what size cruiser?

thanks for the input...it sounds like i won't be able to find a boat that matches both my wants/needs of cabin ceiling height and the ability to be trailered reasonably easily...i'll continue to look around at other boats to get an idea of their layout and size/weight....i am starting to think that i may just want to keep my 215EC for those times we want to explore new lakes or enjoy water sports with friends and family....and then later get a 2nd larger boat with adequate cabin room that is dedicated to one lake or the ICW for cruising/camping longer than a day or two...the 215EC is small enough for water sports and yet large enough to protect us from a sudden storm and/or camp a night or two...it is also easy to trailer and has reasonably good fuel economy.....between the two boats we should have all the features we need/want....
 
Hmmm what size indeed, May I suggest all the sizes:..My plan worked out like this
1988- '88 Baretta 205 cuddy 285Volvo duoprop
2003- '03 Bayliner 288 CC 350 Bravo3 (end of the bad and cheap years)
2004- '04 Sea Ray 320DA T-6.2 vdrives
2006- '06 Sea Ray 390DA T-QSC380 vdrives
2008- '07 Sea Ray 48DA T-QSC540 vdrives
2012- '10 Sea Ray 540DA TQSC600 Zesus pods
year to be determined...Sea Ray 610DA
 
I'm 6'1" and have no issues in my 270. The older 270's had more headroom than the 260's. My beam is 9ft but a 3/4 ton pulls it no problem. To go newer with the same room I'll need a 300 but the beam jumps up to 10'6" and I'd need a ton truck to pull it. With fuel prices going up.....we'll stick with whats paid for, Mike.
 
I'm just over 6'1" and our 2000 270DA has more than adequate headroom. I can walk all around without whacking my noggin. The vberth is a tad short so I sleep in the mid berth.
 
sdarc said:
I'm just over 6'1" and our 2000 270DA has more than adequate headroom. I can walk all around without whacking my noggin. The vberth is a tad short so I sleep in the mid berth.
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I am not done yet but I am working on enlarging the vberth in my 270. I never use the vberth as a table, so I am remOving the bolsters surrounding the vberth (that would act as back support if sitting in this area in table mode). By removing them and having a custom mattress made that will extend four inches aft from the current mattress I think I can get almost another 10-12 inches out of the vberth. I probably will not tackle this till next winter though.
 
The Admiral sleeps in the v-berth. We don't use the table either. (3 dinette tables is a little overkill). I do use the bolsters to lean on when watching tv.
 
sdarc said:
The Admiral sleeps in the v-berth. We don't use the table either. (3 dinette tables is a little overkill). I do use the bolsters to lean on when watching tv.
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Sorry I sort of hijacked this thread with this tangential post. Right now my son and I sleep in the cave and my wife and daughter sleep in the vberth. As they grow I may just have to get a bigger boat (or leave them at home...just kidding). I may just banish the kids to sleeping in the cockpit. I was thinking about getting these guys to do a mattress for me if not crazy expensive.

http://www.boatbeds.com/Options/AddionalOptions.html
 
Clliff you and I are the same height. When I was looking to make the move from my 20' bowrider up to a cruiser I first looked at a 300 Sundancer but, like you, couldn't stand up in it. That was not going to work for me. I looked at a 330 but got scared away because it looked so darn big. Well, after boarding a 330 and driving it around for awhile I decided it was the right boat for me, and I ended up owning two of them and loved them both.

Yeah, you need a trip permit if you're going to tow it, but you need that also with the 300. Trip permits in many states can be bought online so no biggee there. Towing a 330 isn't a big deal if you plan your trip and just take it easy. I towed mine across the Cascade Mountains twice and through heavy city traffic and never had a problem.

Someone above mentioned buying a bigger used boat and saving yourself money. That's excellent advice. My favorite advice to give to someone looking at a new or used boat....

"The wrong boat, at the best price in the world, is still the wrong boat."

Do your homework and buy your second boat first. It will save you money in the long run if you don't buy the wrong boat, then decide to trade up a year or two later. That can get very expensive. Better to buy the second boat first.
 
CV-23 said:
Great Stand up boat here! 1000hrs on 454's and plenty of gas needed but I like it! 12' 6" beam limits towing though! Still a nice boat, Mike.
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I wouldn't worry about the width since that can be solved easily with a relatively inexpensive over dimensional permit. It is the height that would scare me away from towing this one myself. Over height permits get expensive FAST.
 
Gofirstclass said:
Clliff you and I are the same height. When I was looking to make the move from my 20' bowrider up to a cruiser I first looked at a 300 Sundancer but, like you, couldn't stand up in it. That was not going to work for me. I looked at a 330 but got scared away because it looked so darn big. Well, after boarding a 330 and driving it around for awhile I decided it was the right boat for me, and I ended up owning two of them and loved them both.

Yeah, you need a trip permit if you're going to tow it, but you need that also with the 300. Trip permits in many states can be bought online so no biggee there. Towing a 330 isn't a big deal if you plan your trip and just take it easy. I towed mine across the Cascade Mountains twice and through heavy city traffic and never had a problem.

Someone above mentioned buying a bigger used boat and saving yourself money. That's excellent advice. My favorite advice to give to someone looking at a new or used boat....

"The wrong boat, at the best price in the world, is still the wrong boat."

Do your homework and buy your second boat first. It will save you money in the long run if you don't buy the wrong boat, then decide to trade up a year or two later. That can get very expensive. Better to buy the second boat first.
Click to expand...


great advise from all...thanks.....i think something around 30 - 33 ft will be about the right size....plenty big inside and still can be towed with the right equipment....likely we would leave it on a favorite nearby inland lake the vast majority of the time and tow it to the ICW once or twice a year for extended cruises....

just for giggles, how much fuel would twin 350's or twin 454's burn per hour if a 30 ft boat was just cruising slowly and not on plane, assuming one that size can plane out?
 
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I would tell you that a boat that size planes out just fine. The boat depending on the drives and motors will burn somewhere between 20 and 30 gallons an hour on plane. Probably cruising around 24 to 30 mph.
 
skolbe said:
I would tell you that a boat that size planes out just fine. The boat depending on the drives and motors will burn somewhere between 20 and 30 gallons an hour on plane. Probably cruising around 24 to 30 mph.
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thanks...what about a fuel burn rate not on plane say around 10 - 15 mph?
 
Someday Lady II said:
I wouldn't worry about the width since that can be solved easily with a relatively inexpensive over dimensional permit. It is the height that would scare me away from towing this one myself. Over height permits get expensive FAST.
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Yea....fixed arch on the second story!....Yikes.
 
"just for giggles, how much fuel would twin 350's or twin 454's burn per hour if a 30 ft boat was just cruising slowly and not on plane, assuming one that size can plane out?"

Clliff, my 330's both had 5.7L's in them and planed out very nicely. I had FloScan gauges in my first boat so I was able to very accurately track fuel consumption. At hull speed (7kts) I got right at 1mpg. As the speed increased up to a point where the boat got up on plane and was riding on top of the water, the fuel consumption went down to about .5mpg then back up to 1mpg as the boat got comfortably on plane. The best fuel economy obviously is going to be when you're running at hull speed because you're not pushing a lot of water out of the way. The next best is going to be when you're running on plane and the engines aren't having to work real hard to keep the boat up there, and you have about 1/4 fuel load and water load. On my boat under those optimal conditions and running about 3300 rpm's I could get about 1.1mpg and I'd be cruising somewhere around 22-25kts.

It is going to take a certain amount of fuel to push a boat on plane, no matter which engines you have in the boat. A friend of mine had a 330 with 454's in it. We took a side-by-side trip of about 300 miles round trip. He used about 7%-10% more fuel that I did, but he also used his genset more than I did. A difference in engine size isn't going to have as much effect as most people would thing, all other things being equal.
 
I get about 1.1 mpg at about 6knots and about .85 mpg at around 24 knots. I find if im destination cruising and want to get there in a bit of a hurry Ill get on plane and go if im just out for a leasurly cruise its 6 to 7 knots and enjoying the scenery and then if you want your hair to blow back you can always put the boots to it and get to 40mph and 62 gal per hour so I find its all in how you intend to use the boat that determines how much fuel you will use. But I would suggest the largest power plant available in the boat you choose for length and size the larger the power plant the less the engines have to work and better torgue to get you out of the hole also the better the gas milage. Unless you put your foot into it. Good luck and goodhunting
 
Cubee said:
Hey what about one of these? A Bayliner 266 Discovery. Full cabin headroom and you can still trailer it with a decent size truck. It's not a SR but it is still Brunswick :huh:
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:smt018
:smt021

It does give you headroom.... but it is the ugliest thing ever built.
 
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