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Center console as a tender

Discussion in 'Tenders & Dinghies' started by Pascal, Jul 11, 2020.

  1. echo charlie

    echo charlie Member

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    Grady White or Regulator.
  2. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    I have owned several of the brands mentioned and will put in my 2 cents. If fishing is not a main priority that will adjust your list as some are more suited to both fishing and cruising while others are more tailored to hardcore fishing. Also some discussed would not be great for towing as they are rather heavy. Based on your needs I would look at the following and twin 300 Yamis would be perfect power for a large tender.

    Mag Bay
    Pursuit
    SeaVee
    Intrepid
    Invincible
    Southport
  3. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    I agree on MagBay, not just because they are a site supporter, but because the design is timeless and the fit/finish & rigging is world class. There's a reason we wanted them to be present on YF.

    Two other names to put on your list... Blackfin and Caymas. I have not sea-trialed either brand, but the Caymas has a very interesting hull design. I'm generally not a Michael Peters fan, but making an exception for the sub-surface engineering on their 34-footer.

    https://www.magbayyachts.com/
    https://caymasboats.com/341-cc/
    https://www.blackfinboats.com/
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Thanks guys. I did see a MagNay and a couple of Southport that would fit the bill. One of them was lighter than others.

    any reason not to consider Scout? They have nice lines...
  5. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    In my opinion the quality is just not in line with the others.
  6. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    So... like a mutt? All looks and that s it :)
  7. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Aren’t all three of these Michael Peter’s bottoms?

    Then it just comes done to who is doing the best execution, fit and finish. And you can throw in a bunch more CC builders using the MP stepped hull, so now you are really talking about one design shared amongst a ton of brands. Through in Intrepid, Invincible, Contender, Chris-Craft and a few others and you get a lot of different brands on a “shared” platform.

    Still like the Lou Codega designed Regulators and they have always had good bow seating. The Hunt designed Southports are also a very good option.
  8. YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    And therein lies the problem. There's nothing original about using two steps; just playing it safe because it's been done before. The reality is large steps do more to create turbulence, which creates drag, whereas multiple small steps do a better job of aerating the boundary layer. For example, Peter Hledin from Douglas Marine (Skater cats) used 6 small steps to aerate his first foray into deep-Vs and promptly ran away from the rest of the offshore pack. I can't recall the sanctioning body (APBA, OPBRA, etc), but competitors protested the hull as having an unfair advantage.

    It wasn't unfair. It was applied hydrodynamics.
  9. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    The regulators roll very heavily when drifting and drift fishing due to the very deep vee. There's a big difference in execution and where builders put the weight so as to get the trim correct. I've been on some that were either too bow heavy or too stern heavy and rode horrible. Also have to account for the engine options......some will be rigged with an extra engine while others won't that's a big weight difference sitting right there at the very stern of the boat, same with livewells.
  10. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Just like a 24.5 degree deadrise Contender.
  11. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    They roll good too, but Contender keeps their weight in the boat low, in deck livewells etc........ Chines make a difference as well. Seavee and Yellowfin both use a 22 degree deadrise on their 39's, and are where it's at (what they're using) with most of the hard core tournament fisherman in Florida, Contender is a somewhat distant third along with others.......
  12. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    The Regulator has a larger chine beam than the Contender and the chine shape is superior as it has been refined by a single designer over multiple generations to hit the sweet spot of dryness , roll reduction and sea keeping.

    No one is talking 39 footers here, in regards to deadrise, the 33 Southport and 34 Yellowfin have 22 degrees, the 34 SeaVee has 23.5 degrees, the 34 Regulator has 24 degrees, the 34 Contender has 24.5 degrees.

    Florida typically has bias against the NC /SC builders. They barked for years that the Regulators were not true fishing boats as they all came standard with seating in the bow, now the Florida builders are offering them as well once they understood the versatility of that feature.
  13. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    They're not true fishing boats. The 34' regulator has a single 42 gallon livewell. Useless for fishing any of the Florida/Bahamas tournaments or any serious Florida fishing. Fishboxes on the transom are also useless unless you're fishing for bottom fish, and the forward ones are underneath vinyl seat cushions. A 35' Boston whaler has 2 livewells and 3 in floor fish boxes and it's more of a family cruiser than true fish boat by design. Whereas the 34' Seavee has 4 different livewells. As well as fishboxes set up for pelagic fish and up to 4 of those too. Are you a fisherman? Have you fished tournaments? Won any tournaments? Anyways, none of this has anything to do with Pascals need for a center console.
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2020
  14. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Exactly, he already stated that fishing is not a priority so that paragraph is not only biased but useless.
  15. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Interesting discussion anyway....

    Bow seating is critical and so is a foldable seat at the transom which some boats don’t have. Rolling isnt a concern as we won’t do much fishing. 90% of the use will be running to anchorages on the sound side of the Exumas.

    now... I m assuming that you can use the live well as an cooler for drinks, right :).
  16. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    But is precisely why Floridians don't consider NC/SC center consoles as true fish boats (your statement). Same reason Viking walked all over Hatteras' demand in the late 90's in the sportfish market. Viking had 2 fishboxes on the side and a livewell and tackle center, versus Hatteras fishbox that a fighting chair would block, and no livewell.
  17. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Something else you have to consider on all of the models above. None were mfg's to be towed on open water.
    Requiring a real metal (polished SS), with distributed thru hull bolts into a backing plate sandwiching the hull.
    I prefer the big V spread back a few feet, usually at or slightly lower than the trailer eye.
    With 3 pad eyes. The outward two being the more common points to help keep the tow straight. A strong center for local towing and to attach to, when the tender is the power boat pulling astern.
    Some of these fine boats have molded in liners that make the quick job go into days (if at all) when installing the back plates.

    Need a big & nice V forward and miled to near flat padded after.
    It will not ride like a Limo when in use but tow & roll very nice.
  18. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    The sphere of fishing exists beyond South Florida. Out west we don’t care for or use below deck live wells, just for drink or dock line storage. We have our own way to deal with live bait for Striped Marlin, Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail (your Amberjack) and Swordfish. So a below deck live-well does not define a sportfisher for us, or someone in the NorthEast or a whole lot of other fishy locations.
  19. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    I think the MagBay has some reinforcement in the stem for a towing eye, and any of the other builders can do the same for a new build. A stepped hull will tow easier, i.e. , less drag but most of these designs carry a lot of deadrise to the transom unless you go with a NC custom like a Jarrett Bay.

    https://www.**************/carolina-construction/semi-production/
  20. motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    Last fall I bought a new to me 2016 23 Everglades DC with a 300 Yamaha. In my search I looked at Pursuit, Scout, Grady White, Edgewater. What I discovered was that the Pursuit 23 DC which I really liked was only rated for 7 people. My Everglades is rated for 10 people. I assume that is because of the Everglades being foam filled. But that factored in the purchase decision. In my search I also learned that the Yamaha 300 is considered a work horse and one of Yamahas best OBs with a long production run. It is not free from issues. They are reportedly vulnerable to making oil if run at low speeds a lot. The suggested preventative other than atleast periodic running at a high cruise is the regular use of the Yamaha Ring Free (I think that is the name of it). Also the timing belt needs to be kept an eye on as the Yamaha 300 is an interference engine which I understood to mean that if the timing is off the valves can hit the top of the piston and if the belt fails or slips you have major damage. Everglades has in the somewhat recent past been purchased by a private equity group. That usually doesn’t bode well for maintaining quality and standards. But Everglades factory support for a used boat has been very good for me and also an acquaintance that has a 30 footer. PacBlue, not bothered in the least but would like to learn your objection to Everglades. If I know the weak spots I have a chance at spotting a problem before it becomes one. If that makes sense.