Bearcat

I couldn’t agree more with Seeyawader. I understand that not everybody can afford the queen Mary but if you’re totally confident in running that boat out to 170 and beyond on this lake, you haven’t been doing this long enough. Ask any charter captain.

?? Never ran Optimizer spoons but most of my spoons start to spin when I get anywhere near 3.7 down speed

Do you know what weight it's rated for and what the raise /lower range of motion is? I have a 100 lb Yamaha with a long shaft (20"). Thanks

This boat has been SOLD. On to the next project!

I love these posts. You guys sure are lucky to have such great waterfowl hunting out there. The swamps an hour west of Albany where I hunt have been absolutely lousy for the past two seasons, and once those small waters freeze, it's over, so we pretty much get screwed out of any late season hunting. So grouse it is, until it's time to get the boat ready for Browns.

That is me. I removed the latest pair of those 55's from this boat to gain speed because we were often fishing 700 fow this summer. The 140 cut my time in half getting out there, and really wasn't bad on fuel.

Price is $8750, can't believe I forgot that. Thanks for the info. I've been on most of those sites for years, I've done dozens of whaler projects over the years, but I'm rebuilding a Dyer 29 right now that's eating up a lot of my time. The whaler is located in 30 miles sw of Albany, will deliver within 3 hours.

1973 Outrage 21 (banana hull ), very original whaler, all original rails are straight, (I have the stern rail and outrigger brackets but took them off beause they got in my way), deck and transom are solid, new 45 gallon aluminum belly tank (epoxy coated),140 Evinrude 2 stroke with less than 50 hours on factory reman powerhead, serviced by Riverview Marine, 15 hp Johnson kicker, Bimini top, seats were reupolstered last season, all wood work was varnished as well, solid tandem axle trailer with good tires, BiG John swivel downrigger mounts with Cannon bases attached. Asking $8,750 Or Best Offer, Boat is located in Albany County, will deliver within 3 hours. Call (518)-858-8278 for info

I was there in the late 80's working on new tunnel hulls. 36 hours before a big show like the Miami boat show, we'd cut tunnels out of a finished prototype that they weren't 100% happy with and glass in a set that were slightly different and have the boat ready for the show within 24 hours. Once we cut 5' off the back of a completely finished 28 footer two days before the show, put on an entirely different stern so it would plane better. Had it back together and ready to go, interior and all, in the water looking like new. It was cool to be a part of it but I shudder to think of how much of that stuff is still in my lungs. I've lost a few friends way too young who stayed in the industry. Even when you weren't working with the stuff, somebody in the building was grinding or cutting it all day long.

I don't know if there are many of them around but I like the old full-tunnel hull designs on the inboard PY's. They had a rep for steering poorly (or not at all) in reverse, but some sauced up buddies from the boatyard put one on the beach one night at about 10 knots. High and dry. When the tide came in enough, they got her to float again and ran her back to the yard with no damage other than some bottom paint scraped off - pretty impressive. At Sea Ray I was part of a group that was experimenting with semi-tunnel designs on twin inboard hulls. I think it was all about getting less boat in the water - good for the flats of Key Largo but not necessary good for increasing stability.

Up until the boating booms of the 80's and beyond, most boats were built by smaller companies and designed to handle specific "localized" conditions that boaters (local customers) expected to encounter in nearby waters. Downeast hulls were deep in the bow and broad in the stern to handle steaming into the nasty NE chop of the New England coast, and be a stable, dry work platform while hanging on a lobster pot trawl, nose to the wind. Local builders in NJ and the south shore of Long Island built hulls that were broad in the bow specifically for riding the backs of big swells into the barrier Island inlets - a potentially very dangerous undertaking in boats that are deep and narrow forward. 25 years ago I noticed this trend when I moved to upstate NY. I was amazed at how many hard top single engine boats were around in Ontario (i.e. PY's). Not a very common setup outside of the Great Lakes. Local boaters needed a wide hull, a hard top to get out of the weather and either didn't need a fly bridge or realized how much roll they added to boats under 30'. My father was a big dog for one of the largest marine equipment companies in the world and spoke well of PY's, though he often complained that they consistently requested and installed very low-end hardware - considering that most of those boats seem to be in use in freshwater environments, I think that cheap hatches and cleats are of less importance, plus that stuff can all be upgraded anyway. Regarding Sea Rays and Trojans, nothing wrong with either of them, though the industry as a whole has never really regarded either of those style hulls as being stabile in the rough stuff when compared to "working" hulls used in the northeast - and the northwest for that matter. During the 80's and 90's I serviced a lot of Trojans and I worked for Sea Ray building prototypes in their Product Development and Engineering Division in Merritt Island. It was just after they were purchased by AMF Brunswick but Connie Ray was still controlling the company. It was a great work experience, learned a ton about boat design and built some great boats and some flops - but I wouldn't consider any of their smaller boats to be know for (or designed for) stability. To sum it up, look at what's working for the people in your Port of Call, particularly the commercial guys that are in it everyday, rain or shine. And beware or boats that look great to your wife at the boat show! Sorry for the life story - some guys run on about baseball and football, for me it's boats and fishing - and hunting for a couple of months too.

This thread could blow up the website. Everyone has different needs and preferences. I run a 21' whaler which is hard to beat, but wanting something bigger, I recently purchased a Dyer 29 (after years of dreaming about them). Incredible reputation for smoothing out the worst stuff the New England coast can churn up. Same hull design for over 50 years and a number of different deck/cabin configurations - google it. Can't wait until next season!

I hope you replace it with something soon