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Random Quote: I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me
I am going to look at the Sea Chaser 19. I have not seen many of these in CT and like the layouts of almost their entire line. I saw the Sea Legend 22 mentioned as competition for the Scout 222 Abaco in Boating Magazine and that was the first I had ever heard of the brand. I understand they are constructed in WA.
I am curious about feedback, too. I was at the Seattle boat show a week ago and looked briefly at their dealer displays. Very nice boats, very complete packages under $50K (well under, if you're looking at the 17' or 19' boat). Looks perfect for the kind of boat camping and light fishing I want to do on the Columbia River here on the Oregon-WA border. Any feedback from Arima owners wold be greatly appreciated.
__________________ Fair skies and following seas! Matt
Have not run in them but always thought it was a great looking set-up for the Northeast. Good for family. High freeboard etc etc. I like the flare on the bow and the cockpit set-ups. Feels "big" for 19'.
Hard tops - they call them "skip towers" - are a $2000 option on the 19' Sea Chaser. There is a dealer in Stamford, CT that shows up on Arima's webpage. I may go over there today.
MaxPauper - 1/27/2005 9:23 AM Feels "big" for 19' ...
Yup, same impression my brother has about them, here's what he just emailed me, as he has the 19' Sea Ranger:
"The Sea Chaser has a smaller cabin than the Sea Ranger. With a Honda 130hp 4-stroke, my SR tops out @ 42 mph. Fuel burn ranged from 11mpg at idle to 4mpg at WOT. Overall average was 5-6 mpg. The skip tower is awesome! Full foam floatation, high gunnels, and an overall a great rig."
The only thing I would watch out for is that it is not a self-bailing deck and I think it only came with a puny bilge pump. We put in an 1100gph pump on auto (with a leaf/debris SS screen around it) and a 2200gph Johnson pump in as a backup, with its floatswitch raised higher and powered from the other battery. In moderate seas and below, it rode/felt like a bigger boat.
For my bro's use, it makes a nice family rig that he can trailer here and there and have enough safety (freeboard) and ammenities (cabin) for the family to make it an enjoyable experience. I think the fuel burn he gets is impressive ... I'm jealous of that .
__________________ [red]MISS TEAK[/red], 25' Parker mod-V Sport Cabin "Life's too short to own an ugly boat ..." www.classicparker.com
FYI ... a few more observations my brother sent me later this afternoon about his Arima:
"It's lightweight, yet strong, good in rough seas (although you may need to run a bit slower than a heavier boat such as a Grady in rough seas), good free board, well laid out especially for the fisherman, and lots of storage space.
Arima support has been great! I've called and emailed asking questions and have received good solid answers with followups by them just to be sure I was happy. Also just look at the Arima boat Owners website, you don't find a lot of issues or moaning there. That's got to say something. Also try and find a used one, it's not easy. Not many come on the market and when they do they sell fast.
Dislikes: not self-bailing so you must rely on the bilge pump(s). Cabin headroom in fine if you're 5'10" or less, tight if taller.
Overall: Definitely a great boat for the money.
__________________ [red]MISS TEAK[/red], 25' Parker mod-V Sport Cabin "Life's too short to own an ugly boat ..." www.classicparker.com
Depends on what you want to do with it. I've owned my Arima Sea Chaser 17 for over 3 years now. It pounds in chop, but a set of Bennet M-80 tabs have pretty much taken care of that.
Slow (my 75 Honda maxes out at 30 mph by GPS), but extremely stable, very good for drifting and trolling. Very comfortable cruise in most water between 21 mph (fairly calm) and 14 mph (tabs all the way down, 2' chop).
After looking at a lot of other boats, I am starting to think the safety and construction quality are much higher than the average, maybe not quite GW quality, but damn close. Maybe that is because of all the bitching I keep seeing on the BB's about boats having screws fall out and parts fall off.
I have about 3 spider cracks in my gel coat, and one is where I dropped something heavy. Considering the waters I have bounced over and through, I don't consider that as too bad
Can fish 2-3 drifting or 2 trolling with no problems.
I would certainly consider a bigger Arima as my next boat, and am torn between the 19 Sea Chaser and the 21 Sea Ranger.
Hardtop is short, brushes my head (5'9") when standing at the wheel, so if you are taller, recommend the skip tower or another hard top.
Moderately expensive, then again, I was also interested in the Parker 2120 with a 150 hp 4-stroke, it is around the same price as the 21 Arima with skip tower and Honda 150. The Parker is wider and heavier, but the Arima seems to offer more fishing related touches. The Parker is faster and has a deeper V (21 degree) than the Arima (I believe 15 degree). Both about $40K. The 150 would push the Arima around fine, whereas some people here think it is too small for the Parker.
Mainly West Coast dealers, very few used ones on the east coast. Resale out west seems to be good, out East seems to take a while since not many know about Arimas.
Hit the owner's website for more Q&A.
Also - if fishing is your primary reason for getting it, and you plan on trailering, I think the 19 Chaser would be a better choice than the 21 Sea Ranger. Fishing area is the same, and the cabin collects a lot of clutter if you don't actually plan to sleep on board.
As for self draining, if you trailer it, who cares. If not, I believe the 22' has been designed to be self draining. Interior freeboard is excellent on these boats, you really have to try hard to fall out.
If you like to run fast and hard through heavy seas, get something else.
I have a 21' Arima Sea Ranger with the soft top option instead of the hard top. As someone previously mentioned, the hard top only gives you a head room of 5' 9".
I've had the boat for three seasons, and it has performed wonderfully. It has been a great family fishing/water sports fun boat. I highly recommend the trim tabs as they really eliminate the pounding issues. It is a very sea worthy, safe boat. I have had her out offshore, out of Shinnecock Inlet, and also taken her out to Montauk Point on nice days and felt very confortable and secure. I have a 130 Honda on the back and I can reach 33 mph wot with a full load. The Honda engine has been very economical and reliable. The fit and finish of the boat is excellent. It's not a fancy boat, though. Arima is a small, family-owned boat builder out in Washington State; they are very proud of the boats they build and maintain excellent customer support.
As Pinzino stated, the 22 is the only self bailing boat, so you are reliant upon the bilge pump. I am adding an additional one this season for redundancy, but have not had any problems with this set up.
First some background on the boat. It is a 22' Arima hardtop with Arima's galley package (dinette and sink). The bottom is painted.
Main power is a 150hp 2 stroke EFI Suzuki ( a great,reliable engine but a 2 stroke nonetheless). Cruise is an effortless 23-25mph at 3700-3800 rpm with 3/4 tank (106gal tank), gear, myself, wife and 3y/o. WOT is around 5000-5100 rpm and 35mph. This boat planes very easily and with tabs I can stay on plane down to around 12-13mph.
I hesitate to use wave heights for fear of exaggeration but I'll do my best. From 1-2" seas, no problem with pounding if properly trimmed. 2' and above (here I'm talking about rolling, closely intervaled white caps) of course it will pound. Dropping speed into the teens though and the ride remains pretty comfortable--at least tolerable even in these conditions.
When I purchased my boat the only 4 stroke available was the 130hp Honda which I feared would be underpowered and I'm glad I went with the 150 (even though it's a 2 stroke). At that time (2000) the max hp rating for the boat was 200hp, it is now 300hp. Anything over 200hp on this boat seems wasteful to me, it's just not meant for speed and the hull will tend to become far less efficient and "drag" over 30mph.
If I was to repower today I'd be looking at 150-200hp 4strokes or e-tecs.
Thanks for all the info. The dealer doesn't keep anything in stock so I couldn't see any units. If I go the new boat route, I am leaning toward the Hydra-Sports 2020 DC - very different boat than the Arima. It's tough finding something to replace my V-20. I may just stick with it and repower.
Opinions on Arima boats please 
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