maybe more like planning (unless you ask the wifey, then it's dreaming...ouch)

So with what little "research" (more like window shopping) I would consider a purchase of one of these (something I can trailer around 20 footish or so open/center console thing)

Parker SE

Jones

Whaler Outrage

Sea Craft

any thoughts and/or recommendations or warnings would be appreciated greatly Bob H.

maybe more like planning (unless you ask the wifey, then it's dreaming...ouch)

So with what little "research" (more like window shopping) I would consider a purchase of one of these (something I can trailer around 20 footish or so open/center console thing)

Parker SE

Jones

Whaler Outrage

Sea Craft

any thoughts and/or recommendations or warnings would be appreciated greatly Bob H.

I have a 21 Sea Hunt and wouldn't trailer it other than to put it in in the spring and out in the fall. Weighs 4000 pounds dry. Loaded with motor, gas, gear, etc, you are loking at close to 5000#. You will spend a fortune in gas pulling it around. Get a slip. You will use it mor and enjoiy it more

check out a used Scout 202 Sportfish.... a lot of quality boat for the $

You might also look at a 21 regulator (but be careful of used Yami HPDI's....they hate gasahol). A capecodder 19 if you can find one that is not too beat (preferably one without an engine) is a capable little boat as well.

If you are mostly inshore fishing the boat itself is less important than how it is powered. My experience buying used 20 foot boats has been disappointing and expensive. Twice I have ended up having to repower within 2-4 years. That is money you won't get back if you decide to sell. Likewise, 20 foot boats are heavy and the trailers don't last very long, so plan on replacing that as well.

Right now I am trying to talk myself out of the Regulator, but a little arm twist like that will put right back at the top of the list I suppose.

There is a nice used Seacraft for sale on Federal St. in Weymouth. Buy one...you won't be sorry. Nothing outlasts a Seacraft (mine is 41 years old) and they get you there and back.

I have a 39 yr old seacraft and love it. It has newer power and has had some restore work done. rides well in slop and im comfortable it can handle more. Great plugging boat and even serves as a nice pleasure craft when I need to please the chick.

The 3 best 21’ boats in my opinion (which doesn’t mean too much) are:

Contender (I own one so might be biased)
SeaCraft (older the better, the potter hulls are tops)
BlueWater
Love a pilot houses too

The 21 Regulator is sweet too but the degree dead rise on the 21’ Regulator (20 degrees) is not the same as the 23’ Regulator and higher which have a 24.5 degree rise. They also no longer make a 21’ Regulator. 23’ is a whole different story, I think the 2 best 23’ boats are the 23T Contender and the 23 Regulator. The 21’ Contender as well as the 21’ Bluewater both have a 24.5 degree dead rise and are light boats. They are great boats in the chop and ride nice and smooth, rocky on the drift though so if you are going off shore a lot you probably want the dead rise, if you are drifting in close most of the time, it might not be as important as a more stable lower dead rise boat.

Higher degree dead rise = fast and smooth ride, wobble on a drift
Lower degree dead rise = pound the waves and hard ride, stable on the drift

There is no perfect boat, it just all depends on what you want to do. I love pilot houses too (21’ Stieger and Parkers for example)

I’ve had my 21 Contender 40 miles off shore and it handles the seas great. Have a 200 Yamaha HPDI, cruises at 36MPH @ 4200 RPMs and sips fuel. Tops out around 50MPH at ~5,500 RPMs.

Only problem so far with my boat is it isn’t fishey enough, I’m working on that though………………………………..

23T is nice for the contender lineup,but is 25 LOA. 23 open is not the same.

"I have a 39 yr old seacraft and love it."
Those "new" one's are pretty nice too! ;-)

23T is nice for the contender lineup,but is 25 LOA. 23 open is not the same.

Yes, 100% agree, completely different boats.

On the other hand:
21' Contender LOA = 21'-3"
21' Regulator LOA = 20'-6"

9" in the same "class" boat is a huge difference.

Buy a tin boat to start, lot less $$$, easy to trailer, you need to pick your days but you can catch lots of fish. Might be easier to get by "she who must be obeyed" and the days you can't go out are apt to be great surfcasting days.

I had a 20 ft 1986 vintage seacraft that fell apart (ran out of spots to hold down the console even with toggles and the cockpit deck eventually separated from the gunnel) and eventually sank. The old ones and new ones may be OK, but there were a lot of duds in the middle. There is also a lot of wood in them that goes to punk so the best used ones are old boats that have been competently rebuilt. I enjoyed the boat a lot, but the regulator is way more solid and rides better, of that I am certain.

As for the regulator, the 20 degree is no issue (it worried me as well but I drove the boat I wanted to buy through the worst stuff I'd be out in and it performed much better than my seacraft with its deeper V). I've had it for 8 years now and it has gotten me home through very nasty stuff (as in 35-40 kts NW against a big tide off WH). The advantage of the regulator is its weight. It is about 700 lbs heavier than my seacraft was and weight is huge determinant of seakeeping ability in a small boat. I looked at contenders as well. They are lighter, faster, and more fuel efficient, but get air born too easily for my taste. I don't run offshore so perhaps the contender is better for that. The contender is not as solidly built as the regulator, which is why it is lighter.

The real problems with the regulator are power related. Most of them out there are powered with Yami 200 HPDI's. These are fussy engines in the gasahol era. Although when running right they are great, keeping them running right is difficult and expensive. They were designed before gasahol and depend on critically clean fuel. They have multiple filters deep in the engine that are hard and expensive to change (there is a high pressure pump filter that is a 400+ job and six injector filters that are about 100 each). If you don't clean these before they plug, which means every three years, and they absolutely will plug because the alcohol carries dissolved material that bypasses the 10 micron filter, the VST filter, and the medium pressure fuel line filter (itself a $180 item), at best the engine will run like crap and at worst you will stop oiling a cylinder and seize the engine (learned both the hard way). At very least if you get a used HPDI plan on spending $1200-1500 bucks to clean all the filters BEFORE the first season you use it.

At the end of the 21 regulator run they churned out some reconfigured for 4 stroke engines (the FS models). My boat was stern heavy with the HPDI. I repowered with a 225 Yami offshore series (that was lighter than the old 200 4 stroke series but heavier than the HPDI). It doesn't quite fit the engine well (but is passable) and makes the boat even more stern heavy even after moving the batteries. The boat is definitely overpowered but performs better than with the HPDI so so far I'm happy (but 23,000 bucks poorer..... 8000 more than a new HPDI which goes to show how much I didn't want to go there again). Storage in the boat is also disappointing.

As for the 23 Regulator, these are under powered with the old 4 stoke Yamis. Find one without an engine and put a new 300hp offshore on it and you'd be in business.

Don't buy a 20 foot boat with a T-top.

What are you looking to spend?

My friend had a 23 seacraft for 13 years,decided to upgrade to a 25 (new) and he thought it was a POS. Dumped it after 2 years and got a 29 reg. If you ever see a 20' Onslow Bay for sale jump on it.Fishy (contender) style layout with the solid construction of a reggy.

My friend had a 23 seacraft for 13 years,decided to upgrade to a 25 (new) and he thought it was a POS. Dumped it after 2 years and got a 29 reg. If you ever see a 20' Onslow Bay for sale jump on it.Fishy (contender) style layout with the solid construction of a reggy.
How is yours ridin now?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I like it Bill,first trip to Block a few nights ago....nice to have that option in seas that used to keep me home.

Those Onslow Bay 20's are sweet boats.

I like it Bill,first trip to Block a few nights ago....nice to have that option in seas that used to keep me home.

That boat is awesome and gives a great ride, SD. You definitely picked the perfect boat for the kind of fishing you do.

Onlsow Bay is looking good! Add another to the list.