Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

[Cptkid570]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

Could you get a jet ski for water sports? That way you can just tow the jet ski behind the large boat, park the large boat, then use the jet ski to tow people around on?

Or, you could downgrade your 23' and get like an 18' for water sports and then have the larger boat for luxury. That way you don't have 2 boats that are gas hogs. Wait..... all boats are gas hogs! What am I talking about!

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

Slips range $350-$400 for this price in SD County...but then there's gas that I cannot purchase any longer at the gas station and then probably a lot more cost for engine maintenance and repairs too..

Just go buy a dually and trailer it like the rest of use with larger, under 30 feet cabin cruiser boats.
You live in an area where you can launch for free so why spend all that extra money on a slip, bottom paint, maintenance, etc. etc. etc. when you could have a great tow vehicle for less than you'd spend in a slip?

Then when you want to visit some other ports and spend some nights in Catalina, Dana Point, Newport Harbor, Huntington Harbor or see the Queen Mary, you can trailer it up this way instead of spending a small fortune in gas to get here.

If what you buy is over 8' 6" wide, it costs less than $100 annually for a wide load permit.

No brainer if you can afford a 2nd boat.

Mark

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I trailer mine but the most enjoyment I've had with it is when I've had it in a slip... sleeping with the a/c or heat but no genny... the marina social experience... waking up and just tossing a couple lines for a morning cruise to a favorite breakfast buffet on the waterfront....

there are good sides to both trailering AND slipping... being able to do both is a HUGE bonus... IE just pay for a slip during the peak of the season or while you are on vacation from work and trailer other times

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

CC's and WA's are designed for long fishing trips and offshore use. Capacity is an important selling point (and safety feature). Under 30' express cruisers are a completely different animal and don't usually stray that far from home. Mine holds 110 gallons. Those in the 26' and under class typically hold 80 gallons or less.

I now see your point. A small cruiser on a lake is not going to go far while it is not unheard of to travel 9 miles to the inlet out in the Atlantic 30 - 35 miles troll all day and return. 80 gallons would not permit me two trips with 1/3 tank reserve. I still fill after every trip even the near shore trips for a short length of time that only burns 15 - 17 gallon as if the next trip is a long one the reserve question comes into play.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I took the aft cabin foam out and bought an air mattress and put it into the cover made for a real nice bed
Harry

I removed the aft cabin cushions on my FW, too, and put in a real mattress, sheets and blanket. There's nothing like sleeping in a real bed after a day on the water.

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I trailer a camper and my smaller boat already...my TUNDRA 5.7 could probably tow a Ciera 2655 but not a 2855, my towing capacity tops out at 9400lbs or so...I used to own a F350 dually until recently but driving long distance with that beast was never that much fun and it was a gas sucker itself (ok, much less than a boat....). It's one thing to park and back in with a 27ft trailer but doing day or short weekend trips and launching an equally sized boat seems like it would mean quite a bit of down time relative to the actual boating time. I was all against slip fess bit am starting to think rethink that too. There's some nice marinas in SD county and there's the piece of real estate on the water factor...the big draw back for us would be that we would have to give up the traveling longer distance with the bigger boat, which we do like to do...I know it sounds a bit confusing but there a lot of things to think about when you are optimizing your idea of boating and matching it up with the right boat and storage mode...

Just go buy a dually and trailer it like the rest of use with larger, under 30 feet cabin cruiser boats.
You live in an area where you can launch for free so why spend all that extra money on a slip, bottom paint, maintenance, etc. etc. etc. when you could have a great tow vehicle for less than you'd spend in a slip?

Then when you want to visit some other ports and spend some nights in Catalina, Dana Point, Newport Harbor, Huntington Harbor or see the Queen Mary, you can trailer it up this way instead of spending a small fortune in gas to get here.

If what you buy is over 8' 6" wide, it costs less than $100 annually for a wide load permit.

No brainer if you can afford a 2nd boat.

Mark

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I signed up on the site...we'll see what comes back, it seems it is a site frequented by Europeans?

Your call, but if I was considering any Bayliner, biased or not, I would want to know all I could from owners with actual experience in that particular boat. That is exactly what brand specific forums are for.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

That is a surprise,,, only a 115 gallon tank. My 21'er has a 90 and the 150 sips less.

My 29'er had a 200 gallon tank. I remember the dock hands response when he asked how much fuel we were going to take and I said, 150-175 gallons. He laughed and told me my boat should only have 100-120 gallon tank.

It took over 180 that day! . They just burn it very fast!

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I signed up on the site...we'll see what comes back, it seems it is a site frequented by Europeans?

It's possible, as Euro's seem to buy old boats, and keep them forever. Plus B-liner offered many cuddy cabins and mid-size cruisers back in the day, and those type boats are suited to their conditions over there (UK for instance).

I though this was hilarious. on your point about being biased. Here is a post by a Chap owner, about Sea Ray. IMO, it is a biased and uninformed opinion only.

I've had the opportunity to look the SR's over thoroughly for more than a month now, and I don't know where their buyers come from. The difference in quality, layout, ergonomics, ride, and features is night and day between a Chap and SR.



The SR's are f'n junk, at least where Chaparral makes an equivalent sized and spec'd model. Bow rider, cuddy, cruiser, luxury-performance, it doesn't matter. At any rate, there is zero to little comparison shopping going on that I can see.



In showrooms or at boat shows where I've talked to people doing comparison shopping, SR was routinely taking a serious beating in people minds and perceptions. People just have to take time to look, and not just go with what a buddy has or says.

 

[captain zac]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

FYI

I pulled many tubes behind my 2855 not a problem
I also could cruise from Charleston to Hilton Head with 6 pax and we all had plenty of room
The way the back deck was designed I like to put 2 deck chairs there when cruising

Harry

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I looked over Bayliners specs for the boats >24 and <30 feet with respect to trailering. Since we already have a cuddy cabin any step up would have to be at least to a 26ft so there 4 models:

2655 LX Sunbridge 27ft, 220HP, 6370lbs, 9'5"
2859 Express Bridge 28ft, 300HP, 7730lbs, 9'9"
2859 Express Cruiser 28ft, 200HP, 7730lbs, 9'9"
2855 LX Sunbridge 29ft, 300HP, 7185lbs, 9'10"

Upwards of the 2655 I believe would require a special permit for trailering..and the 2855 probably offers the most space to weight ratio.

Like I mentioned my Tundra can tow 9,400lbs, add a 1,500lbs trailer to the 7,185lbs of the 2855 would only leave about 700lbs of weight for towing which would definitely be testing limits. I am also curious how this size of boat would handle at the launch ramp.

The 2655 may be a safer option if we went the trailering route...the question then may be what the difference in room is we are giving up for the freedom of roaming the coastline and lakes at a cheaper price..

FYI

I pulled many tubes behind my 2855 not a problem
I also could cruise from Charleston to Hilton Head with 6 pax and we all had plenty of room
The way the back deck was designed I like to put 2 deck chairs there when cruising

Harry

 

[steven_p]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I removed the aft cabin cushions on my FW, too, and put in a real mattress, sheets and blanket. There's nothing like sleeping in a real bed after a day on the water.

Amen to that. Our previous boat had a foam block mattress and I did whatever I could to avoid sleeping on it overnight. Current boat has a proper residential mattress, sheets and a comforter. Big difference.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

2655 LX Sunbridge 27ft, 220HP, 6370lbs, 9'5"
2859 Express Bridge 28ft, 300HP, 7730lbs, 9'9"
2859 Express Cruiser 28ft, 200HP, 7730lbs, 9'9"
2855 LX Sunbridge 29ft, 300HP, 7185lbs, 9'10"

Starting with specs from a brochure might be a little deceiving so you might want to do some further checking and estimating about what a total "towed" weight may really be and I'll use my boat/trailer as an example.

Brochure says:
DRY WEIGHT 7,500 LBS

My boat sits on twin, 6000 pound rated axles, galvanized steel trailer and with the boat carrying only 1/4 tank of fuel, about 1/2 tank of water, 4 batteries the total "towing" weight as indicated on a commercial scale was 11,200.
So roughly speaking then compared to your brochure weight of 6370 pounds for the 2655, all else being about equal your 1,200 pounds under my weight which then puts you at about 10,000 towed weight which is well over your maximum for the Tundra.

Mark

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

the load on your boat is 3,700 which includes 1/2 tank water (200lbs), 1/4 tank gas (200lbs?) and the 4 batteries (80lbs) so if that sounds bout right you have an additional 3,200 added weight. Even if that was correct that seems like a LOT to assume it was the average any cruiser might have....

Starting with specs from a brochure might be a little deceiving so you might want to do some further checking and estimating about what a total "towed" weight may really be and I'll use my boat/trailer as an example.

Brochure says:
DRY WEIGHT 7,500 LBS

My boat sits on twin, 6000 pound rated axles, galvanized steel trailer and with the boat carrying only 1/4 tank of fuel, about 1/2 tank of water, 4 batteries the total "towing" weight as indicated on a commercial scale was 11,200.
So roughly speaking then compared to your brochure weight of 6370 pounds for the 2655, all else being about equal your 1,200 pounds under my weight which then puts you at about 10,000 towed weight which is well over your maximum for the Tundra.

Mark

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

the point is that "dry weight" in a brochure means just about nothing.... my 28'er says 7300 in the brochure but weighs around 10,000

also in your figures you said 80 lbs for 4 batteries... WAY low and 200 for half a tank of water... likely a low.... nothing for gear....... nothing for oil (engine, trim, power steering, etc) ...... and the biggest one, nothing for the trailer.

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

oops, the trailer I did forget to factor in the biggest one, I guess am just trying to figure out the other larger items on the list for myself and was using the difference in your figure to that point....so if I substract out 1,500 for the trailer and another 200lbs? for the batteries I am down to about 2,000 of extra load that I have to think about...

the point is that "dry weight" in a brochure means just about nothing.... my 28'er says 7300 in the brochure but weighs around 10,000

also in your figures you said 80 lbs for 4 batteries... WAY low and 200 for half a tank of water... likely a low.... nothing for gear....... nothing for oil (engine, trim, power steering, etc) ...... and the biggest one, nothing for the trailer.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

While you are at it always figure for full tanks too
If you are going boating water is easy to get at home and fuel is much cheaper on land.

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

depending on what length and purpose the trip is, the type and amount and load could have a wide range...I am just trying to get an idea what a reasonable starting point for maximum dry weight may be that my truck could handle. Most of my trips will be day trips, some of them weekend. Rarely will there be a 4-7 day trip.

While you are at it always figure for full tanks too
If you are going boating water is easy to get at home and fuel is much cheaper on land.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

a day trip could easily use multiple tanks of fuel... dry weight is unreliable at best as a way to determine total weight and if you EVER expect to haul it full of fuel n water then you have to figure on that weight....

I tend to get fairly close by over figuring the extras... in my head I figure 100 lbs/bat and 10 lbs/gallon of any liquid it can carry, 500 lbs for misc gear, and 7f lbs/ft of trailer... BUT that can still vary quite a bit as there are several variables... manufacturer, trailer construction, bogus numbers to make a brochure look good, etc

for the most part you should be fine with most 25-26' cruisers maybe some 27's but 28's will be pushing it for the Tundra.

short distance low speed IE under about 40 mph and you could get away with a little more

 

[marekli]

Re: Cabin Cruiser Recommendations

I pretty much ruled out 28ft boats, e.g. 2855 I looked at last weekend is 7,200lbs dry weight, with trailer and fluids that's over the limit (9,400lbs) easily on my Tundra. A 26-27ft is more realistic with dry weight at about 6-6,500lbs. I defnitely do not want to be teetering on the brink with heavy loads at a launch ramp....

a day trip could easily use multiple tanks of fuel... dry weight is unreliable at best as a way to determine total weight and if you EVER expect to haul it full of fuel n water then you have to figure on that weight....

I tend to get fairly close by over figuring the extras... in my head I figure 100 lbs/bat and 10 lbs/gallon of any liquid it can carry, 500 lbs for misc gear, and 7f lbs/ft of trailer... BUT that can still vary quite a bit as there are several variables... manufacturer, trailer construction, bogus numbers to make a brochure look good, etc

for the most part you should be fine with most 25-26' cruisers maybe some 27's but 28's will be pushing it for the Tundra.

short distance low speed IE under about 40 mph and you could get away with a little more