So I sold the Key West with the intent to get into a slightly larger bay boat with a large center console with a porta-potty. What I ended up getting was far bigger than that.
We used the KW a ton last summer, however the intent was always to flip it if the right offer showed up. That offer did show up, and the boat was sold.
We knew the next boat needed to be a touch larger and with a 2 and 4 year old boys, an area with a porta potty would be a plus. I started looking for a 24' bay boat but they haven't made them for long enough for the used market to fall into my (cheap) budget. We started looking a WAC styles and really liked the hydrasport 2300 WAC. On that search, I stumbled on a first gen Sailfish 236 walk in console. These boats are extremely hard to find, mostly because they just didnt make that many. I liked the hull lines the first time I saw it, but the high freeboard on the bow isn't what I had in mind.... until it grew on me. I like the "Carolina Flair" the bow line has, and I love how the bow line slightly dips back toward the pulpit (hard to tell in the photos).
Fast forward another coupe weeks and 8+ phone calls to an extremely nice gentleman in FL, and we had a deal. He was the second owner and had it for 18 years. It was never slipped, never stored outdoors and was always stored in his barn in central FL. Never been bottom painted, never had storm damage and an owner I could seem to trust. I even send a local GL4x4 boating convert that lives in FL to go see it and he bluntly told me to buy it.
So here she is. A babied 1996 Sailfish 236 with a Yamaha 225 and a touch over 600 total hours. The console area is larger than I thought and comes with cushions to make a flat area about 4'x5'; perfect for the boys to nap or hide out a storm (or the sun). In todays measurements, this would be a 26' boat, plus a transom bracket. From the tip of the prop, trimmed down, to the tip of the pulpit to the prop is 29.5 feet.
On the winter hit list are the typical updates; Lowrance electronics, power pole and potentially an i-pilot trolling motor. Likely remove the bow rail. I like the looks but hate the function (always in the way).
Goals for this boat are still a lot of local day trips (yes, I'll be putting it on Whitmore Lake!) but we want to use the Detroit and Saginaw rivers more as well at St Clair more. We're also hoping to do some island trips this year... Lime Island, Beaver, Manitoulin, etc...
We used the KW a ton last summer, however the intent was always to flip it if the right offer showed up. That offer did show up, and the boat was sold.
We knew the next boat needed to be a touch larger and with a 2 and 4 year old boys, an area with a porta potty would be a plus. I started looking for a 24' bay boat but they haven't made them for long enough for the used market to fall into my (cheap) budget. We started looking a WAC styles and really liked the hydrasport 2300 WAC. On that search, I stumbled on a first gen Sailfish 236 walk in console. These boats are extremely hard to find, mostly because they just didnt make that many. I liked the hull lines the first time I saw it, but the high freeboard on the bow isn't what I had in mind.... until it grew on me. I like the "Carolina Flair" the bow line has, and I love how the bow line slightly dips back toward the pulpit (hard to tell in the photos).
Fast forward another coupe weeks and 8+ phone calls to an extremely nice gentleman in FL, and we had a deal. He was the second owner and had it for 18 years. It was never slipped, never stored outdoors and was always stored in his barn in central FL. Never been bottom painted, never had storm damage and an owner I could seem to trust. I even send a local GL4x4 boating convert that lives in FL to go see it and he bluntly told me to buy it.
So here she is. A babied 1996 Sailfish 236 with a Yamaha 225 and a touch over 600 total hours. The console area is larger than I thought and comes with cushions to make a flat area about 4'x5'; perfect for the boys to nap or hide out a storm (or the sun). In todays measurements, this would be a 26' boat, plus a transom bracket. From the tip of the prop, trimmed down, to the tip of the pulpit to the prop is 29.5 feet.
On the winter hit list are the typical updates; Lowrance electronics, power pole and potentially an i-pilot trolling motor. Likely remove the bow rail. I like the looks but hate the function (always in the way).
Goals for this boat are still a lot of local day trips (yes, I'll be putting it on Whitmore Lake!) but we want to use the Detroit and Saginaw rivers more as well at St Clair more. We're also hoping to do some island trips this year... Lime Island, Beaver, Manitoulin, etc...