18 foot bayliner capri cuddy in the ocean?

xxoczukxx

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Hi everyone, ive been looking around for a boat and I found a 1987 bayliner capri cuddy with the trailer for cheap, looks in good condition just needs a battery and starter (supposedly). i need a boat for the ocean. Ive read you CAN go to sea with one as long as you watch the weather and are careful on what days you choose to go out (from linked thread).

but what are your opinions? would this be safe? its more for fishing. i am aware this is more of a leisure boat but the price im seeing is pretty good
 

Maclin

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Well, if you have to ask....probably not.

How much safety gear will you have? Waterproof VHF, batteries, charts,extra fuel, flares, just assuming you want to be ON the ocean and not in the ocean.
 

Scott Danforth

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there is a reason that a 31 year old bayliner is cheap.

check for rot in the stringers and transom

as for going into the ocean. there are days you can do it with a 6' dinghy and other days when a 60' boat isnt big enough.
 

garbageguy

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There are so many factors I would take into account to render an opinion on that - way more than the few words in your post. can convey. But +1 on the above, probably not - at least not very often
 

southkogs

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IMHO, Bayliner (trailer boat) hulls aren't really good for the swells and waves that you'll experience on the big water. On a really calm day, you're probably going to be fine, but I've found (at least the on the Gulf) really calm days to be few and far between. I would want something a little bigger with a hull more designed for rougher water.

THAT SAID, a competent and experienced skipper can probably run a 12' rowboat across the ocean with little incident. The inexperienced and over-ambitious in a 25' boat with all the gear and gadgets in the world can find themselves out of their league when the wind kicks up in the bay.

Skill level is a big part of the equation. Be honest about your skill.
 

xxoczukxx

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Well, if you have to ask....probably not.

How much safety gear will you have? Waterproof VHF, batteries, charts,extra fuel, flares, just assuming you want to be ON the ocean and not in the ocean.

id make sure to have all the proper safety equipment. i wouldnt want to risk it without
 

xxoczukxx

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there is a reason that a 31 year old bayliner is cheap.

check for rot in the stringers and transom

as for going into the ocean. there are days you can do it with a 6' dinghy and other days when a 60' boat isnt big enough.

makes sense. i am going to inspect it when i go see it. it physically looks good but i know looks are deceiving. biggest worry for me is rot.
 

xxoczukxx

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There are so many factors I would take into account to render an opinion on that - way more than the few words in your post. can convey. But +1 on the above, probably not - at least not very often

ok makes sense. all in all doesnt sound like a good idea for a beginner
 

xxoczukxx

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IMHO, Bayliner (trailer boat) hulls aren't really good for the swells and waves that you'll experience on the big water. On a really calm day, you're probably going to be fine, but I've found (at least the on the Gulf) really calm days to be few and far between. I would want something a little bigger with a hull more designed for rougher water.

THAT SAID, a competent and experienced skipper can probably run a 12' rowboat across the ocean with little incident. The inexperienced and over-ambitious in a 25' boat with all the gear and gadgets in the world can find themselves out of their league when the wind kicks up in the bay.

Skill level is a big part of the equation. Be honest about your skill.


thank you for the input. youre correct i am a beginner so it would probably be best not to try it. if im talking closer to land, like the cape cod bay, would that be the same case?
 

southkogs

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Dunno' the water well enough to tell you.

I was down on the intercostal a couple years ago, and used a rented boat. But I think I would have been comfortable for the most part with my 19' Bayliner for where we were. But there was one bay that was particularly big (cruise ships in and out) and that one could've gotten a little nutty and been too much. Interesting to me because the boats are really just about the same size.
 

dingbat

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True story....a buddy had an 18' Capri back in the day. One day, four of us where fishing 10 miles out when a storm blew up.

Long story short... we had one guy hanging over the transom barfing the entire time. Another guy and myself bailing water like mad trying to keep up with the water coming over the bow and the Captain bleeding profusely from the gash requiring 12 stitches to close when a wave over the bow collapsed the windshield in his face.

The worst of it probably lasted only 15 minutes or so but that was long enough to bring us to the realization that we might not make it back alive that day. My respect for the open water grew 100,000% that afternoon.

Many years later I still do crazy things, but this time with years of experience and the understanding that I'm not invincible. I do so knowing the boat is designed for the conditions knowing full well that the boat can take far more of a pounding than my body anymore. Getting beat up from a day of rough seas conditions isn't fun or exciting anymore.
 

Stingrayaxe

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I had a Bayliner 1900 open bow from 1987. IMHO this is an inland lake boat. I'm near Lake Michigan and most definently wouldn't take it out there. Days can start out with glass conditions and turn for the worse in a hurry. I've taken too many waves over the bow even on inland lakes over the years to risk doing the same in off shore situations. A cuddly offers slightly more protection but not enough. If the boat is in great condition with absolutely no evidence of rot (which i would think is highly doubtful) then go for it but keep it on water that its made for.
 

Old Ironmaker

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Quick answer no, including Cape Cod Bay, especially for a person new to boating. There are too many days my 19' StarCraft doesn't belong on the Great Lakes let alone the Ocean.There is a reason a 80's anything is cheap, a 89' Bayliner should be less than cheap as in the seller should pay you to take it away. It's going to cost the owner to cut it up and send it to landfill unless he knows someone with a farm to bury it in. Bayliners today are good boats, not in the late 80's. Take the advise of many experienced ,boaters here and pass up a cheap Bayliner. You aren't the 1st person for advice on a 80's era Bayliner, an entry level boat even today. I have seen those videos where small runabouts can't get upstream in good weather because of the current. Scary stuff. Weather doesn't need to be bad for a bad day on saltwater.
 

Old Ironmaker

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id make sure to have all the proper safety equipment. i wouldnt want to risk it without

The proper safety equipment you would need would surpass the cost to buy the boat, I'm positive without knowing the price of a cheap boat.
 

tpenfield

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thank you for the input. youre correct i am a beginner so it would probably be best not to try it. if im talking closer to land, like the cape cod bay, would that be the same case?

Basically a harbor-bound boat. Cape Cod bay tends to be flatter. That boat would last abut 10 minutes on Buzzards Bay. Typically, when we are loading up my boat for a day's outing, we will see a 18 or 19 foot Bayliner, Larson, etc. launch and head out into the bay. Usually, about 10 minutes later, as we are exiting the harbor and heading into the bay (Buzzards Bay) we will see that same boat headed back and the occupants all have a dazed look on their faces.

If you are a rookie, try that boat out on some of the lakes or choose really calm days, stay close to shore and plan to head in early afternoon. The winds tend to pick up as the day goes on. Brief yourself on the weather and winds. Go to www.windfinder.com for the wind forecast in your area.

Have you taken a boater safety course?
 

JoLin

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Might want to start over and give us some info. Okay, we got it that you're in the Cape Cod area and have a lot of open water to boat in. Sooo... what is it you want to do with the boat? How many will typically be aboard? What are their ages?

I agree with the others that the boat you're looking at is not suited to the water you're in (or want to be in). There are much better choices available. You need to build a "what I want to do with it" wish list and prioritize it. Every boat is a compromise, so you need to determine what characteristics are most important to you. We actually can help you choose types of boats that'll fit the bill. IMO, the Bayliner is a non-starter.

My .02
 
Last edited:

xxoczukxx

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Jun 15, 2018
Messages
18
True story....a buddy had an 18' Capri back in the day. One day, four of us where fishing 10 miles out when a storm blew up.

Long story short... we had one guy hanging over the transom barfing the entire time. Another guy and myself bailing water like mad trying to keep up with the water coming over the bow and the Captain bleeding profusely from the gash requiring 12 stitches to close when a wave over the bow collapsed the windshield in his face.

The worst of it probably lasted only 15 minutes or so but that was long enough to bring us to the realization that we might not make it back alive that day. My respect for the open water grew 100,000% that afternoon.

Many years later I still do crazy things, but this time with years of experience and the understanding that I'm not invincible. I do so knowing the boat is designed for the conditions knowing full well that the boat can take far more of a pounding than my body anymore. Getting beat up from a day of rough seas conditions isn't fun or exciting anymore.

that sounds terrifying! getting caught in something like that is a huge scare for me
 

xxoczukxx

Cadet
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
18
Quick answer no, including Cape Cod Bay, especially for a person new to boating. There are too many days my 19' StarCraft doesn't belong on the Great Lakes let alone the Ocean.There is a reason a 80's anything is cheap, a 89' Bayliner should be less than cheap as in the seller should pay you to take it away. It's going to cost the owner to cut it up and send it to landfill unless he knows someone with a farm to bury it in. Bayliners today are good boats, not in the late 80's. Take the advise of many experienced ,boaters here and pass up a cheap Bayliner. You aren't the 1st person for advice on a 80's era Bayliner, an entry level boat even today. I have seen those videos where small runabouts can't get upstream in good weather because of the current. Scary stuff. Weather doesn't need to be bad for a bad day on saltwater.

thanks for the advice. i have passsed on the boat
 

xxoczukxx

Cadet
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
18
Basically a harbor-bound boat. Cape Cod bay tends to be flatter. That boat would last abut 10 minutes on Buzzards Bay. Typically, when we are loading up my boat for a day's outing, we will see a 18 or 19 foot Bayliner, Larson, etc. launch and head out into the bay. Usually, about 10 minutes later, as we are exiting the harbor and heading into the bay (Buzzards Bay) we will see that same boat headed back and the occupants all have a dazed look on their faces.

If you are a rookie, try that boat out on some of the lakes or choose really calm days, stay close to shore and plan to head in early afternoon. The winds tend to pick up as the day goes on. Brief yourself on the weather and winds. Go to www.windfinder.com for the wind forecast in your area.

Have you taken a boater safety course?

i plan to boat a lot on lakes before touching the ocean. what about buzzards bay does that? rough water?
 
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