Best 20ft or less intercoastal boat???
 

Looking for a boat to run around to dinner, tow a skier, etc., on the intercoastal in Florida. The boat will most likely never go out of the inlet for any reason, so seaworthiness is not a concern. The two biggest factors in the choice of the boat are highest seating capacity and something that can be left in the water with very little maintenance. The obvious choice of boat would be a 17 Boston Whaler Montauk, but if anybody has input on some different options I would like to hear it.

20 Albury or 23 Albury if you can spare the extra 3 ft.
http://www.alburybrothers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Albury-Brot...7698/timeline/

They are pricey but the resale is fantastic. I know a guy that built one new, put 700 hours on it and sold it for 15K less than he paid for it new! Granted the prices of the new ones shot up in that 5-6 year period but his boat was over the top clean and it sold in less than 6 weeks despite what I thought was a high asking price and it being a salt water boat left in the water it's whole life.

I had 13' and 15' Whalers since I ws a kid. As an adult, I loved the 15' whaler, a 17' Whaler would be even better. It was the perfect ICW waterway boat for Jersey shore. Many evenings we would go for a cruise; or go explore the back waterways, water ski (my friends), fish, crabbing, clamming, ect....The NJSP (marine police) never busted my balls, so I would drink wihin reason when I was on the Whaler. I also had an 18' Donzi when i was in college at Avalon-Stone Harbor back in the day, which was also a great ICW boat, except i was young, and the marine police busted my balls, thougn I was never ticketd, they ususally were jsut checking out the talent I had with me (girls).

Bottomline a Whaler or Edgewater are great boats for the ICW if performance is not a requirement. Or find a used 16' or 18' Donzi if there are Budget constraints. Or go all out an get a Hydrostream or Allison, I have always loved those two OB hot-rods.

My $.02 opinion

Thanks for the input guys. The reason we like the whaler is the 7 persons capacity and the simplicity of an outboard. We have the intrepid and the Nortech, so we are looking for something we can hop and use without the hours of cleanup afterwards.

302 Sport -

Do yourself a favor and check out some deck boats.

Most may look kind of funky but boy are they killer for everything you said you want.

My parents got a 22ftr when they got a place in Ft Meyers Beach many years ago. Was unbelieveable (in the back bays and river) for all these same uses. It's now up here and I use it for these same exact reasons too. With just a 225hp 305 I/O it can pull up grown up slalom skiers even with say 8 people sitting aboard. Tops out in mid 40's, so they run qute well.

Much better than a CC for these purposes , until you get out in the rough of course. With a wide and quite flat bottom, they slap waves big time. But, you stated back in the intercoastal. so perfect !

Anyhow, they plane easy (no nose up) and can carry a ton of people for it's size. Seating and storage everywhere. Ladders and platforms in both rear and front, etc,etc,etc.

They make them many different sizes and outboard or I/O . Plus, much different lyouts and looks. Type "deckboat" into your search engine and then pic images. You'll see tons of different types.

Here's a pic of an almost identical layout boat like I use when 'hanging out entertaining':

http://features.boats.com/boat-conte...07/img8201.jpg

Edit in: Make sure to get a bimini. Most biminis on this will cover 1/2 the boat, and with the seating a bunch can seek refuse under or it or move from out from under it.

I would go with a RIB.

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The Eliminators are rock solid, beautiful paint, great for calm waters

Photo Credit: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/boa/5220602858.html

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That clearly isn't a boat you can seat a lot of people and leave in the water full time.

17 Whaler is going to be a very small boat for 7 people and the weight will probably exceed capacity. Usually the plaque reads like 7 persons or 1000 lbs.

Any recommendations on specific deck boats?

True

Whalers are good boats...
I have a 16 Dauntless... Everyone thinks of the 13, 15 and 17....but the Dauntless boats have a bigger bow and are a V rather than the flat bottom like a 17...
Mine has a 115 Merc on it....Ski tow, bimini, etc.... It moves right along for its size.
The 18 is nice as well, but the back seat is a flip down for fishing...
We run ours around on the ICW. Its a great boat for the dog and my 6 year old son and his fishing pole...
Drive it right up on the beach and don't worry about getting it stuck.

But, it's still a small boat. 4-5 people tops...

IMO, if you are wanting to carry a bunch of people, 6 to 8, you are going to need something larger than a 20 foot CC. Something around 24 to 26 might fit the bill and still keep it a single. As far as deck boats go, a 20 footer will seat a lot of people but the rough water ride is gonna be lacking. Around Ft Myers I'd say 90% of the deck boats I see are Hurricanes. For ease of use and cleanup and rough water ride I'd go CC. But if seating capacity is more important go with a deck boat and accept that it's going to be a rough ride when the wind picks up.

Not planning on carrying that many people, but it is always good to have the ability to if you are in a bind. Don't care at all about the rough water capabilities of the boat as it will never leave the intercoastal. Also, want to keep it under 20ft for all around ease of use and less maintenance. Once you get up into that mid 20's range, you mind as well use the bigger boat.

Well if ease of use is your main criteria nothing is going to be more user friendly than a small CC. Use it, flush it, hose it down and you are done. A deck boat can seat a lot of people but that means a lot of vinyl that needs to be wiped off after use and probably covered if you want to keep it really nice.

Here are (2) choices for deck boats. My friends family had a Hurricane 21 in Cape Coral. Nice boat. I really like Chaparral I've had a couple older models and they are well built.

http://www.chaparralboats.com/140/20...sta-Sportdeck/
http://www.stingrayboats.com/product...hp?model=212sc

Ok please dont shoot me:party-smiley-004:

But why not a pontoon, the new Premiers with a 250+ mercury will run 40-55mph with 6-8 people on board, plenty of room for coolers and will handle decent waves.

Not sure what your budget is that might knock a newer pontoon out but newer pontoons arent like they were 10+yrs ago, very sporty and some might even out handle most bow rides.

That's what I'm talking about. The wide front ones vs the traditional deep vee's. Adds more room, makes boarding options a lot better, and gives easy place for frt and rear ladders.

As far as cleaning, I'm in charge of everything, including cleaning (yeh! :rolleyes) my parents. Since it is wide open, it is very easy to keep clean. No snap in carpets, plus there are many drains on the floor that drain to outside the boat. Makes it very easy to clean. Keep away from dark colors in the gel, and that makes it easier.

Listen, when my parents got this boat I laughed at them...we come from a family of traditional V boats with mostly performance boats.

First few minutes of being in the boat , in the back waters of Ft meyers Beach, I turned around and told them, this is great for here ! They laughed at me. LOL.

Boat being back here (it's a 94 I believe with 500 million hrs on it...lol) it is used as a ski boat, tubing, sight seeing, and multi family hang out boat. My mom (dad is no longer with us) talks about getting rid of it, here and there, but I won't enetertain that. Too good of a boat to let disappear.

Again, these are well worth a look.

Pontoon boats are tough around here... They tend to stuff real bad when you run through the wake of a 58 Sundancer... A traditional boat will go up and over easier. The ICW is narrow and there isn't room to swing out wide for all the big bumps...
Keep the doors closed on the pontoon boat or your coolers will float away...

Pontoon boats are tough around here... They tend to stuff real bad when you run through the wake of a 58 Sundancer... A traditional boat will go up and over easier. The ICW is narrow and there isn't room to swing out wide for all the big bumps...
Keep the doors closed on the pontoon boat or your coolers will float away...

I got one ride in a Hurricane Deck boat........wettest, sh!ttiest ride I have ever experienced! :eek:

Boat was about a 2007, 150 Yamaha and about 22 ft long. Owner was trying to show me how fast it was on some choppy water going into the wind. Everytime the boat landed, a large amount of spray would come up the bow and soak the interior. I had just bought a 15 Whaler at the time and said my whaler had a dryer ride despite being 8 inches off the water!

To date, the 15 Whaler has been run in all sorts of conditions over the last 9 years and I can't remember ever getting as wet as I did in the Hurricane deck boat!

If seating for 5 will suffice , Allison Gransprort would be a great pic. Handles great, still run 80+ with a 200. Very solid hull. Worth checking out.
Jeff

Imma tell you-what...

We've had a crap-ton of fun on this Tri-toon this summer. It belongs to close friends (also OSO members) and we've all enjoyed it immensely. We put 125 miles on in it a few weeks ago including running in some 3 footers at the mouth of the York River as it dumps into the Chesapeake Bay. We also took as an extra boat to the Lake Norman fun run specifically for night time bar hopping and it could not have worked out more perfectly. We had 10 of us on it, and room for several more.

It's a 26' Aqua Patio with a 250 Yamaha on it.
I can see one of these in my future, especially since we saw a similar model with a bar built into the aft end of it.
I NEVER would have thought I'd enjoy a pontoon boat so much. Only thing I'd have different is no tower, and a taller windscreen.



https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.ne...59ad15e5b41b11

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I don't know about leaving an aluminum pontoon boat in salt lol

ANY small boat you leave in salt is going to deteriorate.

If you want a simple, reliable plan, go buy a well-used Triton or something with no wood in the construction, and put NEW(er) 4 stroke OB on it, and treat & clean that motor like it was gold. Then when the boat finally starts to deteriorate beyond comfortable use, buy another slightly-above-beater and strap the OB on it. I don't think it really matters.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKqjr660neU

I have seen bottom paint on a toon before.

Boston whaler makes boats btwn 17 and 20... grew up with my pop's 17 and the neighbors had a 15 and more importantly, and outrage 18.... twice the boat of the 17. would carry 7 easily, and in more comfort than the 17 (v hull)
I'd look at either outrage 18 or 20 classic.

Buy an 18 Donzi Classic and a jetdock. Seats 5 and can't find a better boat for cruising the ICW.

Never even really though about the jetdock idea but I do like it.

A. Probably not enough seats
B. Wrong boat for a bar hopper. Really low boat to get in/out of especially at low tide on a commercial dock and it attracts too much attention/loud

22' velocity . I have one for sale, all new

Commercial docks? Restaurant docks have ladders. As I said, seats 5. Way cooler and way more fun than a CC.

Over on the gulf side, there are tons of Hurricane deck boats with outboards that I would think would suit your needs very well. There are many Hurricanes in rental fleets that rarely come out of the water so that should say something about them.

Good luck!

You looking new or used?

If new, check out the 208 Release.
http://youtu.be/wT9ZVKBMQWU?width=852&height=480

Boca is all idle intracoastal.......so idling in a loud boat is more fun than a silent CC with lots of seating? :rolleyes:

I would think at dead low tide boarding a classic Donzi from a high dock would be like juggling in a canoe in rough seas! Not much fun and likely to end in a crash and splash! :D

Here you go, perfect ! Ha !
And yes, they have a motor.
http://www.yapins.com/wp-content/upl...012/07/345.jpg

I have a 232 an love it. I drove it to Destin an back a few years ago. Great boat.

Buddy of mine has had one over here for years.i don't think it is as bad as
Jupiter Sensation made it out to be. It rides good for a deckboat and I am pretty picky about my ride and handling.

Quality was impressive also. Every rental fleet over here has nothing but Hurricane.

I saw one of those Donuts at the big bash at Picnic Island cple weeks ago cool as hell Just wouldn't want to go over 60 in it.