School me on the 26' Fortier

[1rider]

This boat has crossed my path several times lately and each time i see it I like them more and more.

So can anyone tell me general information... Cored or not cored? Good years/bad years? And so on, anything would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Eastporter]

Fortier 26 | Fortier Boats, Inc.

Check out their website for current information. They are built near me and have a great reputation for being a good sea boat in Buzzards Bay.

 

[CEShawn]

26' Fortier 1992 Needs to be sold!!!

I did go with the General Marine instead though. I think if it had a full house I might have considered the Fortier 26.

 

[Frank Grimes]

26' Fortier 1992 Needs to be sold!!!

I did go with the General Marine instead though. I think if it had a full house I might have considered the Fortier 26.

1993 Fortier Hardtop Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

This boat used to fish out of Saquatucket for giants. A couple of the pics are actually taken in Harwich.

 

[offshore31]

i looked at them years ago. cabin is very low. great cockpit. i think they're cored and a hard chine boat. lots of guys love them. never been on one, but rumors are great on the drift and in a head sea, tough in a following sea. very fuel efficient. seem to hold their value. nice boat, i like them a lot, but am not sure about the following sea handling. heard they 'hunt'?

 

[CEShawn]

They hold their value like crazy I can tell you that. Most of the owners I met were seriously getting out of boating rather than moving up, guys in theirs 70's.

I went to the GM26 because of the enclosed head, definitely acceptable in a following sea and 3 sided hard enclosure.

 

[Hooper]

1993 Fortier Hardtop Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

This boat used to fish out of Saquatucket for giants. A couple of the pics are actually taken in Harwich.

$60K for a 20 year old Fortier 26 with 8K engine hours?

Good luck with that.

 

[CEShawn]

You know there are two boat prices. One, what the seller think its worth and second what someone is willing to pay for it.

It amazes me to see all these boats and what some deals you can get out there. Cash has always been king. It also really makes me wonder if you went trolling through Maine and other area's what you can find. We found out H&H40 out of pure luck, didnt even know it was for sale. A good friend brought us out on his friends boat (the H&H40) we finished the boat ride and the owner was like want to buy it? At the end of the week I was running it for bluefin...

 

[Ditchdigger]

You know there are two boat prices. One, what the seller think its worth and second what someone is willing to pay for it.

It amazes me to see all these boats and what some deals you can get out there. Cash has always been king. It also really makes me wonder if you went trolling through Maine and other area's what you can find. We found out H&H40 out of pure luck, didnt even know it was for sale. A good friend brought us out on his friends boat (the H&H40) we finished the boat ride and the owner was like want to buy it? At the end of the week I was running it for bluefin...

Love your point about asking and getting. Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Of course, there is an ass for every seat. Housing market SUCKS, and the boating market SUCKS X2 ! Unless you are a buyer with cash.

 

[1rider]

Housing market SUCKS, and the boating market SUCKS X2 ! Unless you are a buyer with cash.

This ^ is true and it is because they go hand in hand. Before the bubble had burst an appropriately priced boat wouldn't last a week on the market. People pull equity and roll boat costs into re-fi's on their houses.

Thanks for the replies. So does anyone know for sure if they are cored? If so with what? I am wondering more about the mid eighties and early nineties as these tend to be closer to my price point.

Anyway this is one I really like:

Midcoast Yacht & Ship Brokerage (Tenants Harbor, ME)

 

[CEShawn]

If they were cored, and lets assume Balsa, the first question that comes to mind was when did they start using end grain to minimize water penetration.

The other thing I will say is keep an eye on sealants used as well. Make sure that it was maintained, which some people forget about. I had sealants from the late 1990's on boats that still were UV protected so they would break down over time and fail, lead to water intrusion.,

 

[Nighthawk]

They have been foam cored forever. There are tons of F26's around here and I have never heard of a single hull problem ever. They are super high quality builds. They run great with 200ish HP and putting much more in them won't get you much use as over 20kts, the hull is getting past it's design speed. They are simple, hard chined hulls that have few critics. One of the nicest and biggest 26 foot hulls ever made. Put one alongside a 29 Dyer and you will quickly see how big this 26 is. One of the things, perhaps the only thing I don't like about this boat is the 100 gallon fuel capacity. There is little space below the cockpit deck so if you want 200+ gallons, large fish boxes etc, this is not the boat for you. If you want very high quality, don't mind 20kts as top end and can live with 100 gallons of fuel and a cooler on deck, the boat is outstanding. It sips fuel, drifts well and runs into a headsea very well. It will have a tendancy to point in a big following sea but I wouldn't say it's much different than many hulls. The stern tiller and controls is a really nice trolling feature. A nice feature of the F26 is that the entire cockpit sole can be removed (somewhere around the mid-80's that feature was added) in one piece. This is a small family owned company in Somerset MA and the owner, Rod Fortier is always willing to talk. Last I looked (2 years ago), a hardtop F26 with a Volvo D4 was right around 150K new.

 

[Frank Grimes]

$60K for a 20 year old Fortier 26 with 8K engine hours?

Good luck with that.

Helpful. Thanks. Not my boat so I don't have a horse in this race, but I knew this boat back in her day and she made a lot of $$$ on bluefin, which is what the OP is looking for (as I understand it).

You know there are two boat prices. One, what the seller think its worth and second what someone is willing to pay for it.

It amazes me to see all these boats and what some deals you can get out there. Cash has always been king. It also really makes me wonder if you went trolling through Maine and other area's what you can find. We found out H&H40 out of pure luck, didnt even know it was for sale. A good friend brought us out on his friends boat (the H&H40) we finished the boat ride and the owner was like want to buy it? At the end of the week I was running it for bluefin...

Well said. BTW the boat I posted has (had?) additional fuel capacity over the standard 100 gals.

 

[jojobee]

nighthawk shares my opinion that I have never heard of a hull problem. Big cockpit area and 20knots with 180-220hp if I remember correctly. Big diminished return after that. Great boat and on the personal favorite list.

All that said......I wish it was not cored.

 

[Hooper]

Helpful. Thanks. Not my boat so I don't have a horse in this race, but I knew this boat back in her day and she made a lot of $$$ on bluefin, which is what the OP is looking for (as I understand it).



Well said. BTW the boat I posted has (had?) additional fuel capacity over the standard 100 gals.

Frank, yes I realize that is not your boat, if it were your boat I wouldn't have written that. My point is the owner of that partcular boat needs to spend two minutes on Yachtworld to see he's living in a fantasy world. Hell right here on DEBF is a 26 Fortier freshwater boat with a brand new Yanmar 230 for $45k and that thing hasn't sold, and that shocks me. Shawn said it already, there are two prices, what a seller thinks a boat is worth and then what a buyer thinks it's worth. Only one of those opinions really matters.

 

[Frank Grimes]

You're right Hooper, and I know of several boats that are sitting out on YW that have been there for 3-4 years because they are thousands and thousands of dollars over their realistic market value. But, some people put boats out there to see if they can get a bite. In this market, it is highly unlikely, but then the listings never seem to come down in price. So who knows.

This boat in particular I grabbed because I did know it as a perfectly maintained, fish-raising machine that has (had?) extra fuel capacity and a hardtop, which Shawn mentioned he wished more F26's had. Are those features worth an extra 10-20K in price? Nope. But, cash in hand sometimes changes seller's minds.....

 

[1rider]

I had heard on another forum that the boat in Conn. I posted a link to was also a formerly successful tuna boat. I just noticed the last time I looked at the photos in the listing that there are several rigger release clips along the transom.

Frank you are right I will use the boat for tuna fishing as well as taking the family out. Not sure I am ready to part with the cash, it is nice to have a little cushion in this economy.
Having a few like minded close friends to fish with who own 37' Duffy, 31 JC and 37 intrepid (yes not downeast but a 42 Mph cruise) does not make me rush out and part with my money.

 

[Hooper]

I had heard on another forum that the boat in Conn. I posted a link to was also a formerly successful tuna boat. I just noticed the last time I looked at the photos in the listing that there are several rigger release clips along the transom.

Frank you are right I will use the boat for tuna fishing as well as taking the family out. Not sure I am ready to part with the cash, it is nice to have a little cushion in this economy.
Having a few like minded close friends to fish with who own 37' Duffy, 31 JC and 37 intrepid (yes not downeast but a 42 Mph cruise) does not make me rush out and part with my money.

That Michigan boat is the best Fortier for sale right now, it's had me thinking a lot lately. For 1,500 I bet it could be shipped to the east coast and then the question becomes what can it be had for...? The biggest strike against it is the fact it is in Michigan, were that in New England, gone. I think it will sit awhile where it is.

 

[1rider]

That Michigan boat is the best Fortier for sale right now, it's had me thinking a lot lately. For 1,500 I bet it could be shipped to the east coast and then the question becomes what can it be had for...? The biggest strike against it is the fact it is in Michigan, were that in New England, gone. I think it will sit awhile where it is.

Yup, looks real clean. I would need to put some money into electronics for it it appears and a gin pole. I have a hard time with t he long distance purchase. I almost bought a 26' strike with a Perkins this winter, had it surveyed got a shipping quote but I just couldn't do it.
I am the guy who knows what he wants but I will go to the store at least once to check something out and return later to make the purchase. Like to kick things around and go look again and maybe again to get to the point of purchase.
I can't do that when the boat is far away. For instance their is one a couple towns from me here in Gloucester but it doesn't have a hard top and some other things I would like but for the right price...
Getting your own top fabbed can be a good thing:

 

[Badlatitude]

I never understood the prices people ask for 26 Fortiers. I see them listed for 40-60K with crazy hours on them all the time. There are two 35 Duffys on yachtworld for 62K..... I dont get it