Wife gave the OK, now I just need some reasurance

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ackparker

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Ready to make an offer on a new 05 Parker 2120 with 4S 150, raw water, rocket launchers, instant retract tabs and trailer. The dealer wants $41,500 I going to try for $38,000. The boat will be used for cruing with family (wife and two young childeren) and fishing with three onboard. I love the quality of the boat and the safety of the piolet house and plan on keeping the boat for some time. I decided to buy new because the are so few used ones and they were priced about the same as this one new. Icould use some last minute reasurrance and some more advise though. Thanks
 
I have the center console version of that hull and it is awesome. Plenty of deadrise, high gunnels and a nice little cabin for your wife and kids to get out of the sun. A huge cockpit for fishing, plus the Parker quality.. how could you go wrong?

If I had to pick something to nit, I'd ask others about whether you need a 200HP motor. I have a 200HP on mine, and its a heavy boat (relatively speaking) without the cabin, plus the deadrise requires more horses. I've seen them rigged with 150's on the water, but haven't heard anything good or bad on performance.

-- Tom
 
Super performance tournament fishing craft? NO!

Excellent family fishing platform? You bet!

The Yamaha F150 is a good motor for the boat if you are not a performance nut. If you plan on running dangerous inlets, engaging heavy weather, or have a need to do better than 35 mph you will need the F200 or more. I have had the F150 on our 2120 for two years and 350 hours; I do not regret the choice. If you are a good sailor you will be able to trim the boat for the best performance and maximize your economy.

I recommend you test ride the boat and do so with a 2120 owner. I realize this is a tall order, but it took me about 25 hours of operation to fully figure out how to run it. I can cross the Ches. Bay in 3 foot chop without getting slammed to death and the boat is very safe when handled properly. It will get you through the rough stuff easily when you are caught off guard, but it will not set a speed record in doing so.

The 2120 is a vastly underrated fishing platform IMO. Perhaps that is why they are tough to find on the used market. We have spoken together about the boat, so I know this is a rerun of our conversation. Let me put it this way:

1) The boat will sell itself if you find it is not your cup of tea.
2) The family will apreciate the cabin, the Admiral for the necessities, and the kids for the sleeping bunks.
3) You will all enjoy the dry ride, the shelter from the elements, and the dependability. Gone are the days when weather changes meant freezing or soaking all the way home.
4) The depreciation is minimal (as you have found out).
5) If you seek a family boat, just imagine how much the kids will enjoy jumping off the cabin roof. There is enough room in back for four people to fish without banging in to each other. This is not easy to find in a 21 footer.
6) Access to the front deck is easy and it makes for an excellent perch for fishing or general sunning, etc.
7) I have been on the smaller Steigercraft, Judge, and Maycrafts. I believe the Parker 2120 outclasses these other boats in build, design, and overall safety afloat. This would be a primary concern for me with my entire family at risk.
8) Do not mistake this boat for something it isn't, i.e. offshore charter, speedy playboat, waterskiing craft, house boat, etc. It does what it was built for extremely well, and it is tough. This is a family fishing boat if I ever saw one.

Hope this quiets your fears a little bit. Come down to Richmond for a test run, you'll be hooked. I love mine. So does my wife. A lot : )
 

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Excellent synopsis Tim!
I believe your observations could easilly be applied to the 23 and the 25 as well.
Well written! :)
 
this is a great boat......your money is well-spent, in general, on a
parker, as they are both designed right and built right by a knowledge
able boater who puts HIS NAME right on the hull of each one.....

that said, the real wisdom of your purchase will be the DURATION
you have the boat.......like cars, once you have paid them off, they
progressively become very inexpensive......as the enjoyment ADDS
UP and the money output RECEDES, you win big.....thus, if you keep'
the boat for 15 years, you win......if you sell it in 2-3 seasons for either
a bigger boat or a different style, you are losing....like wives, it pays
to get the right one the FIRST time, as changing can be hard on the
wallet, if not the heart.......

one other observation: i always advise folks to allow minimum 20% of
their budget for post-purchase fitting out......canvas, electronics, spares,
tools, foul weather gear ( dont get me started!......i have gone with
west, land`s end, henri-lloyd, and all the other fancy-shmancy foulies
over my four decades of boating actively......they are grotesquely over
priced and lack durability=poor choice and poor investment.....i have,
on the advice of my alaskan-commercial-fishing-son gone 100% to
GRUNDENS.....a fifth of the cost, and THESE BABIES ARE THE REAL
DEAL......in short, get a MAN`S suit of foulies!)....but i digress.....
to be fiscally comfortable, as well as physically comfortable, allow
20% to fully outfit your boat for you personal likes and needs.......

the advice #1 and #3 are somewhat in conflict......ie get all the boat
you will ever need AND pull out 20% of your budget for "fitting out'....
the answer lies in the simple fact that "moving up" rarely, in retrospect,
yielded more fun, more time on the water, or more of anything but
maintenence and headaches (pun!....i have a porta potti, but the poor
devils with built-ins, who either have a "backup" or some insufficient
hose which is inaccessible to your hands but so aggressive to your
nostrils, can have head-aches literally, as well as figuratively)....
keep it simple!.......keep it fun!

my last advice for the sealorn concerns your power option.....i would
disagree with the conventional wisdom about how much horsepower
is NEEDED.......i traveled at 18kt in my 17` whaler with 85 johnson
for 20 seasons, and i have been traveling at 18 kts for 14 seasons now
in my 25`scmv........i hear people (not the sharpest knives in the
nautical drawer) ask first off, "how fast will she go"?......you dont need
or want to go more than 25kts, at most.......yes, ocean or other "heavy"
water will soak up horses, as will your deep vee (they actually dont get
on a true plane on top of the water.....the keep dragging their "keel"
throught the water) designs......but in general , a v-6 engine is plenty
for your boat, JUST PROP IT INTELLIGENTLY, ie use less diameter by
at least 1/4 to 1/2 " than the dealer recc (they think you want to reach
the max SPEED) and at least 1-2" less pitch..........PROP IT DOWN, and
you will have a smoother engine with reserve it needed.......so here is
dr dan`s prop formula: find out (the mfr and/or dealer will know) what
is the IDEAL RPM for that engine to run (which will be the most econo
mical AND the most years/hours of service to you).......for a two cycle
that will be about 3300 to 3600 and for four cycle about 2600-2900.....
now find out what speed your boat is most comfortable with, ie not
only a good clean plane with flat (not heaped up) wake but overall
solid feel......USE THE PROP , MOSTLY PITCH REDUCTION, TO PUT THE
IDEAL ENGINE SPEED ONTO THE IDEAL BOAT SPEED........a boat does
not vary speed much vs say, a car....thus, matching up your ideal boat
speed with your ideal engine speed is the success of propping out......

between rough water, loading up with hominids and their appurtenences
you will use more rpm if and when you need it.....i think your power
is just great!.....dont fall for the "guy thing" (you know what i mean) dan
 
Just found your post, so I'm a bit late as I was away last week on vacation and am just catching up on things. I own an '04 2120SC with the 150 2 stroke, and we are really pleased with it. Very minor issues that I would fault the dealer more than Parker, but overall this boat has been a pleasure to run.

Boating on Barnegat Bay, we can handle the shallows pretty well when needed. The inlet still gets sloppy and tricky even on a good day, but there's a certain sense of security in this one that I didn't have in my previous boat. It handles chop and large inlet swells well as long as I work it properly. The artificial reef is 3 miles out, and we're fine going there and then some. Plenty of fishing room in the cockpit, and the pilothouse provides good relief from the hot part of the day when on the water. Seems more roomy than the 23' competitors boats I was looking at before I made my choice. If I had to do it over again, I'd still choose the Parker.

John S.
 
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