Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

[fishdreamer]

Can you recomend one that will handle chop and ride good. Center Console offshore style is better but will consider anything you recomend since this will make my decision a little easyer. So your input will be helpfull and apreciated.
I used the boat 99% for fishing.
Ok I'm in San Diego Ca. For those who know california I like to be able to go to Catalina and Coronados Islands safe and dry if posible my buget $5 to 10000.

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Depends on what type of boat you are looking for.
The Boston Whaler Outrage series have always been my favorites.
The 17' with a 150 handles the most.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Not sure what "offshore" means here. I've been offshore in Alaska in a 19' boat and I would have rather had another 10' and twins.

 

[mogfisher]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

20' Seacraft. A buddy of mine has a 20 and a 23 seacraft. Awesome boats. The ride is phenominal.

 

[roozter2550]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

it's gonna be tough finding an 18-19' boat that is considered "offshore"
you're gonna find that 21-23' it where that catagory starts.

I recommend something with a 20-22 degree deadrise at the transom...24 degree is even better but only high end boat builders seem to use a high angle on smaller boats, (like the Contender 21)

definately stay away from anything with a shallow deadrise angle.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Look at sea hunt and grady for a V; get a good high spoon bow. Whaler or its copies for a cathedral; there are several.
The safest boat will also have a bumpy ride--that's the trade off. A boat that size, you won't (shouldn't) go out except in perfect conditions, but it has to be able to handle the bad conditions you will get caught in. Not might; will.
Don't run a $5,000 boat offshore without a buddy.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Grady White
Wellcraft
Boston Whaler
Baja
Angler
Key West
Everglades
Edgewater

 

[exceed]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Parker

 

[mj05]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Alot of people seem to like Starcraft Islanders. A 22' Islander will ride better and of course give more room but is still very trailerable/launchable. Check out the Starcraft forum.... those guys are great!! Very knowledgeable and helpful

 

[fishdreamer]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Can you recomend one that will handle chop and ride good. Center Console offshore style is better but will consider anything you recomend since this will make my decision a little easyer. So your input will be helpfull and apreciated.
I used the boat 99% for fishing.
Ok I'm in San Diego Ca. For those who know california I like to be able to go to Catalina and Coronados Islands safe and dry if posible my buget $5 to 10000.

Woo, thank You all for your recomendations, wondering if Makos are not as good since not one has recomended it, but when you say allways go out with a body you mean with me or an a separate boat? And how do I know if the boat has a 22 or 24 deegre rise at the transom or dead rise wherever that is? Help

 

[dingbat]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Woo, thank You all for your recomendations, wondering if Makos are not as good since not one has recomended it, but when you say allways go out with a body you mean with me or an a separate boat? And how do I know if the boat has a 22 or 24 deegre rise at the transom or dead rise wherever that is? Help

Mako and Seacraft are brands that are long past their prime. Both built good reputations under prior ownership. Unfortunatly, both where sold to Tracker Marine. The same group that brings you the Tahoe, Sun Tracker and Tracker boats for Bass Pro shop. Need I say more?

You do not need a 22 or 24 degree deadrise to run in the ocean. It is the design of the hull, not the deadrise that determines the ride quality. I would take a quality 20 degree deadrise hull over a poorly designed 24 degree deadrsie hull with a in a heartbeat.

As far as a buddy boat is concerned, if you have to ask these types of questions you lack the experience to be out there alone. You should take a buddy boat along until you get your sea legs.

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Grady White
Wellcraft
Boston Whaler
Baja
Angler
Key West
Everglades
Edgewater

I don't think you can do it by name. I had an older Wellcraft that was a great offshore boat. I have a newer Wellcraft that is useless as an offshore boat. I think you have to look at the individual boat not as much the brand.

 

[RicMic]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

My first choice would be Boston Whaler, BUT finding an "offshore" boat that is suitable for going offshore in your price range is going to be the problem.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

I'd get an old Mako, also Aquasport and Sea Ox. Not a new Mako.
I don't like aluminum hulls for choppy water; they seem loud and not as sturdy. That may not be factually true; it's just how they feel to me.
Agree as to Parker.
As someone indicated, it's not all brand. For example, my Sea Hunt 21 has a great spoon bow, but there are other "body styles" of the same brand and length that would be a submarine in standing waves.
You've gotten good advice here but the best will come from knowledgable boaters (fishermen) in your area. Go down to the docks and/or look for local fishing forums there.

 

[fishdreamer]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

20' Seacraft. A buddy of mine has a 20 and a 23 seacraft. Awesome boats. The ride is phenominal.

What year range are the boat that he has?

 

[BrandonHa]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

I used to make a living on the ocean in NW Washington. The best boat I have ever seen in that size was a Shamrock.

They are an inboard and built tought as nails. When we ran our charter boat a friend had a 19' Shamrock and his boat handled big water like no other boat I had ever seen.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/1997183312.html

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/1989786185.html This is the same model he had. Its a seriously amazing boat!

 

[sasto]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

I used to make a living on the ocean in NW Washington. The best boat I have ever seen in that size was a Shamrock.

They are an inboard and built tought as nails. When we ran our charter boat a friend had a 19' Shamrock and his boat handled big water like no other boat I had ever seen.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/1997183312.html

http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/1989786185.html This is the same model he had. Its a seriously amazing boat!

I have to totally agree with you BrandonHa. I did some warranty for Shamrock a few years ago and had the opportunity to run every model they made. I have not run a smaller boat of that size that stands up to her. I am partial to inboards though. I also liked the Sea Pro due to the higher gunnels.

 

[BrandonHa]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

I went over to http://www.craiglook.com and just typed in "shamrock boat" without the quotes of course. Then it will list all of them that are for sale on Craigslist accross the country. Its a handy website

The charter that I ran with my dad was small, a 1991 Trophy, 23ft (I believe) 5.7 Mercruiser. We took 4 guys at a time, in the spring it was Halibut and that was the hardest because it was usually a 17 mile run straight out in to the ocean.

Our boat was nice, but the I/O was just not ment for the ocean. The weight was wrong, its in the back on an I/O and when you have a following sea and all that weight in the back your only option to keep control is to put the bow up and plow. When the ocean laid flat then it was no big deal, but up in that neck of the woods the ocean did not lay flat very often.

Now my friend Tom in his Shamrock, that boat bounced around like a cork in water that the Trophy could never even begin to take. I would talk to Tom on the radio "Tommy, your actually going out there in this weather?" and the answer was usually something like "Well yeah, why not?"

With the inboard and the deep V you could pretty much go anywhere if the fuel allow it.

I would like to own one myself someday, but i got to many projects now

 

[cturboaddict]

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

Can you recomend one that will handle chop and ride good. Center Console offshore style is better but will consider anything you recomend since this will make my decision a little easyer. So your input will be helpfull and apreciated.
I used the boat 99% for fishing.
Ok I'm in San Diego Ca. For those who know california I like to be able to go to Catalina and Coronados Islands safe and dry if posible my buget $5 to 10000.

I know a buddy of mine had a 20' (i think) robalo CC. It was beautiful to take through the inlet in Atlantic City. Great for fishing.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Best 18' or 19 foot offshore boat

what I am hearing is that 18-19 is too small. I agree. 21 is a good break-point for inshore/offshore but even that is small on the wrong day or a dicey inlet. Therefore you have to keep yourself on a tight leash so that when that right day turns into a wrong day you are close enough to make it home.
Where I am, the Chesapeake Bay may technically be "inshore" but it can present conditions worse than those in the ocean ("offshore"). And the skill of the captain matters more than length.