TOPIC: Modern Dual Console Alternative?

As much as I love our little Chaparral 15 we keep thinking something larger would be better. It's big enough for the wife and I to spend a whole day on, and it's okay for taking shorter rides with a couple (smaller) adults or several kids, but it's too small to comfortably spread out and spend the day on with a couple friends. We spend 90% of our time on inland lakes, but several of our local lakes see so much wake and surf boat traffic that the 15' boat feels pretty overwhelmed. We also trailer several times a year to the Georgia coast where we run around the salt marshes and the Intercoastal with a bunch of friends. The boat has done well, but bigger would expand our range significantly, as well as our safety in event of a weather change.

In that regard we've been looking at newer Dual Console boats around 20'. Things like the Grady White 192, Key West 2020, Scout 202/205 Dorado, Pioneer 197 Venture, and others. Main requirements are COMFORTABLE seating for 8, a real windshield, bow-rider style seating up front, and outboard power. Obviously, these are large investment boats - up to $20k or $25k depending on year. I suspect there's a sweet spot between 10 and 15k for slightly older, less prestigious brands.

But this led me to thinking about vintage boats. What models were out there that would offer similar layouts and could be built to be as comfortable, stable, and safe as the ones I'm looking at? About the only thing I've really found is the Wellcraft V20 open bow, but those are rare. Most everything vintage is closed bow, or cuddy cabin, and that's a deal breaker. (Granted a full rebuild could easily reach that 10-15k figure, but I enjoy working on boats, and it could mean spreading out the cost somewhat. Plus, there's just something about old boats.)

You guys have the widest range of old boat knowledge around. What other models could fit the bill?

Maybe also include information about how long is your comfortable limit for towing and storage. That may help you receive more suggestions in your sweet spot. Considering coast guard capacity plates, when you ask for 8 person capacity, that might make you pass on some pretty decent boats that may only have a 6 or 7 person capacity. More info can help people help you. This boat idea may not be what you are looking for, but Checkmate made a 21’ Pulsaire open bow 21 foot boat. I see some of these 20 year old boats with 225 Outboards for $10,000-$15,000. The boat has enough weight and length to smooth out the ride on inland lakes. Maybe also tell everyone the maximum average wake height you are cruising through on your bigger waters. I would think people could recommend what they have ridden in that could range from 10 to 40 years old that could fit your range. The more information you give, the closer your options may be for comparison. What other boats do you see out on your waters? Watch how others boats are cutting the water that you are getting tossed in. Good luck!!

Okay, more info. I've encountered wakes 2' tall on a regular basis, sometimes as breaking waves thanks to the wake surf boats. The only boats you see around here are pontoons or ski boats - by which I mean 18+feet, I/O drive bayliners, chaparrals, regals, etc. Typically the newer ones are the wakeboard tower boats with splashy graphics and loud stereos.

So my point here is to consider something cheap that needs some work and a repower against a newer, more expensive, turn key boat. General idea is to restore/customize a classic that would function the same as this:

Pioneer 197 Venture.
20' length, 8' beam. Rated for 9 people. Wet weight on trailer 3500-4000lbs.

Key requirements: 19-21' long, comfortable for 4 adults to hang out on all day, rated to carry 6-8 on good weather sightseeing. Must be open bow, must be outboard powered. Deep enough freeboard to be safe in choppy conditions and on sheltered sections of the Intercoastal. Length on trailer...maybe 26'? 27'? Fairly flexible other than having a fairly short wheelbase tow vehicle that's rated for 6500lbs. Prefer to keep towed wet weight under 4500 with dual axle trailer. Let's say for now we look at pre-1985 boats, give or take. If I'm going to pump money and time into something I'd like it to be something that has some vintage flair when done, even if it would never be worth the money invested.

There are plenty of newer (yr 2000+) boats that I can buy to satisfy this, but I thought it might be cool to rebuild/restore/customize a classic glass or tin boat to do the same. The problem is that very few vintage boats over about 17' were open bow or outboard powered. I suspect that modern outboard reach power levels that make sense with larger boats, whereas in 1970 anything over 20' was probably going to need an inboard. Also, bowriders were/are toy boats and in the 60s/70s boats were smaller overall, so not many 20' toy boats were designed. The Wellcraft V20 bowrider is the vintage boat with that layout that I've found larger than 19'. I fully realize I may be asking about something that doesn't exist.

Has anyone seen other makes/models they could point me toward researching?

Doc - The BR versions of the Pulsare 20 are close. I'd like a little more open space and a little higher freeboard, ideally.

Thanks. That really painted a good picture of what you are looking for. As open bow boats grew in size as the Outboards also grew in size, it seemed like boats like deeper Mark Twains, Welcrafts, etc were working up in length for Outboards such as 17 or 18 feet as Outboards were in the mid ranges of 100-150 hp before the v6 Outboards came out. I am not coastal other than a little Lake Michigan, but seemed like fewer and fewer of the 19 to 21 foot boats were open bow and many builders seemed to be making lots of closed bow go fast or fishing boats for the v6 Outboards horse power was. Keep in mind again that I grew up with powerboat magazine and chasing go fast boats. Our last open bow was a 1974 checkmate trimate 18 foot with 150hp in-line 6 Merc a Little better in rougher inland waters. Seems you would benefit from a little more size and weight so you don’t get bounced around by the 2 to 3 foot waves. I was just looking at a picture of a 1979 Welcraft deep sided open bow v 20 that seats 8. This looks like it may fit into your sweet spot. Today it is easy to get a big Outboard bow rider since they have any hp Outboards to push them. I also think of some of the 4 winns Outboards, but they were in the 18 foot range. Seems later 1970s to the mid 80s might be where you could find a few 19 to 20 boats since bigger hp v6 Outboards were on the market. I would need the members to jump in and help find the other brand and models that fit your needs. It may come down to simply finding one of these boats rather than looking for only one needle in a hat stack. I am hoping there are bigger water boaters that have experience on these huge inland lakes, Great Lakes and coastal waters that can help you way more than me. I found a picture of the v20 in the heritage section of the Wellcraft website. Good luck in the hunt. Now my brain won’t stop searching for days trying to think of all the brands and models I missed. Big difference in ride even between an average 18 footer to a deeper and heavier 20 or 21 footer. I currently run a 20 foot Hydrostream open bow voyager XT hull that is an air entrapment V hull with a 200v6 Outboard. For inland waters, I can handle 2 to 3 foot waves, but don’t want to spend the day with no calm between. At cruise, the bow can stay high enough for 3 to 4 foot boat wake crossings. Don’t do it at idle on mine as it sits low in front on idle. Though I like the low front when beaching because it has a carpeted recess to just walk out and step down on to shore for the average person when no piers are around. Though the seating would hold 9-10 people, the capacity tag limits me to 6... you want 8. You have bigger waters to concour than me.

Forgot to add that was a nice looking boat example you showed. I also see the mid 1970s Wellcraft open bow tri hulls of around 17 feet seem deeper than you have now and MUCH deeper at the bow to take on big waves . They would also appear much heavier to also settle down the ride. My 1971 Thunderbird 17 foot was closed bow, but the cathedral hull and much deeper bow and deeper boat was heavier than my Hydrostream 20 open bow and could handle way bigger waves. Previous owner had it set up for Great Lakes fishing.

This picture is from the front of my Mercury Outboard Clymer’s shop manual. The boat is a Wellcraft 180 Elite. I think the brown stripes on the motor were from 1984. This looks like a trailerable deeper and heavier boat than your present boat and looks to have seating for 8. Hope you are starting to get a feel for what best suits your wants and needs. Everyone is different.