Decisions

[flyfisher]

Hello all- new to the forum here.

I am at a crossroads in my decision making. I am coming from an 18' Boston Whaler Dauntless and do my boating in the southern Outer Banks of NC = very shoaly, thin waters at times. This was our first boat and has served us extremely well. The move to a new boat being primarily driven by family size and needs. I have three small children in addition to my wife. We often will have others on the boat with us. Fishing is not a huge priority for us, although the kids and I love to do simple bottom fishing. We do not at this time do any trolling, although as the kids get older that may come more into focus.

I am considering the DC235 as well as the DC265. Certainly price is an issue as both are new models and not any used inventory in the market. We love watersports: skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, etc. Our primary use of the boat is cruising around to the various "islands" and shoals- primarily inland, but we occasionally will run outside to access other points of interest.

My questions are as follows:
+ Can you ski/ watersport behind a 26' boat? I have seen references on Pursuit's website and other marketing materials that you can, but from what I have heard from others, makes me believe this is not a realistic option.

+ I love the cockpit seating options on the 265, love them. On the 235 the back bench is not well designed with the backrest hitting adults in the small of the back. I have contacted Pursuit engineering to see if the bench from the 256 can be retrofitted to the 235- which it cannot. Therefore I am looking at having to retrofit some sort of backrest to the back bench if I go this route. Any thoughts on retrofitting backrests?

+ My wife is very concerned with the size of both boats, as she occasionally takes the kids out solo when I am not around. I certainly understand the dilemma we are in moving from a modified skiff (BW) to a boat of either size. Draft and weight are both of concern. Can anyone provide some insight as to if these boats are truly suited to the type of activities we enjoy. I understand the perils of not watching tides, but we do like to take the boat up to shore for ease of shore access. She does love the windlass on the 265 for this very reason.

As far as I can tell from the forums, nueruboater is the only owner of a DC. Would love to know any thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[hnt]

We began looking at DC style boats but ultimately decided on a used Denali 2460. We have two young daughters (2&4) and as it turns out, they really love being able to crawl into the cuddy cabin and hang out. It's also a great place for our little one to take a nap. We bought a model with the wide cooler seat across the stern and it really works out well. This boat is a great compromise for us. Large and stable enough to provide a good ride with lots of seating yet small enough to handle easily and be efficient to run. We will be using it some for fishing but mostly for family day trips.

Ours has a 250 h.p. Mercrusier w/ Bravo III

Cheers

[MarkT]

As far as watersports off the back of the 26, I have to tell you that I have taken my family tubing off the back of our twin diesel Pursuit 3000 express. Both of the boats you are talking about are good boats. I think the 26 would be the way to go since yo will grow into it very fast, the 23 may get small very quickly. hnt has a point about the cuddy, but that is up to you. Let us know what you pick.

[MarkT]

I just noticed that pullinskirts is selling a 2670 on the forum. You may want to take a look, those are great boats

[USA591]

FWIW, the 2460 is a great all around boat for what you're describing. The forward cabin is a great place for the kids and makes the boat useful for over nighting. You're just going to have to navigate shoal waters a little more carefully. Good luck!