My old man and I are looking to buy a bay boat are luck with friends has run out, so I was wondering what all you guys prefer. Advice much appreciated

thanks in advance

Olympic and GlasPly with the deep V hulls are very popular on the Sound.They have a good ride in the chop that we get here.Both hulls are solidly built, so even a boat built in the 70's or 80's is not too old.The deep V is the thing to look for.
I would try to find 18' to 21' hull only and buy a new( or proffesionally rebuilt) motor.You are probably buying a bad motor anyway if there is one on the boat.Put on as many horses as the boat is rated for.You may need them someday.
I have a 16' Glasply.It handles fine but I would like some more deck space.
Around 20' seems to take the chop in the Sound the best.The difference between my 16' and my buddy's 19' is amazing.I think he is just long enough to be on two waves all the time while I'm hitting every one.
Hope this helps.Bigdog out.....

I have the 18 foot Olympic, 1988 model. Works great in lousey conditions. I'd go up a few feet for more room, have an Evinrude 88 special on it. Boat will do 38mph, rides great in the slop, got caught out of Westport last August when the wind unpredictably kicked up to 35 NW and put up a 5 foot windchop on the bar. Scary ride, but the hull was deep enough that it handled fine and would not porpise over the backsides of the steep chop. Dad bought it in Oak Harbor for fishing the sound and loved it till he quit fishing.

If you can afford it the SeaSports are one heck of a nce boat!! They're kinda pricey and also somewhat hard to find a used one (possibly cuz there such good boats.) Talk to the folks @ island marine:
(Island Marine Center, Inc.
Ron Meng
Fisherman Bay Road
Lopez Island, WA 98261
(360)468-3377 F-(360)468-2283
SeaSport, Yamaha)

The above reccomendations are right on as far as Olympic and Glassply. Lottsa luck and be safe out there in that new boat.

Sincerely,
Roger

Price?? Size? Trailer?? How far do you plan to run?? Sleeping?? Tell me more??

Thanks for info guys,
Grasshopper we plan to just go out in it for a day at a time and it should be in the 20' range with a nice trailer. were not sure how much we want to spend yet but what ever we do spend it wont be outragouse.

thanks again

Great advice so far. If you are only going out on day trips, the 17' Arima is a solid boat with great local support. The factory is in Auburn and the guys there will help you with any question you may have no matter how old your boat is. The most important thing is the motor though. A "new" boat with an unreliable motor is a piece of junk and an "old" boat with a good motor is a great ride. If you have to choose, spend your $ on the motor first!

Island Marine doesn't represent SeaSport anymore. Owners of Boondocks Boats & Motors bought the company and they are the sales agents in the Pac NW. Island still gets some used ones though.

I take delivery on a 24' SeaSport Explorer this week and agree, they are one of the best boats in the NW for deep water "it'll get you back" boats.

I'm drooling.



Look for me in deep water.

Always get a complete compression check and have a GOOD mechanic check the outdrive. I did just that last year and bought a '79 19.5' GlasPly that I found in Boat Buyer magazine. The compression was perfect, the outdrive was perfect, and the wiring was garbage. Paid $3800 and about $1500 later have a great old boat. I'd like to have a new trailer this year but otherwise am very happy. Fished the Columbia out of Kalama and out of Warrington to five miles offshore, Grays Harbor, Point Defiance, etc.

If you are looking for a newer rig then the afore mentioned Arima and Sportcraft get my vote.