Questions about cabin cruisers

[hillsideshortleg]

From what I can see the two main differences between a 26' boat and a 30' foot boat is that it's wider and longer. It seems like all the lenght is in the cabin area and you dont gain much more lenght in the deck area. It seems like you would be spending most of the time on the deck and not in the cave. So I am wondering if I should be looking for a 27' boat that is over 8'6 wide. How do most people use a cabin cruiser on fairly large lakes? Down below or up above? We will keep it in the water spring till fall. Any advice?
Thanks

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

My cruiser is 27.5' with a 8' beam. There is many variables that can determine which space is used more.

Weather to me is what determines our usage of cabin/deck. When the weather is fair, meaning not overly hot or cold we spend our time out on the deck. When underway, we are up on the flybridge. BTW Flybridges usually will give you much more room in the cabin. Drawback to a flybridge on a 8' beam in they tend to be very top heavy. It gets a bit scarey when you make a slow turn and she wants to roll on her side. Takes a bit of practice to make sure you don't turn too sharp at slow speeds. Especially if you have too many people on top.

When it gets overly hot and or raining, then we tend to spend our time inside with the A/C on and keeping dry. This is the main reason we got a cruiser so we can enjoy the lake no matter the conditions.

It is only my wife and I that spend the most time on the boat. During special occasions, we will have up to 10 people max onboard. With that many onboard, it does get a bit crowded. With 6 onboard it is about the right number to be comfortable. Of course it all depends on the layout of your boat as well....Good Luck in your search......SS

 

[JoLin]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

I've been there with 2 express cruisers now- a 24' with 8.5' beam, and the current 27' with 9.4' beam. I'd say the determining factor would be how often, and for how long, you plan to use the cabin.

The 24' was fine for days out on the water. Good cockpit room, nice lounge seats. The difference shows up when you want to spend nights and weekends aboard on a regular basis. The longer, wider boats exist because 'staying aboard' for an entire weekend is what people want to do in them.

- on the 24' we had to break down the dining table to make up the forward v-berth. The wider beam 27' has a dedicated dinette area and dedicated sleeping areas. You won't find that on any express cruiser that has an 8.5' beam.

- My 27' has a much bigger head- still a bit cozy, but I can stand up stright and shower in it. The 24' was nearly impossible- to stand in it I had to bend to fit the contour of the hull.

- My 27' carries 38 gallons of fresh water and has a 25-gallon black-water holding tank. Good capacity for 2-3 nights on the hook.

- My 27' has a 2-burner alcohol/electric stove

- The wife and I can easily squeeze past each other in the cabin without one of us ducking into the head so the other can pass.

Again, if you're primarily daytripping with an occasional night spent aboard, less beam also means less to contend with. You can trailer it more easily, and you can fit into almost any slip. If you want to spend a significant amount of time on the boat, go for a wider beam, or a flybridge cruiser as SS mentioned.

My .02

 

[duped]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

If you are keeping it in the water, there isn't really much for downsides to a wider beam, and lots of advantages.

 

[hillsideshortleg]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

We will be spending weekends and as much time as we can on the boat. We want to get away from work and start living a life.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

If you want a lot of deck space !!!.

Go with the 27ft 10ft beam Sea Ray Amberjack.

We had 10 people on ours with no problems.. Sold ours went smaller.


PS, Ours went 51.9mph at WOT by gps.

That is not my pic.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

From what I can see the two main differences between a 26' boat and a 30' foot boat is that it's wider and longer. It seems like all the lenght is in the cabin area and you dont gain much more lenght in the deck area. It seems like you would be spending most of the time on the deck and not in the cave. So I am wondering if I should be looking for a 27' boat that is over 8'6 wide. How do most people use a cabin cruiser on fairly large lakes? Down below or up above? We will keep it in the water spring till fall. ?

More advantages to longer and wider. I can't think of any downside. I would like to go to 40ft. 13ft beam or so.
Wide beam is the way to go. #1 draw back, where are you storing it? If you are trailering it these size boats are heavy. You will need somthing to tow it with. The trailer will most likely be a triple axel. Don't know where you are from but there are laws on overwidth loads which is usually 102in.
People pull them without permits but i am just letting you know. I have a 30ft that i tow but only short distances so i don't worry about permits. I just take the chance.When you get into the longer and wider boats you usually have twin engines. Are you ready for more maintance and upkeep. Not trying to talk you out of it but just letting you know what comes with longer and wider boats.When you get into 30ft boats in the Flybridge's they become to tall to haul. 13ft 6in is the max legally.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

Although I never had the chance to use it, the last boat I had was a 27' x 8.5' Express. The boat I own now is a 29' x 10.8' Express. The cabin size is night and day in the wider boat. Two full sized berths (forward being a seperate stateroom), a dinette that folds down, a huge galley, over 6' or standing room in the head and over 6'3" in the main cabin area. Room for multiple people to move around without getting stuck. The cockpits on both were similar sized, but the wider beam makes the 29 feel a bit larger.

With that said, we spend a lot of time above and below. Once the suns down it cools off up north and the bugs drive us below decks. This is the main reason the 30'er is for sale and I am looking to get into a larger flybridge boat.

 

[SteveInOregon]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

My 2 cents: I have a 1975 28ft - 9.5 beam single engine Bayliner Bounty command bridge.

Trailering: My Bounty the perfect balance, as it is small enough to trailer home and fix up and save in slip rental fee's, and yet large enough to live aboard for one person , even two people. My Bounty is definitely very comfy with two people toss in a kid or two for weeks at a time.

With over 6ft of head room below, the command bridge allows you to drive open air in summer and enjoy the view from above .

With the upper bridge fully enclosed canvas I can drive from above in drizzle and rain if needed and keep the upper bridge clean & sealed.

When You go to longer than 28 ft your more than likely to have two engines and I don't want the double expense & double hassle plus extra weight all for better close quarter handling, no thanks.

You 'can' find longer wider singe engine boats. I have a kicker so I actually do have two engines, 'winks'.


Full time in slip : If you are planning to always keep the boat in the water than I would suggest that you get the biggest command bridge boat You can afford ( longer than 28ft ) with 30+ feet then You will not just have an RV-studio apt on the water like mine, you will actually have a house on the water.

For those of you with 25 to 50+K to spend skip this rest:

The key words are 'afford' and 'fix up'. A wide beam 10 + & deep draft is a super bonus when it get choppy and rolling off shore.

If you can afford to keep a boat in a slip, if you can afford a larger boat and if you have the were-with-all to fix up your boat you can bargain shop an older clean rig and fix it up or just buy a turn key.

I am lucky and blessed that I like fixing things up and modifying things so an older solid rig is perfect for my kind of guy. I also like the older boats with the strait lines ( flat bow-deck). once you get over 30+ ft then the Carvers/Bayliners etc.... of those years look absolutely 'regal' , the term Yacht comes to mind instead of the word 'boat'.

My Bounty is a minimum boat for long term stay aboard cruising.

Get w 'real' engine, My boat has a small V8 305 ( under powered ) MercChevy ( 12knots ) so it is s-l-o-w which is ok as I mentally slow down and r-e-l-a-x when I get to the dock but power = on plain = speed

At about 1k mi per gallon, it is simple math to know how far and long you can go in a mid to smaller single screw cab cruiser with what ever size gas tanks

If You get a 28ft or longer ft boat make sure You have at least a 383 / 400hp engine , and I would recommend the counter-rotating DuoProp or Bravo III lower unit as that will make the boat 'get up and go' so much better than a single prop unit.

Lastly the Admiral ( wife ) will REALLY appreciate a boat with 'amenities' when doing a two day weekend to two week vacation.

Men tend to to be Pirates, we fish we drink beer and smoke cigars and everything else is secondary, ahhhhhh but to keep the Admiral and kids happy ( which keeps you happy ) reverse that thought process as I have done. > You got to have reliable electrical power for the DVD movie player, hot running fresh water / cold refrigeration / real cooking stove top/ microwave / warm cabin on cool days & nights and cool cabin on hot days and nights and very comfortable sleeping accommodations and new carpet and or flooring , then you have a classy boat that is truly comfortable with pride of ownership, and not just a guys weekend 'fishing boat' or floating BBQ.

Don't skimp on the amenities, an old boat is nice when they are clean and 'ship shape' , but lack of modern appliances and systems is a 'drag' .

I hope this is helpful .View attachment 120468View attachment 120469View attachment 120470View attachment 120471

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

We currently have a 24' 8.5' beam pocket cruiser that is up for sale and have put in an offer on a 27', 9.5' beam. We thought the 24 would be perfect for us. Until we went on a week cruise along the Trent Waterway and around day 3 we realised that the boat is just not big enough to actually live on. We have a covered slip and find we go out for the day but come back in late afternoon to spend the evening with our slip neighbors or just watching videos. The admiral won't spend the night on the hook. She seems to think the boat will just float away during the night, get washed up on some rocks and we'll sink.:facepalm: The bigger boat will fit our boating lifestyle much better. We don't trailer so width is of no real concern and for winter layup, the boat stays in her slip up on timbers.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

Hillsideshortleg, you didn't really say how YOU would want to use the boat. Maybe this is your first boat and you haven't reall figured that out yet. If this is your first boat, by a used boat that you can "use and abuse" lol. You will learn what maintenance you should have done. You may bang some docks. And you will learn how you want to use your boat.

Different manufacturers design for different things (cabin space vs deck space). Also remember adding a foot of length is one thing. Adding a foot of beam get you a lot more space.

Take note of the towing advice already posted to your thread.

Good luck...

 

[hillsideshortleg]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

We have a 83 16' Sea Swirl that is too small for the water we are on. One of the biggest problems is it seems like my drinks spill all over the boat when ever we hit 6" high waves. We want to have a few drinks in the middle of the lake,do some swimming, drive to a marina for a nice diner, go out on the lake and have some more fun, pull the boat into a dock and spend the night then repeat the next day. I am not worried about pulling it on a trailer. I dont want to have regrets and a boat that is too small. But I dont want to buy a big boat with a large cabin area that we dont use. I just want to do it right. The Sea Swirl was a great boat for a first boat for us but it's days are numbered. The FIRST mate thinks we should keep the Sea Swirl for a backup or smaller boat. I think we sell it and put the mula toward the new boat.
Thanks for all the replies
Rick

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

You'll know when the right boat comes along Rick. You'll just get that feeling. It took us a while but when we saw the 1990 Doral 270 Monticello we both looked at one another and said "this is the one". A layout that perfectly suits our style of boating.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

You'll know when the right boat comes along Rick. You'll just get that feeling. It took us a while but when we saw the 1990 Doral 270 Monticello we both looked at one another and said "this is the one". A layout that perfectly suits our style of boating.

Theres an 89 down the street from my marina for sale. They are asking $4000 for the boat (was at $10,000 last year). Amazing how the prices have dropped.

 

[beau262]

Re: Questions about cabin cruisers

The best money we ever spent on our 26' Cruiser was to add the biggest SwimStep that we could find. It is amazing how more versatile it made the boat. Throw some cushions on that thing and it is THE place to be while at Anchor. The other thing that really helps, when we have 4,5 or 6 people on board, is our 9' inflatable dinghy. Tied up, at anchor it provides another place for a couple of bodies to relax.