Re: Looking at stingray 250 LR 2006 advice needed
Hey Lk
We did get out on a few boats when they were still in the water before winter. (Searay 240 sundeck, Tahoe q5 and q7' stingray 190, 220cs, 240lr, glastron 20' plus a pontoon and tritoon). I may be too new to notice the differences, but most of the cruisers were pretty similar, with the smaller boats and toons being more susceptible to wind/waves. We decided we wanted a bit more room and an open bow to help with docking/boarding since we're new to boating. I also wanted something with a reliable and solid engine with enough torque so that I'm not at higher rpm and making tons of noise just to get moving. So 5-7 yrs old bowrider, enclosed head,common injected v8 and in the 24 25 foot range became the target, given my budget. A deck boat might be a better practical choice, but I like the look of the bow rider better.
The wife and I like how the stingrays in that size seem to have a deeper interior and I like the prices compared to the sea rays, regals, etc in that size. We did see an 04 crownline that was a beauty, but the asking price was twice as much so we didn't ask to get a ride. Same thing with a newer regal 26 footer. (Compared to cars, I like the Lexus cars, but can certainly live with the Camry at half the price).
On the lakes and rivers near my home, it's almost exclusively bow riders / deckboats and pontoons in second, followed by smaller cuddies and Cabin cruisers. There is a wooden boat club too on the lake, but that looks like more worry than I'd like to deal with. Several folks trailer jet skis or small bass boats.
On the ocean side it's mainly cruisers and yachts.
But we settled on these boats because we're a mile from a fairly calm lake and won't be overnighting or trailering and we wanted an enclosed head. For us, it's more about being on the water with friends than how fast or how agile. We also didn't want a labor of love, since I have that going with my car already.
