Pursuit 2270 vs. Contender 21 open fish?

[bluefishbard]

I'm looking for a used center console with a Yamaha 200 hpdi and have been focusing my research on the Pursuit 2270 and the Contender 21 open fish. We are looking for boats no older than a 2000 model. I will be keeping my boat in Shark River, NJ. My brother and I plan to fish the Raritan for stripers in early spring and then, as waters warm up, start running about 10-20 miles offshore looking for schoolie bluefins, bonito, little tunny, mahi.

I have been hearing and reading more about the 21 open fish, and not so much about the 2270.

Can anyone tell me more about this Pursuit?
How does it stack up against the Contender?
Why would I want to buy one over the other?

Any help/pointers/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

[Stretch]

The Pursuit is a larger boat with more room behind the leaning post. On the other hand, the Pursuit has a very large raised platform forward while the Contender's cockpit floor is all on one level. The Pursuit can be a nice family boat with cushions for the bow platform, a spray dodger and the optional stern seating. The Contender is more of a dedicated fishing machine. I would choose the Pursuit because it fits my needs better but I am not a hard core fisherman. Both boats are built very well.

[bluefishbard]

Thanks, Stretch. So far, the only complaints that I have heard about the 21 open fish is that the bilge access is not all that great and that the storage is fairly limited. Aside from that, this Contender sounds pretty perfect for my needs.

Any idea what type of bilge access the Pursuit 2270 offers and do you know if there is more storage on the Pursuit than on the Contender?

I hope to run to a Conteder dealer this Saturday to get a better handle on their products.

[JDBer94]

The Pursuit will not run with the Contender offshore due to its deadrise. I have a neighbor that went from a Pursuit 24' with twin 150's to a Contender 21' with a 225 and feels that althought the Pursuit was a higher quality boat then the Contender the ride of the Contender wins easily wins out.