The Boating Forum - Boat recommendation for Chesapeake bay

Hello all,

I am in the market for my first boat for use on the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding rivers/creeks and hoping this group can help. This will be mainly in the Piankatank River area.

I am looking for a boat that we can ski, fish, and cruise on. i would guess we will probably use it 80% for skiing, tubing and cruising and about 20% for fishing. I am looking for something in the 20-24 ft range and will need to comfortably seat 3-6 people. It does not matter whether it is I/O or outboard to me. Originally I was dead set on an I/O but I have noticed since moving to the area that almost everyone has an outboard. This boat will most likely be moored in a slip but I have a quote for a lift to be installed that I am considering.

I hope this group can provide me with some good suggestions. Thanks for your help.

Center Console, Walk, what's your price range?

Have been looking at both. The wife prefers a cabin so she can get out of the sun so more likely a WA. I am flexible on price but am only looking at used boats.

Get on boatraderonline.com. Put in your parameters, 20' - 24', a high end price range and how far will you reasonably drive to see/buy it and see what pops up.
I'm sure more than a few will catch your eye and then come back here and ask the pros/cons of the ones you like.

You would do better posting on tidal fish. Specify price and style.

I would also look into a Dual Console as they usually have plenty of seating.

Most serious fisherman on the bay eventually end up with a pilothouse boat such as a Parker/Judge/Maycraft. Great fishing room in the cockpit and protection from the sun, heat, cold, snow, and rain.

Most serious fisherman on the bay eventually end up with a pilothouse boat such as a Parker/Judge/Maycraft. Great fishing room in the cockpit and protection from the sun, heat, cold, snow, and rain.

Pretty much sums it up.

In addition to the fishing, I have found my pilothouse great for "cruising" - taking friends and family out boat riding on the bay.

Look at the Sea Hunt Ultra to get a good blend of amenities with a center console. That said, the use you describe a dual console would work well to. I have had both on the bay and in the waters near you. If you plan to boat in the bay itself, i would not go below 23ft. Swells build quickly and you will miss a lot of days on a smaller boat. If you drop to a 20, stay away from anything without at least 17deg. of deadrise and trim tabs. You may find you stay in the ptank most days to ski etc and if so you have tons of choices.

Mobjack thanks. I have been looking at the Sea Hunts as a possibility. I have seen other posts that recommend them as a good combo boat. My neighbors have also warned me about having a good deep hull for the Bay.

I used to love running around in a cc, but now that I am older, I much prefer staying warm and dry.

I would take a hard look at the 24' Judge Chesapeake. Sounds like just what you are looking for; http://www.judgeyachts.com/24chesapeake/24Chesapeake_Photos.html

Judge Yachts is having an open house March 5th, good opportunity to see the boats and meet Judge owners; http://www.judgeyachts.com/ .

Parker, Grady or Judge and you should be in the "In" crowd LOL.

If you plan to overnight you need a cuddy cabin. Greatly extends family use I have found. Don't go with I/O. O/B's are more popular with saltwater crowd. There are many cuddy cabins to choose from but jsince you want to tube and ski a smaller size may be more appropriate as it will be more manuverable and use less gas. A head is also popular with women. My daughter has told me that just knowing it is there enhances enjoyment. Porta potti is fine for a day.

Intended use,where you will store it in season and off, and pocketbook are critical factors. Try to zoom in on what you think will be your usage. Then maybe you won't have over 15 boats in your life time, like me.

although pilot house seem to be the practical choice , last april on opening day for rockfish when it was 3 ft plus seas and winds gusting to 25 mph,, the predominant recreational angler boat I saw round Bloody point light area trolling in that frothy mess was 30 ft plus center consoles .I didnt know there we that many big CCs in the norhern bay.
what ever you get , make it at least a 24 footer as the lenght spans the short steep wind chop in the bay and seems to ride incredibly better. Meaning a whole lot less pounding. and of course after 12 noon on sat and sun there have been so many big recreational cruisers running up and down the Chesapeake that now you have enormous boat wake to cross making it rough even on a calm day. So IMHO bigger is better on the Chesapeake Bay.
In 40 years I went from a 16 to a 20 to a 24 to a 30footer:grin:

Crabby hit the nail on the head in regard to length. I wasn't as patient as he was: In 5 years I went from a 16", to a 21" CC to finally getting it right with a 27 pilothouse - been a lot cheaper in the long run to go straight to the 27.

FWIW - The price difference between a Judge 24 Chesapeake and a 27 is pobably a lot less than you think - talk to Bill or Greg.

I am not familiar with the river but keep in mind if you are doind a bunch of skiing you may not want to large of a boat. Good luck with your search!

I'm in the same "boat". Moving back to VA beach this summer. Last time I lived there, I had a 22' Donzi classic with a supercharger. Looked nice, sounded better, ran 86mph on the backwaters, but boy would it get beat up in the Bay. Tried two poker runs and DNF'd both. Blew a heat exchanger cap from pounding so hard- also cracked the windshield and the fire extinguisher broke loose and fired off under the deck. It's been sold.

So now I'm also looking for a family and friends boat roughly 25' in length- prefer twin O/B's. I don't fish (yet), but for resale, I think a fishing boat is the only way to go in the area.

Requirements- salt water rigged boat, heavy duty, deep V, porti potti.

Been looking at regulators, gradys, parker, pursuits...

I was leaning towards a cuddy cabin/walk-around- I grew up on a cuddy cabin Donzi. But my friend with 3 kids tells me that you can't beat a center console for kids and friends- He doesn't stay out long enough for them to need a nap, the cabin just becomes a storage locker, and all the cookies and potato chips can be hosed out the scuppers. He makes a good point.

So what should I be looking at for a boat to handle the Chesapeake chop, hit the beaches, and not be a zillion dollars? (I'm thinking $40k used...) and leave it at a marina so I don't have to trailer it.

Or if budget/wife gets their way and I end up with a <23' foot boat with a single- I can leave it at the house and tow it with my V8 4runner (7300# limit) and I'm only 5 miles from the boat ramp.

20% of the time for fishing means to me that you may not want a boat designed for fishing. If your main activities are skiing, tubing, and cruising, then figure out who will be on board. Will it be your spouse with kids and their friends? What area will you be in? Is the area typically choppy or rough? You'll want a boat that is big enough to deal with chop, etc. where you boat but powerful and fast enough to tow tubers and skiiers. You may want to ask some non-fishermen what they think since fishing is last on your list.

The pilot house is the best suggestion because you WILL get addicted to Striper fishing and Stripers don't like warm weather. A pilot house gives your family a nice place to get out of the sun and if you get one with a generator and heat/ac, you will be comfortable on the Bay 12 months out of the year. Bean bags make great temporary seats for kids and when it's time to fish, you can have the whole deck clear.

I've owned 7 boats over a 43 year period of boating. Most of my boating has been on the Delaware Bay with a considerable amount of time on the Chesapeake near Onancock Va.
4 of my boats have been CC's starting with a 18' Glen L kit that my brother and I built and ending with a starcraft 21' aluminum outboard. I am a trailer boater so anything more than 25' becomes a two man launch operation. I'm also a dedicated striper fisherman and all these guys that say a pilot house is the way to go are spot on. My current boat is a King Viper 2160 it is identical to the Parker 2120 it's powered by a suzuki 225 4 stroke. It is a true deep V hull tops out at 49.6 mph with 77 gallons of fuel and 3 adults on board. I've been all over the bays and 25 miles offshore and have never felt that I didn't have enough boat. The best fishing on both bays is spring and fall. Being out on the bay in November in 50 degree temps with 15 knot winds you learn to appreciate that cabin big time. I also spend 12 days a year on Lake Raystown in Pa. Lotsa sking and tubing I can pull two water skiers no sweat. My boat is a plain jane everything is fiberglass no carpeting no teak just glass and aluminum and stainless steel which makes cleaning a snap cinch. Parker, Maycraft, Judge and a couple of others build good boats in the 21' to 27' range. You should be able to find a good deal on a used boat with very little problem. My only other suggestion is to have whatever your buying surveyed. The cost of this service is well worth the peace of mind it gives you. Good luck in your search.

Thanks for all the great responses! What are the groups thoughts on Sea Hunts?

Sea Hunts :thumbsup: They have been covered many times on THT. Use the search feature on here grab a beer or three and read away :grin:

Here is a link to the Sea Hunt owners group.

http://seahuntownersgroup.yuku.com/bseahuntownersgroup.

Keep in mind that the cabin you are sitting in and looking at when the boat is on a trailer or at rest, is quite a different thing when you are in the bay with even a moderate swell running. If it's big enough to stand up in is one thing, but if you have to bend down to get in it, the comfort factor is going to be pretty iffy for most folks when you're under way. And if you do a search on here I think you'll find that lots of folks say the walk around size cabins just end up being a big storage area.

Not a major deal probably, but a walk around has more weight forward because of the design so will ride a little different that a center console of the same size.

As to Sea Hunt--put me down as a supporter. Had a 21' and now a 24' that we use in a similar manner that you have described and the boats have performed great. We keep ours on a lift but tow our 24' with a v-8 4Runner as well without issue.

A full curtain package can make a huge difference when it gets nasty or chilly out...

Good luck on your search!

Jimmy, it does not sound to me that a pilothouse is what you are after. While the protection from the weather is great in winter, IMO it is hot in summer. Before you pilothouse folks jump on me, I have many hours logged on a buddies PH. When had young kids, the DC was perfect. The only drawback for me is that I don't like to sit and drive so I had to move the drivers seat back. I think the Sea Hunt, Key West and Grady 19 DC's would work well for you. The CC I have now has bow seating and for my use it has been perfect. I often fish alone so I like the CC set up and ride.

The best advice I can give is that if your wife and kids are not comfortable, you will be miserable. Bow seating, drinkholders etc make all the difference.

Great thread!, The Chesapeake in no plce to play when she get rough! and it seems from reading this that you know that. Many choices here keep us posted

If your focus is on a family boat for sking, tubing, some fishing and just cruising around I would look seriously at dual consoles in the 21' - 23' range. Some brand names to look at are Sea Hunt, Seaswirl, Aquasport, Key West and Grady White on the higher $ end.

Most are outboard powered but there are a few that are powered with IOs. Personally I would buy an ouboard. Try to stay in the 2004 and newer model years with 4 stroke power.

Good luck.

I have owned a number of boats and ended up falling in love with the pilothouse layout. Pleanty of weather protection in the hot summer blazing sun or in the cold damp late fall to early spring. It really has allowed me and my family to extend our boating seasons. When I owned walkarounds, even ones up to 30', the protection was limited. While my weather protection concerns were for the colder months, my wife thinks we have the perfect layout now because our young children have a good area to get out of the sun and not get fried. With the windows open it even makes for a cool place to be rather than under the intense sun. With the forward helm, you still have more room top side than a dual console or walkaround. With 3 young kids, the vberth for naps area for portapotti is essential in keeping boating fun.

Though the boat is smaller than the 30' walkaround we used to own, we regularly tournament fish our boat in all weather and cannot think of a more comfortable boat to be on in poor weather in its size range. While the boat is big enough to handle just about anything the bay dishes out, it is small enough and agile enough to ski and tube behind.

With the fuel economy, speed, and ease of maintenence of todays outboards, I highly recommend going with the power. Oil changes are simple and the ability to drain the motors in the winter through just tilting the motor down give you the ability to run your boat in sub freezing temps with less work.

Coming down in size from a 10'10" wide boat that I was at the mercy of a marina for everything from a slip to service work, I love having a trailerable boat. I can take the boat to OCMD, VA Beach, NJ or pull for service work myself in my driveway. I tow with either of my half ton trucks too. (tundra or suburban)

http://www.thehulltruth.com/members/b-faithful-albums-judge-build-photos-picture44739-cover1.jpg

I am a broker in the Deltaville area and would be happy to help you sort through all this information (some of it good, some not). You can reach me at 804-241-4130. I have 2 boats listed that may be what you are looking for.

jimmyjayjay,

For whatever its worth, I have an older Pursuit 2550 cuddy/walkaround on the upper Chesapeake, with twin outboards, a hard top and canvas enclosure that can make it feel like a pilothouse boat (to some extent at least).

We have boated all over the upper Chesapeake in all kinds of weather, I think my Pursuit has 18 deg deadrise, and never really had a problem. We have a porta potti in the cuddy, and all the younger kids hang out down there everytime we are out. I would estimate that the boat is used 60% cruising and 40% fishing, and it really does it all well including skiing and pulling a large 3 person tube. I have had 10 people on it, which is the capacity, and the large open cockpit with a bench seat and a couple of bean bag chairs handle the crowd well without feeling cramped.

The outboards are nice for trimming up and out of the water when you are done for the day, keeping down on growth and corrosion. My wife and 2 daughters love the boat, although they wish it was big enough to stay on for extended weekends. I think you are on the right track, keep looking there are an awful lot of good buys out there right now.

Good luck and happy boat hunting!

I have a 23ft. chapperal and they are extremely good reliable boats. ours is ten years old and we have only put about 200dollars in maintence into the boat.