My next boat - Need Recommendations

[Peter B]

Jim - I might be a bit biased, but check the Navigator 42, 46 and 48s if you can find any on the market. 2 staterooms, 2 heads, lots of storage and decent living space. Economical at trawler speed but can get up and scoot when needed. Biggest complaint the captain has is that the shower is too small.

Or does that really mean the showeree is a bit large Tom..? :lol:

 

[sunchaser]

JimL

A few random early AM suggestions:

The current stock market swoon offers a potentially positive buyer's market. You have pretty well and smartly nailed down the type of vessel you want, now find a few forgetting about the asking price. Offer what you can afford and you may just be in for a surprise.

Many boat owners would rather sell than hang on. Don't stray from your desired vessel. Lots of good suggestions here, as usual many of us are emotionally attached to our own brand and oversell it's virtues.

Last but not least, a very nice vessel may have the wrong engines. Peruse boatdiesel as to various brand and model issues - remembering your cruising grounds and serviceability.

Good luck. Judging by your posts you'll figure it out.

 

[Bay Pelican]

Some of these will be outside of your price range or too slow but my top 4 would be (in no particular order):

OA 48
Navigator 48
Mikelson 48
Bayliner/Meridian 4788/490

Al's advice is good, but keep in mind that on the East Coast for coastal cruising size matters. More difficult to find a slip or mooring ball for a 48' boat than for a 42 or 43' boat. Also, when we did the Intercoastal there were a number of places where we anchored that we, at 42', were pushing the limits for length.

As always it is what you are going to use the boat for that matters. On the West Coast the larger boats would be wonderful.

 

[ranger58sb]

We have considered Carver, Silverton and Meridians. They are spacious, faster and seem to be more available. We are thinking they may not have the durability to last another 10 years coastal cruising and an occasional cruise to the Bahamas – in time. Primary consideration is galley workability and stores storage.

Wouldn't worry about Silvertons; owners in the club seem to be happy with 'em, and don't seem to mention any special durability problems that any boat wouldn't have. Condition as previously maintained would be the key point.

You might check out this blog for a read on withstanding difficult seas; the boat apparently did better than the people: Captain's Blog Stardate 2009: Terror on the high seas.

And I expect Carvers are just a Silverton-equivalent designed and built by a different company. A Ford, to the other Chevy. Dunno so much about Meridian, but many folks here have been happy with their Bayliner predecessors.

Just speaking of the aft-cabin models in the 40-50' range that you've mentioned...

I'm not drawn to the styling of the more current Silvertons aft-cabin models, but the 39MY and the 43MY both have very decent space inside and the owners seem to like them very much. The slightly earlier 453s are huge, but visibility aft sucks, IMO. Not unworkable, but I didn't care for that.

The previous -- late '90s, maybe early 2000s -- 46MY looks equally huge, slightly more traditional in styling, and may offer better aft visibility, although I haven't been on one. One of the club members owns one, seems to be happy with it. I think there was a similar 41MY, too. They made a cockpit/aft-cabin model sometime, 422 CPMY I think; not many made, so not sure how many (if any) might be available at any given time.


Not meant as recommendations; just observations...

-Chris

 

[jeffnick]

I probably should get a 15 yard penalty for "taunting" but I just can't help it!

My boat's brochure shows her pulling skiiers. She sleeps 7 and has a double sink galley w/ 4 burner range, full sized oven, microwave, flybridge, stand up hot water shower, generator, air conditioning and even a chest freezer. Jewelry boaters consider our $18,000, 40 year old boat is ugly and antiquated but we don't care 'cause we can do what' y'all do on substantially less than 1/10th the budget, not to mention annual maintenance and insurance. Here's a few examples:
One More Time Around: Big Duck Goes Back to Lake Powell 2015
One More Time Around: Florida 2015 - Big Duck Gets Salty
One More Time Around: Houseboat - 2,000 Miles to Lake Powell

 

[CPseudonym]

Slight thread jack



Glad to see you posted Jeff, I had lost track of the shortcut to your blog. Got it now

 

[ABfish]

I just went through a similar search, and I ended up with a 43 Mikelson. (Actually, I bought a one-off Mikelson with an extended flybridge roof, but it's the same hull as the 43).

My boat is a 2003 and it shows no signs of window leaks, despite torrential rains in my area in late fall/early winter.

The boat meets most of your criteria, though the second head is the "day head" that's accessed from the cockpit. I'm impressed with the systems and installation on my boat, though that is no doubt partly due to excellent maintenance by the prior owner.

PM me if you have any questions about the Mikelson.

 

[bluebyu]

Jeffnick,

Thanks for posting the story of you Florida trip. Good read!
Love your comments about running aground and big wakes.

Hope many more such trips are in your future.

 

[caltexflanc]

In that price range and size (fudge up to 53', IMO) and configuration you would do well to look at Hatteras "Motoryachts". They might not all get you the 20kts, but I will tell you having cruised and lived on one full time for several years you will seldom want that speed. As years went on we became more and more grateful we bought a Hatteras. They are still supported and full documentation is available for each boat, by hull number. The spin off of their parts department, Sam's Marine, is an absolute treasure, not just for parts but institutional knowledge and a superb owner's forum.

Be careful of 7-10 year old boats. That is right at the lifespan of many systems, and beyond it if the boat has not been maintained. You get a lot of boats being sold because the owner can't afford the bills to repair/replace/upgrade. I'd rather have an older boat where all that has been done by a meticulous prior owner or two. Not that the boat won't constantly have its hand out anyway... they all do if you have high standards for seaworthiness and comfort and cosmetics.

 

[sunchaser]

George

Were any aft cabin Hats of the era you suggest made without DD 2 strokes?

 

[jeffnick]

Jeffnick,

Thanks for posting the story of you Florida trip. Good read!
Love your comments about running aground and big wakes.

Hope many more such trips are in your future.

Speaking of big wakes...notice how well Big Duck takes them compared to the Parker we're rafted to.

 

[Ski in NC]

I've done some work on two McKinna 47's ?? I'm not sure they fit the OP's bill, but I liked them and the owners liked them too. Both came with Cummins 6BTA 370, and it does take running them hard to plane, but those motors seem to hold up ok. Neither boat has had engine trouble. Can't remember top end, but cruise was like 16kts?? I've got sea trial data that I can look up.

Another has a Sabreline 40-something, it has Cat 3126 and when I sea trialed it my opinion was it required running the engines too hard to get a decent plane. Sure enough, last fall he blew a motor.

Sea trialed an older Tollycraft last fall with 3208 I think 375hp. I was surprised how easily that thing planed out, pretty nice hull shape and it reached I think 24kts. Cruised awesome at 18-20. I can look up the boat if anyone interested.

 

[jimL]

Ok, so my first question is what does “OP” stand for? On another forum, I believe “OP’s” are referred to as “RO” for Returning Offender.

We have looked at the Mikelsons and the Navigators. There are very few of them for sale. We have examined the one Mikeslson for sale in RI and decided against it for several reasons. I would like to examine a Navigator, but none are near me.

We’re currently reviewing the Saber and Saberlines for sale on line. They are beautiful boats, but I think we want something newer than our current budget allows. The Ocean Alexander 42’ collection looks very interesting. From the pics and video, I can’t tell how much galley storage is available. That would be helpful.

We are aslo looking at the Sport Fisher, although the fly bridge layout is not what we’re looking for. The Sport Fisher provides for a lot of the other needs.

Assuming BWI opens up by tomorrow, I’m taking a class and attending Trawler Fest in Riviera Beach this week. I’m hoping to see an opportunity there!

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Jim L

 

[caltexflanc]

George

Were any aft cabin Hats of the era you suggest made without DD 2 strokes?

Some in the fourty ish range came with Cats. The big boys were all DD's through at least the 80's and early 90's.

"OP" means original poster, whoever started the thread. Again I caution against assuming that newer means better condition.

I was just reminded that the Offshore 48' "Yachtfisher" is a great boat that meets most if not all the criteria. Good build quality and design. Plus they are still in business.

 

[ksanders]

Again I caution against assuming that newer means better condition.

That is a great point. Newer does not mean better condition. It's all about how the boat was maintained.

Newer does come with some advantages though. For example...

Newer boats will generally not have balsa cored decks
Newer boats will generally have solid surface counters
Not so many newer boats have teak decks.

Newer boats will generally have cosmetic nuances that are appealing. It's just like updating your home. Lots of stuff from the 70's for example might be perfectly functional, but it is not of a style that is popular today.

Then again some older boats are just timeless, georgous showcases of how to do things "right"

 

[ranger58sb]

We are aslo looking at the Sport Fisher, although the fly bridge layout is not what we’re looking for. The Sport Fisher provides for a lot of the other needs.

In that case, you'd be willing to bag the aft cabin idea?

If so... there's another class of boats sometimes called "sedan bridge" or "sport bridge" or some such, depending on brand...

The lower layout is generally similar to a flybridge sportfish boat, although usually with more emphasis on cruising compared to a "convertible" (cruising sportfish)... and these often have much larger and elaborate bridges.

Along with that, visibility aft often goes out the window, so to speak...

Lots of leeway in model names or types, depending on various manufacturers... but if that's worth a look, there a few representative models you might look at. 48 and 52 Sea Ray Sedan Bridge, 43 and 41 Silverton Sort Bridge... and probably almost all the bigger Carver "non-Mariner" bridge boats.

-Chris

 

[jimL]

Chris, Kevin, George et all,

Thanks for the OP definition. It helps.

The yachtfishers do appear interesting, just not enough out there.

We’re sitting here looking at Sport Sedans and Sedan Bridge etc…. and the debate continues. We really are not interested in the Sea Ray, or for that matter the Carver or Silverton styles. However we do like the Mikelson and Navigators and Sport Fishers and Oceans. It could be the interior finish and styles that we’re struggling with. We’re looking more for a galley that is a working galley – used every day – think chopped veggies, broken eggs, fish, seafood etc all over the place vs a clean clinical looking galley. We plan to be cruising for months at a time and food and food prep is very important, as is refrigerator space.

Yes, the aft cabin is not a requirement, but more of a strategy to ensure two toilets – which the wife has mandated.

Wood or wood looking floor is a plus, but that could be changed.

Point taken on older vs maintained. I’ll observe this on my visit to Trawler Fest this week – weather depending.

Please keep the thoughts coming, this has been very helpful.

We appreciate your indulgence in the conversation.

Jim

 

[ranger58sb]

The yachtfishers do appear interesting, just not enough out there.

I've always thought the Hatteras yachtfish models would offer great potential, and those would probably be one series we'd look at if we wanted to move larger (assuming no winning lottery ticket).

Given that winning lottery ticket, the new Sabre 54 bridge boat might get my attention; the full-beam master is approximately the next most important improvement I might pursue. Although I'd still have to specify stairs to the bridge, not a ladder. Dreaming, of course...


You might have a look at some of the earlier Carver Voyagers. The more recent models are swoopy and tending toward Italian-esque, but the earlier ones are slightly more "traditional" designs.

-Chris