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Open bow vs. Deck boat ***sorry for the boating question!***

rivermobster

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So I'm pretty sure we can all agree, riding in the front of ANY open bow boat sucks azz!!!

I've never been in a newer deck boat, so for those that actually have been in both...

Does an deck boat ride better upfront than an open bow does??

Thanks in advance. Sorry again about the boating content question. 😝
 

Javajoe

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My magic deck runs really nice up front. Got to have it trimmed right. Some decks beat ya up. Depends on the hull style. I enjoy being able to beach and walk off and on
 

Bigbore500r

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My magic deck runs really nice up front. Got to have it trimmed right. Some decks beat ya up. Depends on the hull style. I enjoy being able to beach and walk off and on
yep - Driver input is super important on a Cat at lower speeds (sub 70 mph, deck boat speeds....) with weight up front. They can ride like a hot knife thru butter, or they can hook rollers, porpoise, etc. Trim and throttle make all the difference
 

LargeOrangeFont

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So I'm pretty sure we can all agree, riding in the front of ANY open bow boat sucks azz!!!

I've never been in a newer deck boat, so for those that actually have been in both...

Does an deck boat ride better upfront than an open bow does??

Thanks in advance. Sorry again about the boating content question. 😝

Define “rides better”. Ride means different things to different people. Most decks are cat or tunnel hulls so they move around less and stay flatter. That is not necessarily a better ride.

Plus the person needs to know how to drive and operate the trim/tabs.
 

Bigbore500r

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So I'm pretty sure we can all agree, riding in the front of ANY open bow boat sucks azz!!!

I've never been in a newer deck boat, so for those that actually have been in both...

Does an deck boat ride better upfront than an open bow does??

Thanks in advance. Sorry again about the boating content question. 😝
I say depends on conditions -

Mild / medium chop and navigating across wakes - bigger Cat hull for the win
Major rough water, white caps, wind driven swells.......Big V all the way
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I say depends on conditions -

Mild / medium chop and navigating across wakes - bigger Cat hull for the win
Major rough water, white caps, wind driven swells.......Big V all the way

I would say the same in the smaller boats as well. The tunnel/cat moves around less until it gets rough and the tunnel gets outta control.
 

Racer56

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We have a wtob Nordic Rage and when it's rough the passengers in front take a pounding. My best friend has a 26 Nordic deck and the ride in front is smooth as silk. My next boat will definitely be a deck.
 

rivermobster

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Define “rides better”. Ride means different things to different people. Most decks are cat or tunnel hulls so they move around less and stay flatter. That is not necessarily a better ride.

Plus the person needs to know how to drive and operate the trim/tabs.

From a human comfort point of view.

Example...

My tri toon doesn't even acknowledge the chop. It's funny to watch people in it for the first time. They see chop coming, they reach to hang on to something, and then are totally surprised when the boat barely moves at all.

In every open bow Ive been in, you better be holding on, or else!

If I wanted performance, I wouldn't be looking at either of these designs. It's a question of comfort. Nothing else.

Make sense?
 

702sandman

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I had a open bow Hallett 270 and the wife liked it up front but in the big wakes of ski boats she would rock side to side and wasn’t super comfortable especially on the river, also Dismounting at the beach was a little pain in the ass...we sold that and got a magic deck and the beach entry was awesome, for her sitting up front she would definitely get slammed sometimes in the big wakes on the river....then we sold that for our current DCB F26 walk thru open bow and she absolutely loves riding up front now, she couldn’t believe how nice this boat cuts right thru the big wakes now and doesn’t jolt her around anymore. Occasionally you will hit some rogue wakes that come from 2 directions and you can feel a small jolt but nothing like the magic. It’s crazy how much different this boat rides from other cats. ...hope this helps
 

samsah33

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Depends on the open bow. I had one with a modified-v (was a mass produced "deck boat," not tunnel/cat style deck...), and that modified-v slapped chop and wakes pretty hard. My current has a deep-v and that cuts through the chop and wakes well, while still obtaining the proper coefficient for both slow jounces or high speed ripples. There's another current forum here on deck boats: https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/threads/boat-ride-question.237577/#post-4141921
 

DWC

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Which one gives you better boobie bounces?😉😀
Depends but I’d go for an older “wake” boat for bounce quantity. Smaller v bottom for slower, yet quality bounce.
 

monkeyswrench

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I own a 21ft open bow. I may have lost a kid or two off the nose. My inlaw has a Magic...small power by some standards, 496ho. We run primarily Topock to Needles stretch. Some day I hope to end up with something like his. His cuts through chop without spilling drinks of bouncing boobies...which may or may not be good. I've never been in a deep V open bow on the river though.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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From a human comfort point of view.

Example...

My tri toon doesn't even acknowledge the chop. It's funny to watch people in it for the first time. They see chop coming, they reach to hang on to something, and then are totally surprised when the boat barely moves at all.

In every open bow Ive been in, you better be holding on, or else!

If I wanted performance, I wouldn't be looking at either of these designs. It's a question of comfort. Nothing else.

Make sense?

Makes sense. At the speeds yore toon can attain, my boat rides equally comfortable 😂.

Seriously though, there is probably not much mote “comfort” than a toon until you get to something big enough to cut through anything and higher speeds and will also be hull/boat dependent. I do t tho I anyone can say definitively one is “better” in all conditions.
 

Ziggy

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Makes sense. At the speeds yore toon can attain, my boat rides equally comfortable 😂.

Seriously though, there is probably not much mote “comfort” than a toon until you get to something big enough to cut through anything and higher speeds and will also be hull/boat dependent. I do t tho I anyone can say definitively one is “better” in all conditions.
Our main reasons for changing from a 23' Vee bottom to the 26' Deck?? Ride comfort(1) and easy in/out access(2).
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Our main reasons for changing from a 23' Vee bottom to the 26' Deck?? Ride comfort(1) and easy in/out access(2).

The access is much better for sure. I think like for like ride on a 26 V Vs. a 26 deck, different certainly, but close in comfort... again somewhat boat dependent.

As you noted, in general, the bigger boat will ride better every time.
 

bk2drvr

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From a human comfort point of view.

Example...

My tri toon doesn't even acknowledge the chop. It's funny to watch people in it for the first time. They see chop coming, they reach to hang on to something, and then are totally surprised when the boat barely moves at all.

In every open bow Ive been in, you better be holding on, or else!

If I wanted performance, I wouldn't be looking at either of these designs. It's a question of comfort. Nothing else.

Make sense?

i was going to say the same thing. Lol… all roads eventually lead to a toon. They start with questions like “ Open Bow vs’ Deck”.
 

Bigbore500r

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From a human comfort point of view.

Example...

My tri toon doesn't even acknowledge the chop. It's funny to watch people in it for the first time. They see chop coming, they reach to hang on to something, and then are totally surprised when the boat barely moves at all.

In every open bow Ive been in, you better be holding on, or else!

If I wanted performance, I wouldn't be looking at either of these designs. It's a question of comfort. Nothing else.

Make sense?

Sounds like you know the answer? Lol
 

Rondog4405

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It's a matter of bankrolls .. rather be in a deck than my v all day long..but.. tha v is gonna have to do for a while....
 

rivermobster

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Sounds like you know the answer? Lol

It's my BIL. He has a mid cabin deep V right now. He's trying to decide between a new toon or deck. His mid cabin is an open bow of course, but I do have to say, it's a big boat, so the ride isn't horrible in it.

Decisions...
 

riverroyal

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From a human comfort point of view.

Example...

My tri toon doesn't even acknowledge the chop. It's funny to watch people in it for the first time. They see chop coming, they reach to hang on to something, and then are totally surprised when the boat barely moves at all.

In every open bow Ive been in, you better be holding on, or else!

If I wanted performance, I wouldn't be looking at either of these designs. It's a question of comfort. Nothing else.

Make sense?
My toon does feel the chop. Over 35mph it starts to get on top and not cut. Its not rough, but you feel it.
 

Rajobigguy

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My Rinker deck rides about the same no matter where you sit. It’s kind of a cross between a performance cat and a tri toon with a large center sponson. Ride is pretty smooth overall.
 

LowRiver2

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9E94DC0D-3B4F-4C1A-833C-ECF950AC0F96.jpeg

Appears to handle “tow chop” well
 

Ace in the Hole

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It's my BIL. He has a mid cabin deep V right now. He's trying to decide between a new toon or deck. His mid cabin is an open bow of course, but I do have to say, it's a big boat, so the ride isn't horrible in it.

Decisions...

X-flight...best of both worlds. It's got a good ride and a ton of space..pretty happy with ours.
 

Ace in the Hole

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You know the rule...

Pics man! 😁

If your BIL wants to crawl around it or go out for a day Lmk, and we can make it happen. Ours is the 29' model. It's been a really great boat for our family, very stable, smooth, versatile etc...still fast enough for me to have fun doing an occasional poker run. Biggest thing is that my kids enjoy it and my wife feels safe in it with them..we've had a boat full on it running up river and its just smooth sailing....these things turn very well in rough water as well. My wife and I are both the oldest in our families so we have a lot of young kids around (including our own). I wanted a cat...but am very glad to have wound up in this boat. I'd give him the run down of what I really like, and the couple things that I really don't (One being the front hatch for the ladder that is going bye bye as soon as I can have it glassed over). I don't have more pics on me...were up in WA escaping the heat for a week or so.

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