I’m going on my 5th season with a 24 foot Skagit Orca. To paraphrase Walleyes, there is no such animal as the “best” boat. One way or the other, all boat ownership is a compromise .
The Orca was designed with chasing albacore in mind so the designers put steep chine and an aggressive bow in the boat for cutting through big water. It does that, and it does that well. Last year I made the crossing from Ucluelet to the Broken Group and it was blowing a steady 30 knts from the NW. Everything was fine in the big swells but there were some talk-to-Jesus moments when I approached the narrow pass between Clark and Benson Islands. Those big swells were stacking up on a shallow rock shelf that sticks out on both sides of that pass and instantly they became breaking 8 footers. Going into them was sketchy but manageable. The talk-to-Jeseus part of the trip was once I got past them and they became a following sea. The calm water once I got through the pass couldn’t have come quick enough.
That’s the compromise part when you buy the “best” boat—-In following seas, the 24 foot Orca can be a downright scary boat to drive. You can trim up your tabs and trim up the leg of your motor but when you skate down the face of a wave with that aggressive bow, (the one that gave you so much confidence pounding in to the big seas,) it will become your nemesis as it sloughs off to port or starboard without warning once it buries into the trough.
I have had numerous following-seas experiences in that boat. Lots of throttle chopping and wheel-turning and heart-thumping going on......My boat prior to the Orca—-a 21 foot Arima—-you needed a kidney belt going in to big water but it was a rubber duck in following seas—-I always felt safe and in control when the water came in behind me
That’s all part of that compromise when you’re trying to decide on a boat. You have to get the one that ticks off the most boxes of what you’re looking for. It will never tick off all the boxes (unless you decide to belly up to the bar, break out the 1/2 big one that was supposed to be for the new house you promised your wife, and spring for that 30 ft Ocean Roamer with the quad Yamahas )
Me, I just liked the look of the Orca, especially the bow and the wheelhouse with the heavy-duty glass —it looked like a bad-butt rig. Once that box was ticked, I reached for my wallet....ha ha
Just my .02 cents, subject to crappy currency conversion rates....