Center Console vs. Traditional V w Stern Drive
 

It's clear the market has moved to CC's over traditional V hulls with stern drives. The Verados appear to be great packages and are now making decent power. My question is what are the disadvantages of a CC over a traditional V I/O package? Id love to hear from those who have made the switch and what regrets they have if any? Would they do it again if they had the choice?

Thanks.

I miss the unleashed thunder and scream of blower motors, but my twin Yamaha 300s are hooked up out of the hole. It's ridiculous how efficiently they put power to the water.

that being said, im shopping for another go fast V.

IMO. Wakeboard boats and center consoles are a fad and will die down significantly. Over time they don't offer that ear to ear smile, and "wow" experience... but they are much easier to maintain and run.

room is the #1 thing for us. we went from a 35 Sonic traditional V to a 24 CC O/B and can fit more friends comfortable on that smaller boat then I ever could in the Sonic.

Also easy and style of use in and out. Drop in, fire up, run (wasn't always a sure bet the i/o fired everytime). on return, load, spray down, rinse, flush, park, and go. With the I/O it was all those same steps but add in clean cabin, wax/Polish, and just assure every inch is like new.

also lots of sand bars and shallow water area around here that we go too and i can tell you that having and o/b on a Jack plate is amazing and I don't miss having to worry about my heavy ass boats draft height.

I will always miss the sound and attention of an I/O vee but have zero plans of ever going back to one. Now looking for a 30' CC is all.

As you can guess, I'm considering making the switch. What's it like at higher speeds on a CC, say 60+? I'm sure whomever is driving is well protected, but how does it compare sitting in the back of a CC vs. the rear bench of a go fast from a wind perspective?

I love doing Poker Runs and while I now have the capability of running 90+, most of the time is spent running around 60 or so. Does wind make it so uncomfortable for passengers that you don't want to run over 40?

I went from a 31' 1250 hp fastech to a 30' scarab cc. Let me tell you what, even though the cc is WAY slower, I am enjoying it lots more. Living in a salt environment its so much easier to take care of a center console and keep it nice vs the traditional go fast with tons of vinyl. I don't regret my decision to move over to the slow cc one bit. Trying to keep the go fast nice was a real time consuming process every time I took it out. The CC is much simpler to keep nice.

What kind of CC? If you move to a lower HP things get more reliable, even I/O's in the 350 HP range are bullet proof.

Clean up is much easier with fishing based CC's no doubt but if you mean one of the newer blinked out 3-4 motor ones I don't buy that. Rode on a buddies 36 Concept a fair amount, in summer the shade and wind was nice, not so in colder or rain. It's a trade off.

That one we rarely seen over 40, was a bit of a wet ride and bounced a lot. It could go faster just no reason.

As for people like Nate always has said, if you want to take a bunch of people with you they have room.

From my experience.......
I've recently sold my Fountain 34cc with triple Verados. Awesome boat, handled the chop nicely, 15 people on board one day and still went nicely, outboards are a dream to own, water is usually too rough here to run fast so high 60's suited me fine.

What do you want to do? Do you want to go for a blap with a couple of friends, making a big noise, burning fuel and looking cool or would you rather have a nice day out with family/friends and not have to worry about a thing?

That said, my next boat is currently in transit to Thailand and it's a single engine noisy go fast. It is relatively small, none of the secure feeling from twins/trips and seats 5, maybe 6 with nowhere to move on board. It's selfish, it's mine and I don't care. :cheer:

CC's are super practical, Verados are far superior to sterndrives but what do you want to do......?

rr

depends the boat but short answer...no.

I am a passenger often on a Scarab 302, a 35 cig CC, and a handful of Statements. the only one where is any difterent is the scarab cause it is shorter and more narrow. so the ride is not as dry and smooth as the statement or Cig.

as far as wind....no different then folks riding in your open cockpit traditional Vee...most are not running wrap around windows and closed cockpits....we have/had wind deflectors. It's the same type of feel on a CC unless it's the person that chooses to ride dead up front and I am usually that guy, it's not bad at all on boats again like the Cig or Statement but is rough on the scarab and other like sized boats.

You are most definitely less protected from the wind in the back of a CC vs. most of the V's I've owned or have ridden in.

I went from a 30 Superboat with a 525efi to a 30' Concept with twin 300 Verados.

The ride.....The Superboat was 5-10 MPH faster and WAY better in the rough. The Concept can run in the low 70's, but is pretty loose above 65. Both boats offer little wind protection.

I have no regrets, I love the CC. The room to move around the boat and bring guests is nice. My usual crew if my wife and kids so we could never bring guests on the Superboat. As with most sport boats, the cabin and engine compartment were huge at the expense of cockpit space.

Best things about the Concept.....the shade, I can hear the stereo when I'm riding, getting in and out of the boat from the water, or dock is easier, BBQ grill, I can fish if I choose, can still run decent speeds, turnkey reliable engines. I get a lot of compliments on the boat when I arrive somewhere.
I don't think CC's are a fad. They been around a long time, just not in the current bling levels. The 30 Concept had been around for 20+ yrs.

I went from shootout to bagnell after the shootout both days with the throttles at 30 - 40mph and never got a drop on me or my passengers. No spilled drinks ect. Funniest thing is besides a few cigs or the gotcha now skater... not much came around us :lolhit: ... the Orange red and black dcb cat that ran the shootout looked like it was all he could do to run that fast.

boat is a tidewater 280cc. 10 foot beam. Flaired front. I have been super impressed with ride

"

Big 'Like', agree with all the above.

Depends on your passengers.With the exception of those directly behind the wind screen, your passengers will most definitely be exposed to more wind at speed. They are also more likely to feel less secure when running hard as opposed to being in the back of the traditional vee. If you plan to do a lot of Poker Runs with a CC, I would highly recommend a two bolster setup behind the wind screen. This will provide wind protection for up to 6 and will give those 6 the most secure seating when running hard. Once you get to where you are going, nothing beats a CC on anchor or rafted up for allowing a large group of people room to maneuver around the boat.

If you think a cc has no pedigree, Donzi built 102 'St Tropez' models from '65-'76.

I'm probably the one weirdo that turned back to traditional V. I owned a 27 concept and after 2 years I couldn't take it anymore. my issues had more to do with the particular make and model than the layout. so strictly speaking from a "layout" perspective
Things I hated about my CC experience:
-I froze my ass off in spring and fall, there is just no kind of protection what so ever. so you either dressed appropriately and died of heat at idle or froze your butt off on plane.
-everything had to be stored, tied down, or put away or it blew out of the cockpit. I lost fenders, shirts, hats, cushions, even sunglasses.
-the seating wasn't comfortable, I even built my own custom bench with flip up bolsters but It still wasn't as nice as a classic bolster.
-useless swim platform. hanging out at the beach meant you were either in the boat or swimming but no one liked hanging out hugging an outboard.
-no sunpad. wife always complained there was no place to layout, and while I could have made a filler cushion for the bow...it probably would have blown out of the cockpit on plane like everthing else.

Things I love about my CC experience:
-it was easy to fit tons of people and they could easily move around without getting in the way.I fit 6 adults and 5 kids and easily hopped on plane and felt there was plenty of room.
-the outboard was cake to maintain and work on. that said I'd never go back to a 2 stroke though I had a 300x that was ear bleedingly loud, sounded tough at idle but once on plain it was just annoying, expensive to run, and was a little bit too finicky for my taste.
-cleaning wise I'd say I didn't find there to be a big advantage, dirt still gets everywhere and needs cleaned, and using a hose alone rarely gets the job done, you still have to scrub, wax, etc. just nice to do it all standing up vs. on your hands and knees.
- docking was a piece of cake with the easy access to the bow and stern. also nice to be able to peek back to see what direction the motor was facing when your in a tight space and playing the F-N-R game and spinning the wheel back and forth.

also it's important to note I'm in seasonal fresh water, if I lived in FL salt It'd probably be a no brainer. I might go back to a bigger go-fast CC someday (when I find the money) but since I was a kid wanted to own a traditional twin v8 go-fast. and I missed the sound, missed having a comfortable seat, miss the usable swim platform and I missed being able to overnight. that said I have the luxury of owning a 15' CC edgewater for when I want something that fills the positives column listed above. so I guess my advice is just buy one of each:crazy:

^^^^^^That's the kind of info I've been looking for. My biggest hesitation on owning a CC has been the absence of the swim platform and sunpad. Where does everyone hang out at when it's hot as hell? In the water and at the back of the boat.

Great feedback and exactly what I was looking for. I guess one reason CC's are less common in the Northeast and Great Lakes is the wind/cold issue. Big difference between wind on you when it's 80+ degrees vs. 60.

For me, going warp 9 with my hair on fire isn't that important anymore and I find most of my time spent cruising with family and friends. If I can set up a CC that can run in the mid 70's, that should allow me to still cruise at 60 in Poker Runs, which is what I fins myself doing anyway with the Formula.

Sunsation's top doubles as a sunpad. Check out the video on their site. Depending on the boat, the rear areas aren't all that bad to hang out on and for getting in and out of the water. The Nor-Tech's are very good in this regard.

in the water or under the t-top.....where do you hang out in your traditional Vee if you don't have cabin air?

a lot of bigger CC's have built in sun loungers now upfront...why need a sun pad when you have that? On older ones with a cuddy like the scarab 302 they make a pad that goes over the cuddy that is a sun pad.

I don't think we are talking about bare bones fishing CC'S are we?

Statement has dual power sun loungers that fold flat at the bow, and a double lounger out back that also doubles as a cooler.

Yes Statement has it going on!

That they do! buddy just got him new one 2 weeks ago and as always they step up to the plate and knock it out.

It all depends on the center console. Beam makes a huge difference. The Cigarette 39 Top Fish has an 8'6" beam, and isn't near as stable as my 39 GTS with a 10' beam. The wider the beam the better it will ride, but I tow it a LOT and I don't want over a 10' beam. I want another loud go fast, but the console isn't going anywhere. If you can't have both, then in my opinion, the CC is the way to go. I've had mine and a 42MTI-V in some snotty water, and both ride great.

So it really comes down to how you boat and where. As for reliable, I boat with two people that have single engine 29 foot go fasts with 496HO's. Those are about as reliable as you get, closed cooled, and the gas mileage is nuts. (3 mph) they can trim up and get to sand bars fine. 1 guy put 400 hours on his in the last year with just oil and drive fluid changes.

Also price, are the new Statements and NorTech nice,,,,,,,,,, sure but they are WAY more then I can afford. Like someone said are we talking about cheaper used Fish CC's?

For us I don't like a huge crew, one other couple is enough. That way I can go and do whatever without needing to know peoples schedule etc. Some like to take 12 of their closest friends.

I will say down here most have CC's. but most are in the 24-30 foot range also. The motor of choice is Yamaha. Another friend has a Yamaha direct injected 2 stroke that I didn't even know it was a two stroke until my 3rd time out and I happened to look at it!
LOL

Not the same class as statements, Cig, Nortechs, susations.


You could always have AT build you a 33 with egg beaters.

No, but when everyone's rafted up, all the action is out back, or at least that's my personal experience. I do like the sunpad on the Sunsation CCX that's built into the T-top.

there are loungers and seats on the back of the CC to hang out on. it's not just cleared out area for fishing. people sit and soak up sun there.

the rest like me toss out a raft and tie it to the rear cleat and float around and relax in the water.

I took delivery, and ran my 39 Cigarette GTS last weekend, and I have to say, it was some of the most stress free boating I've done in years. If anyone tells you there's less cleaning, they have a hose-down fishing boat. My new ride must have 5000 yards of vinyl !! But the ease of moving around to clean it, makes it a breeze. I know I'll miss the high speed and noise as soon as someone goes blowing by me, but the fun and comfort level of the CC out weighs it..

The biggest difference is you don't have to walk over the vinyl every time you get in and out of it. That's going to go a long way on the life of your vinyl.

Also warparty is right about the beam. I still wanted a go fast feel, so I wanted the narrow beam. People of fish them a lot hate the narrow beam.

OK I have owned both for many years for the following reasons. Opinions are like well everybody has one and here are mine:

42 Fountain:
-freshwater only. Too expensive to maintain if used a lot in salt. Never any engine/drive work in 350 hrs.
-Trailer brakes perfect, never serviced in 10 years.
-looks way cool
-faster 85 mph
-smoother in the chop
-stabbin cabin for the girlie stuff. Vacu flush doesn't work right.
-sounds powerful and gets a lot of looks at the docks
-comfortable with 5 adults
-harder to keep clean and nice
-most friends ask to go out on this one
-no sun protection

35 Marlago:
-saltwater only. 2 cycle smokers. No engine work in 15 years. Always start every single time. Always. 425 hrs.
-Replaced lower gear cases 5 years ago due to water in oil.
-trailer brakes trash in 1 year. Never had them fixed.
-looks fine if you are a fisherman, well, it looks OK, pretty good when clean...
-55 mph. 60 mph with the wind...
-not as smooth but only 35 foot boat
-smaller cabin. Potty "stuff" pumps out of the boat when nobody's lookin'...
-smokes on start up but gets rid of mosquitoes. 250 EFIs use outboard oil and more gas than the 525s. But they NEVER break.
-comfortable with 8-9 adults and/or kids
-much easier to clean. Soft brush with suds in bucket and rinse and done in 10 mins.
-friends who fish like this boat, "what kind of person would want one of those dam show off ashole boats..."
-huge sun protection top that goes with the style of the boat and is lowerable, to look like the Powerplay boat in a later post

does anybody actually use that sunpad? neat idea but I'd think it be like a bad amusement park ride up there on anything but a calm day. I'd think the minute a boat wake rolls in you'd hear screaming lol.

Went from a 43 foot Black Thunder with 750's per side and #5 speedmasters, My next boat was a Concept 23 foot with a 225 Optimax. You winterize it by letting the motor down so water does't get in the prop hub gearcase and freeze. My only regret is that I din't get a 30 foot Concept with twins.

We have people on the tops of Statement every weekend without issue.

Good thread. I hated the CC trend when it started, but they are starting to grow on me, and doing work in the bilge sucks, and having a 30+ foot boat that is cramped with 5 people along kinda sucks too.

I've been concept shopping. Seems like they are a great bang for the buck for a working class clown like me.

Who else besides Active Thunder and I think, Outer Limits are making traditional V's with outboards? Anyone have experience with this setup?

By the way, thanks to all for great feedback. It certainly draws the distinctions I was looking for. Think I'm gonna move in the CC direction... Kind of dreading the sale process though.

I'd rather have an outboard cat than a outboard v

handful of 33 PowerPlays with o/bs that are awesome but they are hard to find.

check insurance rates first!

We give you choices.