jcon12
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
My dad and I are both boat enthusiasts and have found ourselves with too many boats. Simply a problem I never thought could exist.
My family and I have just purchased a place and want to downsize the fleet to a single boat.. looking for some advice from the community on what you would do.
For context.. We have a 30' boat slip at Milltown Marina. We fish heavily in September, do 1-2 trips to the west coast a year and then the rest of the time is spent touring the local islands and boat/island camping (5-6 trips a year). I own a cummins pickup and towing is not really an issue for any of the boats.
Boats:
1988 Arima 17 Sea Chaser - new Suzuki 90hp and 9.9hp with remote throttle. Boat has new electronics, radar/arch etc. It gets close to 6mpg and has been a fantastic fair weather boat. I've had it miles offshore but she does pound a bit in the chop. It has full canvas and is just a really great, simple fishing boat. Not great as a family boat.
2003 Tropy 2359 Converted to outboard - 2014 Suzuki 300hp and 20hp. Custom dual helm, diesel heater.. older electronics. This boat is the ultimate family boat. The trailer was recently rebuilt and it tows fairly easy. Handles the water well.. but not nearly as nice as the grady. Its a great platform for winter fishing/prawning and family trips as we can keep the dog and kid contained in the pilothouse.
2004 Grady White Gulfstream - newer Yamaha 300hp and 9.9hp. Remote throttle but just one steering station. Very reliable and safe. I have a tri axle trailer (that needs a lot of maintenance) we use to tow it around. We've owned this one for around 11 years now and has been amazing. But it only seats 2 people under cover and is not a great overnight platform with kids.
If you had to downsize to a single boat to handle fishing, local cruising, sleepovers etc.. what would it be and why?
Appreciate the feedback as always!
My dad and I are both boat enthusiasts and have found ourselves with too many boats. Simply a problem I never thought could exist.
My family and I have just purchased a place and want to downsize the fleet to a single boat.. looking for some advice from the community on what you would do.
For context.. We have a 30' boat slip at Milltown Marina. We fish heavily in September, do 1-2 trips to the west coast a year and then the rest of the time is spent touring the local islands and boat/island camping (5-6 trips a year). I own a cummins pickup and towing is not really an issue for any of the boats.
Boats:
1988 Arima 17 Sea Chaser - new Suzuki 90hp and 9.9hp with remote throttle. Boat has new electronics, radar/arch etc. It gets close to 6mpg and has been a fantastic fair weather boat. I've had it miles offshore but she does pound a bit in the chop. It has full canvas and is just a really great, simple fishing boat. Not great as a family boat.
2003 Tropy 2359 Converted to outboard - 2014 Suzuki 300hp and 20hp. Custom dual helm, diesel heater.. older electronics. This boat is the ultimate family boat. The trailer was recently rebuilt and it tows fairly easy. Handles the water well.. but not nearly as nice as the grady. Its a great platform for winter fishing/prawning and family trips as we can keep the dog and kid contained in the pilothouse.
2004 Grady White Gulfstream - newer Yamaha 300hp and 9.9hp. Remote throttle but just one steering station. Very reliable and safe. I have a tri axle trailer (that needs a lot of maintenance) we use to tow it around. We've owned this one for around 11 years now and has been amazing. But it only seats 2 people under cover and is not a great overnight platform with kids.
If you had to downsize to a single boat to handle fishing, local cruising, sleepovers etc.. what would it be and why?
Appreciate the feedback as always!
