looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

[t11t5]

Anything you can think of in helping me decide what brand, year. Im not sure what I should buy. I want an open bow. Im looking to spend around 20-25 thousand. I had a boat before but sold it. Im going to do water sports and cruising around. Any good or bad experiences?

 

[ziggy]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

i dunno man. yer choices are pretty wide open for that kinda scratch.
ya lookin at new boats or used boats?
i/o, ob, inboard or jet?
lake, big lake, river or ocean boatin destinations?

for a first few suggestions.

i'd go with removable carpet or no carpet if yer gonna be doin watersports. i just had to dry my carpet the last 2 days in the sun for haveing to much watersports fun last weekend....

get the most hp ya can. ya can't never have engough.....

check for how servicable the engine compartment is? can ya remove the sparkplugs w/o disassembly of the engine? or get the starter off w/o removing the engine. stuff like that.....

good luck on yer adventure.....

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

here is a long tread, i had the great pleasure to be ask to test drive, and try to tear this boat apart. this is the Boat to beat in the 2008 line. i have never treated as horribly is we did this one. top quality.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=198208&highlight=test+drive

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

I'm kind of addicted to the fish n' ski European style boats. I was going to buy the Nitro 189 Sport before I ran across my 95 Skeeter 200SL at half the price.

I love the diversity of these boats. They are great for getting in shallow coves for fishing, but have enough room and muscle for skiing behind. Also they don't make you feel like you're fishing off an oceanliner like the Bayliner type Fish n' skis do.

http://www.nitroboats.com/boat/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gallery&boat=2132

 

[KCook]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

As ziggy said, your choices remain wide open. A couple of decisions to narrow this down would be size and type. The open bow feature can be found on I/O bowriders, I/O deckboats, OB deckboats, OB dual consoles, and OB fish-n-ski boats. Here are links to some more threads that may help -

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=107914

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=37688

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=203128

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=208705

Kelly Cook

 

[t11t5]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

There is a decent size lake nearby where I took my first boat. I will more than likely just go there. Or I will go to the other 3 lakes nearby. Im looking for a I/O bowrider. I have seen the removable carpet. I think that is a great idea. I plan on wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, and maybe some fishing. I would like a 20-23 footer. I have been looking at used boats. Its close to winter now so I will probably wait till next spring. But until then I will research and keep looking.

 

[KCook]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

Since you are shopping for a used boat, not new, then may as well shoot for the more premium boats. Examples: Bryant, Chaparral, Cobalt, and Sea Ray. Never know what will turn up on a used boat search.

Kelly

 

[t11t5]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

My friend bought a 22' Chaparral yesterday. Im going on it tomorrow. I do like the brands mentioned above. I plan on searching and keep
on looking.

 

[Kimper]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

Sounds like you are looking for a boat similiar to the one I just bought with the great help of the folks on this forum!
Make sure you read this thread:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=208705

 

[t11t5]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

Thanks for the thread to read. I was considering a V6 but after reading that I am going to get the V8. I did go on the chaparral. It was very nice, But it could use a V8. Pulled me up on the skis and wakeboard very good. When the throttle was pushed all the way I was a little disappionted in its take off. The boat was sweet. I would buy one but with a V8.

What year did boats get away from wood being used?

 

[KCook]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

While most builders have been working on replacing the wood construction in their designs, very few can claim to be 100% wood free. Even today. Here is a thread on another site on the wood issue -

http://boards.trailerboats.com/cgi-bin/trailerboats/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=001687

Kelly

 

[t11t5]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

I really would like a baja. Are they worth the money? The 20-25k I want to spend don't buy anything near new in the Baja catagory. I really like the boats with the Baja style. I have my mind set on these so far. Any suggestions?

 

[KCook]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

Least expensive Baja models are their Islander series. But frankly, their core line is the Outlaw series. I would dearly love an Outlaw myself. As for the Islanders, decent boats, but not a lot different than the more common brands.

Kelly

 

[t11t5]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

Are openbow Outlaws available much. I don't find them often.

 

[KCook]

Re: looking for a boat. Any suggestions.

No, so far as I know all Outlaw models have a cuddy cabin, no open bow. Baja's line for bowriders is their Islander line.

Kelly