Best and Worst Traits of Your Boat

[auguste]

What are the two best and two worst traits of your boat . . . try to be honest



Best #1 Fantastic ride into waves and following seas

Best #2 Great fuel economy for size and performance

Worst #1 Cabin is heavy so it rolls when trolling also transom is 21 degrees and mid-ship is 24 degrees (measured a few days ago)

Worst #2 Little under deck storage because of the two jackshafts . . . but would not change

[gw204]

1985 Grady White 204 Center Console

Worst Trait No. 1: Poor glasswork in areas that can't be seen. In some places there is wood covered only by gelcoat...which has developed cracks over the years and I'm sure allowed some water to penetrate.

Worst Trait No. 2: Wet transom. It's not rotten yet though. Gave it the "lower unit jump test" this evening and the transom didn't flex even an 1/8 th of an inch. Securing cable clamps to inner walls of the transom in a well that gets wet w/ no sealer on the screws apprears to be the main cause but a poorly sealed swim platform and old transducer didn't help either. I don't know if you can really count the wet transom as a worst trait as it certainly wasn't like that when it left the factory....

There's no doubt in my mind that some serious R&R will be needed in the next year or two. By the time I'm done, neither of those two issues will exist.

Best Trait No. 1: Very high bow with lots of flare. She sheds waves like nobody's business.

Best Trait No. 2: 80 gallon gas tank enable me to make relatively long runs to find blue water. Hoping to boat my first tuna this summer.

[Eyehooker]

Best # 1 paid for Best # 2 cheap to run Merc I/O
Worst- #1-- 21' is too short and narrow 8' Worst- #2-- pounds like hell

[stringer]

Wow gw204 that's a great detailed article on upgrading your gw. I enjoyed reading it, and it did*bring back some memories of my own revamping. Ya can't beat doing it yourself, when you can.

Congrats, looks good, too bad every boat does'nt have an owner like you. ****

[maestro]

Hydrasports Vector 2250 CC

Best Trait #1: It's a wave eating machine !

Best Trait #2: It's solid as a rock. The deck feels like it's made of concrete.

Worst #1: Lack of lockable rod storage.

Worst #2: Evinrude OceanPro is gas hog.

[BlueMarlin]

Best #1 -- useable deck space/ and comfort
#2 -- Fish Box storage

Worst #1 -- If in a quartering following sea... and not trimmed right
can be very annoying....

#2 -- Batteries installed low and aft in the boat... really should
have been put in the console.

[Megabyte]

Dusky 17 Open Fisherman

Best #1 - Solid fiberglass, quality construction.
Best #2 - 20* deadrise and Carolina bow flair = great ride for a 17' boat
Worst #1 - The only true 'dry storage' is in the leaning post cooler.
Worst #2 - Tiny round bilge hatch is too small to allow for maintenance access.

____________________
Parker 2520 MVSC

Best #1 - Cockpit area is huge... lots of fishing room
Best #2 - Solid fiberglass, no-frills construction (easy to hose clean)
Worst #1 - Almost no cockpit storage
Worst #2 - Limited storage in the pilothouse other than the v-berth (working on that...)

[bluefin2na]

Regulator 23 CC

Best #1 - Ride
Best #2 - Fishbox/storage space

Worst #1 - In a quartering sea its quite wet
Worst #2 - Cutout transom, batteries in the stern.

[jocko_nc]

1999 Sea Pro 210 CC / Yamaha 150 2 stroke:

Best #1: It's paid for.
Best #2: Time-to-plane and handling.
Best #2.1: Motor.

Worst #1: Ride in rough chop when bow comes out of water. See #2 above.
Worst #2: Joint between hull and liner. I can see that would be the weak point of the hull.

jocko

[Hooper]

1983 - 23' SeaCraft Center Console; 2003 Evinrude Ficht 225hp

Best #1: Great hull regardless of the sea, head, following, quartering. It rides soft and feels solid.

Best #2: The 2003 'Rude is a great match for this older boat! Sips fuel, plenty of power and low initial purchase price.

Worst #1: It's a center console, STORAGE! No lockable rod storage and limited dry storage.

Worst #2: It's a center console, THE ELEMENTS! Even tho it is a dry riding boat with a T Top and curtains, there is no place to hide from the chilly spring or fall air!!!

Overall, it fits my needs pretty well right now. It gets me where I want to fish without costing a fortune to own and maintain. Plus, it will have a good resale value when I get "foot disease".

[chilli]

Sea Hunt Triton 232

Best #1 Sharp Entry and lots o' flare.
Best #2 More room than most center consoles when it comes to cockpit space behind the console.

Worst #1 The stupid swing back leaner that was on the boat when I bought it. It shakes, rattles, squeaks.....
Worst #2 The height of the rocket launchers on the t-top. Unless your 6' 3" it is a real bear to get rods out when they are tied to a tuna or large rock.

[JVLII]

Pursuit 2560

Worst 1- Pounds a little much for my tastes- not enough deadrise
Worst 2- motorbox for I/O

Best 1- See worst 1- all of our fishing is slow troll (1.8-2.5kts.)- stable troll
Best 2- I/O trolls nice and slow and boat flat out catches salmon (good juju!)

JVLII

[HOTSPOT]

Best things:

1. Paid for
2. Ride, storage, room

Worst:

1. Would rather have leaning post with cooler underneath
2. Cleaning the ultra white hull and deck after a trip

[MadAlaskan]

24' Cierra Express

Best #1 Purchased new at a great price and it's paid for.

Best #2 Great cabin has all the eminities needed to spend several comfortable days on the water.

Worst #1 No room in the engine compartment to work. Changing spark plugs is even a pain!

Worst #2 Above deck engine cowling. Sometimes a real pain to work around especially when trying to land 100 lb + halibut.

I know the knock on Bayliner but for the dollar this boat has been an absolute dream for me. Good cruise, fairly good on the fuel economy, and my second home in the summer. We spend EVERY weekend on the boat plus a weeks vacation in the summer. I have logged a lot of hours on her over the past 3 years and have enjoyed every minute. Season is short here and for the dollar I spent I couldn't be more pleased.

[dave33]

Sea Hunt Triton 200

Best #1- No eurotransom gives me more room in the back than many 25ft center consoles I have seen.

Best #2- Lightweight enough for a 130hp 2 stroke to push it to 46MPH on Gps and it jumps on plane with plenty of low end torque.

Worst#1- Limited dry storage and small fish box up front- a lot of wasted space.

Worst #2- tie for 2 stroke smoke and not quite enough deadrise, ride a little bumpy at times.

[tightwads]

2004 NauticStar 2200 w/2004 Yamaha 150 TXRC

Best #1: Superb Fit & Finish, fishing layout, & storage
Best #2: Do it all purpose (fish flats, bay, offshore, cruise)

Worst #1: Rough ride in bad chop at higher speeds (only 16 degree deadrise).
Worst #2: damnifIknow???? I'll try to think of something

Luis

[txfishman]

Parker 2801


Best #1: Huge cockpit, plenty of fishing room.
Best #2: Easy to maintain and clean after fishing.

Worst #1: Absolutley no tackle station.
Worst #2: Small console and electronics box. Not enough room to replicate important electronics.

[cjd]

Parker 18

Best
sturdy solid ride, rides bigger then 18. (especially with trim tabs)
great fishability in shallow an deep water. stable at rest and very castable

Worst
Parker started using marine ply in the floors in 90. mines an 89
wiring was all zip tied together. impossible to remove old wires
undergunnel rod storage will not hold fly rods (sorry thats three)

[drydock]

21' CC

Best #1 - Heavy and solid, will plow through anything
Best #2 - Stable at rest

Worst #1 - Heavy, poor mpg
Worst #2 - Unassisted nfb steering, like trying to turn a freight train

[Archangel]

Padebco 32 Jet Semi-custom Downeast Cruiser:Best:

1. Lines/materials (e.g. lots of teak) - it's a beautiful boat

2. In midcoast Maine harbors, having a 'lobster boat' hop on plane and move at >30 knots is a real head-turner



Worst:

1. Shallow draft + Hamilton jets makes her squirrelly at low speed

2. Jets get clogged with seaweed