What is the Best Boat for Charlotte Harbor?
This topic pertains to power boats. Even though you may currently be a sailor or have plans to be one, once you own a waterfront home, many of us enjoy the ability to quickly cruise to the beach, waterfront restaurants (some only accessible by boat) and just in general exploring the vast waterways of southwest Florida. With the press of a button on your boat lift you can lower your boat into the water and get underway bringing friends and family- its all so easy when you live here. Certainly I have to include fisherman in this article because of my heritage as an angler.
The best overall boat is a 22’-24’ center console bay boat or deck boat. Any shorter and on a choppy day your boat will land between the waves and you will be wishing you bought a bigger boat. Any longer and you draw more water depth then you might want. Our waters have plenty of shallows that are perfect for exploring and discovering lots of sea creatures. When talking about a deck boat, I am referring to something similar to a Hurricane brand not a pontoon boat. Pontoon boats are out of place here in general and don’t do well in rough water. Boats in this size range will allow you to boat to the beaches, run the ICW waterway and spend quality time in our back bays and tidal estuaries.
One mistake many of my customers make is to buy a deeper draft, higher gunnel center console in the same length that is not really a “bay boat”. With that style boat comes a higher bow profile, higher sides and is really more appropriate if you are heading out into the gulf to fish. Yes, it will give you a softer and drier ride but for overall functionality it will limit you in some of things you might want to do. Over the year I have watched my customers and friends buy larger Grady Whites and more offshore oriented boats only to sell and move into a 22’-24’ bay boat. Of course, this is all just my opinion but I have been here a long time and I have learned a lot alone the way. In reality, if you have a boat and a waterfront home, you are very lucky and pretty much have it all regardless of the boat!
