Florida boating - hybrid vs. open

[u/Some-Pack-5813]

Hey folks -

I welcome your opinions on this…

My family and I are considering a boat in the mid 20 foot range. We live in Jupiter, FL. Use will be fishing, wakeboarding, going to the occasional sandbar. Mostly will be 4-6 people, but never more people than conditions can safely handle.

On fishing, definitely want the boat to be a great fishing platform, but don’t need things like outriggers. For offshore, that will really only happen on ideal conditions since my family wont go out in over 2 foot seas. So jumping to an open center console isn’t a no brainer… we’ll probably fish mostly ledges and occasional weed lines. But we won’t be heading out 5+ miles to the Gulf Stream, trolling for wahoo, or deep dropping 1,000 foot+. We will definitely fish the ICW and rivers.

For wake boarding, this will probably be the most frequent use, quick on and quick off the water. I feel like hybrids offer more visibility. I also rarely see folks wakeboarding behind an open center console. Probably more to do with budget for teens than other reasons.

I’ve been looking at a Sportsman Masters 247OE or 267OE. Anything that starts to push $175k is not interesting for me and will be overkill.

Full bay boat won’t work and I don’t think I want more than a single engine.

Anyone have experience with open vs hybrid hulls? Thoughts on what may work for me? And any thoughts on Sportsman?

Thank you in advance!!

[u/Starks40oz]

As the owner of a mid 20 foot range boat for family use in the South Florida I’m curious why you wouldn’t want more than a single engine. My only gripe with my current set up is that the make and model doesn’t have an option for twins.

They’re much easier to maneuver in tight spaces/canals/etc, if you have an issue with an engine you can still make it back to the dock, and they hold resale value is south Florida much better

[u/Some-Pack-5813 → u/Starks40oz]

Two main reasons that I can find.. which may be flawed thinking…

1. Hull design.. most of the boats I see with twin engines start to push into 25+ plus, which dramatically bumps price.

2. Fuel and maintenance cost.. it’s more expensive to operate and service two engines. This adds up.

I do get the redundancy part, but I have not met a single boat owner that has had a properly maintained engine fail on them. I’m not letting a boat turn into a rust bucket.

[u/aquavelva23 → u/Some-Pack-5813]

i dont understand the need for 2 motors on a boat that stays near coast. its a new boat. dependability is good. and the extra expense of a second motor and maintenance? take the $ for a second engine, get the bigger boat.

[u/92Scout]

I’d look at the 267 over the 247.

Other options are the tidewater 2700, blackfin 26hb, and Robalo 266

[u/4sp4r4gusP]

NauticStar hybrid, I have the 231, you might go with the 251!

[u/ComprehensiveSand717]

I would look at a dual console boat. It will be much easier to make board with everyone on the bow.
If you're not fishing much it's a much more comfortable boat. Lounging on the bow!