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Interested in these boats but can't afford a new one. I thinking about a 1997 to 2001 model. Might have to go to the stern drive/jackshaft version because of shallow water at my dock. Looking for advice and information. I addition to cockpit noise level, I am interested in hearing any comments, gas vs diesel, jackshaft, fuel economy, maintenance, etc. Thanks for any response.
I have a 2000 28 Carolina with the KAMD44P diesel's. 22knt cruise at 1.1 nmpg. hold 200 gallons usable fuel. Built like a tank, can run head on into a nasty sea at 16 kts solidly. Love this boat. Helm noise is there but not to bad. The deck is very insuated above the motors. I have about 500 hrs on the volvo's, one alt went out under warranty but other than that its been great.
jmako - 3/10/2007 6:27 PM
I addition to cockpit noise level, I am interested in hearing any comments, gas vs diesel, jackshaft, fuel economy, maintenance, etc. Thanks for any response.
Gas vs diesel in a Carolina 28 is a clear answer, go diesel or you won't have much range. Even in diesel configuration I wish the boat carried another 60 gallons.
Jackshaft: I was not interested in J/S at all, too much maintenance for me. The boat does perform well with the diesel to J/S configuration and will be faster than a straight inboard boat. Personally, I would consider moving the boat to deeper water than go jack shaft or look at other boat choices. You will notice on the used market that the J/S boats sell for much less than straight inboard boats.
Fuel economy: These are not cheap boats to run, at 18,000 pounds or so and running on a 24 degree deadrise they take a lot of power. Don't expect more than 1.5 mpg on a diesel boat and expect less than 1 mpg on a gas boat. The trade off for the cost to run this hull was worth it for me. I have never been on such a tank of a boat and running into a head sea is pure pleasure.
If the cost of operation concerns you then the Albemarle 28 with 230/240 Yanmars is a great boat as is the Henriques 28. The Henriques will perform well with a lot less HP and may be a better choice for you.
Maintenance: No matter what anyone tells you, a diesel boat is more maintenance than a modern EFI gas engine. Outdrive maintenance is what I would be concerned with especially on a water kept boat. Stay away from any Merc outdrives on older boats, the early Bravo 3 had lot's of problems on heavy hulls. The brand new Bravo 3 is advertised as greatly improved but I have no first hand knowledge of that claim.
To me the perfect power for a CC 28 is the 330 HP 6BTA Cummins straight inboard followed closely by the Yanmar 300/315. The Volvo D-4 @260 HP would be my distant third choice. The Cummins 250BTA engines had early problems mainly with injectors but those issues have now been corrected.
The boat really needs 600 HP to perform, be careful with used "bargains" on the market with 200 and 230 HP engines. They just don't have the power for this hull in my opinion.
Owned a 28 with the 250hp cummins (4BTA). I disagree that you need 600hp in this boat with straight inboard. I had full tower and cruised at 25kts. with a very economical burn. The smaller cummins also left more room in the engine space. I'm sure its faster with the 6 cylinder engines but i don't think its a requirement. It is one of the best 28' boats i've ever had and lot more boat than the albemarle (owned a 27') in many ways like beam,engine space,fish boxes. Also parts for the cummins will be less $ than volvo or yanmar. Look at both setups and if you can ride a boat with both hp engines then decide.
I owned a '04 CC28 with straight inboard Volvo KAMD300's rated at 285HP each. Cruise was 30 knots burning 24 GPH. This boat is the best production 28 sportfisher you can buy. I am not saying anything bad about Henriques and Albemarle, which IMO are the only other under 30' expresses still in production that compare. The only other boat on the same level is a Blackfin, in terms of build strength and ride in a head sea.
I could hold a conversation while cruising without yelling, but I did have a problem hearing the VHF while underway. A remote speaker solved that problem.
Gasoline engines on this boat make it an extremely thirsty beast....you need big blocks to push this hull. Gassers will give it added performance....you're talking mid-30's cruise and WOT in the mid-40's range. The range at those numbers with gassers is not good....that's why you don't see many of these boats powered by gasoline engines. The fuel capacity with gassers is increased, for good reason....you will need it.
If you plan on storing the boat on a lift, then you may consider I/B to jackshaft, but if it's going to be wet-slipped I'd stick with straight I/B if you can. You mentioned shallow water at your dock, so the jackshaft may be a necessity. My CC28 drew a little over 30"...slightly more fully loaded for an offshore trip.
Maintenance on the KAMD300 is easy...if you're a skinny contortionist. Accessing fluid levels, fuel and oil filters is no problem, but working on the engines is not easy. You have to drape yourself across them to get to any work done on the outboard sides and front. Not a good situation on a hot engine. Changing the impellars is a nightmare....especially if you have a genset. If you work on the front of the engines, the best thing you can do is to remove the helm seats and disconnect the hydraulic rams lifting the cockpit deck. That way you can get it open much wider. That's not a job for one person...the deck is extrememely heavy and you have to prop it open safely. You absolutely need to have someone spot you for that job. These were trade-offs for all the positives about the boat, and I still would have bought it had I known about these shortcomings beforehand. The good on this boat more than outweighed the bad. The only problem I had was an alternator replaced under warranty on the port engine, and the windows in the cabin leaked---especially the one in the head.
I realize we are getting off track here..........but the 28 Henriques drafts almost a foot less than the CC and the engine room is insane for a boat this size..... I have 2 feet between each motor, 2 feet on each outboard side and 3 feet in front of each motor!!!!!! They are a custom made boat that do not carry a custom made price...........Definitely worth checking out. I had my mind made up on the CC as well and was swayed after lots more research into the brands and am happier than ever.......check out these pics......
Wolakrab...............I have a 44 powered (260hp) 28, no bottom paint. I find your 30 knot cruise a little farfetched. Are you cruising at full throttle, with no fuel?? No one I have heard from on the CC owners site has claimed a cruise over 25-26 knots so your 30knots seems a little high. Are you sure????? What is your WOT rpm and what is your cruise rpm? Thanks
I owned a '04 CC28 with straight inboard Volvo KAMD300's rated at 285HP each. Cruise was 30 knots burning 24 GPH.
Did you mean to say 30 MPH? There is no way a CC-28 with that power is going to cruise at 30 kts (34.5 MPH). Actually even a 30 MPH cruise is very optimistic. A prop calculator won't support those numbers.
Great info! I want to thank everyone's response. There is a lot to chew on, especially the jackshaft vs straight inboard. Henriques... uummm. I may take a look at that one.
Ooops.....
30 MPH is what I meant....
If I went strictly by the Volvo manual, cruise was 300 RPM below WOT. At that RPM, I could cruise at around 30, but fuel burn was closer to 28-30 GPH. I can wish for those consumption numbers, tho.....
Offshorebri,
That Henriques has a HUGE anount of room around those motors. Must be nice!! I gave them a serious look before I bought the CC. NJ was just too far of a trek for me, though. If the CC28 has a weakness, it is the access to the engines; at least that was the case with the Volvos I ran.
Wolakrab- how do you like the 30 Black Watch? When I started looking at 28-30 express boats it was #1 on my list. There are lot's around my area (they were built in Portsmouth) but it was impossible to find a clean one. They all seemed beat to death and fished hard. Since you have owned both I would like to hear your thoughts between the two boats.
Wolakrab- how do you like the 30 Black Watch? When I started looking at 28-30 express boats it was #1 on my list. There are lot's around my area (they were built in Portsmouth) but it was impossible to find a clean one. They all seemed beat to death and fished hard. Since you have owned both I would like to hear your thoughts between the two boats.
Wolakrab- how do you like the 30 Black Watch? When I started looking at 28-30 express boats it was #1 on my list. There are lot's around my area (they were built in Portsmouth) but it was impossible to find a clean one. They all seemed beat to death and fished hard. Since you have owned both I would like to hear your thoughts between the two boats.
I feel like I lucked out finding the Black Watch. It was in my price range and not abused like most other diesel expresses I looked at. The previous owner bought it from someone in West Palm Beach who had done some extensive cosmetic work, along with a repower on the starboard engine. When he bought it, he blew the port engine bringing it up, and had a new long block put in last Spring. So, the port has less than 175 hours and the starboard less than 700. Most of what I looked at had 1200 hours +. Having a balsa cored hull, I was nervous about it....but after much research and speaking to a couple of owners(and after a survey)the nervousness passed. I also spoke with a broker buddy of mine who was very familiar with them....he couldn't say too many good things. From what I have discovered, if there are going to be problems with a cored hull, they usually stem from how it was built. All through-hull penetrations from the factory are surrounded by solid fiberglass. No problems there. My worries were completely laid to rest after I had some work done and the fiberglass man said he'd never seen a hull that age in such good shape. The boat is solid....it doesn't creak or rattle while underway. I haven't had it out in any rough stuff, but it rides well for a boat with it's deadrise and beam. Not like the Carolina Classic, but the 2-3 chop I have had it in created no problem at all. The fish box and anchor locker lids need to be replaced...one of my projects for the next couple of months. All in all, it's going to take me a good year or so to get it where I want it to be. But there is nothing there that's going to break the bank.
The CC28 is the best-built, best riding boat of it's size for any production model. No doubt. It has it's shortcomings, but they pale in comparison to all the positives. I would still have it if I could have afforded it....but I am happy with the Blackwatch. Also well-built, good ride, and working on the engines is a cake walk. Lift the covers off, and you can do anything you need and not end up cussing--like I did on occasion with the CC28. Once I am finished with everything I want to do, I will not miss the CC28...except on the day I am out in NE winds and 4-6 foot seas.
Broken down, here are my observations:
Ride: CC28 has the best, there is no substitution for deadrise and gross weight.
Build Quality: Both are on the same level. The Black Watch is very well built....meant to be fished hard. That's probably why so many are dogged out. But the way I look at it, the owners must have liked them to hang on to them for so long.
Fuel Efficiency: The Black Watch is better on fuel....and better range with 300 gallon cap.
Cruise Speed: CC28 slightly better, but at 26 knots the Black Watch burns less fuel.
Ease of Maintenance: Definitely the Black Watch.
Hope this answers your questions!
PS..to the author of this thread--sorry for the hijack!!
Well, I'm gonna stick my neck out here and disagree on the comment that "CC has the best ride hands down". I've run both the CC and the Albemarle and think the Albemarle is a little softer in a head sea. It is lighter, but with the beam difference I think it rides softer in a tight chop. On the other hand it is also a lot more economical to run. Regardless, I will say that BOTH are awesome rides. Just small tradoffs between the two. Good luck with the search. You'll be pleased with either boat.
Depends on which motors are in the boat. The deck lifts easily on gas struts and everything is accessible. The beam difference does narrow the space between engines. I find access on both boats to be above average.
Carolina Classic 
