Best offhore hull under 100K used
 

Well guys i have been into boating for a long time but i am a newb to the offshore scene. Always been a fan of the cig cafe but i am open minded. Tell me what you think. Thanks

Love my Cafe. If I were to go smaller I would look at a 28 Saber or Pentara

Pantera, Sutphen, Saber

i would like something over 30 feet. I have always admired the Panteras but they are hard to find.

Florida offshore, intercoastal occasional bahamas trips

Speed and stability

Twins

32AT Great ride, moderately fast for no steps. Easy to drive. Well built.

Powerplay

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/20...r-AVH-92143521

GREAT hull, handles rough water like no other, and turns on a dime.

I've known the boat since new. The original owner was a racer and this was his personal pleasure boat. He later sold it to his employee who owns it now. Both owners are OSO members. Its a VERY well cared for boat.

OK, everyone will have their opinions.....

You didn't give any idea of price, but since you mentioned the Cafes which haven't been made in a while, I'll guess you're on a budget. With the market giving anyone with money in hand about the best deal in the, like last DECADE! You can pretty much pick your ride.

That being said, I would pick a Cig. There are decent Cafes out there that can be bought for under $50K (I saw one only ASKING $40K) Any model would be a good choice. I love my Bullet, but the Cafes and Top Guns will give you more space.

If you want to make runs offshore and to the Bahamas and not worry if the weather has to be perfect, you won't find a better rough water boat that a Cig (IMHO). There may be some as good, but none that are significantly better.

So, the short story is, you anwsered your own question in your original post.

BTW, I also run offshore, and in a poker run, I've never had a smaller boat beat me if the waves are 4-6 footers.

Yea you are pretty much on target. I like the bullets (very much) but i am concerned about the ride quality off shore. I have never ridden in a bullet but have riden in a couple of cigs and love them all. I guess i will start saving and looking around. Thanks :ernaehrung004:

I would say quite a few straight bottom Cigarette Top Guns are 100K or less...... even ones that are a little over 100K some of them would jump at 100K offer...

These thread always have interesting posts, but it's usually whatever the person owns, or in Sydwayz case sells.

If you go newer, obviously you get less length. And, one thing Cig guys usually never think of (because it's usually not a focus of a Cig owner) is whether or not you need any cabin space and other factors.

There are lots of deals out there, so you have lots of options.

If ride is #1 and cabin amenities are low on the and speed is not real high, the longest Cig you can buy is a good bet.

If speed is #1 and cabin space is not an issue, Fountain is a good bet (just buy longer than you think you'd want by 3' :-)

AT's are nice, but harder to find. there's a 37'er for sale right now that is listed just under 100k.

If you want amenities and fit/finish, Formulas are very nice boats.

Each manufacturer focuses on a different niche. If you rank your priorities and what is most important, you can focus on the brands that focus on those features or aspects.

I've owned different brands and sizes, and have been happy with all. They filled the exact need and purpose I purchased them for at the time.

The Skinny
 

Ive Been in and driven a lot of boats over the years and its pretty funny:drink: All of us seen to belive that the boats we own are the best there is witch I like to talk up mine as well. Best bang for the buck as far as rough water and handling to me is Baja. Any outlaw hull from 32 to 40 are wave crushers and what is great is there are tons of them out there to choose from. You can find bigger for cheeper than most. If you want to move up in performance and quality. (SORRY) Cigg Guys your beem is to narrow 8'. Formulla, Fountain and are also hot but in my opinion there is no better boat for rough water witch I have a lot of experience on (Lake Erie). I have been on 8 to 10s. and 4 to 6s many times. Hustler Powerboats. Nothing better. I will put a Hustler hull against any hull out there. 38 slingshot to 40 Fiora witch I have now. For Hull in rough water to room inside you will not find anything better. Headroom air/heat style and speed and all out wave crushing performance this 40 is awsume

While I have not presonally been in either, I'd imagine a 38 slingshot and 40 Fiore handle rough water much differently. I'd guess the 40 does much better in the rough, but the slingshot is a super efficient hull at 80-90 mph.

You need to pin down what you NEED in the boat, If you are a big guy or tall or boat with big tall people that need to have a stand up enclosed head and if your doing alot of overnights and want A/C need a gen. want to go 70 mph with 500 hp x 2 Look at 38-42 Sonics, 37 Active Thunder. If you don't need a gen. look at other Sonics. Those have the most head room in the cabin. There are also some very nice 38 Nortechs out there for under 100k but no room for a gen. and some don't have an enclosed head, but the cabin is huge and they are a mid to upper 80 mph boat with smaller power.

The 382 Formula is a nice boat you can get loaded but there is little head room in the cabin or head about the same as the Cigs , Foutains, and most of the others.

Tell us more of what you need and you will be able to narrow it down to a few boats. I am 6'5" and need a head and don't want to crawl into the cabin of my boat so it makes it easy for me, there's about 6 boats I would look at to buy. If you don't care about the cabin then there are endless boats to look at.

I am 5-10 so that is not a concern. I would have to say that THE MOST important thing to me is Best Riding hull in Big Seas Period. All other things i can deal with. A little slower, faster, head, cabin, etc... all of those are secondary. I can always work on the engines, etc and make the boat go faster. I don't plan on doing ANY overnighting in the boat. So in order of priority:

1- Handles rough water best

2- Speed in Rough water

ddv005,

Let me clarify. I have no problem running my 31' boat with 35-38 foot boats in the medium to rough seas. A poker run last year that had an offshore leg in 4-6' seas had over 60 boats run. For the offshore leg, I was 10th to 12th. Of the 10 or so in front of me, at least 5 of them were Cigs with Cigs being 1 and 2. Total Cigs entered were less than 10. They pretty much ruled. This was at the mouth of the Chesapeake bay into the ocean. These are not nice long swells that are easy to read. This was a close, snotty mess. Pretty much all boats were getting major air.

So don't let the 31' size of a Bullet deter you from a seaworthiness concern, they can take it!

But like others have stated above, your personal needs may sway you to one particular brand that covers all your bases, because each brand has it's strong suits.

The main drawback to ANY Cig will be lack of headroom. I'm lucky if I have 5' in mine. However, I think the earlier cabins are as good as any Fountain, Formula, Baja, AT, or Donzi. Only the newer TS boats with half cabins and no separate head take a back seat to other boats.

So, if you say number 1 is rough water ability, I again point to Cig, with a couple of others like Apache.
(BTW, my avatar was from that run, and I had the drives and tabs up to show off some air time for the helo)

Top Gun

Cigarette!!

If rough water ride is your main concern, look for a 41 Apache.

Out of my price range

Cash talks.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...HE-41-83096913

ditto!!!

shop around. There have been several that have been around the $100k price range as of late.
http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o16407-en.html

36' is a good compromise. Definately not a 41' but I still like mine. There are a few deals on them out there as well.
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...HE-36-92968615

Based on this criteria.......38 Top Gun.

Here we go again
 

40 hustler 6' 1" headroom heavy boat 78 miles an hour GPS with stock trip 502. Hustler Powerboats built In Long Island and tested on the Ocean. 9' beam and that is 1 foot wider than Ciggs, Hull wise the 40 is not that much diff than the 38 slingshot . The 40 has a single step witch keeps more boat in the water better handling and also a heaver boat as well over 10,000 lb and still with a few upgrades with the motors you can be in the high 80 to 90 mph range. Have lots of pics if you like to see. Sorry guys but I am a fan and love all makes of powerboats but I will see your boat in rough water and raise you a Hustler:ernaehrung004: Oh and did I mention 78 mph in 3 to 4s with 5 people on board and a half tank of go juice

Thanks, i appreciate your input.

Powerplay Hustler and Scarab would be top on my list..or 30 Spectre

If I were in the market now I would be all over that 36. Love the 36 Apache:ernaehrung004:

Isnt that the aka John Deere Apache (ran aground a few years back)?

how about a 33 donzi with 500 efi.. good boat.. twin hull.. good motors.. hell at 100 you could get 525?? in a good deal maybe even gene and air

here

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o25507-en.html

If you want project I know of a 36 Apache that is in NJ. I found it and it wasn't officially for sale but the owner needed to get rid of it. It hasn't been in the water since 03 (I think it was) While it was being used it was taken care of like a baby, however for the next 4 years it sat in shrink wrap untill it discinigrated. then the next year uncovered. It's located at Typhoon Marine in Tom's river NJ. I may even still have the survey that was done in June of 08.

if ddv005 isnt interested i might be. Do you have any pics and asking price?

I looked at this one in Michigan. If the seller is willling to come down (a lot) and you want a project it could be a good boat. Work needed was all cosmetic interior, and to get rid of that old school rough bottom that one time was thought to increase speed. Feels like 25 grit sand paper.

Not interested in a project but thank you

Very Nice apaches, both of them.

I like how your Thinkin Steve.