Question for 23 SE owners

[Wendell]

This boat is in my top 4 in consideration to buy. Others are Cape Horn, McKee 21CC and the Parker 23CC. I have looked at the others, but not the SE yet as the closest dealer is 4 hours away. (many thanks to fishfactory for allowing me to look at his 23CC). There is a thread going on over at THT about notched and closed transoms, probably not the first one. My question is does this boat have any sort of a splash well? From the overhead in the Parker brochure it appears that it doesn't. Also, the picture of the 23SE in the brochure and Parker website shows the transom notch to be very close to the water and the scuppers appear to be under water. It does appear that the driver has engaged reverse in the picture. The thread and these pictures give me pause.

I'll buy one of these boats when I move to Savannah next year and most of my fishing will be in the shallow GA sounds, but I would like to also go to the nearshore reefs. The shallower draft of the SE and adequate freeboard would make it seem to be a great compromise in a boat to do two completely different types of fishing. *edit* I have not sea trialed any of these boats because until I move I'm not a serious buyer and I'm not going to waste a salesman's time.

Your comments are appreciated.

 

[NYFLYFISHING]

I believe you can get the boat with a splashboard. I dont have this option and even fishing the rips off Montauk Pt. , very seldom do I take any water over the back, and if I do its gone in seconds. The scuppers are always above water even with a few guys in the stern. I feel safe in this boat even out 20 miles.

 

[Porkchunker]

I've been drooling over a 23 DV CC with full transom to support my saltwater fly fishing habit...but the Admiral won't let me down-size.

 

[commok]

I have a 2006 23SE with an F225 and had it custom ordered/delivered with a 30" shaft motor, which allowed Parker to add an additional 5" of height to the transom/notch (no cost mod when ordering). Never had any water over the transom in 110hrs of op in the Chesapeake, even backing down at a reasonable speed. Scuppers are always above the waterline regardless. Great boat - fish, hose it down, put it away for the night on my lift. Awesome package in my opinion.

 

[J.A. Veil]

Wendell -

I have run a 23 SE for the past 4 1/2 years. I do not find the notched transom to be a big deal for me. I fish in the Chesapeake. Under most conditions, the boat does not take water over the stern. Occasionally if I throttle down too fast, a following wave comes over the stern, but it drains out quickly. The most extreme case I have experienced happened last Sat. This was reported a few days ago on Classic Parker at: http://classicparker.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=793

We started out in the relatively calm South River. When we reached the Chesapake, the waves were 3-4 footers. I decided to run a few miles north to a favorite fishing spot. The northward trip was easy with the big rollers at our stern. We cruised at about 21 mph with no trouble. We started drifting for bottom fish. Within 2 or 3 minutes, a huge wave crashed over the cut out stern in my Parker 23 SE, dumping dozens of gallons of bay water on board. We all got soaked shoes, and there were about 3-4 inches of water on the floor of the boat. Thank goodness for a self-bailing cockpit, although it took about a minute for all that water to roll out of the scuppers. My scuppers are always above water and do a good job draining any water that comes on board.

Two of my crew members are not keen on heavy water conditions, so we brought in the lines and turned toward the South River. The ride back was quite wet. I kept the speed at about 7.5 mph to keep from bouncing us too much in the 4 footers. I had no concerns about the Parker's seaworthiness, but I did not want to slam the crew around much. I don't think any 23 foot boat would have done well in those large, closely-spaced waves.

Under most normal seas (1-3 footers), the 23 SE handles acceptably. The regular 23 CC will give a better ride in rough conditions, but will rock a bit more on a drift and will burn more fuel. I consistently take my boat into locations where the depthfinder reads 1.5 feet and feel comfortable that I can get back out again. In addition to the handling features of the various boats, take a look at other variables like built-in onboard storage (I supplemented the limited built-in storage by putting two large coolers in the bow area and keeping them for dry storage and for extra seating) and whether the floor is all one level (as in my 23 SE, which I really like) or has a raised casting deck in front.

If you are seriously concerned about the cut out transom, I don't think it would be too hard to construct two brackets on the outside of the transom that could hold a removable board that would block off part of the cutout but still allow easy tilting of the motor when the board is removed.

Good luck in your search. If you get to Annapolis and would like to look at my boat and take a ride, let me know.