Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

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bcjohnso99

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Hi,

I've been wanting to buy a "large" (32'-38') express that has a very large cockpit for fishing. A 10/11 Meter Trojan Express from the late 80's seems to be very close to what I am looking for (cruising amenities, 2+ large beds, large cockpit, etc).

But, I'd also like to cruise the many canals in my area and would like out-drives that can be trimmed up in shallow water. The bottom of the canals is mostly soft so rubbing the hull a bit would not be an issue but turning in-board props through the muck is something I'd prefer to avoid.

There seems to be many expresses in this size range (like SeaRay Sundowner) with I/O but they all have cruising cockpits consumed by bench seats and wet bars which get in way of fishing.

Anyone aware of express models with I/O and an open cockpit?

Thanks'

Brian.
 
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rbh

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

The searay weekender has enough room behind the helm area to have a dance, cabins small though, the older sundancers 270+ have a great cabin/cuddy layout and there is adequite room behind the helm for some serious fishing.
 
partskenn

partskenn

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

I don't know how large they went, but the older Sea Ray Amberjacks were made with large cockpits aimed at fishermen.
 
r.j.dawg

r.j.dawg

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

As rbh said, alot of the older (late 80's early 90's) boats like Sea Ray, Doral Chaparral had a rear bench seat that was foldable or removable. Made a great area for fishing. This is the rear cockpit of my boat and the bench seat folds flat. Once the mid to late 90's hit most of the manufacturers went to rear wrap around seating that couldn't be removed.

p27484c.jpg


However, a lot of the manufacturers put V-Drives in their models once they got over 32 ft. so that wouldn't be an option for you.
 
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shrew

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

partskenn said:
I don't know how large they went, but the older Sea Ray Amberjacks were made with large cockpits aimed at fishermen.
Click to expand...

Most of the AmberJacks I've seen are inboards with V drives. You're starting to push the envelope for sterndrives. I've seen many 32-33's with DRives and know Bayliner made a 35 with sterndrives. Many manufacturers start going to inboards somewhere in the 32-35 ft. range. Most inboard express cruisers are V drives.

Documentation usually says the boat can't be run above (approx.) 800 rpm when the drive is raised out beyond the trim limit. (Trailer position) because it can potentially damage the drive. Even raised all the way out, the drive will be lower than the keel at the stern. This is no place to be operating a boat of that size.

I'd suggest either getting a smaller boat for these areas, or boating elsewhere.
 
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shrew

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

BTW- Grady White makes boats in the low to mid 30's with outboards. That might be a better option for you. Look around at the major 'walk-around' manufacturers. Proline makes a 32 (they actually call their's 'express', though in the generic I would consider this a walkaround and not a true express).
 
R

rbh

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

+1, YUP forgot to add the Amberjack.
One thing about boats these sizes is they/most have twins (if they are an I/O), so thier draft is "ALITTLE" more than a single do to the fact that the drives are mounted higher and wider apart on the transom.
 
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haulnazz15

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

I will also mention the Amberjack line from SeaRay. The 80's/early 90's cruisers tend to use the v-drives, but the more recent models seem to have gotten away from the v-drives and more models are equipped with I/O's. I don't see to many sub-40' cruisers that don't use I/O's anymore, especially with the joystick/zeus systems for slow-speed handling.
 
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bcjohnso99

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

Thanks for all of the quick replies!

That Pennyan is cool, as well as the Amberjacks and Prolines but they're not big enough to cruise with.

By the way, out-drives can easily handle the size boat I'm looking for. As an example, look at the Doral 405 specs:

LOA 45' 5"
Beam 13' 3"
Weight 25,000 lbs

... and it comes with twin 8.2 + Bravo IIIs as an option. They might be pushing the limit a little but this is quite a bit bigger than my target.

I really do think that the switch to out-drives and "plush" cockpits for mid-30's expresses happened at the same time - just my luck!

I'll have another look in the 30-32 range to see if there are any Doral/Cruisers/Bayliners/etc that strike a good balance.

Cheers!

Brian.
 
dingbat

dingbat

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

If you are not stuck on I/O, the Grady White 360 is one of the nicest "Express" outboard fishing boats out there. Your looking at a 31 mpg cruise with twin 350's

http://www.gradywhite.com/360/
 
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bcjohnso99

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

The Grady White 360 and Pursuit 345 are fantastic boats, and would be at the top of my list *if* my budget was 1/4 million+ (and that's for a 3-4 yr old boat!)

I do have a general question to those that recommend outboards...

Do you believe outboards will last as long as inboard engines?

My gut feel is that they won't and that's why I have leaned toward I/Os. Maybe because I've seen a large number of outboard boats less than 10 years old advertising being re-powered?
I realize that outboards have improved greatly in the last decade in terms of emissions, fuel economy and NVH. Is this the major factor or are the big outboards just not lasting?

Brian.
 
Stevens520

Stevens520

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

Could be repowering to upgrade to newer technology or replacing motors killed from neglect. I see plenty of older ones around here seeing time on the lake without problems.
 
dingbat

dingbat

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

bcjohnso99 said:
I do have a general question to those that recommend outboards...

Do you believe outboards will last as long as inboard engines?

My gut feel is that they won't and that's why I have leaned toward I/Os. Maybe because I've seen a large number of outboard boats less than 10 years old advertising being re-powered?
I realize that outboards have improved greatly in the last decade in terms of emissions, fuel economy and NVH. Is this the major factor or are the big outboards just not lasting?

Brian.
Click to expand...
Outboard technology has changed drastically in the past 6-7 years. Four stroke and direct injection outboards reduce fuel consumption 30-40% over conventional two stroke outboard technology. Maybe not a big deal for some, but if your like me and burn 75- 100 gallons a trip, that’s a lot of fuel savings. Not to mention the four stroke outboards do not suffer from the fuel contamination problems like a conventional 2 stoke and thus their reliably is on par with an I/O engine.

As for the reliability part, cast iron risers and the fact that you cannot lift the outdrive out of the water are the I/O’s Achilles heel in saltwater. The outboard resolves both issues which is why outboards out number I/O 50:1 in saltwater applications.
 
RotaryRacer

RotaryRacer

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

bcjohnso99 said:
My gut feel is that they won't and that's why I have leaned toward I/Os. Maybe because I've seen a large number of outboard boats less than 10 years old advertising being re-powered?
Click to expand...

Serious boaters/fishermen and many commercial/government operations choose outboards, they put 2000 hours or more on them and then repower as part of a regular maintenance schedule. I would argue that outboards will last longer with proper maintenance than any I/O.
 
Thalasso

Thalasso

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

More maintance to a o/b then a i/o but easier to work on. If i were using o/b's i would be getting E-Techs. The 2 stroke technology is really there. No oil changes either like the 4 stroke.
 
emoney

emoney

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

Outboards, in salt water, have a lot more longevity than I/O's in my experience. Having said that, direct drives with a diesel powerplant are #1. I'm not an "Express" fan, but your post got me to looking and wow, there just aren't any out there that don't have inboards, are there? It does seem like there are some cabin cruisers on the market, which I find a little unique, unless the manufacturer is making a statement that the Express boats get fished hard, thus a lot more usage. If so, that answers the "which type lasts longer" question I think.

I do know one thing for certain, there are a LOT of really nice boats north of $250k. I may need to start working a little harder.....or actually buying a lottery ticket now and then.
 
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bcjohnso99

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Re: Are there any large i/o express fisherman boats?

It seems that there is a transition in the mid-30's from Outboard to inboard (not I/O) and I agree that for saltwater, these are the only real options.

Being a Great Lakes boater, I/O still makes alot of sense.

Maybe one of those plush cockpit expresses needs a little glass work ;)

The search continues!
 
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