What older cabin cruisers will sleep six.

[pckeen]

What older cabin cruisers would sleep six people? What length of boat would you reccomend. We have two adults, and four kids under the age of seven. We would need a head, galley, and single engine would be preferred. We are looking for the smallest boat possible, to keep gas costs down, and want a trailerable boat.

 

[UncleWillie]

Keep in mind that in five years you will have 4 (or more) kids under 12 years old.
What may work this year may not be acceptable next year.
Do you plan just an occasional over night or are week long vacations in the forecast?

The other side of the planing includes....
Where do you plan on parking the trailered boat? Homeowners/Local/Physical Restrictions?
What is the towing capacity of your vehicle?

 

[tpenfield]

Lots of brands from the 1980's and 1990's in the 26-28 foot range would 'technically' sleep 6 people. You'll have to look at a few to see what looks to be comfortable or not.

The bigger you go (even into the 30+ foot range) the more room there is, but typically the layout is to sleep 6 people. There are some 24 footers that are of the design to sleep 6, but very cramped quarters.

My recommendation would be to start looking at a few first hand.

 

[redneck joe]

Yeah anything nominally trailerable it will not be comfortable for six, especially in a few years. That said, a good 26' mid to late 80's Sea Ray would work' especially if it had a full camper canvas. Move a couple kids out there.

We had an 87 Bayliner 2550 that had a 10' beam and it felt a lot larger than our buddy's 26 Sea Ray.


Can you camp on shore? Get a tent for the kids so mom and dad can have alone time.

 

[JoLin]

Unfortunately, to get enough usable room for six in a trailerable boat, you probably have to look back to the 1980's and early '90's. Why? Because every year the cruisers are made more stylish, 'swoopier' and that translates into less cabin space. Bayliner has traditionally done a great job of utilizing space, but you have to be careful- build quality is generally only fair. If you can find one, take a look at a 25' Larson Hampton. A friend has one. It's got a roomy cabin and long seats in the cockpit that'll easily sleep a couple of kids. The later Larson Cabrio models went the way of all the rest. It's hard to beat a Carver, almost any Carver, for roomy, well laid out cabins. It's Carver's forte.

Frankly, I wouldn't be looking at doing more than an overnight in anythng you can reasonably trailer. You just won't have anough room for everybody to be comfortable for more than a night.

My .02

 

[JoLin]

Just thought of another candidate in a more modern boat - Bayliner 265 SB (Sunbridge). I looked at 2 before I bought my Carver. Excellent cabin space for its size. Single engine with a ton of room in the engine bay. The 'secret' is a 9.5' beam, which is wider than normal on a boat that length (most have an 8.5' beam). That extra foot makes a world of difference. And, the newer Bayliners are much better built than the old ones were.

 

[Chris1956]

When a lot of boats are rated to sleep six, that translates into 3 sleep in the vee berth, two on the table top (lowered to match the table seats, w/ cushions) and 1 or 2 in the aft cabin, on a 30 footer. Smaller boats usually require folks not sleeping in the Vee berth, to sleep in the cockpit on some cushions.

 

[redneck joe]

Unfortunately, to get enough usable room for six in a trailerable boat, you probably have to look back to the 1980's and early '90's. Why? Because every year the cruisers are made more stylish, 'swoopier' and that translates into less cabin space.

My .02

Yeah my 23' boat now would be called a 26'

 

[pckeen]

Do you plan just an occasional over night or are week long vacations in the forecast?

The other side of the planing includes....
Where do you plan on parking the trailered boat? Homeowners/Local/Physical Restrictions?
What is the towing capacity of your vehicle?

We plan mostly weekend trips, parking isn't an issue for us, and towing capacity is 9500 lbs. In terms of space, while nice comfortable beds would be pleasant, we are used to sharing space in a tent trailer that nominally sleeps 8, but really would only sleep six comfortably.

 

[ssobol]

Be careful of the boat width. Depends on where you live, but most boats over 8.5 feet in beam require a wide load permit when trailering. Some places this is not a big deal. In others it can be a huge pain.

 

[UncleWillie]

Be careful of the boat width. Depends on where you live, but most boats over 8.5 feet in beam require a wide load permit when trailering. Some places this is not a big deal. In others it can be a huge pain.

+1
And an over sized load may also be restricted to daylight towing on truck routes only.

 

[RotaryRacer]

How old is "older"?

Chris-Craft has made many boats that can sleep 6 with reasonable comfort. A 28' Catalina can be found quite cheap and the standard arrangement has a v-berth, dinette and a settee/bunk. 2 on the v, 2 on the dinette then the settee and bunk for 2 more. Also, it is pretty common to find them from the early 80s with single inboards.

But, they are 10.5' wide so trailering becomes a bit of a challenge.

Of course if you are looking at something that old, I would actually look even older the Chris-Craft Commander series. In my opinion they are better looking than the Catalina series.

Any of the more modern "express" cruiser boats with a swooping design and very limited windows in the cabin will feel very small very quick.

 

[25thmustang]

Cruisers Inc did some boats in that size range in the 80s that may fit the bill also. All will be cramped but doable.

 

[lg260ss]

I would be a little concerned about your max tow rating of 9500 lbs. A cabin cruiser capable of sleeping six will probably weigh at least 7000 lbs. Then add the weight of the trailer, fuel, water, and gear and you could easily be or over weight. While the truck may pull the load just fine, stopping that load could be a nightmare.

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Hey,
Something to consider is the type of water you are planning on boating on and if any preferences to OB, IO, IB .
I would suggest looking into something aluminum like the older starcraft islanders or even a alaskan type pilot house house boat which weldcraft makes an awesome 26' and up. I also saw bayliner mentioned and if you could find an older say late 80's hard top trophy with a good build youu might be surprised to how that would work.

There really are so many options out there that would work well. Best place to start would be google and begin searching out marina's and dealers and such.
Then when you find something that looks like it would work for you, again google that paticular boat and look for one being offered up for sale close to you.
Take the kids along, no i am not crazy but in reality if the seller is kind hearted they wont mind your kids climbing aboard and moving around. Keep your eyes open to how they move around and act. If no trips or falls or complaints of daddy this is too tight or daddy this boat is scarry, well climb on up there your self and check it out.

However make sure you are always having fun within your search and make sure to keep it a family thing, other wise down the road you will regret the entie thing.
Have a wonderful day
Jim