help choosing b/w 19 and 21 bay boat

mtmt6486

Recruit
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
4
I am looking for a bay boat to primarily fish in bays, occassionally near shore reefs (on good days) and slalom ski occassionally. Can anyone help me pro/con the 19' and 21'. Does the 19 fit in a satandard garage? Is the 21 more difficult to tow? Is one more fuel efficient than the other? Does the extra two feet make a big difference in some chop? Will a 115 push the 21? Does the 19 seem small with several people on board?
Thanks,
Matt
 

crb478

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
1,036
Re: help choosing b/w 19 and 21 bay boat

With out knowing which boats you are considering I can not really answer your questions fully. Generally speaking the 19 foot boat will be lighter and easier to handle than the 21. It will also require less fuel and a smaller engine. Most 21 foot boats will handle waves or chop better than 19 foot ones, but between different brands some 19 foot boats will do better than other 21 footers. If you will be going off shore a good bit I would leant toward the 21 foot boat. For close to the shore line and inlets I would take the 19 hands down. The 19 can get into more shallow water and is easier to load in wind or a current. I doubt that either one of the boats will fit in a standard garage, standard being a 20 x 20. If you have a 24 foot garage you can probably get a 19 foot boat in if the trailer has a break a way tongue. As far as using a 115 on a 21 foot boat it depends on the boat weight and hull design if it will be enough.
 

txmntman

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
108
Re: help choosing b/w 19 and 21 bay boat

OK, I'll give you my opinion, based on some experience I've had on the Texas Gulf coast. I had a 21.5 ft Promaster, and a buddy had a 18.5 ft Dargel. Both are center consoles, slightly different hull designs. The Promaster had a 150 Merc 2 stroke, the Dargel a 115 Evinrude 2 stroke. There are trade offs, pros and cons.
Fishing - Promaster and Dargel can both fish 3, the Dargel a little less so.
Ride - the Promaster definately a better ride in the chop. The 21 ft seemed to ride from wave to wave in a chop with little bounce. It seemed to "bridge" the waves better, and gave a much better ride at 30-35 than it did at 20-25. The Dargel could not "bridge" the chop as well. This was in 1-2 ft chop.
Speed - Promaster was faster, up to 45+ MPH. The Dargel was about 40 MPH at WOT. In fishing circumstances, no real difference, IMHO.
I can't really comment on gas mileage, as I was just making short runs in the bay.....no problem with either.
Trailering - the Dargel was definately easier to trailer and store. With the Promaster in tow, and a F250 extra cab long bed, I was almost 60 feet. The Dargel was easier to stow, move by hand, and trailer (and find parking for while on the road!).
The Promaster was great on the water, but more expensive to own and to buy. I ended up selling the Promaster, and planned to buy the Dargel, (things changed, and I bought a home Air conditioner instead..:( )
I have had several boats that were great on the water that I didn't like to trailer, and ended up not going out as much due to the hassle. For that reason, I would go with the one that would work on the water, and be less problem to take to the water........just my opinion...
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
16,160
Re: help choosing b/w 19 and 21 bay boat

I started with a "light" 19' cuddy boat and now have a very ?heavy? 22' boat. Above all you need a boat big enough for the conditions which are prevalent in your area.

Around here we get a prevailing south wind all summer all. The south winds combined with an outgoing tide create the infamous Chesapeake Chop. Ever see waves coming at you from 3 different directions at the same time, consistently?


With the 19' the number of days I could boat comfortably was limited. On anything but a calm day I was bounced around like a cork. I liked the boat put sitting at port waiting for the winds to die down was not my idea of boating

I went up to the 21' and the number of days I could boat comfortably increased maybe 30%.

Now that I have the 22' I'm good for everything up to small craft warnings. The number of days I could go out and be comfortable has more than tripled over the 19'.

Towing and fuel wise does it really matter if it?s consistently too rough to boat in the size craft you select? I?d rather burn 10 gallons an hour out on the water than 0 gallons per hour sitting in the drive way.
 

pvmtsux

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
90
Re: help choosing b/w 19 and 21 bay boat

Where are you and what boats are you considering?
 
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