i cant picture myself owning anything but a CC, but the wife is already hinting that maybe next year we are going to need something with a cabin. Started taking a look at some easterns, and parkers. Dig the eastern 27 tournament. any other boats i should be looking at? Looking at comfort underneath, bloodbath out on the deck. 23-27 range. Outboard power. Let me know what you guys have or been out on that I should be looking at.

Also told her that id have to get a 18-20'CC to plug on. Still negotiating that though.

steiger craft. the dealer down the street from me just started selling them. they sure look good - don't know much about their performance to be honest

I fish a 25 wellcraft walkaround regularly also been on many a 22 ' walkarounds with plenty creature comforts.
if your looking for a beginner family boat, walkarounds are good choices.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

i cant picture myself owning anything but a CC, but the wife is already hinting that maybe next year we are going to need something with a cabin. Started taking a look at some easterns, and parkers. Dig the eastern 27 tournament. any other boats i should be looking at? Looking at comfort underneath, bloodbath out on the deck. 23-27 range. Outboard power. Let me know what you guys have or been out on that I should be looking at.

Also told her that id have to get a 18-20'CC to plug on. Still negotiating that though.

Get a hobie revolution and put the money you would have spent on a small CC on the Downeaster.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I fish a 25 wellcraft walkaround regularly also been on many a 22 ' walkarounds with plenty creature comforts.
if your looking for a beginner family boat, walkarounds are good choices.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

not looking for a beg family boat. Im looking for a hardcore fishing boat that i cant take the wife to block or vineyard for a night. My buddy has a BHM and another a beal. Like the downeast. digging the eastern 27T and the Parker 2520. want to be able to fish offshore as well.

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Downeast - Displacement hulls
Parker,Steiger, Welcraft,and smaller easterns - Planing hulls
Displacement - Planing 2 completely different hulls !
A pilot house doesn't make a boat a Downeast !

^^^^^^^^^
Excellent point Ronnie makes.
And if you are coming out of a center console into a displacement hull, be prepared for a very different hull speed and fuel consumption

I have a Steigercraft. Boat is bulletproof. Very Spartan but bulletproof. It is a MV hull and it pounds when it is snotty but it is a tough boat. Trolls great and it is awesome on the drift. If you fish Nantucket Sound go with their DV or get a good dentist. I love my Steiger. Its cheap to run and if it gets nicked up I don't sweat it.
Would I buy another? Yes but in the DV model. Lifetime warranty on the hull is a nice benefit also.
It is not a displacement hull. It is not a Downeast boat.

the 25 miami looks nice. I was on one at the boat show a couple weeks ago and the finish looked good.

Anything with the name "Beal" in it would sure be purdy. Judge yachts, built somewhere on the Cheasapeake, makes a nice 27...

A real big investment not only in money but time, two boats is tough to decide plans. As a suggestion based on a buddies similar situation where his wife said something about a bigger boat to have dual purpose fish and family (won't let you know how that turned out) - take your wife and take a few rides on different styles. Different boats will fish much differently not good or bad but different, the same way they ride differently to and from. See what she likes / really makes a difference and at the same time see how it fits your fishing style. See what creature comforts really matter to both of you. If you bottom fish a lot do that and see how it handles, if you drift, troll whatever, and remember big boats can get to places little ones cant but don't forget the opposite that they cant really get into a lot of spots.

My next boat will be either a 25 or 28 foot Parker with twins and a cabin. I want something that can go offshore a few times a year but still get into skinny water to fish and swim. I'm getting older and like the option of getting in out of the sun and rain when needed and a toilet for "her". I loved my last Parker but had to sell her to build my house. Parkers are great boats built to take a beating and get you home.

Women's boat requirements:
Flush toilet with closing door for privacy.
Thick cushions and leg room to sleep.
Warm.
Dry.
If you have a dry, heated, private head with flush toilet your golden. ;)

i get into the idea of buying a pilot house for the same reason every winter. but when i really start to think about it, I back off, as I really love run & gun, spring and fall fishing, as well as casting plugs close to structure. Those things are so tough in anything but a center console. I spent a lot of time this past season fishing in a 33ft grady express. What a great boat. mostly offshore, but some inshore too. inshore, anything besides bottom fishing or trolling really sucked. even pogie fishing was annoying, because you don't have 360 degree access to throw at the schools. once you have pogies it is fine. but the lure of the cabin is super strong. so I know where you are coming from. I have always leaned towards the parker.
A boat like the one Sandman used to have, mirage 32, is best of both worlds... but $$$

i get into the idea of buying a pilot house for the same reason every winter. but when i really start to think about it, I back off, as I really love run & gun, spring and fall fishing, as well as casting plugs close to structure. Those things are so tough in anything but a center console. I spent a lot of time this past season fishing in a 33ft grady express. What a great boat. mostly offshore, but some inshore too. inshore, anything besides bottom fishing or trolling really sucked. even pogie fishing was annoying, because you don't have 360 degree access to throw at the schools. once you have pogies it is fine. but the lure of the cabin is super strong. so I know where you are coming from. I have always leaned towards the parker.
A boat like the one Sandman used to have, mirage 32, is best of both worlds... but $$$

Zac this is our argument. My fishing style is very similar. I plug topwater for bass, fish eels, occasionally botom fish, and live to run and gun for pelagics in the fall. A boat with a cibin does not fit my needs. But i do like the idea of spenidng weekends on block and cutty with the wife. im still a couple years away from making a decision. But its winter and I figured we could use some good boat talk.

If you like spending the occasional night or weekend on board a pilothouse with a decent head, shower w/(hot)water and a nice place to lay down and sleep will not only expand your boating experience but your fishing range as well. You don't have to spend a lot. Establish what your needs are, get the largest boat you can afford and seek out used boats in the off-season. Your wife will love it.

I had a Mirage 32 and it met my needs for a few seasons but check out the Osprey. they make them in several lengths and levels of finish. Good livability and good fish-ability. The mirage was a walk-around pilothouse so the fish-ability was just like a CC. But it was an offshore kind of boat IMO. You can get used OB models that need a little love starting at 25K or so but they go up to 6 figures quick. Look around and keep your eyes peeled.

I have been looking hard at boats this past few months.... I see my self getting out of the hard core fishing machines in a few years and looking towards a big slow trawler to take to the Caribbean in the winter (fish my way down and back) when we retire. But I think I may have one more sportfish in me for a couple more years before I make that move. But I still need sleeping comforts for weekends to Block and Nantucket.

When I met my wife, boats were not her cup of tea... Now...she asks can we take the boat over to Hadleys Harbor midweek (a 20 min ride for me) for dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow then drop me off for work the next morning. She loves sleeping on the boat and exploring harbors/islands from the water. It is great to have a boat that has multiple uses. The same boat was chasing tuna offshore or albies with a flyrod the next day. CC's are great but take a lot out of you esp if you leave the bay. Sitting in a pilothouse on autopilot is like sitting in your car on cruise control. It take the stress out of boating esp at night and in poor weather or for long runs.

Good luck

If you like spending the occasional night or weekend on board a pilothouse with a decent head, shower w/(hot)water and a nice place to lay down and sleep will not only expand your boating experience but your fishing range as well. You don't have to spend a lot. Establish what your needs are, get the largest boat you can afford and seek out used boats in the off-season. Your wife will love it.

I had a Mirage 32 and it met my needs for a few seasons but check out the Osprey. they make them in several lengths and levels of finish. Good livability and good fish-ability. The mirage was a walk-around pilothouse so the fish-ability was just like a CC. But it was an offshore kind of boat IMO. You can get used OB models that need a little love starting at 25K or so but they go up to 6 figures quick. Look around and keep your eyes peeled.

I have been looking hard at boats this past few months.... I see my self getting out of the hard core fishing machines in a few years and looking towards a big slow trawler to take to the Caribbean in the winter (fish my way down and back) when we retire. But I think I may have one more sportfish in me for a couple more years before I make that move. But I still need sleeping comforts for weekends to Block and Nantucket.

When I met my wife, boats were not here cup of tea... Now...she asks can we take the boat over to Hadleys Harbor midweek (a 20 min ride for me) for dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow then drop me off for work the next morning. She loves sleeping on the boat and exploring harbors/islands from the water. It is great to have a boat that has multiple uses. The same boat was chasing tuna offshore or albies with a flyrod the next day. CC's are great but take a lot out of you esp if you leave the bay. Sitting in a pilothouse on autopilot is like sitting in your car on cruise control. It take the stress out of boating esp at night and in poor weather or for long runs.

Good luck

Wish I could had taken that mirage off your hands. :(

Not a downeast, but I like a center console that (1) provides 360 degree fishing, with (2) some kind of shelter for wife/kids...

Fished on one of these in the Keys once, fished just like any other center console, maybe a tad unstable casting up front on top of the cabin, more so than if you were standing on the deck of an open CC, but that cabin looked like something that would have appeal to the female of the species, damn them...

http://www.dusky.com/boat/fac-walkaround/dusky-278-fishermans-cuddy

Not a downeast, but I like a center console that (1) provides 360 degree fishing, with (2) some kind of shelter for wife/kids...

Fished on one of these in the Keys once, fished just like any other center console, maybe a tad unstable casting up front on top of the cabin, more so than if you were standing on the deck of an open CC, but that cabin looked like something that would have appeal to the female of the species, damn them...

http://www.dusky.com/boat/fac-walkaround/dusky-278-fishermans-cuddy

Mirage is soooooo much better IMO...

Mirage is soooooo much better IMO...

definitley a different boat. the dusky is a workhorse.