How Many Feet?
 

I have been a lake guy in a 21' Daytona for years,"20". I want to move out to the Ocean. How many feet do I need? a 35' boat seems huge. But is that the minumum? I Like the 29 footers, bbut is this to small? I want to trailer to the lkes too.

What ocean would you be spending your time in?

There is no minimum. I've seen people fishing from a 14 ft aluminum boat in the Northeast, however, the smaller the boat, the more aware you need to be of the weather and wave conditions. I used to boat in the Pacific out of Newport in a 22' Avanti (same hull design as Pantera/Superboat/etc.) and it was awesome some days and I wouldn't even go past the breakwater others. Now I have a 28 Cigarette and boat in the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay and I've never been out when it was too rough and had to turn back. Granted, the Pacific is a whole different animal.
28'ish is a nice size for me and will handle some very rough water if it's the right boat. I know theres a lot of 28's built that look like offshore boats but are really built for lakes.
Rule # 1: the ocean will kick your azz if it wants to no matter what size boat you're in so respect it, and plan well.

28 29 footer will be fine.

There are a few 28 Active thunders for sale.

I'm on the eastcoast, about 30 miles south of Boston. Like Dangerous says it doesn't matter what size your in, you just have to respect the ocean. The weather here can be calm and nice in the morning, then the afternoon winds kick up. We are in a 24' so it's not bad, just have to go slower. We also plan our days if it's gonna blow we trailer elsewhere. During the week we go out after work, 6ish or so and it's great. I woundn't trade it for anything, the salt air is the best. Plus we have 10 lobster traps so it's like Christmas everytime we check them:D
All in all my next boat will be closer to 30 for comfort.

Exactly.

On the perfect day, a 16' boat is fine. But when the seas turn on you, it's never enough.

I've gone out before when the bay and gulf were like a sheet of glass, only to return an hour later because the seas whipped up into a 5' washing machine mess.

The more you have, the better your chances. A comfortable size is probably no less than 28 feet. I used to feel very insignificant in my 25 on rough days, now in my 35 I feel much more secure.

I agree with Cig Daze we had a 272 and the rough days would beat you up. After moving to the 38, I am much happier in all but the largest seas but if you want true offshore performance I just got off the Liberty of the Seas which seemed to handle 15-20's just fine but at approx 1100' it might be a bit of a problem to trailer:D Good Luck in your search

John

I am on the west coast, so the pacific out or Newport and San Diego, Make run out to catalina island I hope, 26 miles of the coast.

why active thunder?

29 is easy to trailer but I can count many days when I'd rather be on a 38. Here on the east coast , I can easily run the ocean from here in jersey to nyc and long island and south on calm days but when the wind kicks up I get beat up pretty good. After a run to long island a couple years back all the other boats were calling us the wallenda brothers! I always pray for smooth seas!!!!!

No matter what size you pick just make sure it has twins!
I have gone to Catalina in a 35 Cig about twenty times and out of those I would say only once did I really think we were in deep ****.

Ain't that the truth. As for an ocean boat, I would say as large as you can afford to own, fuel, maintain, and store. As well as trailer. With the trailering in mind I would say 36-40ft. I live in San Diego as well and run my cat out there. But when she starts kicking up the bigger the better. I spent a bunch of years in the SEAL teams, and even our 82ft boats can get real small in the Pacific.


Darrell.

I just bought a 30'. I have ran it in the Ocean a few times and have run out to Catalina. They days have been calm and its been a blast. I found the return run from Catalina to be smoother and an easier ride. It's small enough for the channel in Havasu as well. Fits perfect in my warehouse, I couldn't have a bigger boat for that reason alone. Have fun with your search!!

Personally, I feel if my 30 footer isn't big enough, I don't have any business being out.

thanks people

The smaller the boat ,the bigger balls you need and vice versa!!

Stick with the Top Gun you are looking at!

Go BIG! You would be surprised what an additional 5 -7 feet will do for you.

Many moons ago my brother and I went "trolling" on Long Island Sound in my.........8" pram powered by a 7.5hp Merc.
I've taken my old 15' tri-hull, 65hp Merc, out Manasquan Inlet into the Atlantic. Ran up and down the beach line a bit and came back in.

As the ladies will tell you.. "SIZE DOES MATTER!!!!"

size does matter
 

Boy do I have a boat for you to buy.

But in short. everyone has it's own preference for size and speed. There is NO BOAT made for everry condition and everyones likes. ( I have 3 lol :) )
If you want to trailer, look for the longest, deepest hull but the lightest. OK for trailering but will not handle rough waters.
If you want speed, ? (like we all do) you will have to sacrefice ride, and comfort.
I have a 26 Infinity (for sale) and I will take it to the Ozarks in a week or so fro consignment. Light, fast and will handle the rough waters. Handled all that the Michigan could dish out. But I wanted more speed and comfort.
SO I got a Formula. 272 with twins. Actualy less speed but better on the Ocean at the West coast of FLA. Both ok for trailer.

OK then I got a bit crazy and I bought a 33 Avanti. Larger, a bit faster but not fast enough. I can't win.
Evaluate what type of boating you will do, and what are your priorities and then you can search to fill those needs.

WHile the phrase "bigger is better".. it's not faster and may not be as versatile as you want. But it will be more $$$$$

I run Catalina from Dana Point all the time in a 24.5 Ft Arriva. No problems ever. I've run it in 16 footers and Seadoos as well. If you know what you are doing and pay attention to forecasts anything will do.. If I had my choice though, I would run about 28-30 Ft. Still take it to the River no problem and it will handle anything the So Cal Pacific can throw at you or you shouldn't have been there in the first place...

In Puget Sound we had a 20' Bayliner with a 4 banger volvo, A Starcraft 23 fiberglass with a 351 W, A Mirage 21 Intruder with a 454. They were all fun. Know your boat and its limitations. Now back on the east coast in Buzzards Bay and the Islands a 26 ft Welcraft 454 ebay boat does the trick. Easy to trailer, inexspensive on Ebay and reasonable on fuel.

One thing to remember is if you break (and I know all have at one time or another) it IS nise to have a second screw to get you home.That means twin engines i.e. at least 27 ft and usually 30.Mike