An Ocean of Opportunity
THE WILL TAKE YOU FISHING, BUT SHE CAN SHOW HER VERSATILITY AS WELL.
OCEAN 50 SUPER SPORT
One of the deciding factors in any used-boat purchase is the vessel’s condition. Looking at similar models, you’re likely to choose the one that’s been well taken care of and whose changes and alterations make sense. The 2006 Ocean 50 Super Sport that Bob and Diane Doto bought in 2011 is just such a boat. Not only was the New Jersey-built sportfisherman well maintained, but the previous owner’s additions—cockpit seating and teak covering boards, upgraded Furuno electronics, and a pair of high-end diesels with complete maintenance records—also really enhanced it. And the workmanship was impressive. “He took very, very good care of the boat, and all the work was professionally done,” says Bob Doto, 68, an engineering consultant. “When I got it, it was ready to go.”
Now, the three-stateroom Ocean is the center of the Dotos’ boating life at the Atlantis Yacht Club in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, where they and their friends gather. “There are a bunch of us who are there every weekend,” says Doto. “You can walk to the beach. My wife might play golf one day. There’s a pool and a barbecue. Friends like to come on the boat, or we might go for a ride on somebody else’s boat. It’s a fun weekend.”
Doto’s first boat was a 16-foot Penn Yan lapstrake runabout with a 25-horsepower Evinrude—a craft that set the stage for a lifetime of boating. “I was a Sea Ray guy, and the last one I had was a 39,” he says. “As we found ourselves spending more time at the club, we began looking for a boat with more of a liveaboard layout.” That led them to buy a used Ocean 43 in 2009. “A club member had an Ocean 56, and I had been on that boat many, many times,” says Doto. “That boat convinced me that what I really wanted was a sportfisherman.”
Doto owned the Ocean 43 for two years before stepping up to the 50 Super Sport. Working with Drew Santoro at South Jersey Yacht Sales in Point Pleasant ( www.southjerseyyachtsales.com), he traded in the 43 for the 50, which was valued at around $500,000. Comparing prices with similar models from other builders, Doto says he found the Ocean a good buy. “By my analysis I got the best value in the larger sportfisherman class,” he says.
While the sportfisherman has all of the
BY STEVE KNAUTH