In Reply to: Best Hard Core Diveboat? posted by Harold on September 08, 2005 at 23:52:47:

Well….

Take a look at what the folks who work for extended periods / extended distances offshore use. You won’t see any Hurricanes or Whalers - what you will see are Radons and Wilsons. Having used all of the aforementioned vessels, I’d have to say I have a slight bias toward the Radons and Wilsons. Don’t misunderstand. We’ve been working for several years with NPS’s 25’ and 27’ Whalers on the edge of the Gulf Stream out of Biscayne – it can be some pretty bumpy water. In those conditions the Whalers do a good if somewhat hard riding job of those seas. However in flatter seas, with either twin 250hp or 300hp 4-strokes, those suckers flat-out fly – 40-50 kts. It is actually frightening to go that fast on the water.

On the other hand, using Whalers and Radons on many channel crossings in both Hawaii and So. Cal., I find that though they both will get you there, the Radons seem to have an easier ride in larger and/or choppy seas than the venerable Boston boats.

On yet another hand, many enforcement types, including USCG get good results with RIBs of various ilk, but Hurricanes are often seen. Again, they aren’t used for extended periods – offshore.

So, there you go.

One suspect’s opinion

Stay wet