Considering leaving my BR for a deck boat

[Augoose]

I currently have a '99 Chris Craft 200 BR which my family of four use for normal lake boating activities, wakeboarding and occasionally water skiing. A local person in my area is selling a Glastron DX235 deck boat and I'm thinking about selling my boat and upgrading.

My questions pertain to handling, acceleration, wake size and overall bang for your buck as it pertains how much room you get out of 23' deck boat vs a 20' BR. One of the main complaints about our current boat is that the rear deck is on a 20 degree angle making it difficult to walk from passenger area to the swim platform, especially with wet feet. Additionally, beneath the deck is where the majority of the storage is. Because of the layout, when my kids brings friends we are continuously asking people to move over here, move over here, just to get to things. One of the main annoyances is we quickly run out of room.

All things being equal, if you take a 23' Glastron bow rider and compare the handling to a 23' Glastron deck boat, is there a noticeable difference? Any difference in acceleration assuming engine size and prop pitch are the same? Are the hull characteristics about the same and its just space above the water line that is different?

Regarding wakeboarding, we are by no means super serious - we jump wake to wake and do some basic spins. Any reason a deck boat would not provide a good wakeboarding experience? We currently have a tower and would likely put one on the deck boat.

The things I'm really interested in are the space and easier access to water both off the front of the boat as well as the rear.
I'd like to hear from folks who made the switch from BR to DB and to hear whether they'd do it again!
Thanks
Augoose

 

[jkust]

Issue with deck boats on my lake is the shallower v vs bowriders meaning a rougher ride all else equal. My neighbor at my lake home just bought a 2017 24 foot Glastron beginning of this season that just ended and it is so amazingly low quality it is almost stunning it cost what it did. If there was a corner to cut, Glastron cut it and shortcutted and chinsed. It was my neighbors first boat so he is still getting the lay of the land. I can't imagine going from your current boat to that Glastron deckboat just from a build standpoint but that is beside the point. If I were on bigger water, I would be careful about which deckboat I considered from a ride standpoint regardless of build quality.

 

[ahicks]

Deck boats = big and heavy. I'd take a 'toon over something like that any day. If skiing is a priority, a tritoon (w/lifting strakes) with a big outboard will get the job done easily - and likely hold resale much better long term.

 

[theBrownskull]

I had a bow rider and currently have a deck boat. We like the deck boat due to the room, stability and loading / unloading at the dock or restaurants. It rides rougher but not that much. I do not regret going with the deckboat at all. The front platform is the feature we like the best. We boat on inland lakes and not the Great Lakes. If I was on rough water I would have something different with a deep V.

My friends have all different types of boats from pontoon / tritoons, Wakesetters, Mastercrafts bowriders, cuddy, aluminum fishing boats and each one chose the boat for their use and budget.

If it works for you go for it.

 

[Augoose]

Thanks all for the responses. I'm disappointed to see that the build quality has potentially dropped and that deck boats generally are not designed for rougher waters.This is exactly why I asked the questions as I had no idea. I live on a rather large lake so chop is a fairly common occurrence. I plan on at least taking the Glastron for a water test but will certainly keep the above comments in mind - thank you!

Please keep the comments coming!

 

[oldjeep]

There are certainly deck boats built for bigger water. My family and I did a photo shoot many years ago for glastron driving a DX235 deckboat. (Edit: 2009 model) Tons of space and a fairly deep v that allowed me to run 55mph down gull lake with a 5.0l. Middle pic. Thought it was a pretty nice boat.

 

[Augoose]

Oldjeep,
I actually found that article while doing some research. Do you recall anything particular, good or bad?

As an aside, what type of Jeep do you have? I restored a '79 CJ7 about 10 years ago.

 

[oldjeep]

Oldjeep,
I actually found that article while doing some research. Do you recall anything particular, good or bad?

As an aside, what type of Jeep do you have? I restored a '79 CJ7 about 10 years ago.

I don't recall anything bad about it. It wasn't a full production boat since we were doing the shoot the summer before. Thought it rode the rough water a lot better than the bayliner 195 I owned at the time, but it was 4 feet longer, a good deal wider and almost twice as heavy.

As for the jeeps, I've had 46, 48 willys, 94 YJ, 98 tj, couple commanches and a Cherokee.

And fwiw it was a 2009 model year boat. Pics were summer of 2008

 

[oldjeep]

I should say that I don't know if I would want to waterski behind one (or any deeper v boat), unless you mean on two skis.

 

[Augoose]

I should say that I don't know if I would want to waterski behind one (or any deeper v boat), unless you mean on two skis.

I've only slalomed behind deep v boats, never had a dedicated ski boat - so my legs wouldn't know any better!

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

My vote buy your new deck boat keep the old one problems solved. I bought a bigger boat in August. Wouldn?t part with my old boat for any reason. Ive had a few people want to buy my old boat as well.

 

[Starcraft5834]

buy a Toon with (3) logs, w lifting strakes or Tap Fins installed.... you will have a ton of room.. will go plenty fast enough with proper power applied... it will do everything you will want and people wont be stepping over each other.......

 

[oldjeep]

buy a Toon with (3) logs, w lifting strakes or Tap Fins installed.... you will have a ton of room.. will go plenty fast enough with proper power applied... it will do everything you will want and people wont be stepping over each other.......

You ever been in a pontoon on rough water? Even a tri-toon is no competition for a bowrider or deck boat in chop.

 

[gtochris]

main complaints about our current boat is that the rear deck is on a 20 degree angle making it difficult to walk from passenger area to the swim platform, especially with wet feet.

I could say the same thing about our 20' Wellcraft... Both myself and my partner and fallen off the back due to the sloped sundeck and short platform!

Worth a test drive, 3' longer can be a serious bump in space.

 

[jkust]

Thanks all for the responses. I'm disappointed to see that the build quality has potentially dropped and that deck boats generally are not designed for rougher waters.This is exactly why I asked the questions as I had no idea. I live on a rather large lake so chop is a fairly common occurrence. I plan on at least taking the Glastron for a water test but will certainly keep the above comments in mind - thank you!

Please keep the comments coming!

It was a bit of a shocker to step aboard to see what Glastron has become. It's never been a top tier boat but their newer models these last few years, it looks like they built them out of a parts bin and that's the nicest thing I can say about that 60k 'entry level' boat. As for the Tritoons, they have gotten popular new but not as plentiful quite yet used compared to how many reasonably priced deckboats are out there at any given time or at least that is what I see in my neck of the woods.

 

[Starcraft5834]

You ever been in a pontoon on rough water? Even a tri-toon is no competition for a bowrider or deck boat in chop.

nope, I would not go out in bad weather......... ive got a deep V.. i know..... cant fit very many on it.. there's no comparison to Toon's when it comes to hosting..........--->... accuweather.com

 

[oldjeep]

nope, I would not go out in bad weather......... ive got a deep V.. i know..... cant fit very many on it.. there's no comparison to Toon's when it comes to hosting..........--->... accuweather.com

Has nothing to do with bad water. Big lakes get big waves from other boats - I boat primarily on Minnetonka and it can be 90 degrees 0MPH winds and 3 -4 ft rollers. My folks have a pontoon and it is an awesome small lake boat (247 acres), couldn't pay me to take it out where we boat.

Seating is really a function of how the boat is layed out. Deck boats tend to have seating closer to my Ski/Wake crossover which seats 9 easily as long as they are normal sized people

 

[BRICH1260]

Check out Chaparral`s Sunesta line of deck boats. Other than the widened bow seating area and "pickle fork" bow you would not even know it was a "deck boat". 22 degree deadrise. A very comfortable ride compared to most deck boats.

 

[rickrabies]

deck boats are sweet. you will never regret it.

 

[Maclin]

I have no experience out on the lake in a deckboat, but have some thoughts on them, and one was on my shortlist for viewing the last time I was boat shopping...

I like the idea of front and rear boarding that most serious deckboats have. I have never been on one except on the hard though. A neighbor got a 24foot Crownline this year. Very nice layout, galley and head amidships and washout in the rear, and Crownline level of workmanship. It was very open, and of had self bailing deck. It did feel a little less secure than I think I would like, the deck sole seemed really "high" to me. The boat from the side looks very tall and being a 24 footer it looked huge out there on the pavement. I have gotten used to tall freeboard and like that feeling I guess. No real windshield, just the little sport one for the pilot. That is the nature of these, I think some do offer a full windshield but seems to me that is a compromise for boats like these.

No charge