The Perfect Salty Boat - Steiger Craft?

OceanBlue · 05-03-2006, 02:22 PM

Ever spot a great looking boat and go "What the ----?" Happens to me quite a bit,

but yesterday while in Chinook, WA, curiosity was too much and I had to stop for a closer look when the words "Steiger Craft" caught my eye.

Wow. What a beaut.

Anyone have first-hand experience with the Steiger Craft Chesapeak 26?

The first thing that impressed me about this boat is how far forward the cabin sits, leaving a ton of deck space. The second was the deeeeep in floor fish storage - much like the Kismet, you'd be on your belly retrieving your catch. Next was the headroom. No stooping or danger of hitting one's head moving from the cabin to the fishin cockpit. Oh yeah, recessed trim tabs.

Talking to the owner, come to find out Steiger still makes their boats the old fashioned way - with a laid up fiberglass hull - and it's obvious they don't skimp on the glass. The twin 225's get about 14 gal/hour at 3500 rpm and a nice dry ride with this deep vee.

This particular boat is his "demo" and is on sale for the low, low price of $99k.

A bit rich for my blood, but I had to consider it after we talked him into throwing in a tank of gas - 200 gallons!

In the end we settled for leaving the yard with a brochure - which is now sticky with drool :blush: and a much better idea of what the (almost) perfect boat is.

O Tshawytcha · 05-03-2006, 02:56 PM

There was a thread on these a while back that I made the mistake of contributing to...

Migh try doing a search.
GRIFF

EULACHON · 05-03-2006, 03:18 PM

I have been in a couple on demo's...(I know the guy that owns Chinook Marine pretty well.)

Nice boat if I had the extra 5 digits laying around I would hook one up.

Oh well North River it is.

Paul

retaliate · 05-03-2006, 03:50 PM

Yep! I did the exact same thing when I was up there two weeks ago, I took a hard look at the 23'chesapeak w/225 Honda, I too left with only the brochure.

Sweepy · 05-03-2006, 03:51 PM

They look like good boats, but I think the Kingfishers that Corrirod sells are better boats, especially that 28'er. My thought is many builders will start copying that design. The cabin layout is very comfortable, and a second steering station in the fishing area.

The admiral likes this one a lot.

Anadramous Junkie · 05-03-2006, 04:00 PM

I had to stop last Saturday on the way back from Clamming! Looked awesome, but I am about 10 years from being able to devote that much money to a boat. What does the 26' weigh?

AJ

Reelentless · 05-03-2006, 04:34 PM

Quote:

The twin 225's get about 14 gal/hour at 3500 rpm and a nice dry ride with this deep vee.

Per side, right? I'd be real surprised if twin 225's only burn 14 gph total in a 26' deep v boat.

Very nice boat!

hot wire · 05-03-2006, 05:14 PM

8400lbs!! Ouch!

Nalu · 05-03-2006, 09:27 PM

Quote:

The twin 225's get about 14 gal/hour at 3500 rpm and a nice dry ride with this deep vee.

Per side, right? I'd be real surprised if twin 225's only burn 14 gph total in a 26' deep v boat.

Very nice boat!

That seems about right, although that seems a tad low on the RPM range. My twin 200's burn about 15 gallons an hour total at 3800 RPM and they are HPDI's. 225 four strokes burn just a little less. I think Bud with his 225 4Strokers on the 30 foot Marlin is getting just about the same as me.

OceanBlue · 05-03-2006, 10:48 PM

I presume he's quoting that consumption based on his demo - pretty much empty boat. No gear, no TUNA! ice, etc. But I bet that with the right set up that puppy could haul in 4 limits of TUNA! without compromising fishin' space much at all. Heck, there's plenty of room for a full tote on deck and it would only serve as something to brace yourself against rather than an obstacle.

Dale appears to be the only dealer this side of Jersey. It's definitely a NE boat.

Ah well, it's good to dream....

The OPB plan is a good one for the time being. And oh, those razor clams fried up right nice! The best part is we got to visit with Gene Kane at Tackle Time and deliver some rockfish ID cards.

Thanks Gene! It was a good excuse for us to get to the beach even with the rough offshore weather! It was beautiful on the beach!

BIGALSURF · 05-04-2006, 05:05 AM

I am also a member of the "Steiger Manual Club". Beautiful boat but I shook my head at the dollars while at Chinook. Although a lot of new boats seem to be getting more expensive, replacement for my 25 ft trophy now has an online retail price of $90,000! Maybe it's the oil in the fibreglass? What are the Northriver Seahawks OS going for? They sure look like a beautiful boat. Price of aluminum driving those up in value?

Ride Red · 05-04-2006, 07:13 AM

Quote:

My twin 200's burn about 15 gallons an hour total at 3800 RPM and they are HPDI's.

Nalu, what's your speed at 3800 RPMs?

Thanks,

RR

Pilar · 05-04-2006, 07:35 AM

Saw the boats at the show. The 26' Chesapeake brochure has a nice photo on the cover, which now decorates my desk at work. I knew the minute I saw it that I would own one some day.

You would need a rail for safety because the coaming is so low in the cockpit. There is little else I would change but the 100K price. The show boat had a Volvo Diesel Duo-prop.

OceanBlue · 05-04-2006, 08:11 AM

Yeah, Dale has that one available, too - actually that one's only $85k

BigWaterBigFish · 05-04-2006, 08:41 AM

... I'm waiting for the guy who waits all his life to buy one, then realize he waited too long as he keels over dead and his widow sells it for what he told her he paid for it ... to me! About the only way I can think I'll afford one but I sure like the looks and the reports ...

Two Fister · 05-04-2006, 07:38 PM

Steiger Crafts are very popular on the East Coast. There are a lot of them in the used market back there that are a lot more reasonable than $100K. I love the design and pilothouse layout!
TF

tomictime · 05-04-2006, 08:16 PM

yup, nice boat..if you like that, check out a Shamrock Mackinaw 27'...not sure what build quality under palmer is..but the older Shamrocks were brick S-House TOUGH...
IF you like those E Coast workboat derived pilot houses, also check out C-Hawk and Maycraft..both nice boats. The C-Hawk is a bit flat but can therefore be very economically powered.

Nalu: Where you been????

JD

Hoghunter · 05-05-2006, 07:15 AM

Quote:

The twin 225's get about 14 gal/hour at 3500 rpm and a nice dry ride with this deep vee.

Per side, right? I'd be real surprised if twin 225's only burn 14 gph total in a 26' deep v boat.

Very nice boat!

That seems about right, although that seems a tad low on the RPM range. My twin 200's burn about 15 gallons an hour total at 3800 RPM and they are HPDI's. 225 four strokes burn just a little less. I think Bud with his 225 4Strokers on the 30 foot Marlin is getting just about the same as me.

If Bud's getting 15gph total on his Marlin, I would like to know his secret. I have a 30 Marlin with twin 225's and at 4200rpm I'm burning 20 - 21 gph and at 4600 I'm burning about 25 - 26gph. Speeds at those rpms are 22 to 26 kts. What is your speed at 3800 Nalu? I rarely run that slow as the Marlin seems most happy around the mid 4's.

Nalu · 05-07-2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

If Bud's getting 15gph total on his Marlin, I would like to know his secret. I have a 30 Marlin with twin 225's and at 4200rpm I'm burning 20 - 21 gph and at 4600 I'm burning about 25 - 26gph. Speeds at those rpms are 22 to 26 kts. What is your speed at 3800 Nalu? I rarely run that slow as the Marlin seems most happy around the mid 4's.

Hoghunter- In my conversations with Bud, the GPH was at optimal RPMS for running in the Ocean, not what we would run at on flat water.

My boat loves the Mid-4's as well. It really seems to get better the higher the speed, in fact above 5000 it feels like it is on rails. Of course, topping out at just at 40 knots at 5400 RPM's I am burning 35 gallons per hour or more. I realistically only run mid 4's on the way in on nice days. Typical day I run at 3500-3700 on the way out, and 4000 on the way in.

My speed at 3800 is around 26 knots on flat water I think.

I did double check this weekend and here is what I was burning: 3500 was 6.8-7.2 gph per engine in a 3-4 foot slightly confused sea, and pushing around 20-22 knots. I never ran more than a few short periods in the 3700-4000 rpm range as comfortable cruising with no pounding was the 3500 mark. Running North of Depoe approximately 5 miles to drop pots, then running 21/2 miles to a fishing spot, some unknown distance back and forth on drifts for 2 hours, 21/2 miles back to the pots, then 5 miles back to port. That gives me 15 miles plus the distance for the drifts. Figure 1 mile at minimum, probably more. So 16 miles traveled. I burned exactly 10.2 gallons of fuel. Just right at where I expect it to be on a day that the conditions are perfectly "typical" for the Pacific Northwest.

Tomic- I've been working on the boat getting everything ready. Had to get all situated before bringing it to Depoe for the summer on Friday.