Fast Bahamas cruiser

I’ve been to the Bahamas on my slow boat. Spent three weeks there and had a blast with the family. However, I’ve often wondered about having a fast (25-30mph) boat so I could zip over to the Bahamas with just my wife from the Fort Pierce area. When I was on the way to the Abacos I saw quite a few boats doing this, but many of them had triple or quad engines and were wildly expensive I’m sure.

For $50k or less, can I get a good trailerable center console style (or open cockpit) with a small cabin if I want to anchor out, and with updated, reliable 4 stroke outboards (2)? I know NOTHING about this style of boat so I might be way off. What’s the minimum length for a boat like this to make a safe GS crossing if caught in bad weather?

What about something like this? Too short?
2006 Pro-Line 28 EXPRESS Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

The capital for discussing and learning about this segment is The Hull Truth. Go through the archives there as there are dozens of threads on the same subject for the same purpose. Odds are those boats you observed are on that forum too. You'll get a lot of information along with the usual internet forum big dollops of hearsay and BS.

Ahh good idea. Thanks!

There will be no universal answer. You said "if caught in bad weather"...well, in really bad weather no ship is big enough.....and in good weather, people cross over in Jet Skis and Kayaks.

It will really come down to how comfortable you want to be. I'd guess that boat you linked to could cross with no problems 75% of the time.

That boat should do fine for the mission you stated. At 25 mph you will be in the stream no more than a couple of hours and from Ft Pierce to GTC is about 180 NM so about 8 hours, so you probably need to stop at West End, check in and refuel.

But a 28' O/B is not likely to be too much fun to sleep aboard at anchor. Check out the World Cat 270. It will be a little more efficient and may have more room below.

David

I’m used to waiting for the right weather window with my slow boat, so really the weather question is not that big of a deal. I would use the same caution with the small boat.

There are sooooo many of these open style fishing boats I really don’t know where to start. Don’t know a good one from a bad one. Are there different hull styles that would be better? Engines to avoid? Certain brand boats to avoid? I figure I need two engines for reliability but maybe not? So much I don’t know.

cardude01 said:

I’m used to waiting for the right weather window with my slow boat, so really the weather question is not that big of a deal. I would use the same caution with the small boat.

There are sooooo many of these open style fishing boats I really don’t know where to start. Don’t know a good one from a bad one. Are there different hull styles that would be better? Engines to avoid? Certain brand boats to avoid? I figure I need two engines for reliability but maybe not? So much I don’t know.

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I had a 24 Aquasport Tournament Master and it was an awesome boat. As you say if you wait for a weather window and have twins, you should be fine. My cabin was a bit small but for short stays, weekends or a week it was very comfortable and most of the time you are outside anyway. SeaRay, Boston Waler, Striper (Seaswirl) are all good boats and I am sure there are many more. Check the reviews some are kind cheaply built.

Will you be doing a lot of fishing ? Does it have to be outboard powered ? If not, a cruiser style boat might be a little more confortable for you. I suppose you might give up a little sea-worthiness, but something like a Sundancer might work.

For example...here's a boat that's the same year, length and price as the Pro-Line you linked to...but would be much more liveable.

2006 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Benthic2 said:

Will you be doing a lot of fishing ? Does it have to be outboard powered ? If not, a cruiser style boat might be a little more confortable for you. I suppose you might give up a little sea-worthiness, but something like a Sundancer might work.

For example...here's a boat that's the same year, length and price as the Pro-Line you linked to...but would be much more liveable.

2006 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

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No, I am not a big offshore fisherman at all. I did drag a line behind my slow boat last time we crossed and I caught a barracuda, but fishing is definitely not my goal.

I really did not want to mess with inboards and outdrives, but maybe I will reconsider.

I do like the look of that world cat 270. I found one close to me here so I think I will go look at the size of the cabin and see if it is worthwhile.

Although I absolutely despise the curvy look to the Sea Ray noted above, it sure has a lot more living space in it. And the engine access, wow!!!

It is listed as 1,000 lbs heavier than the Pro-Line, so that will take more power. But maybe the inboard engines will make up some of that in fuel savings over outboards.

As much as I hate to say this, it would be a good choice for that mission.

David

In the last few years, we've met several couples that travel over from Florida with a boat similar to the one you referenced in your first post. They seem to spend most of their nights at a resort that has a dock and then zip round during the day exploring and maybe spend an occasional night at anchor.

I can see it. You have the fexability to go where you want in good weather, in the off season the boat's on a trailer in your yard or in storage plus your partner gets the creature comforts at night.

Learning from personal experience, I would never ever buy an IO boat again. SeaRay did make a "Weekender" model in that size range. The "Weekender" has inboards.

hmason said:

Learning from personal experience, I would never ever buy an IO boat again. SeaRay did make a "Weekender" model in that size range. The "Weekender" has inboards.

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+1 no more I/Os for me either

Hey what about something like this. Has pretty good cabin space. Doesn’t look all that seaworthy compared to the World Cat however. And only single engine.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/C-Dory-25-Cruiser-3145355/Pensacola/United-States

If I were to buy a twin outboard like the above one, I would want to make sure it would plane on one engine.

Wifey B: Fast is good. Faster is better. CC's are great for speed, but.....sleeping, staying out of the weather... But Sea Rays dominate this market plus that MM company (not the good one, Mickey Mouse, but the one that sells boats) even has special events. We once imagined just the two of us cruising the TN river on like a 28' Sundancer. There are some other similar or even can go to some coupe type boats that have cabins below. Trying to think of some that might fit that range and I'll do a little research but we're about to reach our destination and hotel...wow, we made good time today, but I'd so much rather be spending the night on our boat than in the hotel, even though it's a very nice hotel. Just not the same. Oh well. I think the person who drove before the person driving now must have sped a bit for us to get here so fast. Well, it's my car.

I have no experience with them...but C-Dory owners tend to be fiercely loyal to their boats and consider them suprememly capable. To an outsider it seems cult-like, but there's probably something to back it up.

Their forum is called C-brats

Here's a thread on Hull Truth ( as that was mentioned earlier ) about them:

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/112248-thoughts-c-dory-boats.html

wow....glad I know better.....

as was posted earlier....too much BS here and the hull truth.

You can kayak to the Bahamas if you want.....but like all boating discussions....compromise is the bottom line.

Sure....everything is a compromise...the most seaworthy boat isn't the most comfortable boat....the most comfortable boat isn't the most efficient boat......the most efficient boat isn't the easiest to maintain........and so on.

Everyone has different values and everyone gives different weights to certain criteria.... The nice thing about this forum is you get many perspectives from many people but ultimately we all have to chose our own priorities, and pick the boat that's best for our own unique needs.

If I was trying to accomplish fast crossings for short stays and easy docking and anchoring, (while still keeping the Admiral happy), I’d do it in comfort. Probably an Aspen 32 or Buzzards Bay 33.

Another possibility is the C Dory 25. It won't make your 25 mph requirement, but it will do 15 easily with a single 150 hp O/B. And it will be much more comfortable than some of the others to hang out at anchor.

A C Dory Tom Cat will also do it in comfort and cruise at your desired 25 mph with twin 150s, but they are a newer design and I don't think you can find one for $50K. A 2007 just sold for about $60K though.

David

BandB said:

Wifey B: Fast is good. Faster is better. CC's are great for speed, but.....sleeping, staying out of the weather...

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We looked at some CC's several years ago, and starting at about 30' or so the amenities open up a bit, so to speak. Two we looked at were by Boston Whaler and Grady White, but I forget the model names/numbers.

Decent head, galley, sleeping berths, AC, decent entryway into the area below. All minimal, cave-like interior, but maybe OK for storms or occasional sleep-overs. Looked to us like a decent alternative if the destination has hotels and that's the target.

I suspect we wouldn't mind a diesel version of something like that, if our boating style changed to make one of those viable. Still would want decent above-decks shade source over the helm (and a hardtop also makes a decent platform for mounting a radar) and maybe some removable side enclosure panels at least... if not a more complete canvas package.

-Chris

Since you like steadying sails, consider this one:

1993 Rosborough RF-246 Sedan Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I think you are asking two questions; one is about a boat's capabilities, the other about the comfort level.

As far as capabilities go, this forum is the best as you get opinions from 100's of folks- much better than a yacht broker. Also I find that those that own and use a particular design are honest about the short comings.

As to comfort, that's a personal judgement thing. I know a couple who used to put a family of 4 on a 24 foot catboat for a week every year. Worked for them. You should just charter an appropriately sized boat for a week and take notes about what works for you and what doesn't.

John

ranger42c said:

We looked at some CC's several years ago, and starting at about 30' or so the amenities open up a bit, so to speak. Two we looked at were by Boston Whaler and Grady White, but I forget the model names/numbers.

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Some of the newer 42's and even 39's have decent accommodation but still nothing like an express cruiser. As to diesel, which you mentioned, Seavee was offering multiple propulsion options but seem to have dropped the inboard and the pod options and back to all outboard.

The CC's with decent accommodations are newer and out of his stated price range. Meanwhile plenty of Sea Rays of all ages.

Some years ago we had a 1995 SeaRay 300DA. It had, duo props, twin 350s with TBFI. The highlight of the vessel was at 3100 RPM it was doing 28 MPH and getting around 1.3 nmpg. With its 200 gallons of fuel, genset and two individual sleeping areas it would be a great fast cost effective off shore good weather vessel.

I think the compromise and budget are in too much conflict to deliver what you want. For the price with dual engines and big enough to have a small cave is going to be senior equipment that doesn't do anything well.

I hear your dilemma, its something us working peeps deal with all the time because we just don't have the time to go slow and bring all the creature comforts along. The crossing is no big deal in a fast boat. Miami to Bimini is 50 miles, I've done it in a Hobie 16 and many times in a 20-25' outboard. I knew a guy that ran over in his 17 Mako all the time. Some peeps may say that's crazy, but you look at the radar at the marina, listen to the forecast, look out the door, use common sense, and 3 hours later you're clearing Customs in Bimini. In the summer a good crossing window is more the rule than the exception, in the winter it may take a few days.

Think about a 25'ish OB, could be a single with later model engine, and just dock to dock hotel it like mentioned. Maybe rent a cottage in Abaco's, I know friends that does that and have a real good time. If you need your sleep at anchor fix, charter a trawler and drag your CC and leave the dingy upgrade off.

Run the numbers, cottage rental rates, hotel rates, charter rates, or dragging a less that acceptable accommodation with you that doesn't meet the mission criteria well in any category

$0.02

Guys run 60 miles offshore or at angles all up and down the coast in all sorts of small vessels.

To Bimini, you are never mire than 25 miles offshore

A Grady White Sailfish for under 20k is one possibility. Generally gets one nmpg with twin old 2 smokes. 200 gal fuel. They are all over the East coast.

Or how about this 1998 Bounty 26-footer? Diesel power, cruises at 18 knots, getting ~1.8 nmpg heavily loaded. Also cruises happily at 6-6.5 knots, getting ~4 nmpg. Sleeps 2-3 adults. Very well equipped for extended cruising - even has a watermaker. Right now, I'd let her go for $50K. Lots more pics and detail available if you're interested.