Boat recomendations for Lake Ontario....

[smithwd]

6-8 people
no overnighting
head
day cruiser
will be docked on lake.

 

[JimS123]

A biggin. Needs to have a kicker and a real good GPS / Chartplotter and a compass.

If the wind blows up and the lake turns over, and the fog is so thick you can't even see the bow, you will need to have all the waypoints in advance so you can find your way home.

All kidding aside, minimum 25 footer.

 

[mr 88]

Without knowing your budget your asking a loaded question so to speak. do you plan on fishing with it ? Or just day cruising ? I would be looking for a 31 Tiara or something in that class size. Check out boattrader.com or Craigslist and widen your search into Ohio and Michigan. I have a 27" Boston Whaler Full Cabin and no way are you putting more than 5 people on her comfortably for fishing and even cruising it would be tight. I also have a 32" Luhrs Open that will handle /sit /fish 8 people with no problem and that includes if you get caught in a rain storm . Somewhat unique set up with a center console that has bench seating for 3-4 on each side under a hardtop. Radar is more important than GPS , fogs can come out of nowhere , although last year it was only foggy one or twice in early spring.. Sure you can find you port with GPS and in the process you may get run over by a Freighter if your caught in one of the two shipping lanes and the East bound one is only a few miles offshore. Then there are the idiots and I mean idiots that go out in those conditions with no radar and will T bone you or each other and have no regard for human life and yes they are mostly stupid fisherman. I fish that lake heavily and that is one of my biggest pet peaves along with the solo guys that head out in 4-5 footers , read about them in the obituaries .So more info is needed to give you a honest answer .

 

[briangcc]

Whatever you're thinking, think bigger. Honestly. Unless you're waiting for the lake to be glass, you're gonna need something of size. Especially given the last few years where the lake has whipped up horribly.

To give you an idea, mine meets the seating requirement you're after but my wife will NOT, and I stress NOT, go out on Lake Ontario in our current boat. Anything over a 1' chop and it gets brutal quickly.

I agree there are yahoos that go out in all conditions (who really shouldn't) and some are just of the mindset of "My boat is bigger so I win".

Not trying to discourage you, rather enlighten.