Looking at selling the our searay cabin cruiser and going to a 28 to 30 foot sailfish. We love our 86 offshore 24 but wish the cabin space was bigger. The searay is 27 foot long is great for long stay aboards but it isn't the greatest fishing boat. Found a couple of mid 80's sailfish's. Is the cabin space big enough for 2 adults to comfortably stay aboard for a week or so? I'm 6'2" and the wife is 5' 8". We also like the marlin's but they might be a little rough to tow all the time.
cabin room 28 foot sailfish
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Fishtales
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Hi,
The 282 has a 9'6" beam - one foot over the legal limit.
The 300 has a 10"7" beam - a bit more than two feet over.
I've owned both boats. The 282 is good for fishing for sure. The helm area is a bit tight between the seats. The companion seat helps improve space.
The 300 is a different boat. Handles the sea and drives much bigger than the 282. The cabin on both boats are basically the same layout. You lose space due to the WA design. I think you will be a bit disappointed from the SeaRay to the 282. They are close in size and the cabin will likely be smaller.
I'd look at some other boats out there. A small express may be a better fit. You lose the immediate bow access, but you gain in cabin space. You will get a nice cockpit and amenities for fishing as well.
Just my 2 cents...
The 282 has a 9'6" beam - one foot over the legal limit.
The 300 has a 10"7" beam - a bit more than two feet over.
I've owned both boats. The 282 is good for fishing for sure. The helm area is a bit tight between the seats. The companion seat helps improve space.
The 300 is a different boat. Handles the sea and drives much bigger than the 282. The cabin on both boats are basically the same layout. You lose space due to the WA design. I think you will be a bit disappointed from the SeaRay to the 282. They are close in size and the cabin will likely be smaller.
I'd look at some other boats out there. A small express may be a better fit. You lose the immediate bow access, but you gain in cabin space. You will get a nice cockpit and amenities for fishing as well.
Just my 2 cents...
The wife is spoiled by the searay's cabin but she also likes to fish. It's cheaper for us when we go saltwater fishing for us to stay on the boat at a marinia. We currently go to Indian River Marinia in Delaware. Towing the boat there is roughly a 4 hour drive. The marinia charges us 300 bucks for 8 days. You can't stay at a hotel/motel for that kinda of money. The problem with the searay we don't get to venture offshore with it. Limited by fuel tank size and like i said it's not the greatest boat to fish from.Also there is no easy access to the bow if we had to drop anchor in a hurry. We do drift fish the inlet with it and do go out maybe a mile or 2 off the coast. My truck would pull a 300 marlin easily just don't want to deal with over size permits in 3 states. Pa to Lewes Delaware is all open highway but when we go to Marlyand i go thru a few small towns which get tight with a 9 foot wide boat. And to keep a bigger boat wet slipped for the year were talking like 5 grand a year in slip fees then i have other maintaince fees. We would need to be down there atleast every weekend just to justify the cost. Right now we get to saltwater fish 3 or 4 weekends a year plus 1 whole week during the summer. The grady isn;t bad for 2 or 3 days at a time. Never actually have been in a sailfish yet. Everyone i found for sale is 3 to 5 hour road trip one way.
Fishtales
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For two of you and for short stays you could make it work. If you do, maybe consider some type of cockpit enclosure. I've seen some real nice ones that fully enclose the aft area which would give you a lot more livable space when tied up. An indoor/outdoor rug, small roll up table and collapsible chairs that you can leave in the car when you go fishing, but pull out when staying on it would provide additional space so you are not on top of each other.
We have an 05 Sailfish 282. I'm 6'1" and wife is 5'8". We use it for local fishing and overnighters at Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. For fishing it coudn't be much better. Fishing with 4 on board and using the bait tank is fine. It can get small on the overnighters though. We both can get into the vberth but don't plan on moving around much. Otherwise it's one in the vberth and one in the mid berth. Not a whole lot of storage room in the galley (if you want to call it that). We use the starboard fishbox behind the helm seat for drygood storage and the aft fishbox for snorkling gear, wetsuits and Magma BBQ storage. Hot water lasts about a day and a half without shorepower so if you go 2 nights you'll need a portable generator for AC. The wet head is really tight if you try to stand up. The walk around slims down the cabin space considerably. We basically take turns in the cabin when drying off, changing clothes etc. The 30' Marlin is the same basic design except bigger in every respect. The 305 Express would even be more comfortable. Boiled down to money for us. $60k got us an 05 Saifish in beautiful shape with low hour 4 stroke 250s. It's economical to own and operate. The newer Marlins we looked at were $85k+ for 4 stroke engines and in equal overall condition. Although we love the Sailfish and use the heck out of it, my wife grumbles softly that she'd like more room. Good luck and hope this helps.
I'm 6"1" and my wife is 5'6"
We have a 272.
A number of differences from the Marlin.
The Marlin's extra length really shows up between the helm seats and in the cabin.
The 272 bunks are narrower and the port bunk is shorter due to the galley.
Even tho my wife is shorter than me we end up in a foot fight at the forward end of the bunks.
I've been on a number of Marlins and if you can afford the higher cost of purchase insurance and fuel it is a much better choice.
That said we've spent many happy 5-8 day trips on the 272.
We have a 272.
A number of differences from the Marlin.
The Marlin's extra length really shows up between the helm seats and in the cabin.
The 272 bunks are narrower and the port bunk is shorter due to the galley.
Even tho my wife is shorter than me we end up in a foot fight at the forward end of the bunks.
I've been on a number of Marlins and if you can afford the higher cost of purchase insurance and fuel it is a much better choice.
That said we've spent many happy 5-8 day trips on the 272.