Since acquiring my Baja Force 370, I come to realize the cockpit area is not anything bigger than my Force 320. I like to dive, fish and booze cruise with friends...neither of which the boat offers adequate space. Rest assured if I booze, my sober brother is driving. That said, how come go-fast boats waste a bunch of space from the rear seat back to the transom "called" a sundeck? With my boat, I could kick the seats back and gain 3 ft of cockpit space allowing adequate gear for diving..fishing..and a bunch of boozing friends. Why is it that fishing boats have all this space...granted, no cuddy for the frequent thunderstorms that pass through in S. Florida? The only boat out there that has a decent cuddy and deck space is the Intrepid which costs more than the mortgage of my house. Come on...fiberglass is fiberglass. i can't see why a used Baja should cost anymore than an Intrepid! Where is a good affordable cross-over? The only affordable solution I come up with is converting my Baja 370. Yes, I have a sharp blade in the sawz-all...... Any of guys share the same dillema? Dillema being...so many friends, so many hobbies...so few dollars to buy a big boat that still won't get you go-fast.

Fernando says" IT is better to look good than to feel good!"

That's why you have bow candy....everyone knows this!

1) The reason boats are laid out the way they are is probably more a matter of weight and where it needs to be distributed. You have any idea what a pair of fully dressed BB Chevys and associated drives and running gear weighs? All of that weight is placed right at the transom. It has to be countered somewhere else in the boat.

2) I have plenty of room between the front of my engines and the back seat also. And, every time I work on it, I am eternally thankful to Cigarette for not cramming the motors into a limited amount of space. If you have any friends with smaller Bajas (24 or 25 Outlaw), look in their engine room and imagine having to change a circulating pump. Absolute murder.

3) Oh, BTW, fiberglass is not fiberglass. All boats are NOT created equal. If that were the case we could all buy Bayliners and save a ton of coin. Nope, there is a distinct difference in the way each manufacturer builds, rigs and finishes their boat and it is reflected in the price of the vessels. If you want to see it in person, arrange a factory tour of the Cigarette plant in Opa-Locka. Absolutely incredible amount of labor time that goes into creating the finished product. Sure, you could just pop them out of the mold and start rigging and that would get you a "nice" boat if the mold is in great shape (which they are). But, they devote an entire crew to block sanding these boats until they are arrow straight. Extremely labor intensive and costly. That's just one example of their attention to detail. Other aspects of the boat get just as much if not more attention. Quality costs money.

Is it worth the extra money to purchase the best? I think so. But then again, as you can see by my avatar, I'm a Cigarette owner and totally biased. You just need to decide if it's worth it to you. If you want a boat that's wide open and capable of hauling a bunch of friends, sounds like a open cockpit fishing boat is for you (or a party barge). If you want a performance boat, there are compromises that have to be made.

My .02.

Totally understand the quality comment...fit and form. Kind of like comparing my Lexus to my Chevy...no comparison. For the most part, cigarettes hold their value very well because of their build quality. Sure, you'll hear of some occasional rot because some idiot decided to drill holes into would structure and not epoxy coat the exposed wood. The case of my 37 foot Baja..there were drain holes drilled in the stringers without coating the bare wood. I'm now in the mist of ripping this peat moss out and replace with some good stuff well protected/encapsulated stringers. But this repair is leading to reconfiguring the entire back end.

But my question is more of the initial design of things. I see all this wasted space in front of my motors and on top...obviously not a waste when you service your motors. But this can all be reconfigured with folding/removable sections. In my case, I can move the seating back by about 36 inches which puts the seat right over the motors..the seat becoming the engine deck that hinges up for easy access. The added 18 inches in floor space will be hinged and accommodate some trash receptacles in the floor. Engines will be more accessible in this configuration. The trash receptacles could also be used as livewells. A 3.0 westerbeke will reside between the motor and gunwale. The added 36 inches of deck space would allow for another comfortable set of bolsters or lounge seat. I'll probably opt for lounge seating..maybe make it removable so i could drop in some bolsters for poker runs. As for the girl space for them to stay nice and tanned..some bow cushions with velcro backing or snaps allowing them to be removable. The 420 Baja is nice...but now you're talking three engines to get the same speed, and the cockpit is the same size as the Force 370.

A center console offers tons of deck space but that is it. If you want to make a remote trip for sleepover, such a boat has minimal sleeping accommodations (if finding one that has a vee-birth) and certainly does not have a head, and all the galley benefits. Getting out of the sun and retreating in a comfortable A/C cuddy is nice too. Sounds like a cruiser that I need right? Well, cruisers are heavy, slow, inefficient and not trailerable. Where is the crossover between a go-fast and a cruiser? The fountain 38 express cruiser is a beauty. Great speed without sucking down signifantly more fuel than a go-fast. But it's price...$350K?

I don't think trade-offs are necessary with good optimization. My prediction is a market opening up for "cross-over" boats between 30 and 40 footers, that are trailerable (who wants to pay $500/mo for boat storage...that is a tank of gas!). The cost of a cross-over isn't anything more than a normal go-fast. Will cigarette do it?..probably not. Baja...maybe. Fountain is already there, but darn expensive for the "average joe".

Check out the new Baja models. They have something like a Formula Sun sport but a little more go fast.

Good points, but will the general boating public desire this new crossover? That is ultimately what will drive the factories to produce such a boat. Up to this point, it appears that there isn't a large enough market for such or you can bet there would already be one out there. Now, as far as price goes, I seriously doubt you'll ever find such an animal for under $350K. You are talking about packing a bunch of amenities into a boat AND you want it to be trailerable too? Oh yeah, almost forgot, break out another $60K for a diesel dually! I still think you will find that any boat purchase will be somewhat of a compromise, but, you never know. Maybe Skip and Reggie are reading this and will begin production on one for next year! And, you're also right on another point. 35 - 40 foot powerboats are not for the "average Joe". Not looking down my nose by any means because I am the "average Joe". I simply sacrifice many things to afford the boat I want and I can maintain it myself. My point is they are extremely expensive to buy, operate, insure and maintain. Not for everyone.

Ok...someone else thinks like me. Velocity has come out with the "SUB" which is some sort of cross over. Pretty similar to the Intrepid. Not too excited about the outboards, but it is a start.

If only you had the sound of some V8s in that thing...maybe some yami 350s in the back of that bad boy with the exhaust removed.

Contender had a nice cruiser with some 350 outboards. Nicely appointed cabin, but I think the boat would be slow so not the definition of a "cross-over" in my book...12k lbs and 700 hp total? nice price tag too...$460k That is some coin!