A powerboat?

I guess perhaps sailors will call it going over to the 'dark side', but we wouldn't look at it that way. Yes, we've decided to give exploring via a powerboat a try. It just makes too much sense. There's so much to see via the waterways that would be impossible in our current or past sailboats--even if the mast was unstepped. Not being hampered by anything over 2 and one half foot of draft is quite liberating! We may not be done with sailing, but at least for now, we'll see what's out there in our new-to-us powerboat.

We've decided to undertake this endeavor on a Rosborough RF-246. It's often called a 'trailerable trawler' but we think it does much more than that moniker alludes to.

The Rossie has the following key features:

Seakindly hullform - based on the time-proven downeast lobsterboat hull designs, the RF246 is able to comfortably make way in brisk or lumpy conditions.
High payload capacity - enough volume and load-carrying capacity for a couple to undertake extensive cruising away from 'civilization'.
Unsinkability - built-in foam flotation; always good to have in any vessel.
Lower power requirements - hull design allows super economical cruising, if desired, at hull speed but also crank it up to 20 knots or more to get where you want to go fairly quickly.
Shallow draft - 2 feet is all that's needed.
Outboard power - Reliable 4-stroke outboards rival diesels in their efficiency and also allow you to put the engine (and noise/vibration) outside the cockpit freeing valuable space.
Protected pilothouse - we want to get out of the elements when underway and the all-weather enclosure of the RF-246 is ideal.
Trailerability - being able to be towed behind a pickup truck opens up all sorts of potential cruising grounds; sitting on a trailer offers inexpensive storage and boat maintenance access (especially if she's right in the driveway).

A notable multihull designer has once said "you can have any two, but only two, of these three attributes in a yacht: high speed, large accommodation, low cost". I don't know what that specifically has to do with a Rosborough except to highlight that all boats are compromises. The RF-246 isn't the fastest; if you want to go quickly there are other much more suitable hull designs out there. The RF-246 isn't a room-a-ran and that's AOK with us (the question of size is really this: what's the smallest boat you can comfortably cruise in?). The RF-246 isn't cheap but you get what you pay for and quality doesn't come along for free.

Rich & Tamara Tate
Satellite Beach, Florida