Never thought I would say this, but a Hewescraft.

Climbed through a few. Seem solidly built and I like the layout. Probably a 250 Alaskan. I have a new 150 merc on standby so I just need another one. Be a hard use charter boat on the W side of POW. I probably won’t even run it except for break in. Let’s see if the manufacturer actually calls me back to answer a few basic questions about how they are put together.


Momma and the kids in a 270 Hewes we crawled through.

Nice ride!

Everything here is FG, how do aluminum boats compare price wise?
A 25’ Parker or Steiger Pilot house is close $100,000

The 25 I am probably getting would be about 115 -120 wirh trailer. Go crazy on options and 140 is easy. I have an engine and get guide discounts so it won’t be that much. Probably have 110 into it when it’s all said and done with shipping and 15hp kicker/electronics. Probably put my order in at the end of the week.


Btw, Hewes called me back and had a good talk with them. Bottom is solid piece of 1/4 and sides 3/16. These are not the Hewes of yesteryear. But, if they can be broke, we will find the weakness.

Nice thing about an aluminum boat like that is I could work it for 20 years and get back 50% of the cost of the hull. Probably have to put 4 sets of engines on it though. Fuel + maintenance is where the real costs come in.

Without a doubt.
You need trip “7 marine” 627’s hanging off the back. They’re “only” $90,000 apiece!

We ran 35 miles ea. way plus trolled 6 hours Thursday, capt. said 100 gal of fuel. Figure ice, bait, tackle, insurance, overhead, mate.... I don’t see how $1,800 covers the bills

I don’t burn that much. I run 105 miles a day on average. A 25’ with twin 150s will burn 42 gal on that day. This years fuel prices were good. So about $115 a day.

The Hewes are probably the most popular boat on Puget Sound, likely due to the bang for the buck ratio. You can spend more but I don't know that you're getting much more. Looking forward to seeing some bloody deck pics. Enjoy the new ride!

I have about run all makes, so I will be curious how the new Hewes stacks up. Deadrise is a bit tamer than some other boats. I am in solid Northriver country, and I ran the first one when it showed up here 17 or so years ago. The Hewes appealed to me in that I gives solid access to the bow. The factory is bolting on an ez anchor 5 Rebel so we will see how that works. My main boat is a 25 Almar Sounder. 25 years old and will easily do another 20. This boat will see part time work in 2021 and hopefully be working full time in 2022. Just need to find a good captain for it.

We were on a 50’er with twin cat c18’s. If I remember right, the mate said 200gal fuel burn

Not what I'd call a good looking boat, but all aluminum construction has a lot going for it in the way of low maintenance. Very practical for chartering.

🖕

Laffin

From what I can see of the bottom it looks like the boat will fish good but the ride might not be so good. How many days a season will the boat fish?

Happy Birthday Joel!

That's purdy!

It is.

Beauty, like cataracts and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.

Pal, do you have aspergers? Good lord.

Perhaps I am mistaken but, didn't you post this thread to show a photo of a boat you were thinking of buying, presumably to solicit opinions on that particular boat? If, instead, you had bought this boat, and were only seeking compliments on your choice, I may have simply chosen to ignore the thread.

Having been around boats all my life, having owned many boats to 48', having delivered boats from Florida to the Panama Canal and from Washington to Cabo San Lucas, having been in the yacht customizing business for over 40 years, even having lived aboard half my life, and before that having spent my first career in engineering design, surely must qualify me to express an opinion on a published boat photo.

An astute and very experienced client of mine once told me: "Even a rather plain looking woman, if she is careful with her grooming and with her choice of clothing, can be quite presentable. But there is never an excuse for an ugly boat."

Now I am unfamiliar with these Hewes Craft boats. There are none that I know of in my neck of the woods, though I have been on, worked on and owned aluminum boats. So my comment was solely based on the photo you posted. Please don't take it personally that others may not share your opinion.

I’ve been on a Searunner 22 across the Columbia River bar and Chehalis River bar, both are well known for being rough, and the boat was fine. Good suspension seats and you’re golden. I’ve owned an Alumaweld and currently have a Duckworth. The Hewes makes the Alumaweld look really bare-bones. Hewes has higher sides and heavier gauge than either of my boats.

Given what you’ve said about owning North River, I won’t go into that. They are good boats. The Duckworth Offshore and Weldcraft equivalent (same boat) are good choices.

Are you willing to consider fiberglass? The Defiance Guadalupe is a sweet ride.

After seeing that boat I am reassessing my career and maybe I should get my 6pack. I'm just not a babysitter for adults at heart. But I know how to catch fish

No glass. NR manages to make nothing that works for me. The 27 is the standard but the cabins are ridiculous. I like duckworth offshore, but to be honest with you it won’t do anything the hewes can’t do with about a 50k+ price tag. They just don’t pencil out.

Everyone pretty much makes a 1/4 bottom, 3/16 sided offshore boat now. These hewes are a totally different boat than the 22 you were in.

The SeaRunner was great, I’m sure yours will be better! Ill tell you what, I think Alumaweld is overrated after owning one.

How does the current Hewes compare against a Wooldridge?
I owned both brands before and thought the build quality on the Woodridge was better, but that was over a decade ago.

Not sure. Wooldridge has nothing that interests me for my use but they have good rep. Have a Capt lined up. Permit too.


Getting ready to order electronics. Electronics have been occupying a big space in my brain and ready to be done with it.

Hewes isn't the best selling aluminum fishing boat in Alaska "by accident".... Great choice.

Got all my electronics ordered. Went Garmin.

Excellent choice, besides getting wiped out by lighting once we haven't had any problems in 6 years. Did you get a Garmin autopilot? We have GHC 10 and really like the track and orbit features it offers.

No we don’t use an auto pilot on our boats. Garmin has worked fine for us too