walleyes
Crew Member
Looking forward to the grand tour, I trust you’ll share it with us.
Skagit orca vs osprey vs seasport vs hourston
- Thread starter bonez10
- Start date
Looking forward to the grand tour, I trust you’ll share it with us.
MRWood
Well-Known Member
I think you need the Seasport Kodiak
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Well, we can all dream of bellying up to the bar for this one—-
I drove 10 hours through nuts traffic to go take that boat for a test ride.....it was a stunning boat but those twin DF350’s gave me pause .....and finally, with heavy heart, I backed away from the 28 Commander table...
A guy named MikeP on this forum sobered me up as to what’s hung on the transom and talked sense about the downside of running those complex things in remote locations... I finally decided to go back to old-school with the Suzuki DF200’s....what gives me pause about the Kodiak, though, is the skinny real estate they give you to walk around the wheelhouse when you gotta do anchor duty:
I think it’s a shaky design....my Orca had twice that amount with railing behind you every inch of the way
That strip of fiberglass is approx. 4”.....then you have to step over the railing once you get to the bow.
Nice big wheelhouse...yes...but I’d trade for just a little bigger walking strip for anchor duty....
I drove 10 hours through nuts traffic to go take that boat for a test ride.....it was a stunning boat but those twin DF350’s gave me pause .....and finally, with heavy heart, I backed away from the 28 Commander table...
A guy named MikeP on this forum sobered me up as to what’s hung on the transom and talked sense about the downside of running those complex things in remote locations... I finally decided to go back to old-school with the Suzuki DF200’s....what gives me pause about the Kodiak, though, is the skinny real estate they give you to walk around the wheelhouse when you gotta do anchor duty:
I think it’s a shaky design....my Orca had twice that amount with railing behind you every inch of the way
That strip of fiberglass is approx. 4”.....then you have to step over the railing once you get to the bow.
Nice big wheelhouse...yes...but I’d trade for just a little bigger walking strip for anchor duty....
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Rain City
Crew Member
That is odd about the rail situation.
The hourston is a heavy boat and barely moves when you step onto it from the dock...unlike my Seasport...I think it would be the least sensitive to load changes of the boats mentioned. It's not a big deal nywy..just stay in your seat and it isn' t an issue for any of them.
Doubleheader
Well-Known Member
Ya I haven’t been to the bow in many years to anchor, do everything from the gunwale. Hard lined rope from bow to stern eye and your good to go. Pulling anchor from the stern is way safer anyways, if I can get the boat out there in rough weather I can anchor...
wolf
Well-Known Member
Well ill chime in a bit as a owner of a hourston and my lodge boat back in the day was a custom 19 foot with a pod (ex rcmp) thats why I went wit my current boat... ive been on all of the ones mentioned my buddys 23 seasport handled the rough great as well but like rollie said it rolls a bit , osprey good one as well they slap alot and the bow visibility kinda sucks , as for hourston they cut the water great mine is different though as they called it the "presidents model" as its duo core stringers and has 2 hulls the hull is about 3/8 thick then a foam about 1 inch then inside liner is about 1/4 thick of fiberglass, you never hear wave slap its a beast of a boat . Any of the above boats are great im biased though LOL as i love the hourston , if you wanna ride you let me know she is a beauty
Rain City
Crew Member
I'll take a bit of slap on a beamier boat over a rolly polly one. You're idling around trying to tie gear for 90% of the time you're using the boat. For guests that get sick the more stable a platform the better I say. All that being said i never have to run more than about 40 minutes to fish all year and generally more like 20. I won't say what I have... 
Thunder21
Well-Known Member
I like the Hourstons and have owned a 26 sedan.In my experience the Skagits and Sea sports are a better built boat. I’m not bashing Hourstons but it’s my opinion that the reputation they have is better than the boats they built. When they are rebuilt that’s a different story but they are still old school . I prefer the other boats you mentioned mainly because they are self bailing, they have a sliding back door and they have fish holds built into the deck with macerators. The Hourstons also have wood trim exposed to the elements and other stuff that makes them harder to keep looking nice. The other two are white gel coat almost everywhere and are easily cleaned up. No doubt about it, the Hourstons ride great in a steep chop but I’ve talked to too many fibreglass guys that have torn Hourstons apart and none of them were impressed. Might be an unpopular opinion but there it is.
wolf
Well-Known Member
I’ve talked to too many fibreglass guys that have torn Hourstons apart and none of them were impressed. Might be an unpopular opinion but there it is. I say bull on that ....
Maybe the older ones that are 40 years old I agree you show me any 40 or 50 year old boat that doesn't have rot??? building boats have come a long way in 30 years .
But mine is newer and no wood exposed its all fiberglass YES the transom is wood and when I had the hole plugged only to be recut a VERY reputable company on the island said it was the best transom he had worked on in a while and said the wood is in great condition as I said if it need new wood then take out the old... he then showed me a grady transom all I can say is uuummm wow ... like I said mine is all fiberglass and duo core stringers NEVER will rot but we are talking a totally different model and for ride its one of the best ...which is what the guy asked in the first place which rides best... we sort of went of track a lil ....surprise lol
Maybe the older ones that are 40 years old I agree you show me any 40 or 50 year old boat that doesn't have rot??? building boats have come a long way in 30 years .
But mine is newer and no wood exposed its all fiberglass YES the transom is wood and when I had the hole plugged only to be recut a VERY reputable company on the island said it was the best transom he had worked on in a while and said the wood is in great condition as I said if it need new wood then take out the old... he then showed me a grady transom all I can say is uuummm wow ... like I said mine is all fiberglass and duo core stringers NEVER will rot but we are talking a totally different model and for ride its one of the best ...which is what the guy asked in the first place which rides best... we sort of went of track a lil ....surprise lol
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Rayvon
Well-Known Member
The original post was asking about pilot house boats no bigger than 24 Ft..None of which will compare to a 26 Hourston or a Seasport Kodiak.I've been on all of the mentioned boats except the Osprey which has a reputation of slapping/pounding.From what I've seen the best built boats in order are Skagit,Seasport, Osprey (by rep) and then Hourston.The best ride,Seasport 24,Hourston 23,Skagit 24,Osprey 24.It's a testament to Hourston that his boats are even on the same list as the others when they are old boats built with the technology of the time.If it was my money(and it won't be) I'd go the next size up to get the best ride for offshore.Hourston 26,Seasport 27 or Skagit Orca 27.If I had to pick a 24 it would probably be a Seasport.But with outboards.
saanauk
Well-Known Member
Curious what makes the 350’s on the 28’ so much more complex than the 200’s.
I currently have a 24’ Seasport but would love to upgrade to the 28’ Commander. Did the one in Oregon have the berth under the dinette. I have looked around and there seems to be two different cabin layouts. One with the head at the back of the cabin and no berth under the dinette vs the head up by the v- berth and berth under the dinette. The berth under the dinette seems to be the ideal layout.
Congrats on the 26’ Kodiak as I love that boat as well.
ryanb
Well-Known Member
Duoprop
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
^^^ What he said.^^^
I hit a rock in the middle of nowhere with my single 4-blade stainless prop at 15 knots last summer—-The impact detonated all 4 blades....I was able to swap out a spare prop and get back on Broadway in short order. I started thinking about doing that with twin duo-props...
Then there’s the overall technology—-I’ve been following this outboard since it came out a few years ago. When they run well, they’re a fantastic outboard. When they don’t ...I’ve heard you can fight with the Suzuki warranty department, even over catastrophic failure well within the warranty period.
I’m in the commercial fishing sector and I hear about guys who jumped on this outboard when they first came out . Now I’m hearing about water intrusion in the LU and some power head failures after a few hundred hours
It’s a bit like the Yamaha F300 and the Yamaha F350—all things being equal, which one would you hang on the stern of your boat if you were doing long runs in remote locations?
ab1752
Crew Member
I've spent a lot of time looking at larger outboards and the merc v8 300 hp seems all that. I like the idea of a duoprop as I have a later gen VP duo prop and it works really well.
I also tapped something hard when I first got the boat and that drive survived a hard knock. Removing the props at sea was doable albeit a pita none the less. $16,000 problem to solve and that Suzuki will be no different with the exception volvo had drives readily available so it was an easy swap.
I talked with a guy who repowered this year with a dp Suzuki and he said it was by far and away abetted motor than his out going f350. Lots of good HT reviews too. Time will tell.
I also tapped something hard when I first got the boat and that drive survived a hard knock. Removing the props at sea was doable albeit a pita none the less. $16,000 problem to solve and that Suzuki will be no different with the exception volvo had drives readily available so it was an easy swap.
I talked with a guy who repowered this year with a dp Suzuki and he said it was by far and away abetted motor than his out going f350. Lots of good HT reviews too. Time will tell.
Instigator
Member
Any luck with your boat decision? I'm looking to upsize from our current boat due to our growing family ( 3 children ages 4, 2 and 1month old) and have been researching these boats as well. I'm leaning towards the Osprey 24' fisherman due to the tall gunwales and spacious dance floor. Most of the fishing will be inshore Victoria/Sooke with a once a year trip up Island running offshore.
Anymore feedback on these boats would be appreciated.
Sharphooks, congrats on your purchase.
Cheers!
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