My first boat was a 17' bowrider. About 99% of the use was with the bow
cover on. Rarely had that many people on board plus it opens you up to
catching wind and waves. So I hardly ever took the bow cover off. In fact,
I sealed the underside with weather-stripping to make it more waterproof.

We moved up to get a cuddy. Ended up moving to 25' (nice cuddy . I
agree with most of the other comments. It's nice to have the privacy and
protection of the cuddy as well as the extra storage. I don't find our
cuddy uncomfortably hot ,but we do live in Seattle With the windows open
it's fine, and there is usually a breeze on the water.

"David Ditch" wrote in message
...
Thanks all I had argued the same point to my wife about being able to put
more people on the boat.
I felt that sitting up front was great for the teenage nephews I had.
One thing I though about was did I want to get the boat for my family or
for
entertaining.
I came back to the thought that I wanted to maximize the utility of the
boat
for the main concerns of who was making the payments.. Me and my wife.
(well
mostly my wife

With a family of 5, our thoughts were that we had plenty of room to fit us
all. I have been concious about how many people will sit comfortably
while
under way. Some of the boats I had been looking at barely fit enough for 5
to sit. The nice thing I noticed about the sundowner 205 was there was
room
for 6+ adults to sit down.

When I looked at the bowriders there were plenty of room but I wanted to
make sure I could sit kids right beside adults. The sport seating benches
were good for that but I felt lowered the floor space. Something I have
to
think about if we end up deciding on a bowrider.

I also hear if the cuddy has a head and stove, the interest is tax
deductable as a "vacation home" just like a camper can be.

David

"Lawrence James" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I'd never give up my bowrider for a cuddy for anything. It depends on
what
you want to do with your boat. If you're into recreational fair weather
boating then there is not much advantage to a cuddy. It will reduce the
number of passengers you can carry because no one will want to be in it
while under way or while sitting. Every small boat I've been in with a
cuddy and it has looked like someones hall closet. I can easily have 8
adults and kids in my 19 ft runabout bowrider.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 19:56:11 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:
My wife and I are on the fence about a bowrider or a cuddy. On thing
I
was
wondering is if the cabin gets really hot when you are not moving?
==============================

Yes, the cuddy will get hot. It has other advantages however:

- A place to stow gear out of sight and out of the weather.

- A modicum of privacy for the port-a-pot.

- More sea worthy in the heavy stuff.

- Enclosed bunks for the occassional night aboard or spontaneous
sports activities. :-)