Best boat for bad backs

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Sangstercraft

Well-Known Member
Going through some sciatic/disc/low back pain for a while now. Had one obliterated disc removed 5 years ago, and really don't want another one taken out. My 22' aluminium (4,000 lbs) with shockwave seat puts just a bit too much impact into the spine. I'm thinking of scaling up to a bigger/heavier boat I can continue to fish from, and continue my 2-3 hr runs up the strait to my cabin.

Any suggestions on a 24-32' boat that'd be more comfortable for bad backs?

- does fiberglass or aluminum make that much of a difference?

- are reverse chines a must-have?

- forward seating or center console / stand at the rear of the boat?

- any back braces/spine supports any of you use?

That Shamrock Mackinaw in Sidney looks good, but $120k is more than I can justify!!
 
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I would go with fiberglass as the hull material absorbs much more of the shock energy from waves then aluminum. Go with sitting as far back as possible to reduce shock of pounding. Trim Tabs can smooth out your ride as well.

If you want to really want to have a smoother ride, avoid a planning hull and go with a slower semi-displacement hull or full displacement hull. You will go slower, but you can save on fuel and definitely a smoother ride for a bad back. Reverse chines are more for better tracking, cornering and reduce side to side rolling, but not so much for pounding up and down which is you biggest issues with a bad back, Lastly invest in a good quality suspension seat like a Shockwave - this is you biggest bang for buck to reduce back strain while underway, especially in a planning hull boat.
 
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Everything that Whole in the water says!! I have a power catamaran (non planing) glacier bay 26. It does not pound , it is very easy on the back without giving up speed. Different handling than a monohull but nice ride.

beemer
 
beemer said:
Everything that Whole in the water says!! I have a power catamaran (non planing) glacier bay 26. It does not pound , it is very easy on the back without giving up speed. Different handling than a monohull but nice ride.

beemer
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Came across this the other day... looks like it's in California so would be easy to go see on a weekend... 2006 Glacier Bay 26. I have no idea on the value however if you're looking for a smooth ride, and beemer's experience suggests it's a smooth ride...

https://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006-glacier-bay-2680-coastal-runner-103700113/?refSource=enhanced listing&refSource=enhanced listing
 
The smoothest riding mono hull I have operated was a Grady White. They enter the water without pounding...I’m just not a fan of the rest of the boat. Lots of wasted space as the design is not for the west coast. If you could put a Grady Hull under a Seasport, Orca or Osprey then you would have a great west coast boat that would give you the ride you are looking for and some out of the weather space for more than 2 people.
 
just drop 600k on the 33' coastal craft pro fish ....lol
 
Displacement hull. An older trawler like a Grand Banks or a CHB. Lots in the $50k range. Awesome cheap to operate. Never take a pounding. Yes slow but the rides half the fun.
 
I herniated multiple discs trying to muscle my 19 foot Arima off a trailer about 15 years ago. Multiple cortisone shots in my spine, off-the-chart pain from sciatica for years. There was a time I thought I’d never ski on snow or chase steelhead on rivers again—-I could just barely walk.

So the sciatica eventually calmed down...it never went away but it calmed down. The Arima is a glass boat but the bottom is flat as a pancake and in any kind of chop it is a terrible ride for someone with back problems. A chop coming in from the beam was a torture chamber of a ride

Fast forward to 2015— I purchased a Skagit Orca ——sharp entry bow, 20 degree dead rise—heavy boat—-cuts through lumpy water like a greased knife. No more pounding, just a comforting “whoosh” as the bow settles down after slicing a wave, especially when tanked down with 600 liters of gas. My back thanked me. And I’m skiing powder in the trees again!

As mentioned, the Grady and the Seasport and the Orca all have a similar configuration to smooth out the ride for your back. Same with the Osprey and the Defiance


Out with the old....in with the new!474C21D1-331A-4D5C-96A4-E951B31F1116.jpeg
 
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Does your sciatic nerve nerve act up when an elevator stops on the way down, or does it take more of a jolt? I have found that a boat operated from the stern affords the most comfortable ride possible. There is very little impact when running into waves head on. Assuming you do not want a tiller operated boat for a "3 hour tour", you might want to have a look at a boat configured around a landing craft design, without the ramp and flat bottom. The operators station can be mounted at the stern and with a size and height (could even have the engine(s) mounted under the operators cab) built to your specs perhaps with side mounted controls in the deck area for fishing. . Fishing from the stern area would be no worse then fishing in a boat that has a doghouse. If you need cabin space, just leave a flat area amidships and build your cabin space forward.
 
Wonderful advice above.
A f/g hull can be shaped/contoured in ways an AL hull cannot. Depending on wave interval (distance between waves) a longer hull that spans 2 waves will be smoother.

You can always have a planing hull but run at displacement speeds as needed.

Lowest cost would be a displacement hull boat as the power required for a planing hull gets expensive REAL fast. Compromise might be a planing hull powered to cruise somewhere 15-18 MPH
Sangstercraft said:
That Shamrock Mackinaw in Sidney looks good, but $120k is more than I can justify!!
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To me justify means you can swing it but find it painful. Like most other things, the pain will subside with time.
 
Don’t forget about all the standing while fishing, that’s what kills my back after repeated 8-10 days. $120 for a helm mat to stand on is a no brainer IMO. Also, repeatedly pulling 15# downrigger balls in to clip your line too takes it’s toll. $20 for the Scotty line retriever solves that.
 
BarryA said:
Don’t forget about all the standing while fishing, that’s what kills my back after repeated 8-10 days. $120 for a helm mat to stand on is a no brainer IMO. Also, repeatedly pulling 15# downrigger balls in to clip your line too takes it’s toll. $20 for the Scotty line retriever solves that.
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I also collapse the boom to bring the ball closer when clipping to minimize reach and last but not least, I never take a “loaded” rod (one under tension) out of the rod holder . Whether I have a fish on or just want to clean the gear, I always power up to take all tension off the rod before grabbing it.

And also, an electric winch on the trailer to pull boat out of the water—- With a 30” leg I can’t always power up onto my trailer—=-electric winch definitely takes pressure off the back ...
 
Great ideas, thanks guys. I'm going to try out some of these back supports in the meantime, and maybe they'll be a bandaid until I can afford a bigger fiberglass boat. I'm loving the Orca hull/cabin design.
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I run a Grady White 265 Express with a shock wave seat....that pretty much took care of the back issues for the most part. The 265 Grady has lots of storage and great configuration for larger groups. The 265 is also quite wide at 9 feet 8 inches. The typical Grady 2 seat under cover design isn't the best IMO, which is why I'm running the Express. We can seat 6 comfortably under cover, and 7 people if you don't mind being crowded. 4 is super comfy, and dry. The boat is very heavy and pushes the water well if you don't mind paying for gas. I've seen a few 27 foot Pursuits that are similar in performance.
 
ericl said:
I have heard larger is better
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On my last boat (24 foot Wellcraft Coastal), I had trim tabs and then mounted a dolfin on the engine...what a difference! You may want to consider that as it adds considerably more ability to push the bow down in rough seas.
 
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