*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Search key? Search key!? We dont do no stinkin search key!!
My dad has started to think about ungrading to a newer/larger boat. He currently has a 1985 244 Chapparral Cuddy cabin he has had for 10 years used for offshore fishing and for the last 2 years spearfishing/diving. All of our trips have been day trips from 15-50 miles offshore.
He has been thinking about getting sportfisher but started thinking about cost of boat slip. So I brought up the idea that maybe he should think about maybe getting a 28'-34' center consule or catamaran. Since we have never done any over night trips and that we will most using the boat for spearfishing/diving I don't see much use for the cabin of a sportfisher. He will also be retiring in a few years so he has been thinking about getting captians lic. and maybe using the boat to run day spearfishing/diving charters for a little extra pocket money.
The Houston boat show is this weekend so we will be doing a little looking around at new boats. But he will most likely getting a boat that is a few years old. So we would like some suggestions on which boats to consider and might be good for future plans.
I had a Prowler 246 catamaran that was fantastic and they make a 30' model that would be ideal IMO for what you're looking for as well as giving you much more range offshore should you want. Check out www.renaissancecats.com for more info.
Get a skinny running boat and go Trophy trout wade fishing.....Thats what I'd do!
Saves alot of dough, but ya have to in love with giant Trout, I guess.
Get a skinny running boat and go Trophy trout wade fishing.....Thats what I'd do!
Saves alot of dough, but ya have to in love with giant Trout, I guess.
Yes, Houston
I quit trout fishing about 12 years ago. I don't see a reason to to have boat if you are just going to wade? Plus a trout isn't near as much of a fight as a 20# snapper, 40#+ King, Ling(Lemon/Cobia), or Wahoo.
Plus I SCUBA dive so we need a bigger boat for the gear.
Unless you've trailed several different boats around, you're probably not going to be comfortable with anything much over 30 feet. If you start searching this forum, you'll find there are several different factions, broken on the lines of things like two strokes vs four strokes and mono hull vs cats. So be prepared for a wide range of answers to your fairly broad question. I am a diver as well. I take scooters and I have a tow able side scan. I know just exactly how much room dive gear takes and how much room it takes to suit up for or six people at once. Four guys can fish out of most 20 footers, but four divers on a 20 footer is just plain hectic. You need deck space and lots of it. So you're on the right track with a center console.
Several things are essential for a good dive boat. First off is a decent transom door. Next is a head that you can get into with dive gear on. Heaven on earth is a dive suit with a "comfort zipper" in the front. I hate seeing which will happen first - I'll run out of air or I'll abort the dive because I won't pee in my suit. So, look for the door and the head first. Having a transom door does no good if it leads to an usable swim step. Make sure there's room to mount a real ladder or two. The picture posted below shows the back of a 29 Stamas with a decent teak swim step on top of the glass (so the tanks don't beat up the gel coat and it is still comfortable to walk on in botties without slipping. The more beam the boat has, the more room you'll have - but you also face the dilemma of towing an over wide boat. The Stamas 29 is 10'6" wide and has a diver's dream for a deck. It also comes in a 27 which is a foot narrower and is basically the same boat scaled down 10 percent.
There are lots of tradeoffs in the design of the hull. A hull with a lot of deadrise is going to ride very well, but be tender at rest. Tender at rest means those who are prone to seasickness will be hurling instead of diving if the water is rough. Products like "Rocker Stoppers" will help tame a high deadrise boat. The other end of that spectrum are things like a Parker 25 in the Mod V. It has about 14 degrees of deadrise and sits like a raft. My current boat has 24 degrees and is tender. the Stamas is 18 degrees and is pretty stable with its broad beam.
Catamarans look like they'd work well. I've dove of a Glacier Bay 26. The platform goes off the stern between the engines, which also means you get back on the boat between the engines. Is that ok? Maybe, unit the boat is pitching at anchor and the props are doing a Cuisinart imitation on both sides of you.
The deck is high on a cat and must be to get the wing height (the bottom of the hull in between the sponsons) high enough to make the boat ride properly. Here's my biggest argument with trailered cats. When they are on the trailer, the sponsons are above the trailer tires. So they are very tall on the trailer and can take a pretty deep ramp to get them launched. A cat in the 30 foot range with at least a 9'6" beam might work well for you, if it is laid out properly.
Dive boats also need anchors and none of us need to pull them by hand. A windlass or a place to mount a windlass with a deep chain locker is a plus. Diving is also an electronic game. I like to be able to see the wiring in my boats and want to be able to change or add electronics without standing on my head. Below is a shot of my last wiring job. Everything is accessible while standing inside the console.
So, what to buy. If you want a low deadrise boat, Parker makes a good boat, but transom doors don't exist and heads are scarce. In medium rise boats, I think the Stamas Tarpons are very hard to beat . Because the boats you are looking at are centered around fishing, you're going to find that the high deadrise boats are the majority. There are so many, that I'm not going to offer suggestions. If you see something that looks good, you're welcome to e-mail me and we'll discuss it.
Stamas 29..Prowler30..GB 30 ...Here comes a wild one... Bluewater2850...Check out cockpit room(will rock
on that 24dr though) but light and fat and great into a head sea...
Definitely a CAT- GB or Predator 26' or longer. For diving the only thing you want is a Center Console.
PS- Divers get in/out while the boat drifts with the motors off.
Nick, I teach underwater photography. Having made a few dives, I do know that it is considered standard practice to have divers get in and out with the motors turned off. BUT, if you've ever tried to climb into a boat that is pitching in short chop, the engines (along with the stern) rise and fall several feet. As they do, the props turn from the force of the water. The problem is not so much the rotation of the prop as it is the velocity of the whole mass of stainless and aluminum looking like a demented hobby horse while you, burdened with 90 pounds of dive gear, try to grab the ladder that is moving at the same vertical speed as the engines. Get hit with a prop or skeg once and you'll remember forever. The ladders are best placed parallel to the keel, that way as you approach them in rough water, they swing side to side, instead of toward and away from you. The problem is better while drifiting, but we usually anchor since everyone does not come up at the same time. They seem to appreciate not having the boat leave while they are still underwater.
As I said before, cats have their advantages, but they are by no means the default choice as a dive boat. The limitations are the weight of the dive gear on the high deck and their rapid roll rates while at anchor can make getting suited up interesting. They ride very well, but they do have their drawbacks. You can fish off a dive boat easier than you can dive off a fish boat.
I am not a diver so this could be wrong but I have heard that the Glacier Bay extended swim platform design can be an advantage for divers. It's a little easier to step though the cutout than the exit on some other cats. We got a special edition version with higher than factory rails which could be a help also. It is a nice platform for fishing.
__________________
Bold Adventure - 2006 Glacier Bay 2670 Dare Signature Series in Carolina Blue w/Twin Yamaha F150's
kerno - 1/5/2007 10:34 PM Nick, I teach underwater photography. Having made a few dives, I do know that it is considered standard practice to have divers get in and out with the motors turned off. BUT, if you've ever tried to climb into a boat that is pitching in short chop, the engines (along with the stern) rise and fall several feet. As they do, the props turn from the force of the water. The problem is not so much the rotation of the prop as it is the velocity of the whole mass of stainless and aluminum looking like a demented hobby horse while you, burdened with 90 pounds of dive gear, try to grab the ladder that is moving at the same vertical speed as the engines. Get hit with a prop or skeg once and you'll remember forever. The ladders are best placed parallel to the keel, that way as you approach them in rough water, they swing side to side, instead of toward and away from you. The problem is better while drifiting, but we usually anchor since everyone does not come up at the same time. They seem to appreciate not having the boat leave while they are still underwater. As I said before, cats have their advantages, but they are by no means the default choice as a dive boat. The limitations are the weight of the dive gear on the high deck and their rapid roll rates while at anchor can make getting suited up interesting. They ride very well, but they do have their drawbacks. You can fish off a dive boat easier than you can dive off a fish boat.
Not to offend any of you divers with an expensive option but please go and look at the Intrepid website. There is a side dive door available in most of the boats they make that will knock your diving socks off so if getting into a pitching and rolling boat in seas is a problem they are the only midsize to large outboardboat with a true safe solution. It is also great for bringing big tuna and swordfish into the boat as well. Happy New Year Kerno
I have been on an Intrepid with the dive door and it does provide a decent calm water ladder. The water in Maui is clear, warm, full of fish and rough. The best ladders are ones you can approach when the boat is pitching wildly and don't require you to make it though an opening as you are coming out of the water. Before I bought my Stamas, I did seriously consider buying an Intrepid with the dive door. I find it amazing that Intrepid and others have not taken the idea and expanded on it. On the Intrepid, the part of the side that flips downward actually becomes the lower portion of the ladder. But I found the footholds to be too small and the hardware and braces used to support the door are not big enough to grab comfortably. It would be a better arrangement if the door was more like a lot of transom doors, where the upper portion flips back, the side swings inboard and a real ladder went down and over the side. To me, the best dive ladders have a couple t-rungs on the bottom so you can land with your fins on. A dive with no fins is a diver in trouble. Once you're on the ladder, having a conventional ladder frame to hold onto lets you remove your fins one at a time and toss them in the boat. From there, you just climb in. It is critical to have handholds above the top of the ladder because you do need to be able to hold on as you get aboard.
Boats to look at before buying 
