Walk Around Cuddy Cabin

[ALS Mako]

i believe capt greg from the golden eagle has a 26' mako walkaround listed in the classified section of this board, check it out

[Mikecris24]

I agree with everyone else 23 is just to small of a cabin and to small to take to far offshore, you need at least a 25 to have a somewhat decent cabin. I have 25 wellcraft walkaround and love it its got a nice size cabin full enclosed head sink v berth fridge etc.. but its still even a bit cramped for sleeping purposes. i"ll have it in the water in a few weeks, your more than welcome to come check it out if you like. As for heading offshore i agree with everyone else get at least a couple years experience before you even think about heading far offshore, and also make sure you got all your proper safety gear as well, epirb, life raft etc.. you'll realize what we're all talking about once you start boating regularly, heading offshore can be a very dangerous thing to do if ill prepared.

[Treebeard63]

All good points here.. I agree with the observations that the smaller W/A's usually offer cramped cabins and cockpits.. compromise on both ends.. Another factor you should consider, is the Walkaround part itself.. Some boats, like the Grady's have a recessed walkway to get to the bow, while others like my Scout do not.. This makes getting up front a bit trickier,and for the most part the bow is of little use for fishing.. If I had kids, I would certainly want the safety of a recessed walkway. My boat has nice cockpit space (50 sq. ft) (which is aided by the lack of outboards) and a cabin large enough to be of some use... but it is what Scout calls a 28.. They measure their boats from pulpit to prop-nut, and I would compare it more to big 26's..It rides nice due to its 22 deg. deadrise, but ride will vary with hull syles.. I looked at their 242 and 262 Abaco's and they had nice big cabins for their size, but lacked the cockpit space. Another type of boat you may want to consider is a pilot house.. They offer good protection and have big dance floors aft. Good luck with whatever you decide, and I envy you.. shopping for boats may be more fun than actually owning one!

[JoeLongo]

Why Is Every First Letter Of Every Word In Caps?

[All Business]

All good advice, just figured I would offer a little wisdom of my own. I recently sold a 23' Hydrasports walk around cuddy. First let me say that I loved the boat, very sea worthy, good storage area in the cabin, recessed walkway to the bow, nice amenities, all in all a good, sturdy boat that gave me no trouble at all. I went with the W/A because my wife wanted a porta potty and a place to get out of the sun. I was all about a CC. After 5 seasons with the boat, the porta potty was never used and the cabin was for storage only. Too small to sleep and too small to sit in while underway. Not enough headroom, once you have the lifevests, tackle boxes, bags in the cabin, there is no room for anythign else. A 23' foot boat tends to bounce around a little bit, so you are better off sitting in a fixed seat in the cockpit. So, even though you think the cabin will be used, odds are it won't be. So, if you are set on a 22-23 footer, go with a CC, get a nice TTop to allow you to escape the sun and get something with a good amount of storage space either in the deck or in the helm. If you can afford it, I wouldn't go with a W/A until you are in the 26' range. Just my 2 cents.

[mboy]

Originally Posted by All Business

All good advice, just figured I would offer a little wisdom of my own. I recently sold a 23' Hydrasports walk around cuddy. First let me say that I loved the boat, very sea worthy, good storage area in the cabin, recessed walkway to the bow, nice amenities, all in all a good, sturdy boat that gave me no trouble at all. I went with the W/A because my wife wanted a porta potty and a place to get out of the sun. I was all about a CC. After 5 seasons with the boat, the porta potty was never used and the cabin was for storage only. Too small to sleep and too small to sit in while underway. Not enough headroom, once you have the lifevests, tackle boxes, bags in the cabin, there is no room for anythign else. A 23' foot boat tends to bounce around a little bit, so you are better off sitting in a fixed seat in the cockpit. So, even though you think the cabin will be used, odds are it won't be. So, if you are set on a 22-23 footer, go with a CC, get a nice TTop to allow you to escape the sun and get something with a good amount of storage space either in the deck or in the helm. If you can afford it, I wouldn't go with a W/A until you are in the 26' range. Just my 2 cents.

This is the EXACT reason I went with a CC. Was really just looking for something in the 18' range at the time and wound up with the 21.
21 WA is DEF. too small IMHO, especially if you are going to fish.

My ideal realistic boat would be a bit bigger, maybe 24-26' CC with a larger cockpit to fit an overboard head (make it much more comfy for the wife).
I wasn't willing to finance a boat and wasn't willing to go older then a few years, so wound up @ 21'.

Otherwise, for pure fishing like I mainly due, it works for me.


When getting into WA's that you want to sleep with the wife or a kid or 2, you REALLY need to be in th 28+ range, but for a general FAMILY boat, in WA it really does start @ 26 to be comfortable to do fishing/cruising with.

The only 23' which would even be marginal for you is the newer Grady Gulfstreams.
You are also talking mucho $$$$ for a VERY high end boat, but man, it is a LARGE 23' for sure.

[Wreckfish]

I have a Aquasport 225 walkaround and the only thing the cabin is used for is storage. Cockpit has pleanty of room for three adult. I do have a bracket for my outboard. Once you go to four adults then it starts to get tight. 200 HP is the min I would go. I am going CC on my next boat. If the wife and kids loose interest a CC is much easier to handle by yourself when it comes to anchoring and docking.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Fact is a lot of the cabin and deck sizes on a 23 foot boat depends on the specific boat... Lots of 23 footers use the European style swim platforms and that is included in the measurement of the length of the boat... For this reason many of today's 23 footers are more like 21 or 20 footers of old...

If you are in the used market you may find some 23 footers that use a bracket instead of the molded in swim platform and you now have a real 23 foot boat... Probably larger then some of the newer 25s....

Lots of used boats on the market today and if I were buying one I'd be buying something used. There are a lot of deals out their while new boat pricing has gotten totally insane in spite of the poor economy..

[Luna Sea 3]

As mentioned above, if your wife wants a cabin for shelter, it will probably never be used as such. You can get a 23-26' range CC boat that can accommodate a porta pottie/changing area/storage area under the consoul.

I have a 26' CC now like that.

The boat before this one was a 26' WA Cuddy, and if you honestly need a Cuddy, a 26' will work for ya, also depending on the design of the boat. When you have a WA Cuddy, you have to look at how it is designed. Some cuddies are set way up front and only 1/4 the length of the boat, and some may be larger/smaller.

Go to a boat show, look at models and sizes you want, write them down, then go home and search for used.

[Mark215]

http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8581

He's a link to my boat that I'm selling. It's a 215 explorer cuddy/walkaround model. Alot of cabin and cockpit for a 21ft boat. Aquasports made bigger sizes in the explorer model but they are true walkaround's where as mine is more like a cuddy . The next size up (the 23ft model) had a smaller cabin then my 21 footer. Another thing to keep in mine is the desing of the transom. The companys that have those euro's design transoms (the open slant design where the engine sits) eats up alot of cockpit space. IF I remember correctly Aquasports also used the euro design transom on their bigger model explorers too. When I bought mine I was on the 21 ft model then climb onto the 23 footer right next to it and told the saleperson na this isn't for me let me go back onto the bigger boat, he said you're on the bigger boat. I couldn't believe it.