Bowrider for fishing?

[rsbeck]

Can a larger bowrider like, say, the Regal 2600 be set up for fishing? Is it possible to put a hard top with rocket launchers over the helm? I don't need a cabin, I'd rather have the space for fishing off the front of the boat or for passengers.<br />I'm looking at center consoles, but I'm on the San Francisco Bay and it can get cold out there. If a larger Bow Rider could be set up with baitwells, rocket launchers, and removable aft seats, seems like it could be a pretty good all-pupose boat. Looking around, I notice Regal offered one like that a number of years ago -- a 25' bowrider with an option for a fishing package. Does anyone else offer something like that?

 

[NathanY]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Originally posted by rsbeck:<br />Is it possible to put a hard top with rocket launchers over the helm?

 

[KCook]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Very bad idea. Just get a WalkAround the same size and be done with it -<br />

<br /><br />Kelly Cook

 

[agrazela]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

If it floats, you can fish off it.<br /><br />But...if you want a fishing boat, a bowrider is not it.

 

[RatFish]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Get a Dual Console boat. Here are 2 of my favorites....<br /><br /> Aquasport 215 Osprey <br /><br /> Scout Dorado 222

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

The Scout 222 Dorado looks a LOT like a Regal Bowrider with the rear seats removed! It's got topside seating on the front instead of a cabin, which seems better to me. I don't want to haul a bedroom and kitchen around for no reason. I'd rather have more seats. This looks good. I only wish it were a little larger. Now, the question is......could you put a hard top over the helm<br />of the Dorado.....or am I pushing it? Why is it a good idea to put a hard top over a walk around boat with a windshield, but not over a dual console or -- egads -- a bowrider....with a very similar windshield? What am I missing? How is the Dorado different from a bowrider with the rear seats removed? I do understand that fishing purists may scoff at anything that is less than, you know, pure, but some of us have to make compromises in an effort to find a boat that will work for the whole darn family. Some of us will be happy if we can trick the family into letting us have a boat from which we can fish if it can just look and function a little like a bow rider. Know what I mean?

 

[KCook]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Saltwater dual consoles do have a layout similar to the better known bowriders. But the saltwater environment is tougher than freshwater. And the dual consoles are built with that in mind. Which is one of the reasons they cost more than bowriders.<br /><br />The biggest dual consoles I know of are catamarans, like this Glacier Bay -<br />

<br /><br />Soft bimini tops are more common on dual consoles than hard tops. The seating on a dual console is lower than with a walkaround. So the gap between the top of the windshield and the bimini top is greater with a dual console than a walkaround. You could in theory put a hard top on a dual console. But it would look pretty clunky perched up so high above the windshield. Walkarounds get away with this, dual consoles don't.<br /><br />My question would be why would the walkaround not work for the entire family?<br /><br />It certainly is possible to take a common bowrider and make all the modifications that you are asking about. But the result would not fish as well as a fishing boat. And would not last as long in saltwater as the fishing boat. And would not hold up as well in resale as the fishing boat.<br /><br />Kelly

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

The walkaround may work for the entire family. We are going to Santa Cruz today to look at a Grady White Sailfish and Marlin. While test driving a Center Console yesterday, my wife kept pointing at walkarounds, so they seem to be very appealing to the the female sensibility -- and I know my kids will get a big kick out of the cabin with its bedroom, galley, etc. The only problem I can forsee with the walk around is that there is very little seating topside and the seating that is available has two people sitting at the helm level with great sightlines while the others sit down below in the cockpit aft. For me -- I don't like the idea of pulling the extra weight and the expense of the bedroom, galley, etc. and I suspect that if there isn't enough seating and the boat isn't set up and "social" enough to bring two families aboard for a cruise, I'm going to end up buying a boat because it appeals to my wife and then she's going to immediately lose interest. Then, it will end up -- me and my son on a big old walk-around. The Center Console would be my ideal boat and it has seating in the bow, but salesmen around here tell me that few people buy center consoles in the SF Bay area because they don't provide enough relief from the chilly winds that one often encounters. To that, my question is -- can't you rig something with canvas and plastic to provide a wind break? Is a walk around the only solution to the cold? The catamaran looks very interesting to me -- I'm going to check it out -- thanks!

 

[KCook]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

You're right about the cockpit seating in a walkaround being lower than the helm. With more restricted visibility. However that also means a little better protection from the wind. Conventional bowriders, express cruisers, sport cuddys, and deckboats mostly have a flat floor. Not an elevated helm like the walkaround.<br /><br />Fair point about folks wanting one thing in the showroom, and then having a different view once they are out on the water. Very good that you are able to get demo runs.<br /><br />Yes, there are plastic enclosures for center console helms. Though they don't do much for the folks stuck back in the cockpit. I can see the salesman's point about a CC not being the ideal family boat for SF.<br /><br />Cats are a whole different topic. But it's safe to say they are not nearly as popular as conventional V-hulls. The only truly popular catamarans are pontoons.<br /><br />Kelly

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

My fears have already been realized. I saw a nifty center console for sale at the harbor so I brought my wife along for the test ride. On the way out, she kept pointing at the Walk-Around type Open Express type cruisers, which is a little more involved than I wanted to get, but, dutifully, I sheduled an appointment to test a<br />30' Grady White Marlin. Okay, so we test the Marlin, but even that is not comfortable enough for her; as I suspected, she doesn't think there are enough seats around the helm -- and now she wants to look at Cabin Cruisers, adding that I can look for one with a fishing deck on the back. Arghhh!!! Kelly -- are<br />you familiar with the Albin 31' Tournament Express?

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

One other thing; In case anyone reads this thread looking for a "bowrider from which you can fish." Grady White also has a few of these. They are dual console boats with seats in the bow just like bowriders, but with an aft cockpit like a sportfisher. The Grady salesman said the thing to do is to put a radar tower on it<br />and put your rocket launchers on that -- then get a biminy type<br />of top -- not a hard top. As a previous poster mentioned, Scout makes a very similar bowrider/sportfisher as well. So, there *is*<br />such a thing afterall.

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Here's the Grady bowrider/sportfisher....<br /><br /> http://www.gradywhite.com/225/

 

[cp]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Out here in the middle of the not so Pacific, bowriders don't make good fishing boats 'cause they take in too much water over that open bow. But seeing as how Mrs. rsbeck has already ruled that out anyway, you might want to take a look at one of the below linked boats; they've got lots of cruising comforts and are fishable too:<br /><br />Cruising/Fishing Boat

 

[KCook]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

No Albins out here in the desert. Their reputation is for serious cruising boats, not in the cocktail cruiser category. I see from their web site that Albin offers different configurations for their 31. My preference would be the sporty express over the convertible -<br /><br />

<br /><br />Frankly, a 14000 lb, twin engine boat is way out of the box for water skiing. All boats this big are strictly cruising and/or fishing. Forget water sports.<br /><br />There are at least a dozen different builders of the dual console type bowrider. I didn't get into these because you seemed to want something closer to the 30' size. And none of the dual consoles are anywhere near that big.<br /><br />Sounds like you need 2 boats! (Don't we all?)<br /><br />Kelly

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

I should have explained that, while I am on the San Francisco Bay and that puts me on the Pacific Ocean, which is just outside the Golden Gate Bridge, I was looking mainly for a Bay and Delta boat that could be taken out into Blue Water on special occasions; like after I learn my way around and on days when the water is calm. The 22' Dual Console boat would be fine on the Delta, might get knocked around a bit on the Bay, but I see a lot of 20' boats on the Bay, and it would probably not be an appropriate boat for the Pacific Ocean. Same goes for the Center Consoles. Looking up and down the docks, one finds precious few Center Console boats around this area. Everyone confirms -- too cold for a center console. I am starting to see that, as usual, my wife is a smart woman and is gently steering me in the right directions. Frankly, the Grady White Marlin seemed like an extremely nice fishing boat to me. As I suspected, the kids got a huge kick out of the cabin and galley.<br />The Grady has an optional wrap around/bench type seat for the co-pilot's seat, which could easily fit two adults or an adult and<br />two smaller children. I'm not ready to go to the Albin, although it looks like a nice boat. Another alternative would be to try to find a way to get more seats around the helm, which would solve the problem of having two couples in the helm, protected from the chilly wind, which would solve the 'social" problem and expand the cruising possibilities. Is there something "temporary" but stable that could be placed between the pilot and co-pilot's seats so two couples could sit in the forward cockpit while cruising? Do they make such a thing? Could I<br />construct something or have it made? What is your opinion of the Grady White Marlin with Yamaha 225 Four Stroke Outboards?<br />Is there another 30' Walk/Around with more seating around the helm?

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Here's another question; You said to forget water sports with the Albin; Could the kids water ski behind something like the<br />GW Marlin? Yes -- it does sound like I need two boats! But, in truth, what I really want is a fishing boat that will do everything else as well, even if it might be a compromise. I'd rather have a fishing boat on which one could cruise, pull a kid around on a wakeboard or tube -- or -- egads -- even water ski than a cruiser on which one could fish -- or a simple ski boat. Looking for that do-everything boat.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

I'd go with something like this.<br /><br /> http://www.glastron.com/pages/Models/GS219.html

 

[KCook]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Once upon a time, long ago, we had a vacation in Tiburon. Luv your big bay.<br /><br />My bet is that a saltwater 22 footer would do better outside on the ocean than on the bay. Bay chop is generally closer spaced and steeper than ocean waves. And that chop profile kills small boats for ride. Same applies for pleasure boats like Glastron. But I would have safety concerns with a non-saltwater model.<br /><br />Many of the over 30' express models offer some sort of wraparound seating on the port side of the helm. But this is rare on sub-30 walkarounds. Afraid I am not familiar enough with all the WA models to help you there.<br /><br />In the sub-30 market G-W has a tall reputation. About the only others as nice are Boston Whaler and Pursuit. Possibly Stamas if your tastes run that way. All of these are pricey. Yamaha is also highly regarded. Personally I lean toward Merc and Honda (2S/4S split). But other brands are good too and would not stop me from buying.<br /><br />I cannot think of any design that fills the cool weather / ocean / ski mission. One of those requirements has to go. If you stay in the slip on cold days that opens the door to performance boats like you were originally looking at. If you skip the ocean on all but the extremely mild days then the door is open to a cuddy style pleasure boat. If you give up on skiing that opens the door to boats over 30 foot that are very capable in the comfort-and-safety zone.<br /><br />Or split with charters/rental. Buy a ski boat and charter big cruisers for the bay and ocean. Buy a big fishing express and rent ski boats for the Delta.<br /><br />Heck, all you need is money, right? <br />Kelly

 

[rsbeck]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

Thanks for all of your help. I decided to go with the Grady White Marlin. Stamas, Pursuit, and Boston Whaler were all on my short list, but I went with Grady White for several reasons. There are no Stamas or Pursuit dealers in Northern California. I contacted a Stamas dealer in Southern California who seemed like a great guy and was helpful as all get out, but there is a backlog of orders for those boats -- so -- to test drive one, I would have had to fly to the East Coast or Florida -- then -- if<br />I liked it as much I expected, I'd have to wait as long as six months. This also means I'd have no negotiating power. Upon resale, I'd have to deal with the fact that no one around here has ever heard of Stamas and I expect that would make selling difficult. Boston Whalers come with Mercury engines and that was a large negative for me. Pursuit is also in Southern California. On the other hand, my local Grady White dealer had a Marlin available and in the water for a test drive. It is a 2004 and they wanted to sell it because the 2005 models are coming out any day, so they were motivated. To my admittedly inexperienced eyes, the Marlin seemed like a great boat. You certainly see them around the docks in this area, so the locals know about them. The ability to get a high quality boat in my hands immediately -- fall can be great weather and great fishing in the Bay -- and to get a deal on a new one from a motivated seller -- I see 2003 Marlins going for what I paid for this 2004 -- made this a done deal. It just took me awhile to settle all of the questions in my mind enough to pull the trigger -- and I couldn't have done that without the input I received from more experienced boaters here in this forum. Thanks!

 

[danthern]

Re: Bowrider for fishing?

What a great boat....I'm envious! Enjoy!!!