ChrisC
Member
The hunt continued last week when I was home in the states. I was briefly in D.C., so I took one day and dashed down to Beaufort and visited the Parker factory. It will probably not surprise all of you Parker owners that I was impressed by what I saw and how I was treated.
The next day I headed up to Rhode Island and met the Parker dealer there to discuss a purchase and options for rigging a new 23DVCC for fishing in New England, including electronics (more on that with a future note). There is also a used 23DVCC nearby, and I looked at it. The boat seems to be in great shape, but has one feature I don’t like – the forward v-seating. I worry that this cuts into fishing space, and especially worry that someone could fall off it. This was confirmed Saturday night when my father, brother and I were fishing on a 23’ Wellcraft center console near Point Judith. The seas were gentle and the fish were tight to rocks we were drifting by. My dad, who is nearing 70, was trying to get a little more distance on his casts and he got up on the seats to sling eels. Like I said, it was pretty calm; just a little chop and a light but very steady and predictable swell. Anyhow, my brother hooked a decent bass and was fighting it, and my father turned to watch, missed his step, lost his balance and fell across the gunnel. He almost went in. Thankfully he’s fit and alert, and he managed to get a hand on the rail as he went down, and stopped himself. This event -- a near dunking -- convinced me that v-seating is too tempting to stand on, and my young kids (I have four, including a one-year-old) will invariably take a spill from up there. I’m inclined to order my own hull new to avoid it. If anyone wants a seat on a particular trip, I can bring along a folding chair with rubber stoppers on the legs.
Now here comes a new twist. Having looked over the boats, and carefully considering the space issues with three or four adults casting eels at night as well as our desire to get out at least occasionally to Montauk, the Mud Hole, etc., I’ve begun thinking about – am I nuts? – the 25DVCC. I looked at the hulls on the 25, and was really taken by the cockpit size (it’s massive) and my sense that this boat would give us a lot more space and security, and still would let us fish the nearshore rock piles with ease. Price is an issue, obviously. I’m a little shocked at the price. And I wonder about the range of other choices at in the 24- and 25-foot class, which could include everything from Albin to Regulator. (The 23DVCC seems to stand alone in its class, but I’m not sure about how the 25 stacks up to the competition.)
So a few new questions for all of you: do any of you own the 25DVCC or have experience on one? If yes, how does it compare to other center consoles of comparable size? Also, for those of you own the same hull with a cabin or walk-around, what engine(s) would you recommend, or, for that matter, avoid? I see it can be ordered with dual 150s, 200s, or 225s, and now comes standard with the new 350. The choices are perplexing.
I’m getting very close to doing this. It’s only a matter of making the choice between 23 and 25, assuming the 25DVCC compares favorably and I can get a handle on the operating costs (the fuel and the costs of maintaining dual four-stroke may ultimately dissuade me). Then I’ll be looking at a few possibilities on the used market. If nothing materializes used, then by mid-winter I’ll be stepping up and signing the line on a new boat. I’m leaning toward the 23DVCC, as I was before. But I do want to put that 25 on the balance scale and think through it fully before I make the final choice….
I flew back overseas to my office yesterday with a sense that the last few days were well spent. Now I want to make sure my dollars will be, too. Thank you all again for this resource on Parker boats. They look like incredible and simple fishing machines. Next year I hope to be on one.
Chris
The next day I headed up to Rhode Island and met the Parker dealer there to discuss a purchase and options for rigging a new 23DVCC for fishing in New England, including electronics (more on that with a future note). There is also a used 23DVCC nearby, and I looked at it. The boat seems to be in great shape, but has one feature I don’t like – the forward v-seating. I worry that this cuts into fishing space, and especially worry that someone could fall off it. This was confirmed Saturday night when my father, brother and I were fishing on a 23’ Wellcraft center console near Point Judith. The seas were gentle and the fish were tight to rocks we were drifting by. My dad, who is nearing 70, was trying to get a little more distance on his casts and he got up on the seats to sling eels. Like I said, it was pretty calm; just a little chop and a light but very steady and predictable swell. Anyhow, my brother hooked a decent bass and was fighting it, and my father turned to watch, missed his step, lost his balance and fell across the gunnel. He almost went in. Thankfully he’s fit and alert, and he managed to get a hand on the rail as he went down, and stopped himself. This event -- a near dunking -- convinced me that v-seating is too tempting to stand on, and my young kids (I have four, including a one-year-old) will invariably take a spill from up there. I’m inclined to order my own hull new to avoid it. If anyone wants a seat on a particular trip, I can bring along a folding chair with rubber stoppers on the legs.
Now here comes a new twist. Having looked over the boats, and carefully considering the space issues with three or four adults casting eels at night as well as our desire to get out at least occasionally to Montauk, the Mud Hole, etc., I’ve begun thinking about – am I nuts? – the 25DVCC. I looked at the hulls on the 25, and was really taken by the cockpit size (it’s massive) and my sense that this boat would give us a lot more space and security, and still would let us fish the nearshore rock piles with ease. Price is an issue, obviously. I’m a little shocked at the price. And I wonder about the range of other choices at in the 24- and 25-foot class, which could include everything from Albin to Regulator. (The 23DVCC seems to stand alone in its class, but I’m not sure about how the 25 stacks up to the competition.)
So a few new questions for all of you: do any of you own the 25DVCC or have experience on one? If yes, how does it compare to other center consoles of comparable size? Also, for those of you own the same hull with a cabin or walk-around, what engine(s) would you recommend, or, for that matter, avoid? I see it can be ordered with dual 150s, 200s, or 225s, and now comes standard with the new 350. The choices are perplexing.
I’m getting very close to doing this. It’s only a matter of making the choice between 23 and 25, assuming the 25DVCC compares favorably and I can get a handle on the operating costs (the fuel and the costs of maintaining dual four-stroke may ultimately dissuade me). Then I’ll be looking at a few possibilities on the used market. If nothing materializes used, then by mid-winter I’ll be stepping up and signing the line on a new boat. I’m leaning toward the 23DVCC, as I was before. But I do want to put that 25 on the balance scale and think through it fully before I make the final choice….
I flew back overseas to my office yesterday with a sense that the last few days were well spent. Now I want to make sure my dollars will be, too. Thank you all again for this resource on Parker boats. They look like incredible and simple fishing machines. Next year I hope to be on one.
Chris
