Center Console Boat Choices? (Port Charlotte, Century: for sale, new home, purchase)

[Bucknut1]

We are close to pulling the trigger on our retirement house in Port Charlotte! Really can't wait to get there and explore the water. Just looking for some ideas from all the good people on this great site about choosing a boat. I have a 27 foot Searay Sundeck I/O here in Illinois putting that up for sale to add to my boat fund for our new home in PC. I plan on fishing the Harbor and the Peace River mostly. Once in awhile might go out on blue water but not too far. The wife would like something with cushioned seats in the bow and a step down head. Staying as dry as possible is important as well something that would handle 2 or 3 footers. I believe I am looking for a combo boat great for fishin skinny water and still an easy ride for the wife. Thinkin about a 22 or 24 foot boat maybe a 150 to 175 horse Yammy on the back of it. Anybody have an Evenrude E-Tec two stroke kinda looking for thoughts on those motors as well. Budget is $40K to $50K. This will be my last boat purchase and I just want to make the right choice with the help of you guys who boat all the time on the Harbor. Every salesman at any marina I have talked to in the area has the best boat for me. lol Lookin to meet some of you guys and learn to fish the area. Thanks.

FISH ON!

Buckeye

[Sea Ray Mark]

Originally Posted by Bucknut1

We are close to pulling the trigger on our retirement house in Port Charlotte! Really can't wait to get there and explore the water. Just looking for some ideas from all the good people on this great site about choosing a boat. I have a 27 foot Searay Sundeck I/O here in Illinois putting that up for sale to add to my boat fund for our new home in PC. I plan on fishing the Harbor and the Peace River mostly. Once in awhile might go out on blue water but not too far. The wife would like something with cushioned seats in the bow and a step down head. Staying as dry as possible is important as well something that would handle 2 or 3 footers. I believe I am looking for a combo boat great for fishin skinny water and still an easy ride for the wife. Thinkin about a 22 or 24 foot boat maybe a 150 to 175 horse Yammy on the back of it. Anybody have an Evenrude E-Tec two stroke kinda looking for thoughts on those motors as well. Budget is $40K to $50K. This will be my last boat purchase and I just want to make the right choice with the help of you guys who boat all the time on the Harbor. Every salesman at any marina I have talked to in the area has the best boat for me. lol Lookin to meet some of you guys and learn to fish the area. Thanks.

FISH ON!

Buckeye

Hey Buckeye, I'm in a similar situation in that I have a 37' Sea Ray Aft Cabin that I'll be eventually selling and looking for almost exactly what you described. I've heard many people say (jokingly I hope)that you need three boats to cover the boating needs of the area. I know this has been covered before but I'm interested to hear what people think of the boat you described. Mark

[MartyGras]

Me too I'm in the same boat (pun intended)

Trying to figure out what type of boat to get has been challenging.

I'm looking for something that can if needed fit 6 people, make a comfortable run out to the barrier islands Cayo Costa etc. and at the same time allow me to get to the good fishing spots in the harbor.

I'm not sure there is such a boat but lately I've been looking at the Hurricane Deck Boats in the 24 foot range as a compromise.

Gary

[SoFLGal]

Sea Ray Mark,

Got a question for you. I have a customer that is looking to sell his boat and I haven't bought a boat in a long time. I'm familiar with Whalers and Aqua Sports but not Sea Ray's.

Anyway, it's a 21' 1994 Sea Ray Laguna Walkaround cuddy with a 2002 Mercury 4 stroke opti max motor and a dual axle Continental trailer. It looks to be in decent condition except for the captains chairs. They need to be reupholstered. It could probably use a paint job as well. He wants $5500 for all of it. Seems like book value is around $10K+. I was reading on some of the boat forums that the older Sea Rays can have issues with the hull and floor getting soft.

How do you like your Sea Ray other than yours is a pretty big boat to be running in these waters. Any opinions?

Would love to hear from anyone

[Saildawg]

Originally Posted by Bucknut1

We are close to pulling the trigger on our retirement house in Port Charlotte! Really can't wait to get there and explore the water. Just looking for some ideas from all the good people on this great site about choosing a boat. I have a 27 foot Searay Sundeck I/O here in Illinois putting that up for sale to add to my boat fund for our new home in PC. I plan on fishing the Harbor and the Peace River mostly. Once in awhile might go out on blue water but not too far. The wife would like something with cushioned seats in the bow and a step down head. Staying as dry as possible is important as well something that would handle 2 or 3 footers. I believe I am looking for a combo boat great for fishin skinny water and still an easy ride for the wife. Thinkin about a 22 or 24 foot boat maybe a 150 to 175 horse Yammy on the back of it. Anybody have an Evenrude E-Tec two stroke kinda looking for thoughts on those motors as well. Budget is $40K to $50K. This will be my last boat purchase and I just want to make the right choice with the help of you guys who boat all the time on the Harbor. Every salesman at any marina I have talked to in the area has the best boat for me. lol Lookin to meet some of you guys and learn to fish the area. Thanks.

FISH ON!

Buckeye

A 22-24 that handles 2-3 footers well is probably going to have to be heavy enough that you'll need a little more power than that. I run an 03 Sea Pro 22 (center console - offshore version, not the bay boat) with a 200 yammy hpdi. If you move up to 24 ft. you will definitely need more power. For your price range and creature comforts that you are looking at, you might want to check out Century. They make a quality, comfortable boat, adequately powered at a fair price. I'm not in PG (soon will be). I'm on the MS Gulf Coast and am on the water as much as possible. Of course, there are a variety of boats that are good builds in your price range, I just tend to like the comfort and fit and finish of the Century. There's a great website to take a look at what's available (Century as well as others - and a lot of what's available is in south FL). I'm just not sure if I'm allowed to post it on here.

[Sea Ray Mark]

SoFlGal, My current boat is the third 37' Sea Ray I've owed and needless to say I'm very happy with the brand. Not only are they well made but I really appreciate how the company stands behind the product and the support they offer even though I'm the third owner and the boat is a 1997. I do all of my own work on my boats and can tell you I'm impressed with how everything is put together especially the mechanical and electrical systems you can't see behind the shiny finish. It's funny you mention a Laguna because it is one of the models I've had my eye on although I'm interested in the CC version not the cuddy. The boat you described sounds like a good price but you have to do your due diligence especially on an older boat. Any boat that has a cored deck and or hull is not going to fair very well when past owners drill holes all over them. You didn't mention what size the engine is but I would image the 4 stroke Merc would be worth almost what they're asking for boat. A good place to find info on any Sea Ray is a site called Club Sea Ray. Hope this helps. Mark

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray Mark

SoFlGal, My current boat is the third 37' Sea Ray I've owed and needless to say I'm very happy with the brand. Not only are they well made but I really appreciate how the company stands behind the product and the support they offer even though I'm the third owner and the boat is a 1997. I do all of my own work on my boats and can tell you I'm impressed with how everything is put together especially the mechanical and electrical systems you can't see behind the shiny finish. It's funny you mention a Laguna because it is one of the models I've had my eye on although I'm interested in the CC version not the cuddy. The boat you described sounds like a good price but you have to do your due diligence especially on an older boat. Any boat that has a cored deck and or hull is not going to fair very well when past owners drill holes all over them. You didn't mention what size the engine is but I would image the 4 stroke Merc would be worth almost what they're asking for boat. A good place to find info on any Sea Ray is a site called Club Sea Ray. Hope this helps. Mark

Thank you so much for all the info! It really helps a a lot. Is there anything specific I would be looking for?

The motor is a 225. He said he paid $5500 for the motor but is moving to the other coast and doesn't want to bring it with him.

[HarryWho?]

I had a 26 Wahoo when I lived in NJ and sold it before I left. The boat that I decided on (after considerable research) is a Everglades 223cc. No head though. You'd have to go up one model to the 230 for a head unless you could figure something out.

[Sea Ray Mark]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Thank you so much for all the info! It really helps a a lot. Is there anything specific I would be looking for?

The motor is a 225. He said he paid $5500 for the motor but is moving to the other coast and doesn't want to bring it with him.

Typically I would check to see if everything works, engine runs good, compression test on engine, steering and throttle aren't stiff, sound the deck and hull to look for soft spots (sounding is process where you tap on the fiberglass surface with a hammer to listen for spots that make a dull thud sound that usually indicates moisture and/or delamination). Sounding is something you would need someone with experience to do for you. Typically this would be done by a surveyor but since we're not talking about a lot of money maybe you can pay a mechanic to check it out for you. Also you should take it out and run it hard to make sure it doesn't overheat and that it reaches the proper wide open throttle specs.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray Mark

Typically I would check to see if everything works, engine runs good, compression test on engine, steering and throttle aren't stiff, sound the deck and hull to look for soft spots (sounding is process where you tap on the fiberglass surface with a hammer to listen for spots that make a dull thud sound that usually indicates moisture and/or delamination). Sounding is something you would need someone with experience to do for you. Typically this would be done by a surveyor but since we're not talking about a lot of money maybe you can pay a mechanic to check it out for you. Also you should take it out and run it hard to make sure it doesn't overheat and that it reaches the proper wide open throttle specs.

Awesome! Thanks so much!