CC or Cuddy? Need Advice.

[Uncle E]

After two years of working, scrimping, working, saving, and working some more, I've finally got around enough money to purchase another boat (6k easy or 8k if i beg the missus). My previous boat: Reinell Runabout 21.5 aka the wifey catcher. While the Reinell was a great boat, very fast, comfortable, and mostly stable, it wasn't very fishable. So, before my brother and I took a sawzall and duct tape to it, i sold it, got married, had a kid, and dreamed of buying something that I could take to the coronados and back and would safely take the family out for a day out. I've been cruising craigslist and boat trader pretty much every moment I have the time and now I'm ready to pull the trigger on a minimum 18' center console or a minimum 19'5 cuddy. Any advice?

[DyleeBrand]

Hey Uncle E...
I had cruiser, then cuddy, then walkaround......now center console ofcourse, i ll tell you why.
In CA, the way we do boating s not like in the East, you can t just launch off anywhere, then beach any time you like...A majority of time on water with be for fishing....unless you like other sports like scuba diving, dolphin listening?..or whale watching?..even parasailing....and so on.
The sweet scene of the old lady going out with you, having homemade sandwitches, even BBQ...with be gone after the first few trips...then what are you gonna do with all that spare time?..Fishing ofcourse...
My personal favorite s the good old, time proven walkarounds....sort of a compromise between a hard core fishmen with family.
Anyway, just my opinion..

[Uncle E]

Thanks for the advice, hombre, it sounds like it ain't your first rodeo.

[DyleeBrand]

Ofcourse not..
Boating s like a slot machine, takes a lot of your money, return a favor once in a great while...but the addiction of boating, like gambling, keeps people in the sport..
My very first boat was a 12 footer Valco with a noisy Sears outboard, used to slaughter those orange mouth covinas in Salton Sea way back when it was healthy and good....moved up to a fiberglass Bayliner, POS, then a Glasspar, again POS, then the dreams get bigger, pocket got lighter in the process....got a Skipjack with twin Volvos on a triple axle trailer...even a Dually had a hard time pulling the beast....Downsized to 26 footer, now very happy with a 25 Parker with two Yamahas, a pontoon for Colorado river, a 15 Edgewater center console for in-shore and fresh water.....Still thinking about my neighbor s offer of a 48 Bertram in Huntington Harbor if the slip fee doesn t look too scary.
So, my point s not the boat but the spirit of the boatman....means you.

[Tail Chaser]

Cuddy is nice if you want to get out of the sun/cold. Take a piss in pvt, And maybe cook something on board.
But if your one of them guys that heads out at sun up,Then races back to port by noon before the first hint of a breeze picks up. A Center console would do.

[Tail Chaser]

Double post :oops:

[DA_Beaut]

Ive had a center console and now the cuddy walk around and have to go with the latter. Many times Ill be out there and love the fact that I can catch a little nap. Also include in your search a t-top or hardtop which I think is more important than the model. Staying out of the sun is worth its weight in gold...