help for newbee

[danheck7]

Looking for a boat for the first time in 12 years. Last boat was a 16ft aluminum with a 35 evenrude. I am looking at open bow boats for mainly lake use with the possible odd ocean use. My budget is low. 3500-5500. I know that that severly limits my "dependable" choices. But that is what I have to work with. Most boats in my price range seem to be i/o and either 4.3 or 5.0. merc or omc. any advice on boat brands to stay away from outdrives or and motors to stay away from. Really any advice to me is more than I have. I talk to one boat mechanic and he say bayliner has an undeserved poor rep. while another say bayliner deserve bad rep. The boats i see locally are mostly bayliner capri, seaswirl, searay. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: help for newbee

My fav's are Starcraft and Sea Ray.
I also favor Mercrusier. Id shy from the OMC, just because of the fast they out of business and parts are harder to find.

Make sure you take a sea trial and put it through the pace's. Then if your not sure have a marine tech check it out, then you have something to barter with.
Dont be afraid to walk away, There are always boats for sale

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: help for newbee

Howdy,


In general, stay away from any boat with OMC any place in the AD.

If you want an I/O, If you consider 96 or newer Volvo or Mercruiser you'll probably be ok (and you'll pretty much avoid OMC!)


It's a buyers market. (although NOW (APR-JUL) is usually not the best time to get the best deal on any boat.......AUG-JAN or so... is usually better!)


Regards,


Rick

 

[danheck7]

Re: help for newbee

thanks for the input. that explains why so many omc equiped boats are on the low side of the cost spectrum. Really appreciate your time

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: help for newbee

thanks for the input. that explains why so many omc equiped boats are on the low side of the cost spectrum. Really appreciate your time

If you want an I/O, If you consider 96 or newer Volvo or Mercruiser you'll probably be ok (and you'll pretty much avoid OMC!)

I'll also add that if you did get an OMC 96 or newer (they went out of business in 98 or so) You'd actually be getting a Volvo drive.


Good luck!


Rick

 

[gozierdt]

Re: help for newbee

I just went through the same search for our family. I ended up finding a 1988 20' Sea Ray Seville bowrider with a 4.3LX Merc Alpha One, 320 hrs. I'm in central CA, and I paid just under $5K for it. That may be hi in some areas, but I was willing to pay it for a low hours, trailered boat here. It's a big enough boat for Tahoe or the Sacramento Delta, and I wasn't sure I wanted a 22-24 footer, because they generally go 600-1200 lbs heavier, and are much deeper. That's not bad for some users, but I wanted to stay with a boat closer and more intimate to the water. I picked Sea Ray and Cobalt as the two makes I was most interested in, for avalability in this area, and good reputations. Not a lot of use so far, but I'm a happy camper.

I found the same opinions about OMC as above on many forums, so I cut them out of my search.