Top 3 non-trailerable cuddy cabs for overnight trips

These boats tend to be small enough to pick up on a forklift and drop into the water. The boats are typically stored in big sheds close to the water, kept high and dry from the elements when not in use.

The beauty of this style of boating is that all you need to do is phone the marina, and ask for the boat to be in the water at a certain time. You then just show up, step aboard, and cast off.

Done right, marinas will also ensure your boat’s servicing and maintenance is up to schedule, and that it is full of fuel and ready for wherever your next adventure takes it. Not only that, but choosing to dry-stack a boat opens up more buying options, as you’re not limited to the maximum 2.5-metre beam for towing on Australian roads. Boats built for the European and US markets tend to have larger beams.

An ideal boat to keep in a dry stack is a large cuddy cabin. These boats tend to have all the comfy outdoor space you’ll need to enjoy a weekend in the sun, but with an enclosed space below where you can either take shelter or spend the night if you don’t want the weekend to stop.

Cuddy cabins with closing doors are also important if you have young children on board, particularly while on the move.

What, then, is an ideal cuddy cabin that is well suited to a dry stack? We’re limiting the budget to below $200,000 so you can get a boat with all the functionality at a reasonable price.

Here, then, are the top three dry-stackable cuddy cabin boat choices that boatsales.com.au would recommend you take a look at.

Jeanneau is a French boatbuilder with a range of models aimed at cruising the waterways of Europe. Its flagship dayboat series is the Cap Caramat line of cuddy cab models.

At 7.35 metres overall length, the Jeanneau Cap Camarat 7.5DC is an easily manageable size for a couple.

The boat comprises a large open area down the back, and a downstairs combined living and sleeping space up front. Over the top of the forward living and sleeping space is a sunbed.

The outdoor living space runs almost the entire length of the boat. Down the back is a swim platform running the entire width of the boat and large enough for a couple of deck chairs.

The cockpit includes a comfy U-shaped lounge space with a removable table, with one side including a rear-facing lounge and the other doubling as the skipper’s chair behind the helm.

The Jeanneau Cap Camarat 7.5DC has a windscreen that opens in the centre, with access to the forward sun deck via a set of steps built into the sliding door leading to the below-deck living space. 

Downstairs, the Jeanneau Cap Camarat 7.5DC features a U-shaped dinette built into the bow that transforms into a sleeping space. Something that is often a deal-breaker as a family-friendly boat is a fully enclosed head – that’s a toilet in boat-speak.

The Jeanneau Cap Camarat 7.5DC is priced from around $160,000. Engine choices are easy; the only option is a single 300hp outboard.

One thing that always seems to impress when you step on a European designed and built Flipper boat is they always seem to be built for a much higher price than what they ask for it. Everything about these boats pops, shines and impresses.

Stretching 7.17 metres overall, the Flipper 700 Day Cruiser a fairly compact boat, but beamy. It’s an entirely different design to the Jeanneau mentioned above, in that it has two duckboards expending past the engine – arguably a better use of onboard space, but you’re not going to be able to walk from one side of the transom to the other.

The Flipper 700 Day Cruiser features a U-shaped lounge down the back, with a table that drops down. This is so you can convert this space into a large sunbed, or even an extra couple of berths for an overnight trip. You can fit a 30-litre drawer fridge in under these seats if you want.

The comfy skipper’s chair is a standalone seat, but it can turn to face the other seats. On the opposite side of the boat, a seatback can flip so it faces rearwards at rest, or forwards while underway.

A set of steps in the centre of the console lead up to the forward sun deck, which features a bow that makes it easy to jump down onto the sand if you’re beaching the boat.

The console in front of the crew’s chair folds back to reveal a sink complete with faucet, with the fold-out section doubling as a meal prep table.

A sliding door reveals the downstairs space, which includes a large bow lounge that converts into sleeping space. There’s no option for a table in this space.

The only drawback with the Flipper 700 Day Cruiser is the lack of an enclosed head. You can option a chemical toilet, though.

The Flipper 700 Day Cruiser is priced from around $120,000 when fitted with a 135hp outboard engine. The boat is rated for up to 300hp.

US fibreglass boat brand Sea Ray has plenty of skin in the cuddy cab game. It’s a brand renowned for practical, superbly made boats that suit family applications.

The Sea Ray 230 Sun Sport OB is one of a number of models making up Sea Ray’s cuddy cabin range. The “OB” denotes this is an outboard-engined version of the 230 Sun Sport; it is also available with an inboard engine for those who favour this type of boat.

The Sea Ray 230 Sun Sport OB measures 6.96 metres, with one of the better transom set-ups of this group.

What Sea Ray has done is build the 230 Sun Sport OB with a walkaround transom so that you don’t need to climb over anything to get to the water.

The boat has a deep full-beam swim platform with the outboard engine slightly recessed into it. A walkthrough space to the starboard, or left, side of the transom gives uninterrupted walk-through space to the cockpit, which features wrap-around seating and a central table.

The Sea Ray 230 Sun Sport OB features dedicated seats for both the skipper and first mate, both of which can turn around to face the cockpit seats.

A central opening pane in the windscreen provides access to one of the largest foredeck sunbeds in the business, via steps that also double as the doorway to the space below.

Inside the cuddy is a V-berth with an infill cushion to make it a large sleeping space. The cuddy also has space for a chemical toilet. 

The Sea Ray 230 Sun Sport OB is priced from around $130,000 when fitted with a 150hp outboard engine.