What boat do I want?

[Kalian]

Hey folks, I'm new to boating, I've owned a boat for less than a year. I'm looking to upgrade soon, so I thought I'd post here and utilize the vast collective experience here of all you iboaters!<br /> Basicaly I'm looking for something for family fun. Something to take the wife and kids out on, but something I can also use for fishing. I probably won't ski (not interested, personaly) but the kids might later, so don't want to rule it out. <br /> I love my little 18 foot bayliner capri 1800, it seems perfect for me, the right amount of power and speed, but not too big for trailering and docking. The only downside to the boat is that it's not ideal for fishing,(no live well, rod holders, etc.) and the motor (force 90hp outboard) is unreliable. I've had nothing but problems with it.<br /> My wife wants a boat that has a toilet. I told her we couldn't afford that, (I don't want to spend over $10,000). We looked at a 1980's bayliner cuddy cabin with a volvo penta for around $8k or $9k, but it looked like it would be a pain trailering and loading unloading on the lakes around here. It was 23 ft I think. It also looked like it wasn't very roomy, plus I was afraid of the age.<br /> So what do you guys think? Can I find a small, (18-20ft)reliable boat that runs well, decent power and good for fishing and family, with a head, for $10,000? Oh yeah, the towing vehicle is a ford f150. Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

[alden135]

Re: What boat do I want?

My boat in the avatar is 20'. It has a porta potti in the cabin. The cockpit is decent for fishing and the bow has a set of cushions for sunning. I'd be looking at 20' cuddy's if I were you. If you have ten grand I'm sure you can get something much nicer than mine.

 

[steelespike]

Re: What boat do I want?

Just a thought.How about a 18 or 20 ft used pontoon.Probably not the best for skiing but excellent for almost anything else.40 to 50 hp would work for most cruising.Lots of room for a porta potty head.You can do an overnighter top and side curtains.wet sink.Cooking,outdoor grill.<br /> Maybe even a porch glider.Not to mention a tremendous platform for fishing.Very smooth ride.<br /> Not very fast probably 18-22 mph and a little heavy on gas.But if you cruise at about 3/4 throttle its not too bad.If you study new pontoons you can get an idea what set ups they have and how they do it.I think it would probably trailer easier than a 23 ft mono hull and with the motor up probably draw only about 10 inches of water.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: What boat do I want?

Look at this Seaswirl Striper. I sold one of these last year and wish I could get it back. Its a great fishing, skiing, cruising, boat. It has a live well under one of the rear seats, and a bait well under the other rear seat. Ski/storage under the floor. Walk thru windshield, bow rider. This boat is wide and stable, wish I hadnt sold mine. Still gotta do the bucket thing though. Although they do have a cuddy alot like it in a 20 footer.

 

[AJ168]

Re: What boat do I want?

I have a 22 ft. Galaxy Walk Around. Quite a bit of fishing room, you can pull a water toy on it, don't know if it'll pull a skier as top speed at WOT is only something like 30 mph. Don't worry about going too big for an F150. We use my uncle's Bronco which is almost the same thing and it has no problem at all. And that's a pretty big boat. We have a portable head down in the cuddy, which is nice although we've never even used it. It seems that if you can get a smaller cuddy with a larger O/B or I/O, you should be good. You and maybe another person could even overnight on it.

 

[Kalian]

Re: What boat do I want?

This is probably the last time I'll get to reply till after Christmas, but keep the sugestions coming.<br /> I'm intrigued by your reply Alden. Do you have any pics of your boat? I have been considering a cuddy, but thought a 20 footer just wouldn't have enough room. Can you sugest a good brand? Reliability is a big thing with me. How are the Glasstrons as far as reliability? I'll do the maintence, but I wanna know my boat is gonna be there for me, and not leave me stranded.<br /> I have thought about pontoons, but I'm not real big on them. I'll need to fit it in the garage, so that might be a problem with a pontoon or a cuddy. Maybe when I get rich I'll have a pontoon AND a cuddy!<br /> I saw the Seaswirl earlier, Real poor. Trouble is I can get a brand new glasstron just like it with the trailer for $12,000. Don't know how Glasstron comepares to Seaswirl though. I'll try to find out more about the Seaswirl cuddy. Trouble is I like to look at the models in person and climb around in them before I make a decision. There doesn't seem to be a lot of showrooms in my area, I guess I need to find a boatshow. Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[bluewater19]

Re: What boat do I want?

Kalian,<br />Look for a bluewater cuddy. Around 1989-1994.<br />There are alot of them around here and they are a great all around boat. Mine is 19' and has a cockpit that is very good for fishing. The cuddy is big enough to sleep 2 adults. While the v-6 is plenty fast(40mph) they can be had with a V-8 also.<br />And the have a potty!!!

 

[Kalian]

Re: What boat do I want?

AJ, I somehow missed your reply when I posted last. I'll look at your sugestion as well.<br /> Bluewater, can you provide me a link? When I googled bluewater cuddy I got a few different manufacturers. <br /> It's been raining steady here for a week, so I haven't been able to look around much, hopefuly I can get to a few more boat shops soon. I'm definitly going to be looking for smaller cuddys, about 10 years old or so. What motors should I stay away from? I know force is one, how about OMC? Are they still in business?

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: What boat do I want?

OMC is no longer in business and parts are hard to find.

 

[alden135]

Re: What boat do I want?

OMC was bought out by Bombardier. I have never had any trouble finding parts. Lots of suppliers make aftermarket parts for J/E motors. I don't know about OMC sterndrive parts though.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: What boat do I want?

My advice is: Do not buy OMC.......There are tons of boats out there in your price range....You just gotta shop around.....Now is the time to buy!....JK

 

[wvit100]

Re: What boat do I want?

http://www.stingraypb.com/products/models06/models.php?model=195FX&action=1 <br /><br />Look at the Stingray 195 fish and ski. I know someone who has one and it's a nice little boat. He doesn't fish much out of it but it does have the chairs. It has plenty of storage and room to move around in. They've been making it for years so there should be some around for a decent price.

 

[mole2]

Re: What boat do I want?

Another boat to look at is the Trophy 1802 or even the 20' models (2002 - O/B or 2052 - I/O). I had a 2003 Trophy 1802 and it was great for what you're looking to do. I upgraded this past April to a 2005 Trophy 2052 with hard top and FWC. You can pick an older (late 90's) 1802 up for the money you're looking to spend or spend a little more for the 20 foot models. They are well built mid tier boats on a par with the Seaswirl, Wellcraft, etc. Good luck in your hunt.<br /><br />2003 Trophy 1802<br />

<br /><br />2005 Trophy 2052<br />

 

[Kalian]

Re: What boat do I want?

Hmm, those are nice mole, but for some reason they look a little awkward, as far as manueverability(sp) and vision restriction is concerned. But looking at Aldens cuddy, it looks a lot sleeker. Something about the bayliner cuddys looks boxy, and kinda tall. It's kinda dificult for me to explain. Not trying to knock your boat, I guess I just need to get out and walk around on em, preferably while they are in the water. So how is the trophy 2052? Is it easy to dock? Oh, and what about the gas mileage. Is it a big difference from the 18 foot bow riders?<br /> The stingrays look realy nice, too. Man, I've got a lot to look at!

 

[wvit100]

Re: What boat do I want?

I've had both bowriders and cuddy cabins. The cuddy was OK but I never really used it for anything other than storage of life jackets, towels, etc. I usually boat during the day and in nice weather - unless your moving the cuddy gets extremely hot. I get a lot more use from the space in my bowrider and it has more room to get up and move around.