Willis Beal RP hull vs Duffy 35

[Dogbar]

Can anyone elaborate on the differences and/or benefits of the Willis Beal RP 35 hull and the Duffy 35 hull?
Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[Surfishingboy]

Rp 35 is a huge skeg boat. needs alot of power to push it. The duffy 35 is a built down and pushes fairly easy. The duffy is alot smaller but rides better and is much faster with the same power.

 

[FVSD]

70% of fisherman would prefer the RP. Especially is GBFT drifting or chunking

 

[Powderpro]

Both are nice boats for their intended uses. The RP is over a foot wider, so it's quite a bit bigger than the Duffy. The Duffy is built down so will have a softer ride and as was said before, probably pushes a little easier than the RP. Neither boat is known for high top speeds like a Calvin Beal or Northern Bay.

The RP is going to be a more stable platform. I've seen a lot of really nice examples of both the 35 Duffy and RP. The Duffy you can still get new, RP had a fire and molds were destroyed.

 

[F/V First Team]

I just got done grinding the bottom paint off of an RP35 and it has a HUGE bottom area.

Also, green bottom paint sucks.

When I did the bottom on a Duffy 35 there wasn't nearly as much surface area. That grinding job was real quick.

 

[jerseysportfisher]

I like me some FAT bottom girls, btw duffy is a small 35, nice boat but on the small side.

 

[petrel]

After watching a 35' Duffy w/ a flybridge roll her ass off today at the dock w/ a hard gale on the beam and no lee, I can see why the RP would win out on the drift. My DMR was also getting tossed pretty good, but the 56 is only like 16 feet wide. The price you pay for not paying at the pump.

 

[Surfishingboy]

I'd take the Duffy over the Rp for sure!

 

[hntrss]

Just out of curiosity ......why?

 

[petrel]

Price of fuel being what it is, I'd probably take the Duffy too. And they go good enough w/ a 3208 if they're not too pimped out.

 

[jerseysportfisher]

Cream of the Crop

Actually FORSALE

[youtube]pUfM9dKh34c[/youtube]


[youtube]rFGDSA2D_PM[/youtube]


who am i kidding i donate a nut for either of the two :shock:

 

[hntrss]

Probably a bit better on fuel, but probably not enough to make or break you. 16 knots with 400 horse vs 18 knots would be my guess. Just totally different boats in every way. I can only say good things about both of them. Get much more value buying an Rp vs Duffy. These Duffys get great resale , thats for sure.

 

[MDI45]

Dogbar ,if your going to use the boat for any type of charter business i would go with the 35 R.P. ...you could fit 6 paying customers and a mate in the cockpit with out bumping into one another ..where the duffy would be a little tight

 

[FVSD]

This says it all......from an old mojo post.

RP35 on right NB36 on left. NB has similar beam to a duffy

 

[Frank Grimes]

Not that the OP is trying to do this, but I don't think you can objectively compare the two hulls. Two markedly different boats designed with different purposes in mind. Seemed like 3:1 was the accepted length to beam ratio in the early 80's, but lobster fishermen wanted to carry more and more traps necessitating a wider boat. Head sea ride not as important as barge-like stability and carrying capacity. This lead to the wider Beal boats.

Duffy 35's are almost legendary on the Cape for their ability to raise, and sneak up on, GBFT. I can think of probably a dozen off the top of my head that were rigged as trolling and/or harpoon boats in the 80's and 90's. But the fishery has changed....15 yrs ago I didn't know one guy who anchored or drifted and chunked, everyone trolled. Everyone had a tower or at least an arch to run the outriggers off of. Now it seems like nobody even puts outriggers on the boats anymore and a boat that has a 2.5:1 length to beam ratio and is built on a skeg is fine.

 

[Surfishingboy]

I've been on both of them and the Duffy would fit my needs better. I love both of them. The Rp is a great boat as well. Much bigger platform then the Duffy but I'd choose the speed, fuel burn, look, and ride over the Rp.

 

[CEShawn]

I got about 75 hours last fall on the RP35 that I picked up. The size is really a huge difference compared to the Duffy 35 but its all in what you need. I wanted an ice skating rink to put 6 people in. Throw in a load when you are running to George's and see how small that cockpit gets.

I'm looking to extend my cabin back 4' this year.

The other thing is when I'm fishing for myself, not a charter I go at about 7.5-8kts and burn about 1GPH. I was doing cod fishing trips in December burning 8-10 gallons of fuel and being out 35-50 miles. I can enjoy that speed and will do that for the canyons as well fishing out east because if you are serious about making the money need to cut the expenses where you can. I will just throw on a little more ice and take care of that fish a little better. Of course if you have the load with a nice fish and want to turn tale to make it back for the next bite step it up of course.

Really looking forward to mine this year.

In the end, people who said they are two different boats, thats the best said. I do not think she enjoys the head sea as much but I realize that when I bought her.

 

[hntrss]

You will be pleasantly surprised with your new boat in a head sea. I dont think i slowed down more than a few times. If you are running in fuel save mode (10 knts ) i would put it up against anything for comfort in every condition other than an extreme wind into tide condition ( like monomoy on a heavy westerly). A slippery boat would definitely benefit you then . You are going to be very happy with your choice.

 

[05bill]

rp 31

i love my rp 31, the duffy 35 can fit inside my hull, will stick out a bit of course . lots of room. very seaworthy, 12-14 knots, 3.45 g per hour.

05bill

 

[Frank Grimes]

Most, if not all, DE boats won't pound when they are doing 12-14kts. The bow's not really rising high enough (on a skeg boat) for the entry point to be far enough aft. I think it was Corliss Holland who said, "Of course your boats don't pound...they don't go fast enough!"

I realize that most on this board are more interested in fuel economy and the space/volume to carry weight--we don't get many sportfishermen or cruiser types on here who can afford the speed day after day. To that end, a 38' x 15' skeg boat fits the need just fine.