What boat to buy????

[seasick]

I have been looking for something to get in place of my two older boats, a 2001 208 and a 2006 25 foot WA, not a Grady boat
I am at an age and physical state that I can't do all the maintenance and I need something newer with 'fewer' issues. In addition, it has become too much work to maintain two boats ( in two states!)
Don't get on my case but I am looking at three specific makes from 23 feet to 28 feet. I know that is a big range but you will see why in a second.
I mainly do day trips inshore or bay. I may take a few friends fishing but I am not a fishing fanatic's by any means. I fish with my wife and may anchor in shallow waters to take a dip or go ashore and sun on a beach. Boat will be uses in the NY Bight area and may take occasional trips up the Hudson.
My must have and want to have items:
It has to have a cabin with a head ( not pump flush and with a holding tank WITH A LEVEL DISPLAY!
I do not intend to overnight a lot if at all but I need a cabin where you have more headroom than I have now and A spot where my wife and I could do an overnighter on a longer day run
Must have twin motors. I would like digital throttle and shift but can live without it.
Boat needs to be fairly stable in chop and that means a wider beam than I have and probably a heavier hull. Less tendency to roll while anchored and fishing is also a plus
A hardtop of course, decent height windscreens and decent canvas.
Decent electronics in a decent size that I can read ( eyes are getting old too) Older electronics are a bargaining chip
Shore power with battery charger/maintainer
Rear lounge folding seat and maybe a side folding seat.
Better and more storage than I have today. My 20 footer actually has better storage than y 25 foot walk around.

Radar, windless with bow switches in addition to the helm switches, all the fishing basic stuff like livewell, raw and fresh water washdown rod holders on the frame that I can reach!
A basic galley with a sink and a fridge ( can live without that I suppose). I don't need a wet head.
probably a bunch of other things that I forgot to mention.
OK, here is my list of possible boats. I am not looking at new, but rather several years old

Grady 232 ; a tank in a compact package. Has plusses and minuses but would probably be a good sturdy option but I wish it had a transom door to aid access to the swim platform.Correct me if I am wrong but it turns me off when the bottom of the LUs sit in the water when motors are tilted up. I think the 232 suffers that issue.

Boston Whaler Conquest 285, a nice boat , I really liked the older 305 and later model 325 Conquests . They are really too expensive. I am not a big fan of Merc motors.

Pursuit OS 255; Great layout and good quality. A bit pricey also. I don't know if local service is available near me. (then again, the Grady dealer is not that close either.

In case you are wondering I am not a fan of the Grady Marlin layout at the helm. It is a bit 'crowded' On the positive side, it is a wide beam and quite heavy hull.
I am not interested in bow riders or DCs

Any other suggestions?
Tell me why I wouldn't like a 232 or the other boats. Tell me all the bad things or the features that don't match my boating style.
Thanks to all.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I like the Pursuit boats, if I didn’t have my 228 Seafarer and wanted something around that size or slightly bigger then I’d probably would have looked more seriously at the Pursuit 2470 WA/walkaround. I like the layout, the amount of fishing space, the all level floor without any steps, you can have a single or twin main motors, it has the transom door in the back, a decent sized livewell, catch cooler and so forth. When I was looking for my boat, I couldn’t find one for under $45k and bought my boat instead for $26.5k, but if I did find one for under $35k which was my budget at the time, I would’ve seriously considered it much more than I did.

 

[seasick]

Thanks for the feedback. I remember a few years back when the Pursuit OS 315 ( I think) was introduced at the NY boat show. Every now and them=n a boat just awes you and that was one of those times.

 

[billyttpd]

Have you considered a 265 Express? Larger that a 232 probably a little more comfortable and a wide beam. No rear lounge on the 265 but nice folding yacht chairs could be a good alternative...fold them up and stow in the cabin f you're going to fish. I recently also saw on Long Island Craigslist a 26 Atlantic for sale. The Atlantic is an older boat though 1992 i believe. I've seen a few 265 for sale in the northeast.

 

[seasick]

I don't like the helm seat arrangement on the Expresses. I also want something 10 years or less old.

 

[blindmullet]

25 Parker - Well, maybe that's more of what I want.

 

[seasick]

Noticing that more 232s are being listed for sale. A few more Pursuit 255 OS have popped up but all are pretty far away.

 

[Parthery]

Maybe a 258 Journey? Plenty of them around with twin F150s.

 

[drbatts]

Probably a step down from grady, pursuit and not sure if the still make them. But the 29 wellcraft has a big beam, cabin and nice overall layout. The hydrasport vx series may also be worth taking a look at too. Personally I have always the like the pursuits and felt the same way when I saw the 315 at the boat show for the first time.

 

[seasick]

Until those style of boats get 30 feet or bigger, there just isn't enough head room in the head. That space has to double as a head and a changing room.
In addition for my style of boating, I don't need the bow seating. I rather have the cabin space.

 

[Andrew93]

We sold our 272 Sailfish with plans on a Marlin someday soon. Being boat-less we starting looking for something smaller that would hold its value until we found a Marlin that would keep us happy to allow us to wait for the right boat. A dealer had a Gulfstream on the lot used we went to go look at, next to it was an Islander. There was not a comparison between the two side by side, the Islander towered over the Gulfstream, where you mention standing room in the cabin I thought the Gulfstream was very tight compared to the Islander. I know the Gulfstream is a big 23', but it is in a different class of the Islander/Sailfish.

We ended up with an Islander and quickly missed the 9.5' beam of the 272. We ended up selling it while the market was still hot this past spring and still looking for the Marlin. With what you are describing I would want the Islander or Sailfish over a Gulfstream. We considered Pursuit but I don't think the fit and finish is as nice in the year ranges we are considering and the ones we saw did not have removable deck plates to access/replace fuel tanks if needed.

 

[seasick]

Good info and food for thought. Thanks

Your point about the wide beam is also on my list. I suppose to a point that a wider beam means a heavier hull and all else similar, a heavier hull will be more stable.
My wife get frightened by excessive rolling. I don't particularly care for it either and sinc we like to anchor near shore to swim or have lunch, the wakes of passing vessels can make my boats really roll.
If I were to get two newer boats to replace my current 20 and 25 footer, I think the smaller would be a pontoon. In somewhat choppy seas they are more stable and also quite comfortable for lounging about. Downside is no cabin, a portapoty and curtain at best and not a lot of places to shelter from inclement weather

 

[blynch]

Have you looked at the Robalo 265 at all? It's a brand that doesn't have quite the same mystique as the ones you mentioned but it has been around for decades and seems to have a strong following. That might be an interesting boat for you since you're not a huge fishing person, so you might appreciate that the space is allocated more to the cabin than the cockpit. They may have gone out of production slightly before your time window however.

Edgewater 265 is a similar boat but a bit of a rare find.

 

[Fishtales]

Of the 3 you have on the list, I’d go with the Pursuit. Great layout and sold build.

 

[Halfhitch]

seasick, That size range of 23 to 28, really spans a wide range of different tow vehicles also. Are you going to be trailering ? Do you already own an F450?

 

[seasick]

seasick, That size range of 23 to 28, really spans a wide range of different tow vehicles also. Are you going to be trailering ? Do you already own an F450?

It does seem like a larger range but I consider the 232 more like a 25 footer because of its wide beam and weight.
I will not be road trailering but may use a trailer for storage as I do today for my 25 footer WA.

 

[Rlloyd]

I have a 2003 GW 232 and love the boat for my purposes. However, the cabin is not big enough to overnight comfortably, and mine has a porta potty - not plumbed for a head. I think you have to be looking at a Sailfish or Marlin in the GW line to get the features you want, and make sure you’ve got a wide swimstep to get around those twins so you can get on/off the boat easily for swimming. Further, if you’re overnighting, you probably want a genset to run a microwave. I think at least 27’.

 

[seasick]

Thanks for your input. I would only look at non porta potty installs. The newer models have a decent swim platform and a side facing ladder but the thing that worries me the most is the lack of a transom door. As we get older, it is more difficult and potentially dangerous to have to climb/slide over the livewell lid to get to the swim platform. Is that your experience?

 

[Rlloyd]

I have a bracket, not a swim platform, so I can’t comment. I climb over the built-in seat when I need to get to the motors, but that’s unique to the older 232’s.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

In order to get the transom door on a Grady you’ll probably need at least a 258 Journey/Voyager as I don’t believe any of the 232 Gulfstream’s have them? My neighbor has a 270 Islander of which it’s a nice boat, has twin motors, a stand up head and has the transom door as well but it’s a very big boat and dwarfs my 228 Seafarer. I also think my boat has more usable space than his does and the cabin on his is kind of tight to navigate into as well as you drop down I believe 3 steps to get into it, which isn’t my cup of tea. As stated before, if I were to want a bigger boat in the future I’d probably get a Pursuit 2470 WA or maybe even something larger than that, but I don’t think that will ever happen and feel like my 228 Seafarer is perfect for my needs. Never been on a Pursuit before but they look nice and have heard pretty much only positive reviews about them, their quality and most importantly would be the ride comfortability. I think the biggest unasked question would be what is your budget? There are a good deal of boats out there for sale currently and depending on your budget, I see no reason why you won’t be able to find what you’re looking for, especially since you’re not deadset on one particular make or model.