Casual boats in the area - size, beam, etc (Englewood: to rent, home)

[Restrain]

We are considering getting a boat for casual boating in the harbor, etc. I am thinking that a pontoon boat would not be stable enough due to waves along the seashore, and a small runabout might be too shallow to handle some of the waves we have seen.

So, suggestions for the casual boater? Not planning to go miles offshore.

[dobiedog]

You need to give us more info like do you want a head? Are you going to keep it at home on a lift or just tied up? You said casual boater but you may want to fish off of it later? Or just cruise with a glass of wine heading to a restaurant.
You can also get a lot of general ideas at www.thehulltruth.com which is a very large boating website.
Good luck

[mr&mrssunshine]

when we arrived here I had no idea about boats (apart from the odd ferry trip to france !)

we ended up getting an 18 foot bayliner, its ideal for us, we can get 4 humans plus dogs on easy enough, it can go into fairly shallow water and we pootle along happily.

some of my early attempts at docking were hilarious but last week I squeezed into a tiny dock at Englewood beach rd bistro with lots of people watching and did it perfectly first time !!

we rarely go out on the ocean and if we do its less than a mile offshore, we prefer cruising the ICW ,going to lunch or the beach on it...its more fun than driving.

im sure theres lots more we could do if I was more confident/able to....don't know if that helps but have fun

[Messing About]

It sounds like you would be a good fit for either a deck boat, which are plentiful popular here for the non-fishing boater or a bay boat hull, which would double as a nice fishing boat if you change your mind.
Don't worry about the waves here...if it's more than a light chop, most people here won't launch. But it's a light chop better than 80% of the days. Welcome and enjoy.

[HarborRat]

I'd start with a bowrider, deckboat or bayboat in the 19-22 foot range. Don't go spending $40k on a new one as you want the ability to get out of it if the first boat is not for you. It may take a few boats to figure out exactly what you want. You may even want to rent a few different boats at first.

[Restrain]

Thanks. We have looked around, and based on your comments, a deck boat looks like more what we would be looking for.