How much of a difference does 4ft make? 8f?

E

essyoo

Member
Looking for some insight into the difference in ride quality between an 18' and something in the low to mid 20's.

We currently have an 18' Trophy and love it, but definitely feel limited in what conditions we can take it out in due to it feeling quite corky in most chop. My wife get's quite seasick when it gets sporty and because we live in Nanaimo, we're limited on how many non-windy days we get to be out. Considering moving up in size but curious how much of a difference it makes, if any? I don't want to go bigger than my truck (tundra) can pull so I assume we're limited to the 25' and under choices?

anyways, if anyone has some thoughts on if this will even be a noticeable improvement it would be much appreciated.
 
go out on a 28' sailfish Grady ..... thats what a lot of guides run
 
It's not just length. Weight is critical. the 28' sailfish mentioned above probably weighs triple what your trophy weighs. I went from a 20' trophy to a 28' pursuit (2870). The confort level was amazing! But the tradeoffs are real! Launching/retreiving, towing, fuel, maintenance etc. For me, The tradeoffs weren't worth the extra comfort and I sold the pursuit and went to a 24' Northcoast. The ride is very different than the trophy, but not always better due to hull design. The ease of launching, the fuel bill, the new boat that I coud outfit how I wanted have made me veryhappy.

In summary, it's not just the length. Weight and hull shape play a huge role.

good luck!
HB
 
I moved from an 18' Campion 542 to a Grady 232 for the exact reason you mention. The ride quality in the chop around Nanaimo is night and day.. the nice thing about Nanaimo though, is if you are fishing at entrance or the fingers.. it's not a far run. The 9'3 beam and extra length definitely make bobbing around trolling more comfortable as well. So when you ask, will you really notice a difference, it really depends on how much of a difference you're looking for. Overall the extra space, and comfort, makes a long day out on the water much more enjoyable for me.
 
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I'm in agreement with the others on here and have owned lots of trailerable boats 17-25 Ft..You won't notice a huge difference until you get into the barely trailerable size boats that are heavy.I'm a Tundra owner too and have towed up to 25 Ft. with no problem ,but I get uncomfortable towing that size boat now.Some boats are a trade off,like Arima's, very stable while trolling but uncomfortable in a chop at times and a super deep V tends to lean when netting on one side while trolling.For me personally a 21-22 Ft. boat is the best all round boat.
 
generally its a class of boats not length strictly.
8-12 ft - for tenders to shore or glassy lakes/rivers. can be handled by hand.
14-16 ft - small runabout for lakes/rivers. needs a small trailer with small SUV.
18-22 ft - can go some distance coastal. will need aux tanks to give it some legs. can do overnights. can be launched/trailered solo with minivan/light duty pickup.
25-28 ft - coastal but now has some legs. can do multi day overnights. can no longer be trailered/launched comfortably. needs a full size pickup.
28-32 ft - rougher waters, can poke offshore a bit but not too much. 8 footers will beat you up. can spend a week aboard. the trailer is now an oversized vehicle. needs help to unload.
38-44ft - rough waters, ocean crossing is doable. ride in 8 ft+ waves is smooth. can spend months aboard. the trailer is now a full sized semi truck with crane assist and professional handling.
45ft + - can no longer be soloed easily. too big for normal single handing. can only be handled with travellifts/semi-submersible ships.

im a believer in matching boat to mission. i would say your trophy at 18 foot is the best choice of boat for BC. i have an 18 footer for BC myself. that being said, if youre seriously cramped in days when you can go out i would consider getting a marina slip and a 30+ footer. or if you want to avoid the crappy winter seriously consider buying a 38-44 footer and spending 6 months in europe or carribean and shuttle it back and forth if you get bored of either place.
 
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+1 for the 18' range.
Have owned up to 28', while you get all kinds of extra comfort for extra length, the costs of ownership sky rocket, as do the hassles of parking, storing, launching, mooring etc.
I have been VERY pleased with how easy it is to own and use an 18 foot boat.
For Nanaimo, just pick your days, there are MANY nice days there.
 
thanks for the info all. I wasn't expecting miracles in potentially moving up in size but some noticeable improvement in small to mid sized chop would improve the overall experience greatly as well as open up more opportunities to be on the water. I love the ease of trailering/launching/retrieving of the 18' and if it was just me I wouldn't even really consider anything else. But usually our schedule and the conditions around nanaimo aren't often in sync.
 
barkerfam said:
It's not just length. Weight is critical. the 28' sailfish mentioned above probably weighs triple what your trophy weighs. I went from a 20' trophy to a 28' pursuit (2870). The confort level was amazing! But the tradeoffs are real! Launching/retreiving, towing, fuel, maintenance etc. For me, The tradeoffs weren't worth the extra comfort and I sold the pursuit and went to a 24' Northcoast. The ride is very different than the trophy, but not always better due to hull design. The ease of launching, the fuel bill, the new boat that I coud outfit how I wanted have made me veryhappy.

In summary, it's not just the length. Weight and hull shape play a huge role.

good luck!
HB
Click to expand...

went out with a guide, said he would never run the boat for himself for all the above mentioned reasons.
 
essyoo said:
Looking for some insight into the difference in ride quality between an 18' and something in the low to mid 20's.

We currently have an 18' Trophy and love it, but definitely feel limited in what conditions we can take it out in due to it feeling quite corky in most chop. My wife get's quite seasick when it gets sporty and because we live in Nanaimo, we're limited on how many non-windy days we get to be out. Considering moving up in size but curious how much of a difference it makes, if any? I don't want to go bigger than my truck (tundra) can pull so I assume we're limited to the 25' and under choices?

anyways, if anyone has some thoughts on if this will even be a noticeable improvement it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

There is plenty of light wind days in the SOG to get out but if your limited because of work, life ect, and light wind forecasts don't line up. i Don't think a bigger boat is going to change it much,

Might be better to just book with a guide
 
Moving up depends on your Tundra - I see numbers ranging from 8000 to 12000 lbs towing capacity.

I tow a 23 Hourston which is a heavy hand built deep-V boat that weighs 7700 lbs wet on a trailer. I believe a heavy deep-V boat will give you a much better ride. The second day I owned it, I was running from Nanaimo to Comox in 25SE -- so a bit sporty. I have a pretty vivid memory of watching the Qualicum fleet gyrating around in the waves as I passed them at 24 mph - some of those boats might have been Trophies.

With diesel, my fuel economy is better than most. I can launch and retrieve single-handed, but only from a decent ramp.

I think other boats might give similar ride quality - some mentioned above, plus Double Eagle, Monaro.
 
25 feet is likely the max for most tundras, if you want to be within the law and comfortable going to the west coast out Ukee and Tofino way. I’ve towed mine with a 2016 tundra with the v8 and the recommended towing was 10k pounds with a weight distribution hitch, anything over 5k recommended the hitch but towing without it in town was fine.

I went from 18 to 25 feet. I think 22/23 is a good jump unless you have plans for lots of sleeping on the boat for off shore and going north or plan to have 4-5 people on your boat often. I think you can do 5 or more on a 22-23 feet but it gets tight quickly.

Also if consideration is the cost of buying, upgrading and selling multiple boats and the taxes you’ll pay. If you plan to fish or cruise more in 3-5 years from now, buy the boat for that future. No point in donating to JT and PP’s tax base any more than you have too.
 
I run a Grady 265 Express. With fuel she is 11,000 pounds. Weight as has been mentioned is the primary factor in achieving a nicer ride in rough offshore seas. Size also matters if you are offshore and potentially at risk of getting caught in a sudden and violent shift in weather. Been there done that, and sold my 24 Wellcraft Coastal and upgraded to the 265 Express. Much safer comfortable offshore ride.

That said, for the vast majority of boaters, the most important consideration should be matching the boat to the usual expected conditions for where you plan to fish. If you are not going offshore, then a smaller more fuel efficient vessel makes more sense IMO, unless the plan is to have larger crews where space/comfort is equally important.
 
zurk said:
generally its a class of boats not length strictly.
8-12 ft - for tenders to shore or glassy lakes/rivers. can be handled by hand.
14-16 ft - small runabout for lakes/rivers. needs a small trailer with small SUV.
18-22 ft - can go some distance coastal. will need aux tanks to give it some legs. can do overnights. can be launched/trailered solo with minivan/light duty pickup.
25-28 ft - coastal but now has some legs. can do multi day overnights. can no longer be trailered/launched comfortably. needs a full size pickup.
28-32 ft - rougher waters, can poke offshore a bit but not too much. 8 footers will beat you up. can spend a week aboard. the trailer is now an oversized vehicle. needs help to unload.
38-44ft - rough waters, ocean crossing is doable. ride in 8 ft+ waves is smooth. can spend months aboard. the trailer is now a full sized semi truck with crane assist and professional handling.
45ft + - can no longer be soloed easily. too big for normal single handing. can only be handled with travellifts/semi-submersible ships.

im a believer in matching boat to mission. i would say your trophy at 18 foot is the best choice of boat for BC. i have an 18 footer for BC myself. that being said, if youre seriously cramped in days when you can go out i would consider getting a marina slip and a 30+ footer. or if you want to avoid the crappy winter seriously consider buying a 38-44 footer and spending 6 months in europe or carribean and shuttle it back and forth if you get bored of either place.
Click to expand...
Would love to watch you try and pull a 22’Grady or equivalent out of the water with a minivan please film it for us.
 
Going from an 18 to say a 21-23 makes quite a difference in rough conditions. Mostly by giving the crew room to move around and not be slamming into eachother and everything. Though it probably won't solve the seasickness. Has your wife tried a patch? My dad got sick on every boat we ever had, including a 47' sailboat. The patch helped.
 
i tow with my minivan routinely. it has a 3500lb tow rating which is enough for my 18 footer. used to use a compact SUV for my last 16 footer. minivans will do the full rated load easily. ive towed it all the way to okanagan and VI.
heres a pic of my last one towing my 16 footer.
cx5towpic.PNG
 
zurk said:
i tow with my minivan routinely. it has a 3500lb tow rating which is enough for my 18 footer. used to use a compact SUV for my last 16 footer. minivans will do the full rated load easily. ive towed it all the way to okanagan and VI.
heres a pic of my last one towing my 16 footer.
View attachment 111706
Click to expand...

I have no problem believing that but I'm with Brando - I'd like to watch a minivan pulling out a 22' Grady or equivalent ;)
 
The longer the boat is .. the less it bounces between waves. A 22 ft hewes is closer to 24 feet and would be less than 5klbs towing. Go soft top if you want less weight. Hard top if you want more comfort.
 
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