Boulton or Wooldridge?

[Sobie2]

Hi I'm new here...

I live in Juneau, AK. I am about ready to take the plunge for my 1st new boat. Am looking at either a 23' Wooldridge Supersport Offshore XL extended transom hardtop bulkhead walkthrough (non pilot house) with a 225 Honda, or a Boulton Seamaster 24' extended transom hardtop bulkhead walkthrough with a Honda 225. I was also into a Northriver but the dealer says they won't produce hardtops anymore.

Both both boats run the 60K range. I haven't seen enough of either of these boats personally as the dealers are more of the order per customer than stocking some. I have been to the Seattle Boat shows a few times and own my own floatilla of boats. I just haven't had the chance to ride either boat. I heard both manufacturers are great with 1 on 1 and happy to entertain customers. I really like www.redwoodmarine.com (http://www.redwoodmarine.com) and this is where I got hooked on the Boulton.

Any of you folks have an opinion about the Wooldridge Supersport offshore boats (or older deep water plus models) or the Boulton line of boats? Both are semicustom boats both can have 18deg deadrise 1/4 bottom high sides larger tanks etc.

Thanks,
Sobie2

From the wooldridge website here are some numbers for a 23 pilothouse with Honda 225... very impressive
RPM MPH GPH MPG
1000 5.1 .9 5.7
1500 7.4 1.7 4.3
2000 10.3 2.5 4.1
2500 15.9 3.4 4.7
3000 21.5 4.5 4.8
3500 28.5 5.6 5.1 This is not a type-o!My buddies Hewes gets 3.5mpg
4000 33.1 7.5 4.4
4500 36.8 9.5 3.9
5000 40.2 14.9 2.7
5500 44.2 18 2.5
6000 48.8 19.1 2.5
6300 49.7 21.2 2.3

[toddsnorthriver]

i haven't looked very carefully at the Woolridge but a few years back when I bought my boat I was dead set on a Boulton. I called Mike "Boulton" on the phone and was going to go down for a tour but for some reason I wanted to go to a dealership to ask a few more question and look them over again. When I got to the dealership in Gladstone, I started asking question about fit and finish and all He would do was talk trask about the Northriver product, my second choice. I would thank him for the comparison but would really like to know more about the Boulton product. Never could get the guy to give me straight answers, I thanked him for his time and went down to Northriver, talked to a salesman, got all my questions answered, and sat down with the options book and pieced together my dream boat. After breaking out the check book, I had my baby three months later. To this day "I" think that the saleman was threatened by the Northriver product. If it had been a different salesman I'm sure I would have had one of those beautiful Boulton SeaSkiffs in my driveway right now. Todd

[FrogPond]

Talk to Mike Boulton. You will be hard pressed to find a more straight forward, down to earth guy. He for Jet Craft when my Aunt and Uncle bought their first sled. We ran into Mike at the Portland Sportsmans show a couple years ago and he still remembered them and their boat. He will more than likely be able to direct you to a couple boats to ride on. I know if you were down here he would take you out himself, at least that is what he offered to my Aunt and Uncle.

PS welcome to Ifish...Drop a helo note on the main board and tell us a little about yourself. We can't get enough fish stories and pictures of boats!

[Pump Guy]

there is used 23' s.s. sport at coos bay marine. It only has 40 hours on it. Might be worth a look.
I have a 20' woolridge and it's been a great boat.

[tikkahunter]

i have 3 family members with boultons and they all love them i will be getting one as soon as i can very well built boats

[Sobie2]

there is used 23' s.s. sport at coos bay marine. It only has 40 hours on it. Might be worth a look.
I have a 20' woolridge and it's been a great boat.

There was a 23' SS there but it is gone $45k and a softtop thanks though

[SPRINGERMAN]

I don't own the the 23' but rather a 20' boulton. I love the thing. It is a cross between the trailer queen style boats for oh so much more money and the semi low ball boats. All welds and fit and finish are great. Many items on my boat don't come standard on many other boats. Rails, downrigger plates, great windshield frame and hinge arrangement. Motor well back splash 1 piece formed and welded in creating a deep cockpit not subject to back swells over the transom...Just a good list of things that set them apart from the others...Great value and well thought out. You can spend a bunch more but only get blink....My:twocents:

[Go-Long]

Wooldrige all the way. Very functional and tough as nails. If you are setting anchor or loading gear, dead animals or coolers from shore the big walk-thru window is a must.

[olybirds]

WOW, those are some VERY impressive fuel burn numbers. I didnt even get that good of mileage with my Thrifty DF140 Suzuki pushing a little boat thats about 1/2 the weight of those you mention. 3.5 MPG i can believe at 3500 but over 5 mpg.... WOW.

You mentioned Hewes, Why not look there. The NEW 24' Alaskan is in the same price range and is a pretty darn nice boat as well.

[fishingls]

Wooldrige all the way. Very functional and tough as nails. If you are setting anchor or loading gear, dead animals or coolers from shore the big walk-thru window is a must.
:yeahthat:

You won't find a tougher boat-take sometime and go to Wooldridge's manufacturing facility. When you take a close look, there is only all the rest.

[supcoop]

You may want to double check with North River if they are still in the running. They are still making the 3/4 hard top in their Seahawks and Commanders.

[Deandog]

For pure toughness, I would take a serious look at Workskiff boats. I'm not sure if they have a model suited for what you're looking for but I know they build them absolutely like tanks. Nothing against Wooldridge but they use pretty thin aluminum for bottoms and sides....I don't care how much bracing you put in there, it'll still puncture if it's not thick skin!!!

[Halfhooked]

with the price of Aluminum going up all the time, dont snooze.

[fishingls]

For pure toughness, I would take a serious look at Workskiff boats. I'm not sure if they have a model suited for what you're looking for but I know they build them absolutely like tanks. Nothing against Wooldridge but they use pretty thin aluminum for bottoms and sides....I don't care how much bracing you put in there, it'll still puncture if it's not thick skin!!!

Hull thickness depends on the model. On my current Wooldridge it is 3/16". Some of the lighter small boats which are great on small rivers are built with total weight as a primary design parameter. Some of these hulls are 1/8". You can also get 1/4" hulls on some models. With the framing used, Wooldridge hulls are extremely strong and will take a beating. I know this based on the ones I have owned.

[Deandog]

Hull thickness depends on the model. On my current Wooldridge it is 3/16". Some of the lighter small boats which are great on small rivers are built with total weight as a primary design parameter. Some of these hulls are 1/8". You can also get 1/4" hulls on some models. With the framing used, Wooldridge hulls are extremely strong and will take a beating. I know this based on the ones I have owned.

Workskiff's 17' model comes with 1/4" bottom and 3/16" sides. I don't know of any mass production boats that are built that stout at 17' long. Just found out today that they also weld their floors in 100% and them pressure test them for leaks, making them a self-bailing boat and sold to the US Gov't as un-sinkable pretty much. Like I said, nothing against Wooldridge, but if I was running out in Lynn Canal with a 30 kt Southester blowing....I'd want a Work-skiff. If I was running the Rogue in 80 degree weather, I'd take the Wooldridge.

[BARCHASER]

I dont know much about Woolridge and in the bigger boats I'm not that well informed. But, one of the selling points about Boultons is they dont use box construction. I like my Seahawk, well made, but it tends to be bow heavy. If you look at the side of a Seahawk it is a box, with a bow section. The Boulton has a taper, more slim towards the stern which supposedly makes it less bow heavy. At least thats one of their selling points, or so sez my local dealer in Everett who used to sell NR now sells Boulton. Boulton is much smaller.

[Sobie2]

Workskiffs are indeed skookum no doubt. I'd love to have one, same with Pacific Skiffs, but those are all 15-25 more than either of the Wooldridge or Boultons.

Sobie2

[Herring Problem]

My friend and I are repowering a custom made 26ft wooldridge now. Hull is very well made. Twin jet drives coming out and replaced with a 383 stroker Brovo 11 outdrive.:meme:

I would go wooldridge.

[I12fsh]

Hello Sobie,
I moved down from Juneau a year ago. Sure miss the fishing. Salmon's all but shut down here in Oregon. Hope your dealing with those high electricity costs. Ouch! I feel for you. That's global warming for you huh? I had a Wooldridge sled out of Kodiak and loved it. The thing was a tank. I ran it up on the beach, through ice, over logs (not on purpose) all over the place and never had a problem with the hull. Motor was a 351 redline with a Kodiak jet which was also solid as a rock. I sold it to a guide out of Fairbanks and he's moose hunting with it now. I went with a Duckworth out of Juneau and brought it down to Oregon with me. I've seen the Boultons and they're good lookin boats, but I know from experience that Wooly's are tough, reliable, high quality and can handle Alaska. Don't know if you've already got something as this post is a bit old, but good luck to you.

John