The first offshore boat I fell in love with was a SeaRay!

That's how little I knew!

Ttt

Two weeks ago I rode on a friends Top Gun for the afternoon. There were small/moderate seas in the 3-4 ft range with one or two 5 ft'ers. By the end of the trip my knees were hurting. For some reason the boat was a slammer.

To make sure this wasn't just a biased opinion, once we got back to the dock I went for a ride in the same waters with my 36' Apache. The ride was completely different.....on the plus side....

I was surprised how the top gun ran, I thought it would be a better ride than my boat with the extra 2 ft in length. To my dismay it was a slammer...

He had it trimmed wrong.

The 42 OL that I rode on didn't ride so good in rough water either....

On the other hand, the Gorski's flat deck is a nice riding boat....

I've heard that both Outerlimits and Nortech had surprisingly bad rides. Guess all the magazine coverage has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Let's not forget they are all just fiberglass tubs with gauges and motors. Personally I think they all will beat the crap out of you only in different ways.

The best "rides" in my opinion would have to be the heavier deep vee models of old. Faster more fuel economic the later modesl of anything.

Was sit a T/S or a flat bottom?

My buddy just put his 98 Top Gun in last night after adding new fuel tanks and some strength. With fresh Chief 1000s and fresh 6s that boat ran last night in 1 to 3s like no other Cigarette! He jumped up 5 inches on his prop pitch so at 4700 RPMs, we were at 87 MPH!!

I would like to say congrats to Curt on an unbelievable job!!

Not all boats are fiberglass and this is where the problem lies. The new composite boats with the carbon fiber, kevlar and epoxy resins are much lighter and faster than the old boats. However, due to their very rigid construction (due to material charecteristics and reinforcing) their ride quality in rough water is suffering.
Which boat is best will be determined by each owner and the type of boating they do.
I agree with the analogy of the older Cigarettes and Apaches being like vintage Ferraris. They may not be the supercars being built now but will always carry the marque and be respected for what they are no matter what their age.

Flat bottom, late 90's model era. It was almost the same year as mine. I could use the extra couple feet to span the swells but the landings were much more forgiving on my body.

I've been in a flat deck a dozen times, late 80's model with SSM's and it ran much better.

I think that sums it up well. Back then boats were built to run offshore and now it seems like they are built to run the fastest with the least amount of power.

On both sides certain things suffer so it's up to you what you want.