[off route II]

I had a 24 Yellowfin and if I was in the market again that’s exactly what I would buy again without even looking any further and you can get them with upper station

 

[etrade92]

We went in to look at Pathfinders and ended up in a Sportsman. More bang for our buck at the time. 10/10 would buy another Sportsman. Obviously purchasing used is a different animal. Good luck!!

Edit: A soft sided cooler filled with adult beverages fits perfectly behind the upper station back rest. Best seat in the house when going or coming offshore.

 

[finfever61]

I like the Everglades and Yellowfin.

 

[Walton County]

View attachment 1091635

Is that a 24?
You let me know when you need a tank of gas. I got you covered!

 

[etrade92]

Is that a 24?
You let me know when you need a tank of gas. I got you covered!

Yes it’s a 24 and I believe the second ever in production with a tower. As Fish stated, the new 24 OE with tower is the way to go. Shorter front deck with a lounge seat that doubles as a coffin box. It’s thirsty boat with a 75 gallon tank. Probably won’t chase Black fish this year just due to gas prices.

 

[WeathermanTN]

The Blackjack256 is the best looking bay/hybrid ever. Take a look at the Caymas 26 as well.

 

[etrade92]

So, I will probably wait until about November or so. My favorite type of fishing is sight fishing. I love to run the bar and look for redfish and Pompano. Also love running crab buoys looking for Triple Tail. I purchased my 20' Pioneer CC a couple of years ago and it has been a great boat. In fact it is still worth what I paid for it if not slightly more. I would like to stay around 25' or so and no more than 200k. Boats with upper stations are few and far between. Below are a few of the sleds I am considering. Please let me know if you guys like one over the other, and why. Or maybe you know of another brand or model that fits my requirements. My #1 choice is a Pathfinder 2500 Hybrid

Tell me what you guys think about these and any other you might consider.

I did around two years of research.
1, I would try to find a tower that was installed at the factory. I looked at too many hack jobs installed after the fact that scared me.
2, half tower is the way to go don’t have to worry about clearances when trailering, don’t have to worry about hinging and folding either. Plenty of height Still.
3, With a 200k budget you need to be looking at boutique builders too. ZCB, Gause, EastCape, Young, Bonefish, maybe a Cayo.
4, Look at ease of use getting into the tower. Mine is not easy in/out.
5, full controls and a depth finder/chart plotter are a must in the tower. Have them daisy chained to your main units.

My opinion on the best production boats with factory towers would be blackjack, yellowfin, ranger, sportsman, pathfinder, and contender. Blue Wave coming in a close second.

There’s a multi hundred page thread on THT about catastrophic hull failures with the Crevalle. The Robalo tower scared the crap out of me. I felt like I was in a child’s play pen on top of the hard top.

 

[Straight Shot]

Look at the Jupiter 25 bay with the second station, ships chandler had one for sub 200 earlier this year


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Boardfeet]

A friend that is a forum member texted me today. He has a 2021 Everglades 243CC he is considering selling at the end of the summer. My budget is less than 200k but I would like to stay as much under that as I can and still get a low hours boat with the features that I require. I have fished several Everglades boats and they certainly have a nice ride.

 

[Boardfeet]

Cayo only builds skiffs. The partner in that business that built the big boat split off and now calls them Costa boats.
I have a good friend that has one. Way over my budget and two motors.


Wow I am really impressed with these Gause Built boats!!

GAUSE 26 – OPTIONS

gausebuiltboats.com

 

[etrade92]

Cayo only builds skiffs. The partner in that business that built the big boat split off and now calls them Costa boats.

This is correct. I knew it was one or the other! lol

 

[silverking]

Did you see the customized Aqua-Sport on the Gause pre-owned section? Suzuki under warranty and lots of custom upgrades. 22-footer. The Gause-Built don't last long and neither do the retrofit AS.

 

[SH27GameFish]

here is the one i want

 

[Boardfeet]

here is the one i want View attachment 1091670

Blazer is not on my list. I have a friend that had a newer one and he had multiple problems. Mostly failing transom.

 

[Boardfeet]

Did you see the customized Aqua-Sport on the Gause pre-owned section? Suzuki under warranty and lots of custom upgrades. 22-footer. The Gause-Built don't last long and neither do the retrofit AS.

The Aquasport on their site is nice but I would like to be closer to 25'
There is one on Boat Trader.

Used 1976 Aquasport 240, 33713 St. Petersburg - Boat Trader

Check out this Used 1976 Aquasport 240 for sale in St. Petersburg , FL 33713. View this Center Console and other Power boats on boattrader.com

www.boattrader.com

Love the old Aqua Sports

 

[SouthernAngler]

Just saw blazer wasn’t on the list. Contenders are nice and pricey. Everglades is a great choice too but also pricey. Fished a 24 Hybrid Everglades on the SKA circuit for a bit so you can still offshore fish out of it.

 

[Boardfeet]

The 24 Blazers are pretty BA

EXPERIENCE A SMOOTH AND REMARKABLY DRY RIDE About 2400

I agree they look good but not on my list at all.

 

[SH27GameFish]

Blazer is not on my list. I have a friend that had a newer one and he had multiple problems. Mostly failing transom.

i had a 2170 for 10 years not one problem and we fished a lot

 

[delta dooler]

Them Blackjacks are pretty sick.

 

[Boardfeet]

The older ones w

i had a 2170 for 10 years not one problem and we fished a lot

The old ones were built better than they are now.