How are cabin cruisers?

[hostage]

As the topic says. How are they on gas, slow speeds, and do the Mrs like camping out on them? I am looking to upgrade from a 19' cuddy. I am looking at 24-26' aft cabin cruisers with a shower. Thinking of exloring the Erie canal. My v-hull is almost annoying to steer at slow speeds for long periods of time. Any other input?

 

[tpenfield]

Cruisers are heavy for their length, particularly in the size range that you are considering. So, a fair amount of gas would be used versus what you are familiar with. If you are concerned about performance, then maybe look at what is typically referred to as an express cruiser, where there is no aft cabin, but an enclosed head.

 

[Slip Away]

Expect about 1 to 2 mpg at best. As far as wives liking them, some do, some don't. Plan on doubling your bills compared to the cuddy if you get a cruiser

 

[ssobol]

Might want to look at a C-Dory 25 cruiser. It's not an aft cabin, but does have a head and shower. It's also not a deep-V so it might drive easier. (Let's not restart the whole deep-V vs. other hulls thing.). You can outfit them in many different ways pretty easily. These boats are pretty good on gas (as boats go). Check out www.c-brats.com for lots of info.

 

[gddavid]

I believe the first two responses you got did not consider that you will be traveling at displacement speeds and fuel consumption will be much lower. An aft cabin cruiser would be pretty ideal for this trip. Many powerboats wander at low speed but the problem generally gets better with with longer boats as the ratio of length to width grows. This is a generalization ignoring several other factors such as engine configuration and hull shape, but it still has some validity.
Cruisers with big cabins and twin gas engines are plentiful on the used market as they burn so much fuel and people are finding them too expensive to run but since your looking at idling the whole way your consumption won't be too bad at all. Remember to consider bridge clearance heights and talk to some people who have made the trip before.

 

[Mischief Managed]

At idle (around 3 to 4 MPH), a 26 foot pocket cruiser will get around 4 MPG. Cleanly on plane at 25 to 30 MPH, you could see 2.3 or so. The problem is the Erie canal has long sections west of lock 17 with a 10 MPH speed limit and at that speed, the boat will get around 1 to 1.5 MPG.

You should be able to cruise at around 7 MPH and get about the same mileage that you would get at 25 MPH.

 

[hostage]

Thanks for the input so far. I am bouncing around a little with where I want to go. I was initally looking at a bigger open bow, but all we really do is go a few miles anchor or drift. Sometimes we even just sit at the dock for a while. I don't know why, but just do nothing has never been so great, when we just relax by the water and get rocked. I tend to be someone who always has to be doing something. The problem is our 19ft cuddy is a bit on the small side. Too small to really be useful. We camped out on it, though she hated the public bathrooms. Right now it is a big ski locker and changing room. Though with a little more head room, comfort, ammenities, we might get more use out of it. Further more my dreams of skiing have been dashes. My wife and my dog disaprove of the activity.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Maybe what you need is a Macgregor 26x

Even if you never sail it it has lots of room and is very fuel efficient.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Maybe what you need is a Macgregor 26x

Even if you never sail it it has lots of room and is very fuel efficient.

 

[tpenfield]

MacGregor 26X would be easy on gas

Go look at a Formula 280SS with twin 350's . . . or a SeaRay 280SS or 290SS if you can find one. . . . or a Chaparral 285

Those types of boats are a bit bigger than what you were thinking, yet have enough amenities without being a 'cruiser', plus you could do some amount of water sports with those boats.

The thing about cruisers that are in the 26 foot range is that they still have a single engine, yet are fairly heavy. Handling is nowhere as nibble as smaller boats or even bigger boats with twin engines, lots of v-hull 'waggle' at idle speeds, lots of throttle needed to get on plane, etc.

As far as fuel consumption, . . . typically fuel is the least amount of money overall spent on boats. So, there would be a lot more things to consider budget-wise with a bigger boat.

 

[hostage]

I do like sailing, though if I went sail, I think I would go larger than 26'. Ontario lake is the largest body of water. Though if I went that big, I would join a yacht club, which would be further out and cheaper. Though at the same time it would be further away from my house and I might be less likely to go, but I could stay overnight. Though I don't know yet if I should commit to a sail boat. I guess I could talk to some friends that do sail. I haven't sailed, since my old man had a Catalina 22 on a lake that was much to small for the boat. Also the wind was almost non-existant

 

[agallant80]

I have a newer pocket cruiser. Like someone else stated the displacement speed will be around 4mpg up on plane will be about 1.5-2.2 depending on how fast she is going. Going from a bow rider to the pocket cruiser has been nice. We really enjoy cruising. We moved the boat from the lake to the coast so we can cruise more. We make it down to the boat way less due to it being further away but we enjoy our time on it even more, we don't miss having it closer. The shower, hot water, out own bathroom and AC is nice but its not like being in luxury, its more like camping in a small travel trailer. After a few days you start to feel the cramp.

My boat still wanders, all displacment hulls without a keel will do that, just the nature of the beast. The dual prop helps a big though. I have found a sweet spot where the wonder is less, also learning to not over correct will help the issue.