16C vs 18C Much of a difference?

[yeller]

I currently run a 16C and believe it to be the best rough water boat of its size...ever. I'm considering moving up and was leaning towards a 22, but have now been thinking an 18 might serve me just as well. For those of you that have been in both, does the extra 2' make it a noticably better/different boat? The only complaint I have about my boat is that if I don't hit the waves straight on, it can be a wet ride. I know that would be true of any 16 footer but is the 18 any dryer?

[mattyboy]

the 18 is much higher
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4857

oh and much dryer :tongue:
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4858


seriously there's not that much difference between the 16 and 18

[donzi182003]

Mattyboy those pics are insane!!!!!! Remind me never to ride with that guy! I think he needs to buy a waverunner to do those things lol.


By the way,, 22 is much drier than 18c . The freeboard is nearly twice as high.
I speak from lots of experience riding both boats.

Ed

[Lenny]

182003, Randy can run that boat just fine. My gal did her "flight time" and "turn time" with Randy in that 18. It's all GOOD. :yes:

Going straight for hours on end on a calm day has its' place. :rolleyes:

You can bet Randy went looking for that stuff in order to break some boredom and inject some adrenalin. :yes:

[Donzi5150]

I currently run a 16C and believe it to be the best rough water boat of its size...ever. I'm considering moving up and was leaning towards a 22, but have now been thinking an 18 might serve me just as well. For those of you that have been in both, does the extra 2' make it a noticably better/different boat? The only complaint I have about my boat is that if I don't hit the waves straight on, it can be a wet ride. I know that would be true of any 16 footer but is the 18 any dryer?

I have an 18c and have ridden in several 22c's. The 22 is defiantly drier than both but the 18 is also drier that the 16. There is more depth to the seats and more distance between the front and rear seats giving passangers more room.

Taking a look at that picture you might want to think about adding a stanless grab rail for the passengers in the back. I got a SS 1 inch handicap shower bar with heavy duty hardware and mounted it the entire length of the back seat but under the seat. This gives the passangers something more to hold on to.......

[LKSD]

Cool pix !! :eek:

[Ranman]

182003, Randy can run that boat just fine. My gal did her "flight time" and "turn time" with Randy in that 18. It's all GOOD. :yes:

Going straight for hours on end on a calm day has its' place. :rolleyes:

You can bet Randy went looking for that stuff in order to break some boredom and inject some adrenalin. :yes:


Thanks for the support. :biggrin: :biggrin:

I was horsing around in the boat intentionally for the photos. I made a sharp turn and put the boat up on it's side and headed right into a cruiser wake at slow speed to stuff the bow. The pic looks more serious than what actually happened... though I did get very wet 1/2 second after that shot. :umbrella:

Too bad I don't have a pic with a solid 18" of air showing below the prop. :cool:

[Surfer]

Been in all three, 18's a pretty wet boat.

[donzi182003]

Randy,

Those pics are great I was just messin around;) I am in my 20's. I have gotten a 25 contender that high before.:yes: Is it true that I can mess up my outdrive by getting airtime. I have been told that so i try to stay in the water with the I/O. Seems like you would know the answer to this question. That looks like it can be a hell of alot of fun. Post more pics if you have any.

Ed

[mattyboy]

been in all 3 in the same water conditions except for the fact that the passenger has their own seat, the 16 and 18 pretty much ride the same and give the ride on the boat feel and the 22 is more of a in the boat feel,

I posted those pics of Ranman as a lil joke with the wet part I didn't mean to give anyone the impression that Randy is a crazy driver that's just not the case

again it depends on what water you plan on boating in, Marie and I enjoy the fact that we can both lounge out on the L seating in the 16 but when we are under way and it is ruff Marie takes a beating when we step up it will be to a 22

[Ranman]

Keeping the drive in the water is your best bet for longevity. Professional throttlemen work the sticks during flight time to save the drives. When the prop leaves the water it unloads and the engines will race once the prop is unloaded. As the boat re-enters the water, it loads the prop back up.

An analogy would be to leave a stop light in your car under heavy acceleration, pull the gearshift into neutral while rolling, let the enging rev way up and then dropp it back into "D" without ever lifting from the gas pedal.

This shock is tremendously hard on the drive, gears, etc. Pushing power through 2 90 degree turns to get to the prop is less than ideal for strength. Anyway, good throttle men will pull back on the throttle when airborne and re apply as they re-enter. In theory, you want the prop to keep spinning at the correct speed based on how fast your traveling when you re-enter. When flying the boat in and out of the water your trying to remove and apply throttle to maintain a cnstant RPM. This is easier said than done.

With all that being said, the bigger and heavier the boat, the less forgiving the drive is to mistakes. I have an 18 Classic with a Bravo One, i.e. a light boat pushing 300hp through a drive rated for 550hp I still work the throttle, but the B1 gives me confidence. It's not overly strained behind the little 18. I wouldn't do it with an Alpha or a heavier boat.



I posted those pics of Ranman as a lil joke with the wet part I didn't mean to give anyone the impression that Randy is a crazy driver that's just not the case Yes it is. :eek!:

[yeller]

I pretty much figured the 18 would be close to the same as the 16. Guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer till I can afford a 22 :frown: .

Matty.....sure you couldn't have made the pictures any bigger before you posted em:biggrin: