Hull/power recommendation for marina del ray area

[VT_Jeff]

My wifes boss lives in marina del ray and is looking to get a boat to explore the channel islands and the general area. Leisure fishing, snorkeling, destination suping, general family use. He's a longtime surfer but new to powerboating, about to be an empty nester.

Hes thinking something with a pilot house, twin outboards. looking to buy, not build.

Any opinions/recommendations welcome.

Thanks,

Jeff

[fallguy1000]

The run to the Channel Islands is subject to winds. Most small craft do not do the trip under small craft advisories or warnings. A boat of about 21 feet is the smallest I'd recommend and I'd never take such a boat out under advisories or warnings. A lot of people think, well, then I'll get a bigger boat. A 24' vessel might be nicer sizewise, but doesn't do much for safety and is jist as horrible to be out in the rough stuff.

The boat also should be new enough to use marine foam for buoyancy. Those two fellas in Florida who were lost at sea were in a fairly newish Robalo that apparently did not have foam. The vessel was never found even upside down.

The transom in used boats is always something to look at closely for water damage.

The best money to spend on a boat is for a survey. The survey can find things like rotten stringers or rotten transoms and save you money. I spent $3500 on a boat. $3000 for the boat and $500 for the disposal. A survey would have cost me $500 to give you an idea on the economics. If the seller says no to a survey, also run.

Twin outboards only mean something in well designed redundant systems. Every component must be separate. There is no point to running twin engines if the fuel tank and filters are shared unless you want the power of say twin 300s or twin 200s. It is rare to lose amd well maintained engine these days. If you buy for redundancy; you will be shocked to know it is rare. My boat has twins out of necessity. Our steering systems are the only thing that is shared between the engines. The two engines share an acr and can start the opposing engine, for example.

A pilothouse is nice to stay dry, but it almost never rains there, so I'd stay real small and try for a house that has a place for a porta potty and changing out of wetsuits and get more cockpit. Most of boating is enjoyed as an outdoor activity.

If you want a pilothouse, going to 25' is probably a good plan.

Take my advice on the survey. If the surveyor finds issues, it can also be negotiating leverage.

[Matt Gent]

Any idea of budget? Sounds like $100k+ new...

[VT_Jeff]

I suspect 100k is a little high. After some looking around hes thinking more along the lines of a SeaRay 27 rather than a skiff. I have a number of friends at lake ontario who run Searays, they can give him the straight scoop on those.

We'll see what happens, appreciate the input.

[Cowbro]

I am a few hundred miles north of MDR, up in Northern California, But i know there are a handful of nice, well equiped 22-24' pilothouse sportfishing boats on the local craigslist in the $40-60K range. Parker, Steigercraft, Farralon, Osprey, Striper, (Radon$$$) boats seem to be the popular choice out here for that type of use. You could probably pick up a used 2352 Trophy for ~$20K.

[Matt Gent]

When I was negotiating to buy the DE25, I happened to go to the Palm Beach Boat Show, spring 2017. While there I hopped on a Parker equivalent to the DE, though it had twin 150s and went about twice as fast.

It had a gelcoat finish, which was nice, but just about every other feature of the DE was preferable for my use. It was listed for $139,000...about 10X what I paid for the DE. I bet today that is well over $150k. Which is insane.

[TomW1]

I am a few hundred miles north of MDR, up in Northern California, But i know there are a handful of nice, well equiped 22-24' pilothouse sportfishing boats on the local craigslist in the $40-60K range. Parker, Steigercraft, Farralon, Osprey, Striper, (Radon$$$) boats seem to be the popular choice out here for that type of use. You could probably pick up a used 2352 Trophy for ~$20K.

Don't go for the Trophy cheaply built, that is the reason for the priceT The Steigercraft, Osprey and Parker are all fine boats don't know much about the Farralon, Striper or Radon.

Tom