26 is tiny and slow compared to later versions...but it did have diesel power. In this neck of the woods Albins are rare.
I think the key word is cruiser. The trawler designs are much better cruisers, they track straight, get excellent economy and the layout gives you a 360 degree view from the cabin but they lack speed. You'd be lucky to get better than 12 - 14 knots at WOT. The other boats you mentioned have planing hulls so they may wander a bit at low speeds and they don't have the coziness of a trawler but they cruise much faster. I personally prefer comfort over speed, the wife and I usually enjoy the journey a lot more than the destination. It's a little small for what you want but we bought a 26' Tollycraft (modified V) last year and we love it. Click on my homepage for more pics if you like.<br />
