V with curtains is fantastic

[RidgeRunner]

I like em all. I know I will offend some.. because that isn't anything NEW.. I don't want to sleep on a 20' boat if it was on the trailer and sitting in the yard, let alone at sea. AND The definition of "CABIN" definitely varies from one person to the next. In a 20' vessel I got to say, I like a cuddy the least of all the models. There I said it. The cuddy is near useless TO ME due to its size. The cuddy winds up being storage for more crap that you rarely ever need on the water in the first place. By definition a Walk Around has a smaller cuddy yet so as to be even worse.
Compared to the Wellcraft, the 2200 Pursuit has a 30% larger cuddy (approx.) which still rendered it useless save for a place for little kids to play/sleep and a potty. Climbing out on the bow to retrieve the anchor is really special in anything but calm seas in a cuddy. (At least the windshield opens on the V like a bowrider and the hatch can be slid forward so you can take in the anchor without actually crawling out and standing on the deck.)
Other features of the 20' center console that I like are the better balance/performance and a lot more room for fishermen to move about and cast. I choose to have room to move about over shelter.
I don't think I could put 9 people on a Cuddy like I did last year coming off the scallop grounds. Even with the T-top we manage to cast fish 4 and 5 people in relative comfort. Something you won't be doing in the cuddy, let alone with the curtains up. So you let the curtains down and store them. Where? In the cuddy, Right? Otherwise it would be useless to need them but not have them.. Cuddy becomes a catch-all

Naturally there are always exceptions, It does depend on the boat. The 23' Whaler had a way too large center console that housed a potty. All well and good except it ate up space in the boat. I would venture to guess that the reconfigured V-20 center console in my signature has near 20 sq.ft of additional deck space over the 23' Outrage.


Step up to a 25' to 30' boat and OH YES! Hardtop Cuddy, with plenty of boat for folks to move around. Nicer cabin that you can use. Now your cooking with gas.

I simply ain't going to leave the house if I got to run a space heater..

[phatdaddy]

good point , ridge. i had a 19 mako & 21 hydrasport center console before the cuddy. i loved them. then my daughter was born, we started taking her out 3 months old. it soon became obvious the center console was not going to work. i swore as soon as she was older, i was going back to a center console. she's now 25 and i still miss the center console.

[bgreene]

No doubt - the center console became hugely successful for all those good reasons.

For me, right now the cuddy is fantastic.

My previous was a 94' Mako 201 ( not the 20, or the 21 ) .
The console was so big I was tripping over my feet, narrow to get around it, and very little room behind it.

Back then, I almost never sat down when I fished, stood all day. Now when I want, I can put out a couple of deck chairs and put my feet up !

[Blue_Runner]

I love the open concept of the center console. But when it is cold and very little to block the wind it can be uncomfortable. Especially if you have a 2 hour run one way. A set of removable curtains would solve that.

[Destroyer]

There are reason(s) that center consoles are popular. There are reason(s) that cuddy cabins are also. It just depends on your needs and wants. For me, I'm in the cuddy cabin crowd. I like the fact that I can store things away from people that would like to steal my stuff rather than buy their own. I like the idea that my wife can go to the bathroom without worrying about prying eyes. And yes, I like the idea that, if wanted or needed, I can seek shelter from sun, rain, wind, fatigue .....or whatever reason seems proper at the time in the cuddy. I don't have to worry about 6-9 people on my boat. Usually it's just me, sometimes its the 3 of us, but there's still plenty of room. This is one of those discussions (Like should I get 4WD for my truck?) that has no one single proper answer. It all depends on what you, as the individual, need.

As to the topic of an enclosure. Hell yes...it just makes sense to want to stay dry and not get wind or sun burned. You're supposed to be on the water for fun and relaxation. What's fun about being soaked, sunburned and covered with salt? My V21 will have an enclosure as soon as I can afford one. In the meantime, I'll retreat to the cuddy whenever I want some private time.

[RidgeRunner]

[Striper80]

Nothing makes me happier than fishing on a cool fall day watching the spray hit the eisenglass while heading out. I just have to save up to get an enclosure on my new boat as it only has the front panel.

[mawshj]

I think that the center console really became more popular when the manufacturers found they were less cost to make and went to pushing the HE MAN image

[Genie Aye]

Nothing like having a enclosure for the non perfect weather days, as my dad said--should have done this years ago---lol

[bradford]

If I fished a lot I'd probably want a center console.

Can't beat a cuddy for when a summer time thunderstorm rolls up. Can't imagine the Wifey and the dogs would want to sit out in the pelting rain and lightning.

Also hard to chill and relax on a center console in my opinion. On a cuddy when on the hook, I can spin the helm seat around and put my feet up on the cooler or gunnel, and she can flip the lounge seat down and lay out.
Not to mention cool sexual positions.