OK Folks ..it seems everyone is making a "mid-cabin" version of their 25 - 28 foot sport vees.... has anyone checked any of these out yet , riden in one, had any experience at all with them , or maybe just your opinion (wait ... there aren't many of those here)

Lets hear it ....... (the Nordic and Sunsation look pretty nice???)

JM

Looked at some at the St Louis show. We really like the concept. Sunsation, Nordic, Challenger, Envision and Advantage had models there. I really liked the size of the Advantage cabin and the center mounted bolsters was prettly slick, plus they had a blender mounted in the cabin for cocktails. The Challenger has a deeper freeboard. Sunsation gets the passengers involved with a speedo, clock and depthfinder mounted in the bow area.
Haven't ridden in any of them yet. Time will tell.

With the funds to buy anything, and based soley on appearance and features, I'd vote like this:

1. Advantage
2. Sunsation
3. Challenger
4. Envision
5. Nordic

Just my opinion...

I think it's a good concept, but I think it ruins the whole look of the boat.

Bowriders and OffshoreOnly don't mix

A am considering the Sunsation 288 closed bow, but a few of my friends told me they like the mid-cabin better. I like the closed bow better though. Decisions, decisions

Just trying to decide if it's a possible alternative to the new (not new) center console I can't stop looking for ?????

The problem I see with them is this, who is going to sit up there on a weekend at LOTO? No way in hell I am going to.

Plus, I don't like the looks of them. I am not a open bow guy. Just my opinion though.

Last year I purchased a 2002 Nordic 28' Heat, mid-cab open-bow version. Stepped hull. For my purposes and uses, the o/b configuration is ideal:

Comfort/Practicality
1. I do 95% of my boating in large, Western lakes. Usually meet up with other boater friends. Cruising or drifting or anchored just off the beach, the large open-bow seating area is great.

2. Passenger/Gear loading and unloading is made easier with the open bow.

3. The mid-cabin area is ideal to take a break from mid-day intense sun. Open-bow provides nice air flow-through. Decent cruising seating as well, in smooth conditions.

Style
Purely a matter of personal preference and taste, but with some manufacturer's version of the o/b, I do agree that the lines of the boat suffer slightly and detract versus the hard deck. I don't feel that that way with the Nordic (which has a separate deck mold and dedicated tooling for the open-bow configuration. Not just a hard-deck that's been routed-out).

Performance

1. With the 496 Mag HO, the boat reliably reaches 64-65MPH (GPS). With favorable chop and atmospheric conditions, I've seen (GPS) 68 in fresh water, 71 in salt. I was surprised by these numbers.

2. As far as hard-deck WOT top-end advantage, I've never run side-by-side with a hard-deck Nordic 28 with same power. I'd imagine the hard-deck would have a 1-2 MPH advantage.

However, in a controlled test, I outran a hard-deck Nordic 28 Heat with a 502 MPI. Apx. 1-2 MPH advantage.

3. For offshore fun, a quick install of the snap-in bow cover works fine.



dh

Cool Concept....Now I suddenly are liking our open bow a bit more My only thing is....It looks "unclean" pick one or the other...If...now, this is only an idea... (need to patent this before someone steals my idea!) They had a fiberglass cover which gave the appearance of a hard deck...I would be all for them, open bow for a cruise, closed for more sporty look.

Just some more 2cents...
Tommy

Tommy, it's been done before. Check back with the Donzi boys. I believe that Criterion that just sold had the open bow with the hard cover.