New Potential SS 188 O/B owner

mark917

Glad I found this place! Looking to pick buy a 2014 SS 188 O/B this week. While not necessarily new to boating I am new to DB's. Have a 19' Mako CC that I use in saltwater on Barnegat Bay and Manahawkin Creek in NJ. Most of our Bay is protected AND SHALLOW but we can get 1-3 footers and come up against some pretty big boat wakes in the channels. Hence some of my concern. The trade off is that this boat will be extremely stable at rest and in the coves where we usually tube, etc. HOW WILL I USE IT: I have three small girls and will use it for cruising, tubing, etc with them, thier friends and other families that visit us. WHAT ARE MY CONCERNS/QUESTIONS: - Wife and girls hate the pounding of the Mako (it has little cushioning, is a CC and not family friendly. It is a deep V and cuts the water well but the ride is meant for expereinced folks. I have read on this forum that this boat will take 2' chop ok. For those of you that have this setup, (188 with Yamaha 150) how bad is the pounding in the front at 2' and worse (big wake from oncoming vessels)? Is there anything that can be done to offset (smart tabs, regular trims, etc)? - How many adults/children have you maxed out with on this vessel and how was the performance (time to plane, speed, etc)? Price for the boat with Stainless steel, hydralic steering and tilt wheel,ski tow bar, Sony CDMX20, playpen cover and carpet is 22955 boat only with 115. Upgrade to 150 is about 4K I believe. Does this sound like a good price? Excited about hearing good things. I hear that build quality is great and most folks have a great time on these but just want to be sure. I know it will match my needs but I hear that other brands (Stingray, Nautic star) with a higher degree of deadrise may be more stable. Thanks! Mark

jjsexyfun

Good questions I am looking at the same boat myself 188 SS but the dealer sells them wiht a 115 Mecury or a 140 Suzuki for the same price but I think I want mine wiht a 150 yamaha

Ernest_T

I'd love to see you get a Hurricane, but I couldn't recommend one if you will be facing much in the way of rough water.  If your wife and kids are getting pounded with a deep "V" hull, I think it will only be worse with the 188.  I have a 217 with a Yamaha F150 OB, which is the exact same boat as the 188 just a little bigger, and it gets pretty bouncy as the waves and boat traffic pick up.  The Hurricanes make great lake/river boats, but I wouldn't want to take one offshore regularly.  I'd say that you will start to take a beating in anything over 2' chop in the Hurricane.  I know others that used the boats successfully offshore, but I personally would not recommend it. 

Hurricane boats have 2 basic hull types.  One design has a flatter hull and the other a deeper...........more "V" type of hull.  The other option would be to look at some of the deeper hulled Hurricanes like the 2000 or 2200, which have16 degrees of deadrise versus 13 on the 188 and the 217.  I think that hull may be better suited to the conditions you describe.

maxbird

Ernest T is spot on.  The wide beam and 13 inch deadrise on the 188 (same as my SD195) makes for better performance with less motor and is very stable for calm lakes and protected water.  Anything more above light chop or lots of boat wakes and it pounds pretty good.  The 2000 series should be more suited to rougher water.   

mark917

thanks for the opinions. Greatly appreciated. It check out the 4 digit hurricanes. A little steeper in price and more boat for sure.

cjjjdeck

Welcome to the forum, mark917!  I'm a Northern NJ boater and use my boat for lakes and rivers.  

I just posted  a link to a older thread on this forum that addressed a similar question another member asked regarding this subject.  I hope you may also find it useful:

http://hurricaneboats.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/2729/#Comment_2729

mark917

cjjjdeck, thanks! I did see this. Are you familiar with Barnegat Bay/Manahawkin Creek, etc? Both are protected waters but they can be busy. I may be a little dramatic in saying that 2' chop is frequent. If you do know this bay/area, would you boat in this vessel out in those waters?

cjjjdeck

I was in the middle of Lake George and I was very impressed with the way my boat handled white cap chop of about that height.  So I probably would give those areas a try in good weather conditions.  Like I posted, length, weight and deadrise angle all contribute to how a boat handles this kind of water condition.  I would not recommend boating in that kind of water in a SS 188 or SD 187.  I think the 4 digit models with the higher angle deadrise would be the way for you to go and in an outboard version.

mark917

Thanks again!

tic1607

Hey Mark- I actually own the 188ss and live in brick . We are most of the time in the bay. It definitely gets rough on busy days dealing with larger boats wakes etc... We normally have at least 5 people on the boat. We learned quickly to check the weather before we just headed out.