Hewescraft Searunner - Opinions please.

[dave]

When I was looking for a small boat, my choice came down to Hewscraft and Alumaweld. I chose the Alumaweld for several reasons, and after 4 years I couldn't be happier.

I love my little boat, but I would never overnight on anything but the C-Dory. Don't kid yourself. Overnighting on the Searunner won't be the pleasant experience you are looking for unless, maybe you are 17 years old. Overnighting on that boat will be an ordeal you will go through once.

 

[Tug]

I was considering buying a Hewes Craft SeaRunner before i found the C-Dory site. I have always owned and loved aluminum boats for ease of maintenance and beach ability. I have always enjoyed beaching a boat to camp or explore.I now seldom do this with my C-Dory for fear of causing damage to the bottom.
That said, i really love my 1985 C-Dory Angler , had the best summer ever. i hate the thought of putting her away for 6 long months. I have on ocassion thought what my 1985 C-Dory would look like and perform like if it were made of aluminum with a 1/4 inch modified V hull.. I think it would be a great looking boat although heavier and not as economical. Tug

 

[bjidzik]

There are a lot of folks in town that have HewesCraft 20-22' boats. It was one of the boats I considered in our search. It had plenty of bins for storage, rugged, really stable & fast on the water, & great for fishing & wildlife watching. Cons: noisy, insufficient range to cruise, & not a good choice for keeping in a saltwater marina.

We cruise more than fish, so the choice was obvious for us.

 

[T.R. Bauer]

T.R did make a great point that if it is burning almost twice the gas that would be an issue with gas prices these days but will need to look into that myself as I find that hard to believe. T.R are both of you running the same size motor?

According to my brother, his boat the empty hull of his 22 Hewes is around 3000 pounds. This doesn't include fuel, motors, water, or anything else. Just the dry, bare boat. He says it is around 6000 pounds on the trailer - give or take a bit. As I recall, the CD 22 is just a tad under 2000 pounds with nothing so there is a significant difference. Heck mine only hits the scale at about 4000 pounds with all kinds of crap in it. It only tips at 4300 to 4500 with extra gas, guns for hunting, and provisions for at least a week when going on extended PWS trips. I go pretty light though in comparison to some folks on here.

Also, at least it is my opinion anyways, the crummy fuel economy is due in part to the fact that he has twin 115s on it. It does move very well, but he really does burn about twice the fuel going to the exact same spot I do. And he doesn't often really outrun me THAT much unless it is glass when one can really fly (2 days a year....LOL). But he does outrun me as I try to cruise at 18-23 mph and he is often cruising at 30-35 mph. Given the short of distance we are going (less than 100 miles), it ain't much timewise.

It isn't like it is a huge gas hog when it comes to boats as it only burns about 8-12 gph. But my CD 22 uses between 4-5 in most conditions. It is pretty significant difference in my book - especially over the course of ownership. But his boat (22 foot Ocean Pro Hartop) is much larger than the CD 22. It feels like it has a much wider beam too in my opinion. Of course, the lighter, smaller, and less powered searunners will burn less.

I love the CD 22s, but I know I would enjoy 22 foot plus hewescrafts too. I really love the 26 Alaskan. I wish had the bucks.....

 

[Noreaster]

Never much cared for the open bow on the 22 sea runner. We have a really steep chop here on Green Bay and my 17' open bow center console (read pure fishing boat!) would ocassionly slice right thru a wave and catch a good bit of water. It would bail out quickly enough, but 6" of water on the decks catches your attention real fast. The closed bow of my 16 Angler gives me more security (waves on the foredeck shed like water off a ducks back!) and I can leave the rain gear at home unless it's actually raining.