17 to 19ft boat advice please

[Todd Pearce]

HI, I have just sold our 15 ft alloy boat that we use around our house and near by islands for fishing skiing etc. etc. ,and want to replace it with something a little more capable around the 17 to 19 ft size, I like the look of a Boston Whaler but there's not many down here so I don't know much about them, and would have to import one from the USA, so that means I might as well open the options up and get some advice on them and any other boats you may think worthy ,thanks for reading and any feed back
Regards Todd

[Buju]

The older Whaler 18' Outrage is a good platform to do most anything you'd want to do in a boat that size.
The classic Whaler 17' Montauks are good as well, but not nearly as good of a ride in a chop... very versatile though.

There are thousands of boats in that size Todd. What are the aspects of the boat you'd like to focus on?
Good ride in a chop?
Economical to run?
Fishing?
Skiing?
Storage?
Unsinkable?
Runabout, Center console, Dual Console, etc, etc?

The bay boat market is probably our fastest growing small boat market right now. They vary from $20,000 to well over $100,000. They're basically a center console, with lower freeboard, and flush bow and stern decks which are loaded with hatches and storage. Some have modified v bottoms, some are pretty flat. They are pretty good at doing everything ok... or rather at doing nothing perfectly.

[CamB25]

Bertram 20 Sportsman, preferrably one that has been converted to an outboard. if you are going to all the trouble and expense to import a boat, it might as well be one of the family!

I am very impressed with my old Scout 17 SF. 15 years old and there are no cracks in the gel coat. All composite construction and runs strong with the yami 115. Might be too small for serious skiing, but works well as an inshore fishing boat for 2, or a beach hauler for 4.

Scout still makes them, and some larger models. http://www.scoutboats.com/

[John F.]

Todd-

I had a Whaler Montauk 17 for the past 11 years. They're great little boat that will last forever, and are of course unsinkable. Not sort of unsinkable like a Grady or Mako, that just won't go to the bottom, but truly unsinkable, where they can be fully swamped and they stay upright with the powerhead out of the water. That said, there is Bertram weather, and there is Whaler weather--whaler weather is slick calm or 6" waves. Other than that, you'll feel it. Great boat though. If I were getting a small 17' boat or so, I wouldn't get anything but a Whaler.

I looked around a lot at used small boats in the 20' range because the Whaler ride was starting to beat me up to much. Makos and Aquasports get stringer, deck and transom rot and don't ride particularly well, SeaCrafts get transom and deck rot, and I didn't like the SC 20 at all (the SC 23 is nice). Whaler Outrages looked nice, but the layout didn't work for me. Parkers have a great layout, but they ride pretty stiff, and there is no access to anything below deck, so if you're looking used, its really hard to tell if they're starting to rot. The boat that looked like the best newer small center console was the Contender 21--never went for a ride on one though, and didn't want to spend for a good one.

Anyway, I decided that if I was going to get an older boat that was going to need some work (everything I looked at had some rot--Gradys, Pursuits, Makos, Aquasports, SCs, everything), it'd be what I really wanted. She's a Moppie 20 made into an outboard center. As much as I love B31s, this is my favorite boat ever. It just rides and fishes great. Find a B20 hull and build one--you won't be sorry.

John

[Dug]

Damn that is one pretty boat...

[John F.]

Dug-

Thanks. She rides better than she looks. Also, pictures lie, she really needs a paint job.

John

[Bertramp]

Whaler ...
At different points, I've owned:
2 - 13s
3 - 15s
2 - 17s
and presently have a commercial 21.

I really like the 18 Outrage ... easy to trailer, better in a chop than a 17 and all Whalers hold value well.

[Todd Pearce]

so sounds like a Boston Whaler is a very valid way to go and an 18 seems to meet all my requirements , but whats the difference between a 18 and a 19 outrage ,? hulls look different< but what else, forgive me but we just don't have them down here ,I am keen to get one ,just which one??? Whats an Outrage?? I`d love to own a b20 sportsman but where to find one??

[John F.]

The B20 Sportsmans are hard to find, and while pretty cool, seem like they'd be a little awkward to fish in the stern. I looked at a lot of B20s, and they're either rotten underdeck, or have been redone. So, unless you find and buy a B20 that's been taken down to the hull and redone, you'll have to redo it.

Whalers are really nice. The other little center that's like a Whaler is an Edgewater. My Dad has one. Tough little boat.

[Bertramp]

so sounds like a Boston Whaler is a very valid way to go and an 18 seems to meet all my requirements , but whats the difference between a 18 and a 19 outrage ,? hulls look different< but what else, forgive me but we just don't have them down here ,I am keen to get one ,just which one??? Whats an Outrage?? I`d love to own a b20 sportsman but where to find one??

see http://www.continuouswave.com
they are the equivalent of us for whalers.
there is also a commercial 18 on ebay. After having a commercial whaler, I want only those and not the normal consumer ones.... More glass and heavier hardware.

[Whaler1777]

Hi Todd, I have an 18' outrage thats casually for sale... Shes an '83 with a '94 120 Evinrude on a trailer...



Shoot me a pm if she might fit the bill...
-John

[Bertramp]

That's a nice 18 .... they are noticelably more boat than a 17

[Tony Meola]

http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/11-bar ... -hull.html

Here is a 20 foot Sea Craft that has been re-done.

[Todd Pearce]

whats the difference between an 18 and a 19 the 19 reads like it has things like a bait tank and other bits, and they seem very well priced?

[John Swick]

Todd,

John F is right on the money.

That being said, I'm looking at upgrading my kids 13' whaler cause they're getting too big for it.
They're such stable/safe/multipurpose boats, and the kids don't really care about the bumps, that I'm pretty much exclusively looking @ 17 Whalers.
And they're less expensive now, than they were 4 yrs ago ?

I've got an old 19' Seacraft bowrider that I figured on refinishing and repowering for them, but they want no part of it.
So someday, it will get done for me.

Good Luck,
John

[John F.]

My kids went from a dinghy, to an 11' whaler, to my 17' Montauk when I got my b20 and they got bigger. For kids, I'd only get a whaler. I told my kids that whatever happens, don't leave the boat because it won't leave you. I can find a boat on the bay, but it's hard to find a person. Whalers are or seem overpriced, but they hold their value unbelievably well.

[Whaler1777]

There's a huge difference between a 17 montauk and 18 outrage.... I started with a 9' when I was a kid and moved up the ranks I've had a 17, 15, 13, 18 and a 28 they're extremely solid boats... Perfect for kids...

[Craig Mac]

I have owned 13 and 17 BW----loved the 13. If I was looking for a project, 20 Bertram, 20 Sea Craft, or 19 DONZI St. Tropez.

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/viewto ... b9b8479547

[Bertramp]

It's funny how many Bertram fans are Whaler fans and do or have owned Whalers.....that should tell you something.
I had TON of fun when I had a 13 .... I would run it from Sag Harbor to Greenport in the mornings when it was flat, just to get a cup of 7-11 coffee.
I went up in size only because after a weekend of Whalering, I felt like I had been body punched .... wasn't the boats fault, I took it out when choppy because I had that much faith in it.
A 17 is more stable an 18 better in a chop .... both GREAT boats