Prior to the new gen of Stabis
I would pick Osprey. The larger ones have by far the best transom and entry deadrise of all the other APB's. All are good, but if you battling wind against tide you will experience a lot of chop, which is really the domain of Glass boats, or their strength I should say. But the Ospreys handle chop similar to a glass boat.
What you want is weight and a good deadrise. At rest the Osprey settles like the rest and becomes a very stabile platform, due to the shape of the huill, which in most is similar to that of a gullwing, or simply put, reverse chine.
TŪHURA, which is also the name of the otago museum science centre, is a 6.5m Osprey, used by Dunners UNI Marine Biology department.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/news/otago656616.html
Awesome boat. I know people who use it and they rave over it. Ive seen it when doing some land ecology work near the marine centre out the end of the peninsula. Gorgeous boat in the flesh.
So as an example, the Stabi 1850 only has a transom deadrise of 17deg, the 520c has a 23 deg deadrise.
However to be fair, the stabi is much longer. You should be comparing the 565 with the stabi. The 565 overall length is 590, but take it at the 565 length provided the others are measuring transom to tip of bow only as well.
What is the budget? The osprey 565, you can just do a cuddy like the 520, or you can go the much more comfortable hard top, 565HT.
Have a word to fishwhisperer. Whilst he is busy just using the FC sponsored 430 as its much easier as is just an open boat tinny, he has a 565C.
The 520C might be ok for bunk, not seen inside one, if it is just all ally or if it has bunks for your family.
The 565HT however is a full queen bunk and you can fit a roller door that can be locked when not in use or if you have gone ashore etc. Hard tops in general are much more conformable in the rough stuff, but also as over nighters. Provide a good place for a porta stove etc.
You can view all of the boat in this review
https://boats.tradeaboat.com.au/News/10018/Osprey_565Ht_Review
It all comes down to your budget........
Your situation is one of the few I would recommend a pontoon over a glass boat, in saying that, glass boats are damn safe provided you got the bilge checked over often and you have 2 batteries etc. There are tooo many good glass boats to recommend you, but if I was to it would be Australian and likely Haines Hunter, Bass Straight or Edencraft. These guys make real offshore boats, including side doors for diving etc. Edencraft have made a reissue of the classic Formula 233 hull, which Haines have made a version of in the past. You cant go too wrong with any of these brands. Im not so familiar with NZ brands, but Fi-Glass have been around a long time, after them, not sure, Tristram, Buccanneer looks nice but not sure about quality.
But if you know you going to be in rough water around the sounds or out of them, flap, Id be going pontoon, not because ponttons make stability, that is nonsense talk, but because their reserbouancy on the sides means if 100% flooded, there is a good chance you will not roll (any boat can roll in the right ocean) and be able drive off flushing the water out the scuppers over time. Th same of pontoon boats mean hey have hat reverse chine look, combined with beam is what gives them stability, that whole pontoon and stability tin hat thing has been discussed and proven to be fabrication (largely from Stabi marketing) many times over in this forum and elsewhere. But for that safety, you will lose cockpit space/internal beam, 2feet or so.
CJR09 wrote:
biggest thing is alloy will do everything the glass can but sacrifices a little comfort
glass in the similar size wont do all the alloy will but is more comfortable
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Not sure what you mean there. A Fi-glass dominator (5.1m) will do everything a 5.2m Ally Pontoon will do. I know guys who do 100km round trips in them and Ive been in one with a 2foot chop and it ate it up for lunch. Also had a comfortable cabin. I know guys I use to spear with in Aus who take their old v17l's 80km out to the reef and back again, and that area whilst usually flat due to the reef, if the right wind picks up turns into the same as NZ offshore waters. The only benefit of pontoons (and its negative) are the safety aspect of likely not to roll in a swamping situation. IMO if you get swamped though, the swell will have to be substantial, any hull can roll.
Best of luck with it all, let us know what you nab.