Should I buy a Hewescraft 22' searunner ?

tincan

Well-Known Member
Scroll down on the website below to the 2005 New Hewescraft Searunner Closed Bow. Sale price $32,995

http://www.tomnjerrys.net/inventory.html

Would appreciate your thoughts on this boat and ones like it. Anything that really stands out? Good or bad?

I have always owned heavy duty custom welded aluminum boats and we still have one but looking at a more fuel efficient and cheaper boat for local fishing around Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. I plan on using the boat as a fishing/prawning/crabbing boat with 2-4 people on it most of the time. I will be crossing the Straight of Georgia on occassion from Vancouver to the Gulf Islands. If anyone has owned a similar boat I'd like to hear your thoughts on this one. PM or reply to this thread. thanks in advance!
 
Tinner
I don't see a reverse chine in the photos. Helps with lift when planning and more stable too.
If crabbing etc you really want a self bailing deck and maybe a washdown pump too.
I had a Liquid Metal 18' Hardtop that worked great for what you intend to do. Hard top nice in the winter. Made in Sidney. Sold mine when I went to 26' for more room and comfort. PM if you want more info, photos etc.
 
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Eastpoint, thx for your comments. I have always have a self-bailing deck boat with hardtop and love both of those features for the reasons you mentioned. That said, those features come at a cost and I've already got a heavy duty gas gussler that is making me look into something much more fuel efficient and lightweight. I realize that I'll have to sacrifice stability and few others things but tough to find everything I really want in a boat. It'll be a summer boat for the most part as well as we'll use our cabin cruiser in the winter.

What are your thoughts on the value given the asking price. New power is included as they mention. I think it's a good deal from what I can see.
 
Good looking boat but I noticed on their brochure that the 22' Searunner is rated for 225hp. Do you think a 150hp will be enough?
 
Clipper, thx for the heads up. No power has be installed yet so there is room to negotiate for sure. I definitely do not want an underpowered boat and will err on the side of too much power if its a close call.
 
I think I'm gonna go take a look at this boat and others at the dealership. Anyone know of any other good places I should look into while down there? Any other boat sellers? The place I'm going to is just south of Belingham so if there are other places close by I'd like to kill as many birds with one stone. thx
 
Got the 20ft searunner with extended transom which makes it 22ft. It is powered with a 225 Optimax thats been pretty good on gas and not working too hard at all. Just added trim tabs for better leveling in the chop.
Had an Alumaweld Intruder before the Searunner and the later does a lot better in the slop. The cabin has got its advantages but so does the ragtop: storing and working on it in the garage, taking it to the lake and just beeing able to have the option of having a convertible.
The front is not closed like the boat you're looking at but rather what you'd call self bailing and makes the front nice for crabbing, pulling anchor etc.
It is a very functional boat, full transom with fishhold and raw water wash pump. Easy to trailer, easy to launch, it has been a good experience owning it. Good resale, or so everyone says :)
That being said I just bought a bigger tincan so she will be for sale soon.
Cheers
 
FWIW-I fished three times on a board member's 18' Hewes last summer-very well constructed thought out boat.

The unit you're thinking about would be ideal for your stated purposes.
 
Hey Tincan


I have a 2008 Hewes 18 SR Et and its worked great for me. I live in the okanagan and fish the big lakes in the okanagan and kootenay region. I also drag it down to the island and the fraser river about 5 times a year. Overall there great boat there are other boats that are finished better but you pay for it also. One thing I will say about Hewescraft is the parts girl Carry Anne in Colville Wa. is very good to deal with. I get most of my parts from her and there at a great price. There is never a perfect boat but if you would like a boat thats good at a lot of things this would be a good choice. Things I would say you would want in a Hewescraft are Extended Transom, 2 wipers, suspension seats and also sleeper seats. My last boat was a cuddy and was a lot better for over nighters but for the limited weekend trips I do in a year the sleeper seats work great. I would also suggested to get a slopper canvas to cover the back of the boat if you would like to do weekend trips. one thing I will say is these light metal boats don't ride like the heavy glass boats do but they also sip the fuel compared to the glass boats. My boat has reverse chimes I'm sure that boat will also.

Good Luck
Jordan
 
thx for all the feedback so far guys. Much appreciated. So I went down to WA yesterday and checked out a bunch of different boats at a few dealerships and it definitely opened my eyes. It's tough to compare boats online through a few pics and what the websites have to say about their boats so when I got down to the US to see them in person it changed by initial impression. So the two types of boats that I checked out most extensively were Hewes and Thunderjet, two welded aluminum boats manufactured in Washington state.

I went to a dealer that sells thunderjet first and they have several models but I'm looking for an ocean going boat which is their Luxor Outboard and Luxor Outboard Offshore models - http://www.acbwest.com/catalog.html - The offshore model is another 6" beamier and 2" higher sides so would be better in the big seas. I was leaning towards the 20' Luxor Outboard with a 7'6" beam and 34" sides which would be good for my purposes.

Two things stood out for me with these Thunderjet boats.
1) They look a little weird with the 'half hard top'. Kinda like a river/wakeboard boat which I don't really like
2) The weld quality and construction was very impressive compared to most other comparable boats I've been on and looked at.

After touring 4-5 of these boats I really took a liking to them. The half hard top looks a little goofy to me from the outside but inside it's super functional and comfortable and at 6'2" I have plenty to headroom which is key. The layout and finishing was great and storage was pretty good. On the 20' boat the standard power is a 115 suzuki which I'd upgrade to the 140hp.

The next place I went to was the Hewes dealer and after looking at the Thunderjets I was really disappointed with the construction/finishing of some of the Hewes I checked out. The guy I dealt with at the Hewes dealership was also quite disinterested compared to the Thunderjet guy would was super keen to show off the quality construction of 'his' boats so that probably had something to do with it as well. The Hewes boats were price lower but I don't think the price difference was enough given what I thought was a vast difference in quality. After spending an hour or two at each dealership I am definitely now leaning towards the Thunderjet boats even though they are more expensive. There is a tradeoff in every aspect of selecting a boat and I think that for what I need I don't think a Hewes is in my future. Anyways, just wanted to give a quick update since you all offered your insight which was helpful. I'm getting quotes from Hewes, Thunderjet, and Boulton now for a 20' boat with the features I need so I'll have to compare once all the details are in. Will let you know when I decide.

In the meantime, if anyone has any further advice/experience with these boats I'd like to hear. I still haven't gone for a test ride which I will do before purchase. That said the Thunderjet guy did offer to take me out on his personal boat yesterday just to show me how it rides but I didn't have the time. He was clearly confident in his product which was a good sign.
 
Great that you got down to look at them, it makes a difference when purchasing them.

Another couple boats to check out is the North River's offshore boats and the Raider boats. I have ridden in a North River and they are really nice boat, same as the Boulton, which some say is the Cadillac of the welded ocean boats.

http://www.northriverboats.com/boatmodels/seahawkoutboard.html
http://www.raiderboats.com/modspec.html

if you go on to a site like Ifish.com, you will see tons of info on the pro's and cons of different boats....just take it with a grain of salt as those boat owners are like the Chev vs Ford vs Dodge group.

and oh yea, I own a Hewescraft 180 Searunner, which is a good boat as well.

Good luck in your choice!!!

Cheers

SS
 
I own a Hewes and I think its a great boat for what I do with it. I will be buying a new boat in a few years and I think it will be a WeldCraft Oceanking if you get a chance to look at a weldcraft I think you will like them!!

JAC
 
Another option I've looked at (and sitkaspruce mentioned them above) is Boulton - http://www.boultonpowerboats.com/PDFbrochures/20-hardframeskiff-flyer-2011.pdf

There are a few models they have. here is a link to a new 2010 boat - http://www.boultonpowerboats.com/slideshow-newboats/album/New 2011 20 Sea Skiff/index.html

I'm learning towards either the Boulton or the Thunderjet now. Both 20' boats. Boulton only sells factory direct now so I'd have to head down to Oregon to check them out in person. I'm curious as to what one would handle better in the open water and chop. Anyone been in either of these boats in any weather?
 
My buddy has a Thunderjet Chinook which is bigger than the luxor. He has a Yamaha 250 it and it goes good but it does pound pretty hard. Suspension seats are the ticket..
 
welcraft ocean king hulls look great and they have a bigger and deeper bow on them.
 
I know this is an old thread,but i was wondering which boat you went with Tincan or are you still looking.I am thinking of getting a custom boat built by northwest but stopped in at sherwood marine and looked at the 20' thunderjet chinook.Now i realize they are not in the same class,the northwestern is a big 20',but i can get a thunderjet out of the US for the same cost as a bare northwestern.

Those boulton boats also look nice.Might have to take a run down south.
 
Took a little longer than I thought to get a new boat but finally pulled the trigger. Went with a 2011 Thunderjet Luxor OB. I don't pick it up until the new year and still have to decide on whether I want to increase the power from a susuki 115 to a 140 which would come at an extra cost. Going to add bottom paint, stainless prop and a GPS plotter/fishfinder as well (Lowrance HDS 5 is the model they recommended but I still have to look into them). This place is located near portland but the price savings are worth the drive down there to pick it up. I'm gonna test drive a few boats while down there to compare power options (115 vs 140). Will let y'all know how it handles on the water and any of you looking for a similar boat feel free to ask me any ?'s

http://www.siglersmarine.com/new_vehicle_inventory.asp
 
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