17 Race Rocks to a 185 DE

[Eagleclassic]

Morning guys, long time lurker with some questions. Truly appreciate the experience here.

Ive been fishing at Pt Alberni for about 4 years now. Bought a 17 race rocks and rigged it up. I find it a wee bit small to get too far off of Beale, and I am wondering what your thoughts are to would it be worth upgrading to the 185 DE. Now I also would love the cuddy, I love to overnight. Thoughts
Whats my race rocks worth with a 90 SHO Yamaha rigged. everything 2021. 110 hrs?? And is that an easy sell if they gouge me on trade??

Thanks in advance

 

[zurk]

get a 21-25' if youre planning to overnight. no point upgrading 1.5'. 25' would be my recommendation. it will have kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Hewescraft-Alaskan

hewescraft.com

 

[kaelc]

Morning guys, long time lurker with some questions. Truly appreciate the experience here.

Ive been fishing at Pt Alberni for about 4 years now. Bought a 17 race rocks and rigged it up. I find it a wee bit small to get too far off of Beale, and I am wondering what your thoughts are to would it be worth upgrading to the 185 DE. Now I also would love the cuddy, I love to overnight. Thoughts
Whats my race rocks worth with a 90 SHO Yamaha rigged. everything 2021. 110 hrs?? And is that an easy sell if they gouge me on trade??

Thanks in advance

Somewhere in the 40's would be my guess, but I didn't hit the boat show or have been looking at many boats that size, so I could be way off. My guess comes from craiglist searches. I agree with Eagle Classic, save your pesos, do some tent and resorting, and buy the biggest boat you can in a few years. There are some wicked 19 foot cuddies but a 22 footer would be a huge upgrade as far as how far and how long you can stay out.

 

[Eden Island]

get a 21-25' if youre planning to overnight. no point upgrading 1.5'. 25' would be my recommendation. it will have kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

Hewescraft-Alaskan

hewescraft.com

x2 Moving up 1.5' will be great for more comfortable day fishing and the odd uncomfortable overnight. Also still very trailerable with most vehicles. You need to get into that 21-25' range if you want to be able to sleep, cook and have a head. One downside is that you may need a different vehicle if you're going to trailer.

We started with a 16' open boat that had a total weight [boat, motor, trailer] around 1000 lbs and was towed with a VW Rabbit, Mazda wagon or Jeep Cherokee. To get all amenities above we went all the way to an older 23' Hourston that weighs 7700 lbs on a trailer, and replaced the Jeep with a Dodge 2500 diesel -- which actually gets the same fuel economy as the Jeep.

Its all about tradeoffs and choices.

 

[seabeyond]

Morning guys, long time lurker with some questions. Truly appreciate the experience here.

Ive been fishing at Pt Alberni for about 4 years now. Bought a 17 race rocks and rigged it up. I find it a wee bit small to get too far off of Beale, and I am wondering what your thoughts are to would it be worth upgrading to the 185 DE. Now I also would love the cuddy, I love to overnight. Thoughts
Whats my race rocks worth with a 90 SHO Yamaha rigged. everything 2021. 110 hrs?? And is that an easy sell if they gouge me on trade??

Thanks in advance

I'd really consider skipping the 185 and going to a 20' hull. Brand doesn't need to be a 20de as the deck space sucks on that hull too (unless its a podded rendition). Go up in length by a chunk and save yourself a near future case of 2 foot-itis.
Keep in mind the race rocks is a podded 17 so it might be longer overall than the 185 DE. Sure the 185 will have a better ride and a bit of added beam.

I have a 176 which seems to have more back deck than the 185 (trade off for the 185's cuddy). Great little boat but it's still pretty little. The canal in the afternoon chop would suck in the 176. I can't imagine going through it regularly in a 17' tiny. Going from 18-20 in the right hull should really help make you less reliant on ideal weather.

 

[kaelc]

Here is a good search to watch what comes to go in that size range: https://vancouver.craigslist.org/se...ured=2010&query=aluminum#search=1~gallery~0~0

 

[baddogg]

As far as the length of your boat is concerned, that is totally up to you.

I started at 14, upsized to 18, later upsized to 26 and did a fair amount of overnighting. Eventually went back down to an 18 again as I wasn't interested in the camping option anymore. 18 suits me just fine for day trips. I'm comfortable going off Beale when the weather is suitable. It is perfect for fishing anywhere from Port Alberni to the outside edges of the Sound if you pick sheltered areas on snotty days.

There are those that say go bigger when it comes to both boats and motors. Make your choice and go with it.

Best of luck.

 

[N2013]

I'll add my 2 cent as I fish out of a DE 185 and I've done about a dozen West Coast (Winter Harbour to Renfrew) trips sleeping on the boat. Set up is a sleeper seat on the port side, pedestal at the helm. I always go solo. It is tight, but do able. The downside of the 185 is the lack of deck space. Mine is original with the motorwell at the stern, so not podded. The cuddy is tight for a 6' fella but sleepable. I've never slept on the sleeper seat that folds out so you could have a couple bodies onboard. The 185 can handle more water than I can so getting offshore is do able but only on the right days. I always go out with a plan A,B,C and let the weather & water dictate where I fish. I've also done a few trips offshore in a 21' which in my opinion at the moment, would be the only size of boat I'd go up to. The 185 is economical to run, moor, maintain, but the trade off is lack of deck space. Two is perfect, 3 is okay, 4 sucks. I fish solo 99% of the time. 21' has a bigger deck, cuddy, can handle more water. If you're wanting to take people overnight, and sleep on anchor, look at the 21+ foot class boat. If you plan to make mainly solo trips, or take people out and sleep tied up to a dock and are comfortable leaving coolers on the dock, the 185 is okay. You should be able to sell your SS no problem for a decent price. 50K roughly. You'd be look at spending probably another 50K to get into a decent 21' boat.

 

[Rayvon]

I've owned lots of boats in the 16-26 Ft. size and think that a 20Ft. is the minimum size for overnighting and offshore fishing.There are always nice days that you could go smaller,but you don't want to be caught out there if the wind picks up.Having enough fuel on board with extra comes with bigger boats.My Seasport 1900 would work,but it's a big 19 Fter. with pod.

 

[Eagleclassic]

Appreciate the replys for sure. First off I really dont want to spend 20 ft money, Id like a better ride as the race rocks is a bit light coming back through nahmint... I fish 2 most of time and would be solo sleeping, and do it once or twice a season so a 20 would likely burn more fuel than I like. I can go from China Creek to off Beale and back on 60 litres, which makes it really affordable. The replys have given me more to think about and will. I have seen some comments on the deck space small on the DE185, and the seating just doesnt appeal. The boat does, and I am sure it would ride alot better in the rough stuff. THanks again love the feedback

 

[zurk]

the point of a larger boat is you dont have to come back. spend the entire weekend offshore. eat fish fresh off the line. and you can do so at displacement speed which is even more efficient than planing speed. your 60 litres will be more like 30 litres if you run at hull speed i.e. 7-8 kts.
get a parachute anchor and you can literally anchor dozens of miles off the shore. go out friday evening at 6pm, spend overnight on the boat, fish early in the am, chill rest of the day spend overnight saturday and fish early sunday am then leisurely chug back on sunday afternoon.
even larger boats you dont have to come back for months. its a game changer.

 

[Fixit]

fuel burn is inversely proportional to ride quality. a 20ft boat is still quite fuel efficient, but you have to choose between amenities, ride and costs

 

[RiverBoy]

my fam of four slept on my DE 185 but kids were smaller then. boys are 6’0 plus now. me and mama have overnighted on it and it’s fine. she gets the entire cuddy and i solo it on the sleeper. when i’ve overnighted by myself i sleep in the cuddy but i actually sleep with my head against the port and feet to starboard laying tight to the bulkhead. i’m 6’0. there is no doubt it’s a bit tight but wine makes everything ok.

 

[N2013]

my fam of four slept on my DE 185 but kids were smaller then. boys are 6’0 plus now. me and mama have overnighted on it and it’s fine. she gets the entire cuddy and i solo it on the sleeper. when i’ve overnighted by myself i sleep in the cuddy but i actually sleep with my head against the port and feet to starboard laying tight to the bulkhead. i’m 6’0. there is no doubt it’s a bit tight but wine makes everything ok.

Haha.

 

[Hot-Streak]

New Silverstreak race rocks would be about $80,000. If yours is good condition, rigged out and low hours I'd guess somewhere in the $60K to $70's.

I own a 2020 18ft Carmanah so same hull but 1 foot longer and also have a 90VMAX. Mine has all the extras and I'd guess I could get somewhere in the $60k area for mine.

As for boats, have you considered a Grady? Heard a nicely rigged up 21ft is going up on a devoice sale in the 50K range.