Last year, when I was trying to decide what boat to get to replace my 2601 Striper, I flew to N.C. to tour the Maycraft factory. I didn't tour the Parker factory because I was familiar with their boats already.
I had one of the nicest experiences at the Maycraft factory. Ken May showed me all around his operation and bent my ear for about 2 hours. Very, very nice man that knows his stuff.
Maycraft is not sold here in California so I wanted to see one in person. The 25 and the 27 are extremely well built and laid out. I fell in love with the 27, what a nice boat. I asked Mr. May if he could make me one without the overhang and he said no.
On the west coast it's all about casting iron jigs, plastics and live bait so that would have limited casting room more than I could justify and I didn't want to get a boat and cut that piece off not knowing what it would do to the structural integrity of the boat. The modified vee that he uses has the ride of a deep vee in the open ocean from what I've gathered from one owner out here in CA.
I think the nicest fit and finish boat (besides Parker) was the Steiger Craft 25' pilothouse. Man was that a pretty boat. Unfortunately they only make a mod vee. Hopefully they will make a deep vee sometime in the future. I called them from the dealer I was at in Virginia and spoke to one of their V.P.'s and explained the west coast needs. They have a dealer in Washington state but no presence down south. They would give Parker a run for their money out here if they had a deep vee.
