Buying a boat 21-25 Cuddy cruiser

alaskaflyer

alaskaflyer

Final Approach
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Alaskaflyer
I wouldn't post about airplanes on a boat forum but what the heck - I know we have some boaters on here and then there's Henning ;)

Looking for a cuddy cabin powerboat for Great Lakes use.
Since I own an airplane, budget is tight ;) Looking for something in the 70's to early nineties range, no longer than 26. Hardtop preferred. Won't be doing serious overnighting but will be fishing. No OMC anything. Anyone have any opinions? I've been looking at Sea Rays, Chris Crafts (non OMC) even classic Bertrams. Want something with a rep for excellent structural workmanship - not interested in redoing bulkheads, stringers or transom during my window of ownership.
 
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It's hard to be a Wellcraft from the late '70s. I had a '78 20' cuddy which was just perfect for what we did. And the Volvo outdrive works much smoother than the merc.
Jus' put it in gear and yer movin' without all the clackety clunk. With the chevy V8, it would out run all th' pests,(PWCs) with the exception of wetbike.
The later Wellcraft; '90s and up went to pot on their construction, and upholstery.
And I like the Mahogany trim, dash, and cabin doors.
 
Look into SeaSports.... They started making them in '86 or so, through present day. Consider the 22 though 26' versions. They are big enough to be seaworthy, but still trailerable. The 22 has a short cabin and short aft deck. The 24' has your choice of either a stretched cabin or a stretched deck. The 26 has either a short cabin and super stretched deck, stretched cabin and deck, or super stretched cabin and short deck. They're great all weather boats... tons of them here in the Pacific Northwest. Less common on the Great Lakes, but still out there if you go looking for them.

Here's my '93 22':

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AdamZ said:
So Richard when is the Big Move?
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It's wrapped up in some other travel I have planned but I'm leaving here in early April and will be in Michigan later that month.

We just signed a contract on a house there. Great time to buy a boat ;)
 
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The issue I have with hardtop Bertrams of that length is the head clearance. They're basically sit down cabins and I like standing at the helm.

I worked with one for one season on Yellowstone Lake a while back (60's era 21) and though it was a grand stable old boat I hated the cockpit.

Now, the 31...:mouth watering:
 
alaskaflyer said:
The issue I have with hardtop Bertrams of that length is the head clearance. They're basically sit down cabins and I like standing at the helm.

I worked with one for one season on Yellowstone Lake a while back (60's era 21) and though it was a grand stable old boat I hated the cockpit.

Now, the 31...:mouth watering:
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A powerboat on Yellowstone Lake..:hairraise::hairraise: Oh, the horror:redface::redface:..

Next thing ya know they will let planes land in Grand Teton National Park..:nono::nono::nono::D:lol:
 
I like the look of the sea sport. All the above mentioned are good choices if they are good hulls. Watch out for rotten wood in the Floor, stringers, and transom. For me I need a stable dry ride and fuel economy was huge for our budget. In louisiana we will run as much as 50 miles off shore and cover 150 miles in a day. I have a 22 Shamrock walk around Cuddy cabin. Shamrocks are very good stable boats. The keel drives are excellent for beaching. You could run a Shamrock at full speed up on the beach and not hurt a thing. The prop is fully protected from impact. The engine is mounted very low which gives the hull a low center of gravity translates to less rocky in a beam sea. The Shamrock fits our family's needs very well. My boat cruse at 25kts @ 8 GPH. Shamrocks have a cult like following on. Www.fishtheclassic.net add Shamrock to your list of possibilities.
 
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Foxhole said:
I like the look of the sea sport. All the above mentioned are good choices if they are good hulls. Watch out for rotten wood in the Floor, stringers, and transom. For me I need a stable dry ride and fuel economy was huge for our budget. In louisiana we will run as much as 50 miles off shore and cover 150 miles in a day. I have a 22 Shamrock walk around Cuddy cabin. Shamrocks are very good stable boats. The keel drives are excellent for beaching. You could run a Shamrock at full speed up on the beach and not hurt a thing. The prop is fully protected from impact. The engine is mounted very low which gives the hull a low center of gravity translates to less rocky in a beam sea. The Shamrock fits our family's needs very well. My boat cruse at 25kts @ 8 GPH. Shamrocks have a cult like following on. Www.fishtheclassic.net add Shamrock to your list of possibilities.
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Hmm. Never heard of them until now. I learned something here. Have to check them out.
 
Friend of mine had a 25' John Allmand hardtop cruiser. Twin easily accessible GM straight sixes so it was reliable, relatively economical and simple to mx. Can't remember what the drives were, but very quiet without a bunch of clank and clunk. Comfortable, with a good amount of freeboard to keep the kids inside and the big waves out. Built like the proverbial brick **** house. You can find them pretty cheap, because very few people recognize the name, but a darn good boat.
 
alaskaflyer said:
That's a beautiful boat. Bit too rich for my blood :( have to afford a plane too. I might be buying your Lake out from under you if my 170 sells :)
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Yeah, you have to decide what you can afford. The old Bertram 25s had twin 283 Chevys, were reasonably affordable to run and solid & seaworthy. With the low cabin comes better stability and more comfortable ride when the seas start to pick up.
 
V8 fuel burn for either 351/5.8 Ford or Chevy 5.7 350 should be roughly 7-10 GPH if you keep the rpms below 3200ish. There are a ton of factors concerning fuel burn and these are just generalized numbers. So to be conservative figure 10 GPH for a single engine and 20 GPH for a boat with Twins. Like the car commercials say actual mileage may very:) Think about how you intend to use the boat. If you are planning on parking at the beach all day fuel may not be a factor. Long runs across the lake for the $200 hamburger can add up quickly although boat gas still is cheaper than avgas.
 
N801BH said:
Ha.. At least it is cheaper.... this week..:yikes::hairraise::wink2:
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HA! Good point. By the end of the summer we may all be buying tarps to cover our Boats, Planes, and SUV's we can't afford to fuel. I may have to invest in a donkey to ride to work on. :D
 
Here is a pic of one of my friends boat. It is not for sale but I will keep my eye out for you on the Shamrock forum. This is a 1999 Shamrock 260 Mackinaw. This one is gas but many are diesel. As said above the Albin are nice boats too. With the economy like is you have a buyers market.
Good luck..

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Henning said:
If you want a little cruising boat in that size, it's hard to top the Albin 25, here's one for sale
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alaskaflyer said:
That's a beautiful boat. Bit too rich for my blood :( have to afford a plane too. I might be buying your Lake out from under you if my 170 sells :)
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Henning said:
Not if a $20k Albin was out of the price range.
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Actually your post has intrigued me. A displacement instead of a planing cruiser might satisfy our needs just as well because we won't be needing to go anywhere fast. And good gosh you can't beat the fuel economy, almost 10mpg. (Especially compared to the Bertram 25 Express I was looking at :hairraise:) Those Albin 25s seem to have a cult following. Not a great fishing boat but at least you won't be getting the lines tangled in the stern drives :nono:

Even found one in Fairbanks of all places :lol: http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/boa/2878432601.html
 
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alaskaflyer said:
Actually your post has intrigued me. A displacement instead of a planing cruiser might satisfy our needs just as well because we won't be needing to go anywhere fast. And good gosh you can't beat the fuel economy, almost 10mpg. (Especially compared to the Bertram 25 Express I was looking at :hairraise:) Those Albin 25s seem to have a cult following. Not a great fishing boat but at least you won't be getting the lines tangled in the stern drives :nono:

Even found one in Fairbanks of all places :lol: http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/boa/2878432601.html
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It's amazing the motor cruiser you can build out of old racing sailboats as well.
 
Look into the Boston Whaler Conquest line. They are built like a hammer and have excellent sea keeping characteristics. Just remember that "Boat" stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Look into the Boston Whaler Conquest line. They are built like a hammer and have excellent sea keeping characteristics. Just remember that "Boat" stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
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Boston Whalers are fine and rather highly priced, Seakeeping is ok, but Seakindliness of them is pretty bad in my opinion, they slam hard enough to hurt you when you're really caught out in it. Problems with a planing hull boat is gonna chug fuel and it needs to be on plane to be manageable in a seaway.
 
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Threefingeredjack said:
Look into the Boston Whaler Conquest line. They are built like a hammer and have excellent sea keeping characteristics. Just remember that "Boat" stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
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I've worked Boston Whalers for years and I like them except they'll pound the daylights out of you on the short period waves such as on close bays or inland lakes. That said they are on the list for sure.

Just remember that "Boat" stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
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Naw, not that bad.

AMU=$1000USD
MMU=$100USD :)
 
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alaskaflyer said:
I've worked Boston Whalers for years and I like them except they'll pound the daylights out of you on the short period waves such as on close bays or inland lakes. That said they are on the list for sure.



Naw, not that bad.

AMU=$1000USD
MMU=$100USD :)
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:rofl: Not on the boats I play with, in fact you can pretty much add 2 zeros if not a complete comma set every time you do squat.:lol:
 
Henning said:
LOL, who are they kidding 1/3rd of the sport fishing fleet is out there on PT boat hulls. $1,000,000 :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: It doesn't even have the 4 Packards in it with the gangbox center gear box.
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What do you mean? Are the sport fishers fiberglass replicas of the PT hull design or actual original plywood PT hulls?

Didn't the PT's "only" have three Packards?
 
Anthony said:
What do you mean? Are the sport fishers fiberglass replicas of the PT hull design or actual original plywood PT hulls?

Didn't the PT's "only" have three Packards?
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Still Mahogany hulled. They aren't exactly plywood, they are 3 layer strip planked. They had 4 Packards on 3 shafts, the center shaft having two Siamese on a gearbox.
 
Henning - are you serious - there are sport fishing boats in operation with hulls from PTs?
 
SCCutler said:
Henning - are you serious - there are sport fishing boats in operation with hulls from PTs?
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Yep, there are charter sailboats operating with hulls from the Civil War. Wood, what you really build boats out of when you want them to last (or copper-nickle).
 
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