Which boat to buy??

I little about me, I am transitioning from sailing and just sold my 28' trailerable trimaran. I am looking at an ranger or cutwater as a replacement. I live in North Carolina, have a 3/4 ton truck as a tow vehicle, and am 6'6" tall. I mostly want to go out for long weekends with one other person around NC, SC and FL. I do want to take an occasional week long trip to the Dry Tortugas or across the Gulf Stream in a good weather window. Air conditioning is a must for my wife to come.

I have walked on a 2013 Ranger 27 and it was really nice. It checked all the boxes. I have not yet been on a Cutwater 26/28 but understand they are very similar other than the 28 have a D4 engine and having a higher displacement. Is teh towing and launching substantively harder on a C28 and is a 3 axel trailer recommended? Those options are all diesel, and if I add the new gas outboards there are Ranger 25/27, Cutwater 24 and now Solara 250.

As a prior sailor I am happy at displacement speed most of the time to extend range. Keys to Dry Tortugas and back with fuel for motoring around and running the generator would be my outer range. I was surprised that there wasn't a bigger difference in fuel consumption between the diesels and outboards, with the exception of a handful of 23s with stern mounted duoprop inboard / outboards that seemed to be very efficient.

Any feedback or thoughts on the how fit each option would be or if there are benefits in one over the other? I know baoting is about compromise, and if two boats were both fit for purpose I would go with the smaller / easier option. The interior of the C26 and C28 look the same, is the D4 worth the extra weight in the long run? Would the newer C24 be a reasonable alternative ( I can't find berth measurements and headroom published).

Thanks for you thoughts.

I am headed to a boat show in Feb to see some of the the new line.

Bumping post delayed in moderation queue.

You have done the first part of your search perfectly by clearly defining how you are going to use the boat. Many folks don’t do that first and end up not satisfied with the boat they purchase or quickly outgrow the boat.
We have owned both a 2009 R-25 Classic and currently a 2017 Cutwater 28. In thinking about moving up from our former R-25 I was keeping both a R-27 Classic or C-28 on my list. We owned the R-25 for 7 years and wouldn’t have moved larger except to accommodate two growing grandkids who go on cruises with us every year.
I am not a fan of the O/B boats for a very long list of reasons having to do with our mission of extended cruising and boat stability (lower CG and less stern heavy) in rough conditions. But that’s me. And by-the-way, I’m 6’1” and tip the scales at 240 lbs so I needed a boat that felt comfortable for me. Both the R-27 and C-28 were roomy but I think the C-28 has a bit more headroom.
The tipping point between the R-27 diesel and the C-28 diesel came down to one issue. The C-28 has the VP D4 engine. With the D3 being orphaned, I didn’t want the headache in case of the very unlikely event of a major mechanical problem with the D3. Plus, my opinion here, I believe the D4 is much easier to service. I plan on doing much more of the routine maintenance on the D4 than I did with our Yanmar 4BY2-150 in the R-25.
As for towing, we used a Toyota Tundra modified for heavy towing (10,500 pounds rating) and a double axle trailer. For the C-28 we have a triple axle trailer and a new Ram 2500 rated at 14,800 pounds towing capacity. The R-25 towing weight was 9,700 pounds and the C-28 tips the scales at 12,600 pounds with normal cruising gear on board and mostly empty tanks. Do not believe any of the factory’s published dry weights. They are way, way too low.
All that said, the C-28 is not a “perfect” boat and has some minor design/equipment issues (eg stock trim tabs too small, door to head won’t fully open with v-berth set up, wine cooler that doesn’t really cool, etc.) that I’m in the middle of rectifying as we wind up our first year of ownership.
That’s my $0.02 on the issue. Good luck with your search! Now is a great time to be a buyer…

Hi, Aaron - fellow retired sailor here with about the same mission statement as you (except trailering) and based in SW Florida. Just a couple of suggestions: I encourage you watch Martin's discussion of outboard vs. inboard power, no matter which way you are leaning. It's on the Let's Go Channel Surfing youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYoBPNLN3hM It's presented as a set of pro's & con's, not a pitch one way or the other. Martin goes by the username Submariner here and there's much of value on his channel that's ripe for stealing by us powerboat newbies.

Also suggest you consider whether you will be putting the hefty/expensive/oh-so-appealing Lithium 6-pack + inverter + A/C option on your boat before your final decision. It doesn't solve the air conditioning issue but it does offer some options you & your wife might appreciate. It also has implications for reduced storage space and consequently might become one factor in opting for OB power. Just more grist for the mill. Good luck to you.

Jack

I'm also a sailboat (Tayana 37) turned Ranger Tug sailor. Wife and I purchased a RT31S a few years ago - 2014 new to me version. My boat is mostly on a lift behind my house also in SW Florida so my trailer experience is still minimal. Having said that my RT31S did come with a trailer but it was only used for the initial delivery (needed to contract that out since my F-150 was not rated for the 16K pull). Since then, it became a rehab project of mine to get rid of axle rust, warped bunks, brake pads etc. I also purchased a one-ton dually (a bit of overkill maybe) to pull her. Also, size matters - i.e. trailerable is trailerable. What a great option to open up cruising opportunities. Even though trailering has not been part of my cruising MO for the time since I owned her, it will once we set off on the Great Loop in the near future - I like the option of breaking up the trip so that you are not tied to a particular season and/or timeline.

Per your thoughts on the diesel option. I'm happy with the size and economy of the Volvo Penta D4-300. At hull speed around 6 knots, the D4-300 is nearly as efficient in mpg as my 30 hp Yanmar diesel was when motoring in light winds. OK, 1.2 gph vice 1.0 gph. Still, that is great economy when you cruise at hull speed. Of course, you now have the option to burn approximately 11 gph and get there 3 times faster - if that is what you want.

Living in SW Florida - my wife and I also want air conditioning. One thing to mention, we have found that the installed Onan diesel generator is a bit of a noise/vibration nuisance to run the A/Cs at night if riding on the hook. I don't want to remain tied to Marinas just to have shore power, so I'm now interested in beefing up my AGM battery system (without going lithium) to run at least one A/C overnight. In my mind, the engine, solar panel and/or generator can recharge the house batteries during the day so long as the inverter and battery amp hours can support the nighttime A/C use.

If you intend to use your boat a lot and don’t want extra maintenance I suggest outboards and lithium batteries. Less time with maintenance, more time using the boat. At the end of the propulsion life of the boat, if you are still keeping the boat more options with updated power plant. Millions of outboards produced make for better engineering, fewer lemons, better warranties, faster boats and the under appreciated benefit of getting out of the way of weather as it occurs. Just opinion of course.

Current c28 owner here. We are just finishing the great loop. Here are a few things I have noticed between the diesel vs outboard question. Outboard faster, easier to work on, and probably have many more choices when it comes to getting service as there are more outboard dealers. Diesel, should outlive any outboard if maintained, if you fish, no outboard in the way, if you want a tender many more options to carry it. Finally fuel economy I am able to achieve 7 MPG at 6. 5 MPG at 8. MPG dips below 2 between 10 and 13 everything above 13 I get around 2mpg. that being said the outboard will struggle to achieve 2 at any speed. For those out their with the wine cooler that is sub par. The fix is to vent the cavity it sits in I pulled mine out set it on the table and it cooled great on inspection of the cabinet it was in it was sealed no air flow.

I see you are going to boat in the Carolinas I will be done with the loop and back in Oriental in April. My boat will be for sale. I also posted the previous post above 2013 c28 Diesel and triple axle trailer. PM me if interested

Piglet

Other advantages of the diesel

More alternator charging capacity
Single fuel if you have the forced air diesel heater
Less explosive/safer
Weight distribution into the center of the boat
Cleaner looking boat and better swim step access.
Ability to store dinghy on stern out of the way - super fast load/unload on weaver davits

Advantages of outboards
Faster
More cockpit stowage
I think quieter
Probably easier maintenance although a d4 in a cut 28 isn’t that bad at all.
Arguably easier maneuvering but it’s not difficult to move a cut28 with the single shaft and two thrusters. Back and fill is your friend.

I have considered moving to an outboard boat based on speed increase but the charging and diesel heater compromise isn’t worth it for me.

I have a 2019 C28 and love it. My wife and I live in Virginia and have trailered it to several distant places, including Florida and Lake Ontario. I tow it on a triple axel trailer. My truck is a 3/4 ton Super Duty diesel. The boat tows so easily that you forget it is behind you. The wife hauls it down the Interstate at 70 plus miles an hour with no issues. Stops on a dime when needed. At displacement speed, I use about 7 gph. On a plan, from 12 mph to 30 mph I usually get two miles per gallon.

This past June, my wife, my dog and I started the Great loop. While up in Canada, she got ill so I had to get her back home fast. In less than two hours, we crossed Lake Ontario to New York. I called ahead to tell my Grandson to bring the truck and trailer, and in less than a day we were back in Virginia with our boat at our local hospital. We plan to continue the Great Loop, but not all at one time. Being able to trailer our boat makes that doable.

So, which boat to buy - depends on how you want to use it and your tolerance for discomfort. The bigger the boat, the more comfortable you will be. As for me, I'm turning 80 and traveling comfortably is moving to the top of the list of what is important. If I had to do it again, I would opt for the larger C30.

Also Sailed for about 45 years and finally saw the light and found a 2011 RT 27, with a Yanmar 180 Diesel. I don't think you would have head room issues with this boat, but I and about 7" below that level. On the fuel per our Garmin Plotter we average around 2 MPG over all, but the GPH change a lot by KPH. Go Fast get there sooner, go Slow get there later, but it takes about the same volume of fuel for the distance.

Welcome:
Bill