*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.
Judge Yachts 27 Chesapeake – review and essay (long)
Notices
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: imagination is more important than knowledge
I have enjoyed reading your posts over the years, Thanks!
I am in the final processes of deciding on my next boat. I believe it is going to be the Judge 27 Chesapeake. I live in Florida and fish out of St. Augustine. I regularly go out to around 20 miles or so. I would love to be able to go out and fish the gulf stream, or take it down south for a trip to the Bahamas. I would also love to have overnighters with my son or a buddy. I will be getting the boat with twin engines.
I currently have a nice CC fishing boat, I wanted to ask if the Judge would be a nice fit for me with my list of grips below. I am going to be taking a trip in a few weeks very close to the Judge factory, and I am planning on making a visit. I have never been on a pilot house boat before.
I am very fair skinned, so I must stay out of the sun as much as possible, as do my wife and children. Kind of a curse living in Florida! I love the shade, and I HATE taking a pounding on the leaning post of the CC. Sometimes I think the kids would love to take a nap in a v-berth (so would i once in a while.) I would love to be able to store all my stuff without having to take everything out after every trip. I would like to take a nice comfortable trip offshore, fish comfortable and be stable, and if the weather or seas kick up, have a dry, easy ride back in.
I want the open back pilot house, level deck, no wood, and the extended shade top. Another item I demand is that the boat drains water from the cockpit. This means the scuppers will be above the waterline, regardless of loading, and they will drain properly with the boat sitting on the trailer being cleaned. Perhaps I can get giant oval holes in the transom instead of the round holes? One thing I like about the Defiance boat were those giant 6 inch wide ovals scuppers on the back. I was caught in some seas that were REAL 4 footers on about a 4 second interval recently. I had to slow my 22 foot CC down to around 5-8 MPH in order not to keep stabbing the bow. At this speed with the winds, the boat was difficult to steer. The ride could have only been wetter if we were under water. I had to go around 15 miles like this. I would assume that in the Judge 27, we could have kept the speed up a little higher, and stayed DRY!
I also hope that the boat would be cool with all the shade in the Florida heat. Currently, everyone huddles under the t-top until I kick everyone out because I have to drive the boat or work the electronics.
I like to cruise around 25-28 MPH. This to me is a good compromise of speed and fuel economy with my current boat. This is of course in fair weather, and normally I only go when the weather is going to be fair.
I also like the idea of having a big shady boat for taking the grandkids out in a few years. (no grandkids yet, but maybe in 10 years or so I will have a few little fisherman)
I have a 1/2 ton Tundra with the big V8 motor that tows my current boat like a dream. The boat weighs around 6600 loaded on the trailer. Have you towed your boat with your 1/2 truck with no problems?
What do you think?
Thanks!
__________________ My boat is a 2008 Sea Hunt 220 Triton with Yamaha 250. Garmin 4212, Furuno FCV-620, GSD 22, Standard Horizon Matrix, XM Weather.
Xray, Thanks for the compliments. Fishfactory is correct. I tow the boat with half ton chevies, either my 2006 silverado or my wife's 2004 suburban. Both have the 5.3l v8, are 2wd, and do fine. I tow from NJ to VA with them. I do wish I had bigger brakes but I take my time and am under the tow capacities of both. The small blocks are pleanty of power. I think a tundra would be more than fine since I think the newer ones have greater tow capcity than my Chevies.
As stated in many of my posts regarding the warped plane hull, ride is subjective and based mostly on ones expectations. The boat is a big water boat and will ride nicely when the hull is kept in the water. This at times and many typical offshore days means running a bit slower than a true deep v. Once the boat is coming out of the water enough for the flatter part of the hull to come down upon, it can make for a rougher ride. By slowing a few knots and trimming the bow down into a head sea some, allowing the 45 degree entry to do its work, you will have a comfortable and very efficient ride. In contrast to this, I have found that when caught unexpectedly in extremely big water that one shouldnt be in that the warped plane hulls can also be better than a deep v. My hull with a single 225 will plane off at about 12mph with no tabs. This means I can run at 12-18mph through just about anything and will remain on plane where many deep v's fall off plane and plow through the water at high fuel burns. Bottom line is that you have to understand what you are looking for. I personally typically dont run more than 20-30 miles one way in bigger seas so the speed compromise isnt a major factor in my usage. Even if I was able to run a few knots faster with a deep v, it isnt worth the time or additional fuel burn on most cases to me. Of course this doesnt mean the boat cannot be run way offshore either. The hull certainly can handle it comfortably, it may just take a little more time to get there. My father runs his 2001 Judge 27 offshore frequently. On his last trip, he ran over 62 nautical miles (71 statue miles) out from the inlet. Of course in a 27' boat, that means picking your days and knowing that it may require more time running than your typical twin engine deep v. However your fuel burn will be much better than that of most boats on the water. He burned less than 90 gal on the trip and probably covered close to if not over 200 miles. He was able to cruise at 27+mph at 4200 rpms with twin 130 hondas - it was a nice day but many days require 20-25mph cruise. I can cruise at 25-30 mph with just my single 225 as the boat will hit about 40mph at WOT. Most efficient cruise on my boat tends to be about 25-26mph burning about 8gph in calm water.
To me there is no drier boat to fish from. The layout offers a lot of protection to the crew. I mostly fish late fall through the winter and into spring for striped bass here in Maryland and it is not fun being wet when it is cold. Being dry was a huge factor in me deciding on this layout. Of course this protection is also great for getting out of the sun. Even in the summer here in 90 degree heat, most tend to hang out under the top as not bake in the sun. This was important to my wife since we have 3 small children and she is very conscious about not letting them burn. Besides it is cooler under the top anyhow. With the front and side windows open it creates a funnel of air through there and being in the shade, it makes it cooler to sit under top. Many times we have all 5 people in my family under the top when running.
I have two round scuppers but Judge will install any scupper you want. We NEVER have water on the deck so larger scuppers werent a need for me. I have had as many as 8 large adults on board and never had water come through them. Twin engines may reduce that capacity some through too. Of course running in bigger seas larger scuppers arent an issue either. It is not like a CC as seas over the bow are returned to the ocean with this layout.
When you are ready and you make the trip up to Maryland, give me a shout and I will get you out on the boat. I live about 40 minutes from the Judge factory.
no doubt Parker makes a great boat. I almost bought one and it was the pilothouse-style boat I originally wanted when we started our search. However, when we looked hard at them, the step down in the wheel house (trip hazzard with kids), wood coring, enclosed back (makes me sea sick and seperates the helm from capt from the crew), weight and extra wide beam forced us to ultimately decide against the boat. With the warped plane hull and narrower length to beam ration, I also believe the Judge is a better riding hull than the mod v parker. The deep v parkers of similar size more likely need twins to be adequately powered and dont offer the same economy either. Plus they are even heavier so trailering is even less of an option. We also like the encloseable extended top where we can get more out of the weather.
Of course these were my opinions to why I ultimately decided against the Parker. Other advantages I see of the Judge are better resale due to less available on the market (supply and demand thing), factory direct dealings, and more options like power choices. I do get a chance to fish Parkers on occassion as several friends have them and do think they are great boats too. Everyone has to decide what works best for them and their needs. I know my one buddy who runs a 25 Parker probably prefers his boat to mine. To each their own I guess. At least you know why I think the way I do and chose what I chose..
How is the 36 Chesapeake offshore? Would this make a good canyon boat?
The boat has a great hull is Bill Judge's personal favorite model that he continues to build for himself. I dont believe there is a faster, more fuel efficient boat in its class. Post over here and I will get into more detail as I wanted this thread to be more my review of my personal 27 Chesapeake: http://www.thehulltruth.com/boat-com...eake-demo.html You can also send a PM to THT'er Conjuror ( http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-...he-floats.html ) as he is a customer who owns one and is running his boat offshore. Plus, You can call me at 410.533.1435 if you would rather too.
Anthony, I know you have a boat and arent in the market but give me a shout if you ever want a ride. I would be more than happy to get you out. If you wait until the fall fishing picks up and can spare a day, i would love to take you fishing. We have been on the forums for a long time together and I am sure we would have a good time fishing.
Business has been a bit slow in the print industry for me but somehow I am about even to last year so far (which was a bit down to the previous year though). We will see how the fall goes. Judge has been moving some boats and hanging in there. I think there are at least 5 boats in production right now that have been ordered. Several 27 Chesapeakes, one being loaded to the gills with twin Honda 135's, custom seating with livewell, etc. There is also a loaded 22 cc being built with head in the console. Bill is even in the process of continuing the design of his 26 offshore express that he has a mold already done. My dad is kicking around the idea of taking the opporunity to have the first boat but he is not sure he can swing it. We shall see.
Shouldn't this be moved over to the commercial section?
Or, are we saying that manufacturers or a manufacturers reps should be advertising their products here?
If so, I extend my welcome to Garmin, Raymarine, Lowrance, Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Volvo, Cummins, Ford, GM, Pursuit, Pro Line, Grady White, Parker, Genmar, BRC, etc, etc to start using this section of THT to tell us all how wonderful their stuff is.
Jethro, I respectfully disagree for a couple of reasons .
First of all I purchased the boat that I reviewed at a fair price and wrote what I thought of it and why I chose it. I had done this for other boats that I had owned as well without being affiliated with the company. Other owners write about the boats they own with same bias that I do. What seperates what I had written from many other reps is that most dont own the model they write about or have much time on the boat. I have over 200 engine hours alone on my personal boat since last fall, let alone the hundreds of hours on the boat at rest.
Secondly, I believe that it is a good thing that reps write about what seperates their boats here and address what they believe makes their product better. Nothing bothers me more than when someone responds to thread with just "buy brand xxxx" without any justification. Besides, where else can a consumer come to and have thier questions, thoughts, experiences and opinions addressed by those affiliated with a product. Given all the misinformation being posted here on a regular basis, I think it is also good to get direct factual information from those that would know. I am responding openly and honestly with my affiliation so that people can decide for themselves what they want to take from what I had written or not. I assure you that there are MANY dealer and manufacturer reps here responding and writing things about their product and not disclosing their biases. This includes sponsorships for fishing teams, dealer affiliations, manufacturer affiliations, etc. What do you think is better? Personally I think the forum has become a better place seeing people like Regulator and Pro-line also posting openly and addressing questions and issues. I think it would be better to have more reps openly disclosed who they were and talked about things like what construction materials and methods they are using and why they think it benefits the consumer. As a person who is more of a boat owner and user than someone who makes a living in the marine industry I appreciate the knowledge I have gained through it being explained to me. It made me a wiser boat shopper IMHO. Of course as with anything that is written here on the forums, it is up to the reader to decide what has real merrit to what they are looking for. I will agree that there is a line though and that it would be bad for this forum to become over ridden with spam from a manufacturer. However I dont believe me writing about why I chose the boat I did and what I believe makes the boat the right choice for me crossing that line. I hope and believe the moderators making those decisions will agree with me. I have posted all my for sale ads in the appropriate forums and have paid for the appropriate subscriptions to do so. I hope to continue to be able to contribute to this forum as I have with my interests and desires as I have here for over 6 years prior to me helping the manufacturer I purchased my boat from. (as you can see from searching my name and Judge that I have been a long time fan even before my ownership and affiliations)
Dillon, I don't know much about the Alburys other than I believe they are a high end boat and I love their lines and layouts from what I have seen here on THT. Only differences I could possibly comment on are that I do believe the Albury boats are rounded chine where as all the current Judges are hard chine boats. I also don't believe they make a cabin-type boat that would compete with the 27 Chesapeake like I have either. I wish I could comment further but I have no experience or knowledge of them.
Mike, I don't know if I will get up before the fall striper run and I will probably just fish my dad's boat. Have had a crazy summer as my brother just got married, my daughter had a small surgery and we took a vacation to Surfside Beach SC (where I used to live), etc. My son has been up and got his best flounder of 28" and over 6lbs though.
Dave, we will need to pull Dan away from his new love of Air planes. He is working on his pilot's license... (and I thought boats and boating was expensive). Dan has seen the Judge but he hasnt been on it yet. Even if he doesnt come, I would love to fish with ya!
Great Post! I'm going to provide the link to some folks on a Lake Erie website who are interested in the 27 Chesapeake.
You seem happy with the single 225 hp. My boat (23' Grady Gulfstream) is about the same weight with 20 degree deadrise, and a 225 is too light for that hull. If you had the ability for a do over, would you keep the 225 or move up to a 250? Any issues with a full load of fishermen and gear in rougher water with the 225? Lake Erie is very similar to the Chesapeake Bay in rough water conditions. Thanks for any info.
