84 cuddy cabin 222 express - anyone heard of using hull for a tarpon boat?

[Lowe94boat]

I have found a 1984 222 express fisherman cuddy cabin outboard for sale in an estate sale......I had someone tell me they used this boat hull for a project boat to make a tarpon boat . Sound reasonable? How do know whether the hull and transom have wood? I read somewhere that some of the old AS's had glass stringers.

[Capt. Bob]

That model XF is a 222 CCP hull with a cuddy cap.



It has wood in the transom unless it has been rebuilt. The stringers are fiberglass filled with foam.

While the CCP will run in shallow water for its size, it isn't a model we have seen used specifically to target tarpon but then anything is possible.


Good luck.

[Lowe94boat]

Thank you Capt Bob. I am a newbie to the website so excuse my likely simplistic and naive questions.

What is the reputation of that 222 CCP hull? it looks like it shows 12" draft which is pretty skinny, but the front bow profile looks like it would take some chop. That sounds like a good combo.

I have a guide friend in Bokelia who did a project tarpon boat from a AS hull salvaged from a cuddy AS. I also have seen there are a couple of boat works in Tampa area that specialize in project boats from old AS's, Hammerhead is one and Coast II Coast I think is another.

Assuming this boat is on a trailer with a throwaway old original OB, and it is a sound hull, what would it be worth? what do I need to look for to evaluate the condition that might be common problems to check for?

Thank you so much!

[Capt. Bob]

The CCP was Aqua's offshore model. I used mine mainly for diving and trolling for dolphin. It was again the 222 length.

It has a good rep on this Forum and is a great platform. Though not as popular a rebuild as the Flatties, 170s 19-6 or 22-2s, there are numerous rebuilds of the different model CCPs; 200, 222, 245/250. They all were built like tanks with large stringers and deep hulls.

Take a look at this bit of creativity.
https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=14773.0

What's it worth is just what one would be willing to pay.

Some light reading:
https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=10634.0

Good luck.

[mshugg]

When you say “tarpon boat,”  are you thinking running the west coat beaches and passes, or inshore flats?  The CCP hull should be fine for the former, not so good for the latter. 

I can see two ways to proceed with turning an Express into a center console tarpon boat:

1    Cut out the cuddy, replace with casting decks/storage forward.  This preserves the lines of the CCP, but would require extra long trolling motor to reach the water.

2.   Remove the entire cap including the cabin, and add your own, potentially lower cap.  This could work with more trolling motors, and would give you pretty much a blank canvas for layout.

If you decide to proceed, be sure to start a build thread, and post lots of pictures.

[Lowe94boat]

Yes a west coast tarpon boat for the beaches and passes, not really a flats boat but with a trolling motor and 12 inch draft would give some backwater capabilities. My Hurricane 231CC drafts 12 inch too and that works for getting to a lot of places using the trolling motor.

Are there any recommended boat works that would do such a AS project boat to talk to? Cut the cuddy cap out, new deck, repower, add center console, electronics, etc.

[wingtime]

Having owned a XF model I can tell you unless you get the hull for next to free your better off finding a CCP.  After cutting away the cabin and the inner cabin liner you won't have much left to the FWD half of the cap. It would take some extensive fiberglass building from scratch skills to rebuild the cap.

The 222XF and 222CCP are 19 degree deadrise hulls with a very deep forefoot and entry. That is where the deepest draft of the hull is. (Excluding your lower unit)

The hulls that those shops you refer to are rebuilding is the 22-2 either in the pre 72 flatback (almost zero deadrise at the transom) or the later 12 degrees deadrise hulls.

[Lowe94boat]

Thanks Wingtime. I am getting similar advice from one of the boat works and same from a guide friend. They are steering me away from this 22 foot model hull and suggesting going with a 24 or 25 foot model hull.

My read is that would be a 250 CCP for example and sometimes it seems that size is called an Osprey (maybe certain years' models went by that model name), but I am still learning the AS models and history.

So with all the experts here on the website, please chime in on what models you think would be the best project boats for a west coast tarpon passes and beaches boat?

Thanks everyone for sharing all you knowledge.

[RickK]

Simple way to know what you're looking at - the Osprey model has a casting deck in the front and CCP does not.  The hull sides of the older CCPs are tall (called freeboard) and the Ospreys are not.  Later the models late 90s and 00s were blended to all have more freeboard and the deadrise changed to a little steeper.
If you look at a good tarpon boat, it has lower freeboard so the tarpon can be brought into the side of the boat to be unhooked, measured and released. You don't lift the tarpon out of the water, so you need to be able to work on it without reaching 3 feet to the water. Cabin boats are not the style to use, although some people like to use them for that.