Best 25 footer

I think of cummins as a real engine manufacturer, Perkins ok but stink, less efficient. Volvo builds lots of diesels international, maby not as popular here but stupid expensive here. Came into lots of Deutz oil cooled work last 10 years, not bad but cam timing belt? Perkins parts stupid, head bolts 3 weeks away and they break them. Cummins in my skid steer, one reason I bought it, beautiful engine! My wife got me a free MCI 7 bus a while back, 8v71, I have done a lot of work on detroits, your not going to find one in a 25' but all I can say reliable as crap and I got tired of that project a year later and sold it. Smelly pos!
 
Last edited:
Also I would focus on the 30 commander over the 26 much different boats. I find a very big disconnect from the back deck and the cabin on the 26. The 30 is all one level and on certain layouts the rods and back deck are quite visible from the cabin.
 
I think the vast majority of forum members use their boats as a "day" boat. When you wanna go overnight, the boat becomes a floating house with engines/fuel tank/ fresh water tank & on & on. On an older boat you will most likely be fixing/replacing most of these systems soon after buying the boat. Fuel tanks only last so long & on 25 ft boats most fuel tanks are probably installed under a deck that might need to be cut out to get at the tank. It will cost you more than buying something newer like a Ranger. Been on plenty of 25 ft boats, all had room for either fishing gear or sleeping, but not both, so I thing 25 ft is gonna be on the small side.
 
I
Also I would focus on the 30 commander over the 26 much different boats. I find a very big disconnect from the back deck and the cabin on the 26. The 30 is all one level and on certain layouts the rods and back deck are quite visible from the cabin.
I checked out a guys 26 a few months ago and totally agree. I like the boat, it looked like a nice rig but I felt like it was either you were in or out. It was a couple steps down into the cabin and felt like 2 completely separate areas.
 
Great question Wild Bill. Given the waters the OP wants to fish, a fast boat would be nice for getting to different fishing spots. With all the comforts of home, speed costs; O/B's or performance diesels will be at least $50K. Tony Athens is a well-respected SoCal re=power specialists; Cummins & Yanmar dealer. According to Tony, any boat under 33ft & 15K lb should go with O/B's. Just realize that at the speeds they troll at they are on the main engine & are going fast enough where the fuel advantage of a diesel at the speeds we troll at up here make the O/B & diesel much closer. Throw-in less drag & a more efficient prop shaft angle, the O/B's look pretty good fuel consumption wise.
In my experience kicker motors are useless in most offshore fishing conditions on larger boats (prop is too small) so for a 1.5 - 3.0 mph troll speed diesels with troll valves burning a gallon every 10 hours is the best option for me.
 
High thrust 15 hp move bigger boats no problem 25 hp high thrust even better. A good friend of mine had a 25000 lbs boat with twin 3208 cats with the trolling valve, we much preferred the 15hp high thrust Merc and intellisteer set up for trolling
 
Thanks Wildbill Cummins engines can be found in the Ranger tug 25 but the bare used boats are 100k before taxes/transport and my budget would be blown to hell with no maintenance reserve. Target price is more in the sub 60k range to allow for taxes and maintenance, but the most important thing is not getting two footitius again(for at least a few years!). It looks like a trip is in order to look at the Commander 30 and 26 to see if they are a fit, thanks dmurph. There seems to be no commanders for sale on the south island. A 35 year old boat is a lot older then I want but some people feel like a well maintained older boat is much better then a newer boat that has sat most of it's life. Would like the boat to be 8' 6" beam to tow to the North Island, but the 10 foot beam of the commander with a Diesel I'd likely cruise everywhere. ericl I basically want an overnight/distance cruiser that I can fish with. I don't mind being cramped as long as their are two nice beds and canvas canopy/enclosure for the back deck. I have the worlds smallest pop-up camper on my truck so a 25 foot boat is going to feel like Trumps apartment compared to what I'm used to. I've only fished once out of a big recreational and isn't my priority. I want an enclosed cabin with a door to keep the kids safe and a smaller fishing space is fine for me in the back. Thanks for all the comments and ideas.
 
Hi Kaelc
I own a 26 commander that has been podded with a g2 300 hp outboard. Very happy with performance. I moor my boat in Cowichan bay. I am in Halifax at the moment visiting grand kids, will be back mid November. If you like message me and you can take a look at my set up. It has the full width grid on transom with kicker mount and a custom dinghy bracket that goes over the main outboard and kicker. I feel there is plenty of room for fishing in the cockpit. Anyways if you are interested in seeing it feel free to contact me.
Cheers Tony
 
Yeah, Thunder21 that is the boat I'm interested in. The kicker, dingy, electronics and canvas make it a pretty nice package. MadJigga that 1971 is a nice boat but a little bigger then I'd like and I'm not sure it would be much good for fishing. The permanent top over the stern would make using my 10'6 rods pretty tough to use.
 
Be careful with after cooled diesels; especially old out of production one's. The after cooler internals contain dissimilar metals & are very prone to corrosion. Worst case would be needing a casting that hasn't been made in 10 years. The older Volvo MS4a gearboxes tend to be prone to breaking. Two generations obsolete. The replacement requires moving the engine back & up a few inches. I was quoted &5K US in labor to do the job on 2 engines.
A pod would be easy IF the engines are already towards the back; otherwise you will be re-designing weight distribution. Make sure your mod's will pass a marine survey as your insurance company may require one.
 
No interest or time to pod an old boat, and thanks for the warnings on the diesels! Love the Jeanneau's and Cutwater boats, just starting to see some used Cutwaters come down in price south of the boarder, but my price range is 10 years old or older and they are pretty new. I may try to get over to see that commander but it's on the Sunshine Coast. The 25% premium of the brokered boats here on Vancouver Island are keeping me away from the docks for now. Some great looking Trophy's coming up for sale right now, but I want a little bit more cruising comfort for the family.
 
Back
Top