Family of 5, 19ft or 21ft?

[Texasmark]

Gee, Here on Barnegat Bay, NJ, a 21 footer is a good choice, for the following reasons, IMO.
A 21 footer is large enough to stand up to most of the normal conditions on the bay. The bay is 20+ miles long and about 3 mi wide. The 21 footer can usually take the extra wind and waves, when they occur.

I had a SeaRay 19 footer which handled the waves real well, as the hull was really good and it had a 4.3LX so the weight was on my side. Not all boats have this good of a hull. Also, the I/O took up a lot of room in the cockpit. I moved to a 21' Outboard boat, which has lot more room.

We have 2' waves each afternoon, say 3PM, but it is calmer other times. A good 19 footer is fine, a 21 footer is better.

Lots of the bay is real shallow, say ankle or shin deep. These shallow spots occur 1/2 mile from shore and other places that are unusual. They can surprise you. With a 21 foot OB boat, you have a good chance of refloating her with your crew pushing, vs sea tow.

Gee, I think the bottom line is that you need a boat that is safe, and after that one that is comfortable in normal conditions, and carries the crew you want. On my bay a 21 footer is about the best compromise you can have, IMO.

"I had a SeaRay 19 footer which handled the waves real well, as the hull was really good and it had a 4.3LX so the weight was on my side. "

Coworker had a 19' Sea Ray with a 165 I6. That was probably the finest boat I ever entered. The deepV hull was (as you say), great on our windblown lakes around here, and the 165 was plenty of power. I never got around to buying one but it was on top of my wish list.

 

[aspeck]

I would only look at outboards in a 19. You loose too much cockpit room with an I/O. And outboards are much easier to work on and maintain in my opinion.

 

[Chris1956]

Mark, although my '88 SeaRay hull handled real well. I suspect the boat was made on a Friday.

The quality was really inconsistent. The deck was sprayed with a chop gun which is not unusual, but it looks like they ran out of chopped FG, 2/3 of the way thru, as the rear of the deck had only resin over the plywood.

The side panels were made out of what looked like whatever plywood was laying around. The odd pieces were stapled together end-to-end and cut to shape and covered in vinyl. It rotted pretty good. The bottom of the ski well and it's sides also rotted out.

Also, I was out in the bay on a typical day, and the hull cracked on a strake. I had to quickly pull the boat before it sunk. Strakes are usually one of the strongest parts of the hull. I suspect they ran out of floatation foam as well, which left the hull unsupported.

 

[Newbie@boats]

I’ve had probably 15 boats personally, grew up boating with my family, my in laws have had boats since I’ve known them. I’ve been around a decent amount of boats lol. I don’t think I’d go on candlewood when I’ve been out there the weekends have been pretty wild.

Trail and error as in if it gets scuffed, stained, or bumped and bruised I won’t feel to bad about it.

 

[mr 88]

Mark, although my '88 SeaRay hull handled real well. I suspect the boat was made on a Friday.

The quality was really inconsistent. The deck was sprayed with a chop gun which is not unusual, but it looks like they ran out of chopped FG, 2/3 of the way thru, as the rear of the deck had only resin over the plywood.

The side panels were made out of what looked like whatever plywood was laying around. The odd pieces were stapled together end-to-end and cut to shape and covered in vinyl. It rotted pretty good. The bottom of the ski well and it's sides also rotted out.

Also, I was out in the bay on a typical day, and the hull cracked on a strake. I had to quickly pull the boat before it sunk. Strakes are usually one of the strongest parts of the hull. I suspect they ran out of floatation foam as well, which left the hull unsupported.

Sea Rays are barely a step above a Bayliner as far as hull construction goes . One of the more over-rated boats. Grady Whites are not much better as most of them need transoms , stringers and or gas tanks .
After all the suggestions it looks like the OP is going to go against them , 19' fiberglass I/O is probably what he is going to buy .

 

[KD4UPL]

I've got a 2004 Rinker Captiva 232. I've had it for 8 years and I really like it. We have plenty of roof for our family of 5 and often take another family along. The previous boat was a 20'. It was much tighter with 2 familys but we made it work. I wouldn't be happy with a 19' for our use.
The I/O is great for recreation in fresh water. Our kids love the big wide open swim deck. It's great for getting on and off of boards and towables. I would despise an outboard right there in the middle of that space.

 

[Texasmark]

Mark, although my '88 SeaRay hull handled real well. I suspect the boat was made on a Friday.

The quality was really inconsistent. The deck was sprayed with a chop gun which is not unusual, but it looks like they ran out of chopped FG, 2/3 of the way thru, as the rear of the deck had only resin over the plywood.

The side panels were made out of what looked like whatever plywood was laying around. The odd pieces were stapled together end-to-end and cut to shape and covered in vinyl. It rotted pretty good. The bottom of the ski well and it's sides also rotted out.

Also, I was out in the bay on a typical day, and the hull cracked on a strake. I had to quickly pull the boat before it sunk. Strakes are usually one of the strongest parts of the hull. I suspect they ran out of floatation foam as well, which left the hull unsupported.

Wow! Nothing like the boat I mentioned. I snooped around the boat looking at the construction and rugged, first class all the way.......snooping since it made me want to buy one and I wanted to check it out.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Searays below 25' and bayliners are made in the same plant since about 2001

 

[Chris1956]

SeaRay boats have more and better fittings, carpets, seats and other cosmetic items than Bayliner or other entry level boats. However, I do not think you can say that Bayliner construction and it's inherent safety is inferior to SeaRay. Liability laws make building Bayliner boats inferior very dangerous.

If you do think Bayliner construction is inferior, consider the following likely scenario.

Guy buys a Bayliner and crashes it and is injured. Guy's attorney sues parent company of both SeaRay and Bayliner (Brunswick for many years), for hull/safety defect. Attorneys for Brunswick need to defend the company.

Is Brunswick's defense "Bayliners are built cheaper than SeaRay on purpose, so they can sell cheaper"? If they do, it should be relatively easy to make the case that safety has been compromised in Bayliner. This is an admission of liability, they lose the case and are on hook for damages.

Or does Brunswick say "Bayliner is just as safe as SeaRay, just not as fancy"? I think the latter is what happens. Then Plaintif says "if Bayliner is just as safe as SeaRay, prove it." This is where building boats in the same factory helps Brunswick avoid liability.