I'm looking to buy my first fishing boat. I'll be using it with my family and will mostly be fishing near Vancouver but would like to be able to do overnight trips as well. I'd like something with an enclosed cabin so it's all weather ready and something that handles well is rough weather so we can go all season. I'd spend up to $70k. Anyone have any recommendations? I've been looking at used Skagit Orca and Ospreys. Could use some helpful advice - I'm not that boat informed.
Thanks in advance.
My 2 cents FWIW. Having "been there done that" with family and fishing boats. One big consideration to contemplate is the size of your family and the mix between fishing and overnights you intend to do (and the mix of male vs female). The other consideration is whether you intend to own a trailer boat, or wet slip a boat. A few things we went through as we moved up in boats (progressed from a Striper 1851 (cuddy cabin walkaround) to Striper 2600 Sport Cabin (pilothouse cabin with v-berth) to Bayliner 288 (much larger cabin with two dedicated sleeping areas) now to a Bayliner 3388 (two larger sleeping areas, larger cockpit etc...). While initially our mix of fishing to overnights was heavily skewed to fishing, the family overnights and cruises now make up 50% of our boat time as my kids have got older. The search can be for "a fishing boat I can cruise on", or "a cruising boat I can fish from". There are a few that can do double duty, but you typically have to compromise. Personally, I also found that once I went to a boat that was permanently wet slipped that I use it much more as it's much more convenient (downside is that maintenance and moorage costs are higher).
- regular use of a convertible dinette for sleeping gets old fast unless it's used sparingly (e.g. one or two nights is fine -- but a week long isn't fun)
- most smaller boats have very limited water tank -- plan on using roughly 10 gallons per day for washup, drinking etc.. when you overnight
- porta-potty type toilets are best for emergency use only -- if you've got female companions a boat with a proper head should be high on your list -- emptying them sucks
- kids grow fast and take up an increasing amount of room -- buy a boat for how big they are going to be in several years rather than one that fits now ;-)
- having a small galley on any boat is awesome with the ability to brew a pot of coffee and make fresh sandwiches, or grill your catch while on the hook etc...
IMHO -- a few boats in that $70K price range that can do the dual job of fish/cruise well.... The Orca/Ospreys are both great as are the SeaSports too.
Commander 30 / Monaro 29 or 27: great all water boats -- some sacrifice with cramped accommodations for more than 3 people overnight -- for $70K likely limited to gas power in any of these
Striper 2901 -- as above -- available with twin gas I/O or OB or twin diesel
Bayliner 288 / 2858: better cabin layout for comfort -- cockpit is decent for fishing but a bit cramped beyond 3 adults -- generally single gas -- although there is a single diesel listed in Nanaimo that I'd look at
Bayliner 3270/3288/3388 -- I own the 3388 today. Not trailerable. Better for overnights -- good fishing platform (some guides rig these up). Twin diesel or twin gas options -- twin gas usually around $35K and diesel in the $45-80K range
