Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about a ..

[Moulin6801]

Test drove a 18 ft Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about a small deckboat like the Hurricane Fundeck 172??
Will it be worse or better on a Fundeck??
My wife was complaining that I was going too fast... 35-45 mph. I did feel better when I was much slower but than I was about to feel sea sick. In fact, this boat when we stopped was going from side to side. I think a little deck boat would not have so much swing from side to side when I am parked, would it???
Thanks for the imput!!
David
PS never owned a boat, looking for my first one, but I can only feet a 18ft on my garrage)

 

[KCook]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

At speed deckboats often ride rougher than bowriders. I would certainly expect that to be the case in a Crownline 180 vs Hurricane 172 comparison. I have not run a Hurricane, but I have run that same Crownline. Which has about as good a ride as you can expect from that size boat.

The deckboat would roll a little less when at rest. But only a little. By far the best compromise for comfort at rest and at moderate speeds is a pontoon. Good luck getting a pontoon into a garage, they make up a tall package when on the trailer.

For real comfort you will just have to give up the garage limitation. Most of us end up with boats too big for garages. That, or rent different boats until you have a better idea of what will make your family happy.

Kelly Cook

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

In my experience, rough water = rough ride. We fished in Alaska (mouth of Cook Inlet) in a 25' boat in 8-10' seas. Mercy!...

 

[ziggy]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

In my experience, rough water = rough ride.

hum, that makes me feel good. my boat beats me to death. the above statement may be true. but i think theres a rough ride, and a total beatin to death (pounding, hull breakin slaps) where yer fillings fall out of yer teeth....surely a crownline is only a rough ride? probably more about deadrise and a deep v when it really comes down to it..

 

[Moulin6801]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

I am not sure what you mean there! I am very new into the boat thing and I sure don't know the "linguo". Please, lay terms for me!
So, are you saying that deep V is what make the boat sway so much when parked??
David

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

My wife was complaining that I was going too fast... 35-45 mph.

I've found that if you go just a little bit faster, you can no longer hear the complaining!!!​

 

[KCook]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

"deep V is what make the boat sway so much when parked??"

Correct. But the same deep V helps the ride at speed. So there is a trade-off. Catamaran can work well in both situations. But catamarans that small are quite rare. Not counting pontoons, which are catamarans.

Kelly

 

[tommays]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

One wife in 26 years and a lot of boats


Make wife happy OR you will never enjoy the boat


The last 12 years we have had a 19' cuddy it is choppy around here every afternoon to the point of needing to slow down to the 12 to 14 MPH range


I work with what my wife can handle and have fun

This weekend it was calm we crusied 85 miles from Jamesport across the Long Island Sound to Fishers Island and back

It was a great day that would have sucked if i was buy myself

Tommays




Tommays

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

Every year as I get more experience in different conditions, the ride gets better. There's a lot to learn: How to cross different size wakes (some of the boats in the ICW send off 4' rolls), angles to run at, and speed adjustment for chop. There's a sweet spot on the throttle that will give you the best ride. Sometimes it's a touch faster, sometimes it's a touch slower.

tommays is right about making sure your wife is comfortable. We always sailed. My folks had several Catalina sloops, the last one being a 38. They live in Syracuse and boat in Oneida / Ontario Lakes. As my mother got older (in her 50's), she grew less and less comfortable truly sailing the boat. She preferred to be under power. When I would go home to visit, my father and I would take the boat out without Mom because she couldn't handle any heel. We would put the rails in the water, hunt for hull speed, etc.. We felt bad about Mom not coming but she was much more comfortable at home than 30' behind us in the dingy! (kidding, we never stuck her out there). They ended up trading the Catalina in for a Island Gypsy Trawler several years ago and now everyone's happy. They run the canals up there, and Mom likes the pace (but she still won't be present when Dad takes the boat across Ontario in the summer).

I would suggest you rent/try out a few different styles to help you choose.

 

[Moulin6801]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

I have 3 small boys and my wife does not like to go fast in the boat, more likelly we will just ride to a cove, swim, hand out, ride to another, maybe fish a little, so, by what you guys are saying I would be happier with Hurricane Deck type boat, that would be a little more stable on the river waters, correct??!!
Man I am so not sure what to do and I can not rent boats around here....
Thanks again for the imputs!
David

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

Dave, You confused me with your terms. "Deckboat" means (to me anyway) a deep vee hull with an open cockpit. Kind of a cross between a pontoon boat and a bowrider. Since the bowrider and the deckboat have similar hulls, their performance will be similar. A "Fundeck" does have a deep vee hull, correct?

just so you know, although a Pontoon boat has a bunch of room on it, they do not do well in rough seas, and are not generally too fast. my neighbor just traded in a great 24' SeaSwirl cuddy in for a pontoon boat. where we live he gets some pretty rough weather. I do not expect the 'toon to survive its dockage.

 

[tmh]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

Moulin, you're in a tough spot. A small boat rides rough.....with the Crownline, you were certainly on the BETTER ride side of average for that size. Fundeck, bowrider either way in that size not a comfortable ride with an chop to speak of. a 20' bowrider is a different ride altogether, and a 22' is even more stable and safe feeling.

also, these boats are not meant to cruise around at 10-15 mph - they are planing boats so really 20+ mph except for short no-wake distances. As said. often 30 mph may be a better ride than 25 mph, for example...depends on the conditions.

If the lake/river has much boat traffic, an 18-19' will always be a ride your wife hates! Try weekdays (less busy) with nice weather for a while to get a better feel for the boat(s) handling of just the lake itself w/o all the wakes hitting you from all angles.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

If your wife is new to boats as well, she may just need to get used to the speed. When I first bought my 17' bowrider, she complained the first time we took it out and subsequently until she got used to the feeling. she doesn't like to pound or get wet, so I adjust the ride to suit her.

I grew up on small 14' fishing boats with small motors and am very used to being bounced around. She didn't, so it took time for her to gain the confidence. she is now a very good boater and she trusts me implicitly (which is important).

If I were you, and the water you boat on is large and often rough, I would either look for smoother water, which allows you more flexibility in your boat choice, or go with the deep V with a decent deadrise (the angle of the V at the transom). You will rock at a stop with whatever you choose, but I would think the improved ride would be the best tradeoff.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

I would suggest you rent/try out a few different styles to help you choose.

One that Your wife is comfortable with.If she is not happy, You won't be !

 

[KCook]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

Deckboats are a compromise design, does lots of things sort of Ok. Bowriders are basically affordable speed boats, built for comfort and style. Bowriders are popular everywhere. Deckboat acceptance is much more regional. You may see quite a few deckboats on LakeA, almost none on LakeB, both lakes in the same state! This is a factor to consider, because in my little example the guy on LakeB will have a hard time finding a buyer when he tries to sell his deckboat.

When in doubt, buy cheap. Get a used boat for half the price of a new one. Then if it turns out to not be the right boat for you, less costly to sell it.

Kelly

 

[QC]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

To add to Kelly's comments, the Deckboat will typically have less "deadrise" (the angle of the V) which may be slightly more stable at rest as Kelly said, but it will ride rougher than a boat with a higher degree of deadrise. Most Deckboats have around 16 degrees of deadrise and most bowriders 18 - 20. My experience is that for chop etc., I want at least 20 degrees, however they definitely rock more side to side . . .

 

[thenotsofreeboat]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

I have an old hurricane 16' boat that someone gave to me. i don't know what the hull looks like on the new ones but mine is some werid cross between a v-hull and a tri hull. It is very stable when parked and is pretty decend when in choppy waters. But if the wind is in the 30 MPH range or there are some big wakes the ride is like riding plywood with wheels down the highway and that is at 35 MPH. It is a good compromise i think, but the waters in missouri are not that rough.

 

[Moulin6801]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

I am leaning towards the Hurricane Deckboat right now, just due to space for my little ones, and it seems to be the more stable one when parked, as per the forum's opinion. However, it will all depend on the price. It seems that they are quite a bit more than the Glastron 175, that will be my 2nd choice.
Now, how can I figure what is the minimum plane speed on these boats? It does not say on the web and when I asked the Hurricane sales lady she told me that would depend on what motor I put on the boat.... ?
Thanks
David- Nashville

 

[KCook]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

What "minimum planing speed" were you hoping for? The deep-V everybody wants for a better ride also raises the minimum planing speed. Boat designs that do plane well at low speed have a very shallow V or none at all. Some "hybrid" deckboats like Hurricane's FunDeck (NOT FunDeckGS) will provide this. Some other brands with this style deckboat include PolarKraft, Smokercraft, SouthWind, and Starcraft. But most of these will be too big for a garage.

Kelly

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Test drove a Crowline on choppy waters with my wife and it was rought. How about

We all have brand or style prefences, if you can find the time to test a Larson 186 Senza it might surprise you. It will still wander a bit at low speed and that can be minimized smart tab's, but it will ride a 1-2 chop very smoothly. Well a mfg may state a 20 degree v there are other factor's that greatly effect ride quality,there are alway's trade off's. Deck boat's need stability at low speed's or when there stationary which call's for large chine's and large chine's in my experience call for a very harsh high speed ride in a chop...........Just a opinion your milage may vary..