seahaven
1st Mate
When I was a kid, my father had a 23' Downeast lobster boat that I worked on. From 16 until I graduated from college I ran the boat/business. After that, I moved away, and eventually my father sold the boat.
About 10 years ago, I got back into boating. I started out small, as my wife has motion sickness issues. It didn't help that she had once gone lobstering with me, and was done in by 4 hours of idling in a rocking soft chine lobster boat with the aroma of lobster bait in her nose. I built a 12 ft epoxy stitch and glue skiff, plopped a 4 horse outboard on it, and we went tooling around Greenwich Bay. From there I purchased an 18 ft MFG, and then I impulse bought a 1977 28' Uniflite Mega and got a boat slip.
Uniflite made a great, solid hull, and Seahaven has been a good boat- but twin engine fuel/repair costs, slip fees, and winter storage add up. That, though, is not the real problem. I've learned the hard way that I don't enjoy the ride and handling of a pure planing hull.
Anyways- I'm ready to find something similar to what I once had. We went out in all kinds of weather in that little boat, weather that I would never take my current boat into. The Watch Hill area can have some really challenging conditions, fast moving currents as water moves in and out of Long Island Sound, reefs, and open ocean conditions beyond the reefs. It handled it all.
It was a solid glass, soft chine 23' "Pogo" hull. It came out of Maine as a bare hull, and my grandfather built it up. It had a traditional hardtop lobster boat cabin, although the top was designed and built so it did not need the rear supports- I used to hang off of it and stand on it, and it didn't budge. This was really nice when lobstering because it gave a lot more unobstructed space. It had a heavy oak keel and a protected prop. Wet exhaust, originally a much too heavy Volvo diesel that was bombproof, later a 145 hp Volvo gas engine that was perfect weight and power, but was never meant to be used commercially at a low idle for hours on end. The linked twin carbs especially were a bear to keep adjusted.
I am looking for a DE boat 21-24', some cabin or pilothouse protection, soft chine, and solid construction. I am partial to inboards, but I am not ruling out outboards.
Thanks for reading through my long post, and I appreciate any and all advice you might have.
Sincerely,
Michael P.
About 10 years ago, I got back into boating. I started out small, as my wife has motion sickness issues. It didn't help that she had once gone lobstering with me, and was done in by 4 hours of idling in a rocking soft chine lobster boat with the aroma of lobster bait in her nose. I built a 12 ft epoxy stitch and glue skiff, plopped a 4 horse outboard on it, and we went tooling around Greenwich Bay. From there I purchased an 18 ft MFG, and then I impulse bought a 1977 28' Uniflite Mega and got a boat slip.
Uniflite made a great, solid hull, and Seahaven has been a good boat- but twin engine fuel/repair costs, slip fees, and winter storage add up. That, though, is not the real problem. I've learned the hard way that I don't enjoy the ride and handling of a pure planing hull.
Anyways- I'm ready to find something similar to what I once had. We went out in all kinds of weather in that little boat, weather that I would never take my current boat into. The Watch Hill area can have some really challenging conditions, fast moving currents as water moves in and out of Long Island Sound, reefs, and open ocean conditions beyond the reefs. It handled it all.
It was a solid glass, soft chine 23' "Pogo" hull. It came out of Maine as a bare hull, and my grandfather built it up. It had a traditional hardtop lobster boat cabin, although the top was designed and built so it did not need the rear supports- I used to hang off of it and stand on it, and it didn't budge. This was really nice when lobstering because it gave a lot more unobstructed space. It had a heavy oak keel and a protected prop. Wet exhaust, originally a much too heavy Volvo diesel that was bombproof, later a 145 hp Volvo gas engine that was perfect weight and power, but was never meant to be used commercially at a low idle for hours on end. The linked twin carbs especially were a bear to keep adjusted.
I am looking for a DE boat 21-24', some cabin or pilothouse protection, soft chine, and solid construction. I am partial to inboards, but I am not ruling out outboards.
Thanks for reading through my long post, and I appreciate any and all advice you might have.
Sincerely,
Michael P.
