Sportfishing boats for cruising?

The 54 and 62 Offshore are one of my favorite pilothouse models.

Nice to hear you are shopping, I agree prices are still COVID and economy inflated, they should quiet down a bit in a year or two. Good news, that give you a year or two to ramp up your fitness, restorative sleep, nutrition plan to be in better physical shape at 60 than at 58. No worries mate!

Don't think it is too tall, just right in my book.

My view is that there are, generally speaking, three major types of motor boats that can be used for cruising with different intrinsic (hull) characteristics:

1. Motor yacht... planing hull, 12-15 degrees deadrise, fast, sleek, can cruise economically at 20 knots and do 30 knots if conditions allow. Fuel economy depends mostly on displacement and deadrise angle, you can get 1 nmpg with a 40-45 hull, half that with a 60 ft hull (at 20 knots). At displacement speed you can get 1.5-2 nmpg if lucky.

2. Fishing optimized boat... planing hull, 20+ degrees deadrise, some people like the look, others do not. Higher speeds that a motor yacht. It is as good as it gets in rough sea but when the see is rough, it is rough, period. Fuel economy is roughly half of the motor yacht, some of this comes from the higher deadrise but also from being built to a higher standard (heavier).

3. Trawler... displacement (older) or semi-displacement hull (newer), cruises at three times lower speed but not necessarily more economical because it is a lot heavier than a comparable size motor yacht. It has more amenities, optimized for people who live on the boat at anchor (vs. the motor yacht where people hop from one marina to the next and eat at restaurants most of the time). You can run the semi displacement hull to 17-20 knots but it is not optimal, fuel consumption is high and it is not designed for that.

Now, you can use any of the boats for any activity with some strange results. You can cruise on a SF at 30 knots in good weather and cover 500-600 nm overnight, including refueling stops. That is impressive but will cost you a lot of money and comfort. Once I cruised on the Riva 48, covering 550 nm over two days, it was fantastic. On the way back we covered one stretch of ~350 nm in a single 24 hour period in force 6 weather. It was a miserable experience that no one on board wants to repeat. I assume that on a trawler, it would be more even, steady, slow, less exhilarating and more comfortable. You can also fish from a motor yacht but you will not be satisfied with the experience. So, I suggest you run these scenarios in your mind and think about how you want to use the boat, specifically do you mind the higher fuel consumption of the SF for cruising?

Depending on the budget, the maritimo 60 may be a good option. Sportfish like profile, enclosed bridge with internal stairs, wide side decks with high bulwarks/ rails for easy walk to the bow. the 60 maritimo also has failry good speed reportedly cruising mid 20's and topping over 30 kts with 1000 hp c18 cats, and with 1700 gallons of fuel the range should be adequate. the cockpit on the maritmo is more geared towards cruising, but light sport fishng could easily be done.. Even the smaller maritimo models, 48 and 52 appear to have the wide side decks and internal stairway access to the enclosed bridge.

I just wanted to spend time as close to the water as possible. We definitely don't have the room of a MY or Trawler. Definitely could have enjoyed a lower helm once or twice. We burn a little less than 10 gallons at 9knots or so. Cruise around 20 knots burning 45-50. I love the ability to get up and run when needed.

FYI, my wife wasn't a SF fan for all the mentioned negatives, but she now loves to get back to the slip asap after a long day. I attached a cockpit setup when she is in charge.

My 48 Cabo has a 11.5 degree transom deadrise. I don't get to 20 degrees until just fwd mid ships. Where my transducers are mounted just ahead of each engine is just 18.5 degrees. From a fuel economy perspective for me it is best @ 700 to 900 rpm which is 7 to to 9 knots burning 4 to 8gph. After that you are on plane getting .5 nmpg. For me that is 1825 at 30 knots burning 55gph with a 65% load.

We use a SF for cruising and long-distance travel from Bahamas to Canada, including the loop.

I value the speed, handling and ride quality 90k lbs and 2800 hp gives us, particularly with weather or when we have self-imposed deadlines. I also love the sexy lines of the boat’s style - - but the cost as others have mentioned comes in fuel burn above 8 knots and a sometimes uneasy feeling when getting up to the foredeck with heavy fenders / lines, etc., but the use of headsets has improved communication to the point we work through it better than yelling back and forth these days

For anyone seriously contemplating that Viking 61EB at the stuart show, send me a PM. I’ve been all through that boat a couple years ago after it returned to the states and HMY was selling it out of palm beach gardens

That must vary by location. Really high fixed docks?

We're at a fixed dock, and we can't board over the side of the boat at high tide... have to step down from dock to swim platform. And then we can't get on/off from the swim platform at low tide, have to go over the cockpit coamings. And that's with only a normal 18"-2' tidal range...

Our cockpit coamings are slightly higher than a real sportfish or convertible, though...

-Chris

It's incredibly easy. The side of a SF comes up greatly to the bow, so somewhere along the side, it's always even with the finger pier. That's unless you're in a crappy marina with only 10' long finger piers.

Here is a picture of a SF with stairs to the bridge.

Oh my, that is nice!!

I believe that is a 50 Viking and one of only a few built with integrated stairs.

Only production builder I know of that offered integrated stairs was the 48 Tiara Flybridge which is a good cruising boat IMO.