Mid Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay - Live in DC, fish in OC (need a little advice)

I am shopping for a new boat. I got two choices both with pros and cons !

Center Console on a trailer (2008)
OR
28 express boat (2005)

Obviously, the express will have the additional $500 per month wet slip, that is not my concern. The red light in my head on the express is that living 3 hours away from the boat just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

I guess others must be in a similar position, any helpful advice??

How big is the center? Where you going to fish? I live in Frederick and fish offshore. Have a 27 Albe kept in the water.

I was in the same situation.
I decided to buy a slip-only boat.
I fished a lot on Assateague but keep the boat at Solomons.
It's only 80 minutes away and I am used to the easy drive.

A trailer boat would not have given me the room I wanted in the cabin, plus I would have to pay for storage. I can't keep it at home, no room.
I figured 95% of my future fishing would be on the Chessie, hence the decision to go larger and keep it at Solomons.

My only regret, is not getting a bigger boat.
This one is 28' but the v-berth is not big enough to sleep an adult, have to use the under-helm berth.
You also need to think hard about if you want heat and air conditioning, along with a genset.
It gets darn hot & humid and the a/c would make sleeping on board possible during the summer.
A heater would be nice too, could be more enjoyable during the cold months.
Yes, I do take it out after I shovel the snow out of it.

I'm only paying about $200 a month for the slip. The marina has everything you could need, nice pool, laundry, clean full individual bathrooms with a shower, free Wi-Fi, etc.....
I

The center console would be 29 feet.

My fear is arriving at the dock at 4:30am with 3 friends to fish after 2 weeks of the boat sitting at the dock without me and something small broken on the boat killing the fishing trip.

So if the boat is in the water, I guess I would need to "visit" the boat before any trips to double check everything to ensure a smooth trip.

I understand your point about the size of the boat, and sleeping comfort. Since I need to figure more trips down to the boat, it's best is to go with a bigger boat and more comfort due to more trips to the boat. hmmm I think I like that.

When I see a center console for 100k and then see an express twin diesel for the same price it just seems the battle is to some how get the express package to work!

I didn't realize mine was not the "right one" until I slept on it.
Now I know.....
No a/c and a short bed just didn't cut it.
If equipped with a family, think about their needs too.
If you get them into it, you will be able to spend more quality time on the water instead of in the back yard.
You don't have to drop 100k for something nice, there is a flood of stuff out there right now.
Consider making an insanely low low low offer on a bank-owned boat too.

Think about all the things you may want to do on the boat and start shopping.

It seems that operating costs just keep going up as size goes up.

Basically a 32 would give you a bigger bed, more size and comfort. If you go up to 42 express there is a huge difference in fuel usage. So would you suggest in the 32 range ?

Also, thanks for the advice about the size, you really helped me out.

SteveL,
I battled the same decision for a long time. Ultimately I went with the center console for a number of reasons. The runs out of OC are usually fairly long and the weather rarely cooperates. I wanted a quick and seaworthy boat to make the rides a little more manageable. Also the center console is much less work to maintain which gives me more fishing time. There are just fewer components to take care of. I have found that I use the boat much more than my previous boat. It is kept on a lift here on the Chesapeake and trailered to OC during the mid summer where it is stored on the trailer. Much less money and very little maintenance. When it's here on the bay I can run down to the boat in about 1.5 hours. When it's in OC if I cant get down there every week I don't worry about it because it's on the trailer. The only problem is you need a full size truck to pull a boat that big. I'm using a 3/4 ton diesel. I realized that it was unlikely I would stay on the boat so giving up the cabin was an easy decision. The family is much more comfortable staying in a hotel. Now if you can afford a 40+ footer then it's another story. Good luck with your decision.

Go for a big, fast center console. I have a 27 Albe and the runs are far and long. I generally only fish bluebird days and often wish I had a boat capable of running another 10-15 mph faster.

For many years I had a 46ft boat taht was about 90 minutes from the house. I'm not the worrying kind ........ but everytime the wind blew from the east over 30kts, I worried and had to visit the boat to be sure everything was OK. Everytime the tides got really high ..... or really low, I worried about the lines being too slack or too tight. Every noreaster and hurricane ..... super worried. Worried about failed bilge pumps and daed batteries. Did I remember to turn off the cabin lights? Oh shit .... I left the Furuno Radar on the console..... did I lock the door to the cabin? I worried about theft....... the list is endless. After I sell my current 35ft boat, I'm looking for a boat on a trailer.