Looking for the perfect boat.

ytail · Oct-15-2009, 07:12 PM

What is a good saltwater boat that I can waterski and run to catalina in? It has to be 21' or less. Any ideas???

dieselpusher · Oct-15-2009, 08:32 PM

Boston Whaler 17 is the only one I know of that will do both things well. We use our Whaler a lot for waterski training and it has a decent wake. My ski partner gets down to -28 off behind the Whaler. If you're a skier, you know that's a very good performance, especially for a 62 year old guy being towed by a 34 year old boat & motor... I've never seen another boat that would both be safe crossing the channel and you can ski the slalom course with. We use a tired 115 motor on the boat, and do beach starts. If you can't beach start, you'll need a fresher engine than we've got. Many Whalers only have a 75 or 90 motor, and that's pretty marginal for an adult male to get up behind, especially deep water pull.

Basically any boat with a V hull won't be good for skiing.

MATTY J · Oct-15-2009, 08:37 PM

There's heaps of them. I would look into walk around style boats and dual console boats that are non carpeted and self draining. It all depends on your budget. Search for dual console boats on Ebay and you will see a lot of ideas.

I am in the same situation, looking for a good offshore fisher yet still can take the family out or go to the lake. I like the 18-20 walkarounds over a dual console. Grady White, Well Craft even to trophy, they all make duals and walk arounds. There's a lot out there. I would make sure they are self draing though, carpet sucks if you fish.

ytail · Oct-15-2009, 08:41 PM

I was thinking about a BW. Did you guys custom build the ski pole? I live on a private lake that doesn't allow bigger than 21'. I have an 18' bayrunner and a tige ski boat. I'm sick of moving one boat to get to the other(rv parking). Is there a 21' bw that would have the power?

ytail · Oct-15-2009, 08:42 PM

I've heard a 20' skipjack has the getup and go. true or false? Thanks for the info thus far

cksea · Oct-15-2009, 10:59 PM

You can't have both. water ski boats have a deadrise of 0, no deadrise will kill you in the ocean.

I would rather ski behind a boat with a big wake than pound across the channel in a boat I ski well behind.

dieselpusher · Oct-16-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cksea

You can't have both. water ski boats have a deadrise of 0, no deadrise will kill you in the ocean.

I would rather ski behind a boat with a big wake than pound across the channel in a boat I ski well behind.

Generally, that's quite true. However...

The 17' Whaler's ("Montauk") have a really good ski wake, we ski the slalom course quite often with one. A 21' whaler, or even an 18' does NOT make a good ski boat. My ski partner still also has his Nautique, but I sold our Mastercraft because the Whaler works so well in the slalom course\, and wanted to try a fishing boat.

True, a real ski boat is a tournament boat with inboard, but I do recommend a few runs through the course with a Whaler 16.7 (ours is an ancient sport model with side console) , you might be pleasantly surprised.

ShadBurke · Oct-16-2009, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselpusher

Boston Whaler 17 is the only one I know of that will do both things well. We use our Whaler a lot for waterski training and it has a decent wake. My ski partner gets down to -28 off behind the Whaler. If you're a skier, you know that's a very good performance, especially for a 62 year old guy being towed by a 34 year old boat & motor... I've never seen another boat that would both be safe crossing the channel and you can ski the slalom course with. We use a tired 115 motor on the boat, and do beach starts. If you can't beach start, you'll need a fresher engine than we've got. Many Whalers only have a 75 or 90 motor, and that's pretty marginal for an adult male to get up behind, especially deep water pull.

Basically any boat with a V hull won't be good for skiing.

A few years back, I had a 17 Montauk that I repowered with a new 115hp FICHT Evinrude and that boat hauled butt. So much so that I needed to put in hydo steering due to talk-walking and torque steer. I would swing a 17" pitch for pulling skiers out of the hole (no need for beach starts) and for top end, I would use a 23" pitch. The fastest I had that whaler at Havasu was 64 mph on gps with the 23" pitch. That's stupid fast for a boat like that, I'll admit....

Only downside on the Montauk is that skiers who pull real hard in slalom can pull the rear end of the boat and cavitate the prop. I echo the wake comments above.

Shad

Double Z · Oct-17-2009, 09:48 PM

The best boat in the world is the one parked in your friends backyard.

Unless your buddy lives in Canyon Lake.

'cause then it's too small.....

Bullshipper · Oct-18-2009, 11:09 AM

I am sorry I don't understand why you cant ski behind a V bottom or cat. Crossing the wake is fun.

Flat bottom RIVER ski boats (were there is no chop) are not recommended for channel crossings.

As previously mentions, there are 100's of models out there. Just make sure they get up on plane fast and pull your heaviest skier during the sea trail.

Trayscool · Oct-18-2009, 02:00 PM

my neighbor has a 21' striper that he uses to wake board behind more than fish. he loves it. I had a 21'striper and would take it to catalina no problem.