Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

[JoLin]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

I stand corrected. I wasn't thinking of inline 4-cyls. Yes, they're narrow- there would be enough room for them.

Were the 6-cyl boats V-6's or the old inline engines?

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

I have seen some 4.3s but those boats might have been 9' beams. When you get into the performance boats (Liberators, Formulas, etc...) I have seen narrow beam twin V8 set ups. The engine room looks very very tight.

The boats I had were both inline 4s and very tight as well.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

I have seen some 4.3s but those boats might have been 9' beams. When you get into the performance boats (Liberators, Formulas, etc...) I have seen narrow beam twin V8 set ups. The engine room looks very very tight.

The boats I had were both inline 4s and very tight as well.

Yeah, there's not much difference in width in a 4.3L and a 5.7V8 at that point. I like the twin 4.3L setup personally as far as power/performance/fuel mileage for a sub 30' boat, but the engine bays do get cramped. Adding in a genset only makes for tighter quarters.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Yeah, there's not much difference in width in a 4.3L and a 5.7V8 at that point. I like the twin 4.3L setup personally as far as power/performance/fuel mileage for a sub 30' boat, but the engine bays do get cramped. Adding in a genset only makes for tighter quarters.

That's where the archived manufacturers' specs come in so handy. 4Winns' specs on the Vista I'm buying bear out that speed/fuel consumption figures for twin 6's vs. a single big-block are virtually identical at all rpm's. Move to twin v-8's and performance and fuel consumption both increase dramatically.

Of course, choice depends on how you intend to use the boat. My wife and I are 'cruisers'. I like to loaf along at 25mph, running in the low 3000's. For our purposes the v-6's are fine. During the sea trial (1/3 tank of fuel, 550 lbs of passengers, and all the owners stuff still aboard) she popped on plane with no fuss at all. Can't wait to use it next year!

To the OP- you're potentially boating some serious water (Lake Erie). An under-30 foot boat is suitable only in reasonable weather conditions. IMO, twins would be, if not a necessity, certainly a preferred package. The wider beam needed for that would contribute to the boat's seaworthiness, as well.

Hope you find something nice. That $30K limit gives you a lot of options in an under-10-year-old boat.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Also determine why the need (or want) for dual engines. Is it power, speed, looks, overall performance, or abck-up running gear in case of breakdown?

If it's strictly performance, my brother runs a 28' Rinker with a single 8.1L VP and can get 51 MPH! Plenty of working room around the engine and much lighter.

 

[erie_guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Camero,

I dock in Port Clinton with my 32' boat - shown in my avitar. It is a Chris Craft with 12' beam and provides great room in the cabin. We have docked at several marinas in Port Clinton and are currently across the street from the Moose Club at Riverside Marina (on the Portage River). They have 30' floating docks with power and water that are priced very reasonably (less than $1000/season) and I can afford to leave the boat in the water (although we have a tri-axle trailer for the boat, for winter storage) We travel over 2 hours from Columbus and do not trailer.

Several marinas in Port Clinton (Brand's marina, Drawbridge marina) offer rack storage for boats that are 27' or smaller. This keeps your boat from getting to much garden on the bottom during the season but costs more than the floating docks.

When weather or waves on L. Erie are not inviting, you can still boat on the Portage river clear up to Oak Harbor. Last year we stay at Port Clinton Yacht Charter's docks - but they have fixed docks and many sail boats.

Lots of luck in finding the boat of your choice and a place to keep it.

erie_guy
Port Clinton, OH

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Also determine why the need (or want) for dual engines. Is it power, speed, looks, overall performance, or abck-up running gear in case of breakdown?

If it's strictly performance, my brother runs a 28' Rinker with a single 8.1L VP and can get 51 MPH! Plenty of working room around the engine and much lighter.

There is a 28' Rinker at my club with a single I/O. 51 mph is incredible for that size, style of a boat with a single motor. My 29'er with twin 5.7s only musters mid 30s, lol.

 

[camaro_z28]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Thats good info to have. Right now we pay $600 for a seasonal dock at pleasant hill lake in perrysville. Its not bad because I know alot of people there, but after awhile on a 900 acre lake, you run out of places to go. We like to visit places, and spend whole weekends on the water, thus this whole thread on upgrading to a bigger boat. But as I can now see, a trailerable boat might be holding me back on getting what I really want, and for less than 1k a year, I think is perfectly reasonable to just keep a boat up at the big lake. I've been looking at some wider beam boats and they seem alot more roomy for sure.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

What really decided me to get a not much longer, but wider boat and give up trailering:

1. I now have a dedicated dinette that I DON'T need to break down to make up the forward v-berth. Gives better all-around liveability in the interior.

2. I can stand up in the head without hunching over to fit the curve of the boat. Showering will be a lot easier.

3. The mid-berth. That's where I sleep anyway (wife takes the v-berth). The C*C's has plenty of room once I'm in it, but I'm getting too old for the contortions needed to enter and exit. The 4Winns isn't exactly a suite, but I can easily crawl in and out of it

4. Drawers and cabinets.

The difference is only 3' more length and 1' more beam than I have now, but the increase in interior room puts it in a whole different class. I can actually envision spending 2 or 3 nights out at a time.

Man, I just LOVE shopping for other people's boats...

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

What really decided me to get a not much longer, but wider boat and give up trailering:

1. I now have a dedicated dinette that I DON'T need to break down to make up the forward v-berth. Gives better all-around liveability in the interior.

2. I can stand up in the head without hunching over to fit the curve of the boat. Showering will be a lot easier.

3. The mid-berth. That's where I sleep anyway (wife takes the v-berth). The C*C's has plenty of room once I'm in it, but I'm getting too old for the contortions needed to enter and exit. The 4Winns isn't exactly a suite, but I can easily crawl in and out of it

4. Drawers and cabinets.

The difference is only 3' more length and 1' more beam than I have now, but the increase in interior room puts it in a whole different class. I can actually envision spending 2 or 3 nights out at a time.

Man, I just LOVE shopping for other people's boats...

I agree, and let me add my .02 here...

My 27' x 8.5' boat. If my GF was at the galley, I would not be able to comfortably pass by her and get from the forward berth to the aft. In the 29' x 10.8', this can and does happen without even making contact or having to contort myself.

My 27'er the head was cramped and small. You didn't stand in it, you kind of fit yourself in. My 29'er you can walk in, shut the door and fit.

My 27'er, although never had a real dinette, had a small seating area. The 29'er has a full dinette with room for 4. We have had 5 at it (brought a chair in from the deck) playing cards for hours on end, and noone felt cramped.

Both boats had good sized galleys. Both boats actually had similar access to the aft berth. The 27'er actually had a full beam mid berth, the 29'er it is less than 6' 6" in length.

Hopefully these pictures give an idea of the size difference. Other things to note, my 27'er had maybe 6' of headroom tops. The 29'er had like 6' 5". The 27'er was one open space, the 29'er has a door to close off the forward stateroom.

27'er:

29'er:

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

BTW the 29'er has been heavily cleaned since that photo. That was taken before I purchased it. Shows much nicer now.

 

[erie_guy]

Re: Looking to upgrade, wanting real world advise on a 26-29ft trailerable boat

Camero,

A fellow across the dock from me has listed his boat for sale on Craigs List. I I believe it is a 1987 32' Wellcraft St. Tropez. It has v-drives (inboard) and twin V8 engines. As I remember, he had an asking price of $25K. Unfortunately, he has pulled for the season and the boat is on the hard, but may not be covered yet. I will check tomorrow as I am currently at the lake to get year end maintence completed before the snow comes.

You may not be familiar with the boat but it is very roomy inside and has a large the rear deck. I think it has 454 engines, but I am not sure - they may be 350s.

Ain't boat shopping GREAT !

erie_guy
Port Clinton, OH