Looking at a new Parker

[fishook]

Hello everyone.
I am currently looking at a 2520 and I hope your site can help me make the decision. I am currently fishing out of a 21cc and on those days when I am coming home in 4-6' seas cold and wet I see you folks with your Parker pilot house all warm and dry and I am thinking thats the boat for me! Dont get me wrong my 21cc is a very fast and a great fishing machine but I think I am ready to step up. So I will be posting some questions and reading up on all your topics for now trying to decide which Parker is for me.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Porkchunker]

Welcome to the site. Lots of folks here have run a variety of Parkers and give you the pros/cons.

I have a 2510 (walk around with hardtop and clear removable vinyl curtains). I fish the CBBT in Dec, and a little "Mr Heater" on the passenger side console will drive you out of the enclosure when it is near freezing. In the summer, I remove the curtains and have the wind in my face...best of both worlds.

Pro: wide and long cockpit with lots of room for fishing.

Con: wide cockpit means I'm at 9'6" and need towing permits. This is not a con if you stay in a slip and roam around the same general areas. Home port is mid-Bay at Solomons, MD. In Nov/Dec I haul to Norfolk to fish the CBBT. Next spring I'd like to haul to the Del Bay to get those stripers headed back up the coast. In my case, the con does not outweigh the benefits of the large cockpit and the safety of the larger hull in big water.

Pro: MV hull with 14 deg deadrise. Planes easily with less power and I get about 8.5-10.0 gph burn depending on trim, load, and sea state.

Con: MV hull with 14 deg deadrise pounds in heavy chop. Have to slow down. In my case, with the cost of fuel, I'll take the MV hull over the DV which requires much more power and fuel to drive.

So...I guess I have one great boat.

 

[chrisn]

I have a 2520XLD and I have been very pleased! As far as the fuel consumption it is really better then standard with twin 150's. There are quite a few posts affirming the fuel subject. As far as the "pounding" goes I have a 21 degree deadrise so I ride much better in seas. Its a choice you have to make based on what you need...

Scoundrel

 

[fishook]

14 DEG.- 21 DEG. I still dont know which one. I am going to be giving up a very fast boat for this one and I dont want a sled out there. But conditions are somtimes tough and always changing out here so the importance of the ride is priority. How well do the twin yam 150s push her. Any lack of power on the 21 deg. In good conditions how fast do they run.

Anybody please chime in as this will be my biggest desision between the two.

 

[B-Faithful]

compromise and get the 16 degree hull

 

[chrisn]

Fishook,

As i have siad in previous posts i am coming from a 31' Contender with twin 250's which i felt was "very" fast. My 2520 xld is in no way a shotgun start boat, but it has plenty of power and i appreciate the cabin in weather and cold. They are two completely different vessels. In no way would i ever go with a mod hull for what i need. That is.....far offshore Atlantic with questionable sea conditions. The power is there and if it is a nice day I CAN move with haste.

 

[Megabyte]

Fishook, do you know what the year and model designation is on that 2520 you were looking at?

I ask that because Parker made two different modified vee hulls - a 14 degree and a 16 degree. The deep vee hulls are all 21 degree.

The 1996 model 2520 MVSC that I own is the 14 degree model which is no longer produced. Back when all three hulls were produced, the XL was the 16 degree hull.

So how fast is your 21 CC and how much speed are you willing to give up?

Two obvious advantages of the sportcabin models are:
1. The protection of the cabin from the elements
and
2. The huge unobstructed cockpit (~100 sq ft in my boat)

One disadvantage, at least for the MV hull is that if you want an acceptable ride, you will have to slow down. There is no free lunch and there is no one perfect boat. It's all about what you are willing to compromise about.

In my case, I gave up speed for a roomy cockpit and the comfort of the pilothouse.

The Chesapeake Bay can get really snotty and bumpy with a short steep chop. If conditions warrant it, I can drop my tabs and run as slow as 10 kts on plane.
During 'normal' conditions (1 to 2' chop), I can run 20 kts at cruise... And when the Bay flattens, My 2520 will run 33.5 kts @ 5100 rpm (WOT) with a single Yamaha 225 OX66.

Your conditions are probably not anything like ours, so you would need to get with one of our west coast members and see if you can get a ride in conditions you would normally see. That is the only way to see if the performance is what you expect.

A Parker pilothouse isn't a Contender or Regulator, but that's OK... we like it that way.

Hopefully a DV owner can give you some insight into what sort of performance you can expect with that hull so you can begin to narrow your search.

Good luck!

 

[chrisn]

I really hate to keep chiming in here, but i have a question as far as this DV and MV thing goes. As Contenders are different from Parker's, I must say that the 2520XL and the 2520XLD are two completely different boats as well. I have heard a lot of comparisons, but to be honest they just don't seem to jive. I too am a devout protector of my vessels reputation, and i am in no means saying that a 2520MV is an inferior product, but for what this man has asked it just doesn't seem to fit the bill.

First of all the 2520XLD is 500 heavier. Then you have the twin 150's. Then you have the 21 degree deadrise. Then you have the extra fuel capacity. I believe it was Richard Bertram's intent when he built the Deep Vee to provide a sturdier platform for snotty seas. Somebody correct me if I am wrong. I for one would never buy a boat that would back me down too 10 knots when the seas get snotty because i am usually 60-70 miles offshore. That would be unacceptable. Again i am not discounting the 2520MV, but for what he has asked it just wouldn't fly.

The 2520XLD at WOT post 45MPH. At 5100 I run at around 36-37. I cruise at 32-33 at 4900. Always try to keep under 5000rpm unless i need it. The boat in head on rough seas can beat you up, but i for one know how to properly trim my own vessel and have NO complaints with the tabs. In a following and rear quarter sea she is a dream.

This is just my opinion, but i am pretty confident of it.

Scoundrel

 

[5150dude]

Where abouts are you in So Cali?
You are welcome to stop by and check out my girl and shoot the breeze!
I can tell you about my dealings with Sundance (very positive).
Send me a PM if interested or email [email protected]
Warm and dry in a pilot house? Yo betja!
By the way... I love my Parker!

 

[pelagic2530]

if youre going to be staying inside, a modified V is fine, steady as a table and the ride isnt too much of a consideration. Offshore, you wouldnt catch me in a mod V for all the tea in china, im rather fond of my back and teeth :lol:

either way, youre gonna probably need to put bigger tabs on her, which is going to improve the ride in both cases. but if ride is an issue, seriously look at the deep V.

 

[Porkchunker]

Here is where the MV really shines...when at drift in snotty seas.

And...here is where the MV really sucks...when trying to get to the fishing grounds in snotty seas.

In our case on 21 Dec (where these pics were taken), we slowed down to 13 kts for the 12 mi trip from Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base to the 3rd/4th Islands on the CBBT. Then, while at drift we had a very stable platform to bail all the slot-fish (28"--34") we could handle on LTJing and flyrods. No on got sick, and the seas were 8'--10' swells with chop on top. I saw a DV Grady White and a DV Trophy out there with us and they were rocking so badly that they gave up and trolled up or down wind. While trolling, I never saw them catch a fish.

So...each hull shines in different conditions.

BTW, the last pic was getting so common we commented that it was good enough to start surfing down. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Dave

aka

 

[Megabyte]

Dave, I didn't mention it on TF, but we fished that bumpy day (the 21st) over between the high rise and the 4th island.

There were 12 boats in the area that day and 10 of them were Parkers. :wink:

My brother-in-law (a Grady Seafarer owner) was in awe at the number of Parkers out there.
BTW - We didn't see a Grady on the water all day, much to Dans dismay!

 

[Porkchunker]

We were ocean-side of the 3rd, and according to Walleye Pete (I called him on the cell), the waves were quite a bit bigger the further you got from the northern shore.

 

[TheOtherLine]

Here's my take... Not meant to be an attack on the DV guys.

If the seas are snotty, I (MV) can always slow down and get to wherever you're (DV) going, within a reasonable time after you got there. If when we get there the seas are still snotty, I can fish them in relative comfort, I don't think you can.

PS: My fuel bill will also be less.

 

[Porkchunker]

Scoops...I tried to say the same thing, but you said it better. After fishing in that snot on Friday (pics above), I was absolutely over-joyed to have an MV. We managed 10 hours and a hundred upper-20 and slot-fish in that crap before the bodies finally gave out. The guys in the DVs gave up in an hour or so and tried to troll into the wind or down wind, and then gave up all together.

Dave

aka

 

[pelagic2530]

Here's my take... Not meant to be an attack on the DV guys.

If the seas are snotty, I (MV) can always slow down and get to wherever you're (DV) going, within a reasonable time after you got there. If when we get there the seas are still snotty, I can fish them in relative comfort, I don't think you can.

PS: My fuel bill will also be less.

idk, maybe its me, ive never felt unstable. never been a problem at all. the people hanging over the gunnels might have a different take on it though :lol:

 

[Megabyte]

maybe its me, ive never felt unstable. never been a problem at all. the people hanging over the gunnels might have a different take on it though :lol:

Now that's funny..
I don't care who you are... that's funny! :lol:

(with apologies to Larry The Cable Guy)

 

[fishook]

Megabyte, you are right the mod v 14 is not what i am looking for. the 16 would be the minimum. i think i have answered my own question when i said how will i used this boat mostly. the answer is simple. i fish islands and offshore here in so ca. and i am usually running home late afternoons uphill in the typical bumpy conditions we have out here. the ride is always long and heading right into the slop. sounds like the DV might be the ticket.

Thanks for everones input, i got more questions but i will post them in the "boat section".

i am taking a test ride saturday with the boys at Sundance. I hope to have her before the white seabass start to chew.

 

[susqking]

I have a 2510 MV and I fish the Chesapeake Bay only and a long run would be 20 miles, 80% time the mod V is all you need and is a great boat for the bay.

But if my fishing was going offshore or always in nasty conditions and long runs were the norm, the only logical choice would be the deep V. Don't go MV you will regret it.

 

[RandMadeRods]

I got my 2520XLD from Sundance too. I love my Parker and I thought the service I got from them was very good. No complaints here.