Boat Recommendation
Re: Boat Recommendation
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Re: Boat Recommendation
First of all, I am sorry. I cited the C19 in my comment, but I meant the C21.
Up here in Minnesota, most all the boats use a walk though windshield and a side console with a soft top to break the splash, wind, and rain. This would be easy with a C21, but would make the porta potty much harder to build in, although I've been on Hurrricane 24 that had a nice setup; it probably had wider and deeper hull forefoot making that possible.
The DE25 is a lot of boat for an SUV. I have a cheap trailer you could buy for it here in the Twin Cities. Nice dual wheels from a Starfire 24. No title, needs to be registered homemade which it will be after you get into it enough to bunk the DE. But it ain't a trailer for an SUV. If you were going to use an SUV; it'd need quite a lot of towing unless you went with an ultralight aluminum trailer, and even then, the boat will be driving you some. I hate trailering stuff bigger than me. It just never feels right. Eric's C21 has a light aluminum trailer iirc.
The DE25 could be made lighter by not making the long cabin version and not overbuilding the internals, but this is tricky for amateurs. It is a 2-3 year long project and you'll need a big enough garage for the top.
Anyhow, the C21 with a soft bimini over a windshield would be a pretty good boat that you could fish from well. The only downside would be making a spot for porta potty And a softtop would be tricky.
The DE series boats can even have a coffee pot inside, so the amenities are pretty nice if you want to make a coffee while underway to fish at 4:30am.
Up here in Minnesota, most all the boats use a walk though windshield and a side console with a soft top to break the splash, wind, and rain. This would be easy with a C21, but would make the porta potty much harder to build in, although I've been on Hurrricane 24 that had a nice setup; it probably had wider and deeper hull forefoot making that possible.
The DE25 is a lot of boat for an SUV. I have a cheap trailer you could buy for it here in the Twin Cities. Nice dual wheels from a Starfire 24. No title, needs to be registered homemade which it will be after you get into it enough to bunk the DE. But it ain't a trailer for an SUV. If you were going to use an SUV; it'd need quite a lot of towing unless you went with an ultralight aluminum trailer, and even then, the boat will be driving you some. I hate trailering stuff bigger than me. It just never feels right. Eric's C21 has a light aluminum trailer iirc.
The DE25 could be made lighter by not making the long cabin version and not overbuilding the internals, but this is tricky for amateurs. It is a 2-3 year long project and you'll need a big enough garage for the top.
Anyhow, the C21 with a soft bimini over a windshield would be a pretty good boat that you could fish from well. The only downside would be making a spot for porta potty And a softtop would be tricky.
The DE series boats can even have a coffee pot inside, so the amenities are pretty nice if you want to make a coffee while underway to fish at 4:30am.
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Re: Boat Recommendation
fallguy1000 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 9:36 am First of all, I am sorry. I cited the C19 in my comment, but I meant the C21.
Up here in Minnesota, most all the boats use a walk though windshield and a side console with a soft top to break the splash, wind, and rain. This would be easy with a C21, but would make the porta potty much harder to build in, although I've been on Hurrricane 24 that had a nice setup; it probably had wider and deeper hull forefoot making that possible.
The DE25 is a lot of boat for an SUV. I have a cheap trailer you could buy for it here in the Twin Cities. Nice dual wheels from a Starfire 24. No title, needs to be registered homemade which it will be after you get into it enough to bunk the DE. But it ain't a trailer for an SUV. If you were going to use an SUV; it'd need quite a lot of towing unless you went with an ultralight aluminum trailer, and even then, the boat will be driving you some. I hate trailering stuff bigger than me. It just never feels right. Eric's C21 has a light aluminum trailer iirc.
The DE25 could be made lighter by not making the long cabin version and not overbuilding the internals, but this is tricky for amateurs. It is a 2-3 year long project and you'll need a big enough garage for the top.
Anyhow, the C21 with a soft bimini over a windshield would be a pretty good boat that you could fish from well. The only downside would be making a spot for porta potty And a softtop would be tricky.
The DE series boats can even have a coffee pot inside, so the amenities are pretty nice if you want to make a coffee while underway to fish at 4:30am.
Our SUV is rated to a 5k towing capacity, so it's not super brawny like a Suburban, but because of our other boat and camper, we need at least 5k, so whatever vehicle we get in the future will be rated at 5k or above. The boat trailer we have now had to titled since it was over 3k, add in all the gear and crap and it's probably pushing closer to 3.5k. Our camper is around 3,300lbs. Both pull just fine and we have electric brakes. I know someone with the same SUV who pulls a 4k+ camper. Not saying it's smart, but they've done it. They also have the trailer sway bars and
The hull weight of the DE25 is 1750, make it 1,800, add on a 1000lb trailer, engine (I'd go with the same engine we have now, 115 Pro XS that weighs 336lbs), gear and fuel, it's probably getting close to 3.5k, unless I am underestimating something. I think if the weight is pushing closer to 4.5k, I might downsize to the DE23, as the hull alone shaves off 250lbs, and less fuel.
All of that aside, really the longest haul trip would be from Milwaukee area to Sturgeon Bay, to fish and boat in door county. That distance could be cut in roughly half if I launched in Green Bay and took the lake up to Sturgeon Bay. Lake Winnebago is under an hour, and access to multiple spots on Lake Michigan is within spitting distance. In truth...if I had enough time and patience, all of the above locations are all accessible if I had a slip in a marina on Lake Michigan, I'd just have to take it through the locks on the Fox River to get from LM to Lake Winnebago, but it would be do able. But doing some math, that trip would take at least 8 hours at WOT, something that might be fun to do on a long weekend, but not "oh, let's take the boat to Winnebago today" kind of trip.
I'd really like a medium distance exploration kind of boat, the more that time passes, I'm getting an itch to get out on the water and really explore. I want to take it out on Lake Michigan, I want to cross Lake Michigan, I want to boat around Door County, there's so much I want to get out and see on the water. I need a boat that is not going to shy away from the rough stuff, but still retains the ability to get up and go.
Sorry the rambling reply, I figure it's better to get it out and let you guys help me decide
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Re: Boat Recommendation
With the high bow of the C21, couldn't a small cuddy cabin be built to give enough headroom to sit on a head in the deepest part of the bow and enough space to lay down then? See a few pictures of the C21 being built and men standing in the bow with the side just below their shoulders. Could have a hatch that is removable to have room to stepdown, turn and pop a swat.
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Re: Boat Recommendation
For what you want to do it sounds like the DE-25 is the best fit. Having a full cabin will make your boating much nicer and your family happier also. For towing the boat you would be much better off finding an old used truck that is only used as a tow rig rather than compromising your boat needs. While a boat "can" be built to the book weight it almost never happens. We all seem to add a little here and there and it all adds up. But that is part of building it the way you want it, doing all those little things.
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Re: Boat Recommendation
Completely glossed over that idea, but that is a very good idea, that way I can truly build the boat I want. I would definitely want to add the second fuel tank to bring her up to 84 gallons and mount a 9.9 kicker off the stern.Fuzz wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:31 pm For what you want to do it sounds like the DE-25 is the best fit. Having a full cabin will make your boating much nicer and your family happier also. For towing the boat you would be much better off finding an old used truck that is only used as a tow rig rather than compromising your boat needs. While a boat "can" be built to the book weight it almost never happens. We all seem to add a little here and there and it all adds up. But that is part of building it the way you want it, doing all those little things.
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Re: Boat Recommendation
Rambling is fine, but de25 is a lot of boat for an suv. Boats all gain weight. Anchor, water, clothes, food, beer, all adds fast ...
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Re: Boat Recommendation
You second the idea of buying a used truck or larger SUV (Suburban) to haul it?fallguy1000 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 16, 2022 4:30 pm Rambling is fine, but de25 is a lot of boat for an suv. Boats all gain weight. Anchor, water, clothes, food, beer, all adds fast ...
I calculated the weight of the boat and it is a lot (see below math, I'm figuring around 4,500lbs, and while it's still technically under our 5k tow capacity, I would probably feel better pulling it with something more capable
Hull weight is 1750lbs, 84 gallons of fuel at 6lbs per gal is 504lbs, trailer est. 1000lbs, Merc 115 pro xs is 359lbs, Merc 9.9hp pro kicker is 108lbs, extra gear (stuff you mentioned) say 750lbs, total is 4471lbs.
So, while I could pull it with my current SUV, I would want more breathing room.
I noticed in the notes that the transom would accept a Kicker, and that is definitely something I would want to add. For trolling and for extra security on longer trips, although I would have to split the fuel sources. I was thinking running the main engine from both tanks with a valve to switch from one tank to the other, but then the kicker only running on the other tank. I would most likely fill each tank at separate gas stations and have a water remover on each, to minimize the possibility of a fuel related failure when I'm way out there on LM.
Do you guys think a 9.9 kicker would be enough? They have a 9.9, a 15 and a 25hp kickers available on Merc's website.
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Re: Boat Recommendation
The 9.9 would be fine . Build the boat as designed , motor , tanks , ect , whatever is listed on the plans or needed for safety , then put the boat in the water . If it float,s above the water line then start loading it up with everything you think you want or need until it settles to it,s water line , save room for the wife , or not . When it hit's it,s water line then you will have to do some trading if you can't get everything you want or need on the boat . If it floats on it,s water line you should be close to designed weight , build it as designed and it will be close to designed weight .
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Re: Boat Recommendation
I have posted measured weights for the DE25 in my journal thread. I tow it with a Ridgeline rated at 5000. I stick to 65 or less on flat highways, but it's about as much as a fwd based transmission can handle.
The DE is not a "big" 25' boat, remember we are talking 115 or 140hp. For small lake use, my limitation for skiing and such is the visibility from the pilothouse. It loads on and off the trailer easy with forward bunks.
I also have a 16' pontoon that is just fast enough to ski, so I would normally choose that for small rivers or lakes
The DE is not a "big" 25' boat, remember we are talking 115 or 140hp. For small lake use, my limitation for skiing and such is the visibility from the pilothouse. It loads on and off the trailer easy with forward bunks.
I also have a 16' pontoon that is just fast enough to ski, so I would normally choose that for small rivers or lakes
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