Opinions on new boat purchase

[cedarbluffvol]

So I am looking at purchasing a new boat sometime in the next couple of months, no immediate rush but trying to get as much information as possible. I am pretty much set on going new as I have owned used boat previously and fiancé and I would just prefer to go new. Also pretty set on a Bowrider at this stage, some of the deck boats are ok but for the most part just looking at Bowrider, and personal preference I would prefer I/O.

I live in East Tennessee so the boat will be used in fresh water only, we have a couple of lakes in the area so that’s where it will be used. Most of the time it will be fiancé and I (300lbs combined), and on occasion 2-4 friends...probably do some tubing once in awhile but most of the time will be used for cruising around. We want a V6, something that will be as reliable as one can hope for with a boat, plenty of power, at least decent on gas for this boat class, and prefer to stay under $40k out the door including trailer.

As of now now these are the main boats I am looking at...

Tahoe 500TS

Stingray 198

Chapparal H20 19 Sport

Regal 1900ESX

Monterey M-20

Glastron GT185


all are pretty similar in price, around $32-$38k, so all in our price range...the first 3 have dealers 30 minutes or less from my house, the other 3 all are at least a 2 hour drive, so my initial thought is for ease of needing any work done to go with 1 of the first 3 but curious to everyone’s thoughts on that issue.

i am looking at the V6 models for all of these boats, 2017 or 2018, so if anyone owns any of these boat I would love to hear your opinions on the topic or from anyone, also any suggestions on others boats that fit the description. Thank you.

 

[JimS123]

IMHO Tahoes are low end and I wouldn't buy one.

My Stingray was bought new and its on its 34th season now with almost no issues other than tune ups, etc, so I can't say anything bad about them. My son bought one new as well and his has been perfect too.

Chapparals are fine and i wouldn't hesitate to buy one if there was no Stingray dealer around.

The other 3 don't float my boat and the lack of a local dealer would rule them out.

Last year i bought a new Boston Whaler , and after 50 years of owning boats its better than all the other boats I ever owned, combined. But it wouldn't meet your budget.

 

[cedarbluffvol]

Appreciate the response, I haven’t heard great things about Tahoe’s to this point so I have been leaning towards the Stingray or Chapparal as dealer proximity is a strong factor to me.

 

[tpenfield]

:welcome:

Are you new to boating? Have you and the 'Admiral' taken a boating safety course?

Are you looking for the 'best' brand of the bunch? I'd take Regal, Chaparral, and maybe Monterey as the better brands. Don't expect a new boat to be trouble free, they are often far from it.

Are you going to do your own maintenance and repairs? Relying on dealers for these things can be frustrating.

 

[cedarbluffvol]

Not new to boating no, previously owned a 1992 Sea Ray but have been without the past 4-5 years. I have my license and took classes years ago, she has not but plans to before too long. The simpler routine maintenance I will probably do myself, but issues that are covered but warranty or anything major I would like to be able to take to a dealership obviously.

 

[briangcc]

What would you like to know about the Chap? I have the Ski & Fish, 2017 model (see signature line). Difference being I have a trolling motor, fish finder, and livewell under the rear seat.

I'd stay away from Tahoe as well....and the others you mentioned are a distance to travel to for warranty purposes.

 

[roffey]

I own a Stingray 198 and purchased it new. I found the fit and finish a little lacking, having said that they are fast and a blast to drive. Mine is a 4.3 carbureted motor. The new ones are injected with 30 more hp. My boat will do 54. The new ones are almost 60. The Stingray is defiantly a lake boat and will not handle big chop well. I have had problems with the boat every year I have owned it but they have all been fixed.

The big question is would I purchase it again if I had the chance? Answer is yes I would, I love the boat and get positive comments on it all the time.

 

[cedarbluffvol]

Briangcc,

appreciate the response, would be curious to know any information about its performance as far as top speed or fuel efficiency as that information has been hard to find on the newer models like yours, also any experience with say 4 passengers and pulling a tube as well? Have you had any issues out of the boat since you purchased it new? Thanks for your time.

 

[cedarbluffvol]

Roffey, appreciate the response, what year is your Stingray? Curious as to how big of a lake you use the boat on, I am in East Tennessee so we’ve got a couple decent sized lakes in Norris, Cherokee and Douglas that get some decent boat traffic so the main channels can get a bit choppy, curious your thoughts on how this boat would hold up under that?

For the past year plus since I’ve tossed around the idea of a new boat I have been leaning Stingray due to their performance and fuel efficiency and also my father having great success with his, but as my search has become more serious I wanted to consider others as well. My take has been pretty similar to what you mentioned, it doesn’t have the same bells and whistles as some of the others or the graphics etc, but for just reliability and performance it seemingly ranks right up there.

thanks for your information

 

[jkust]

Ok, take my opinions with a grain of salt as I have a lake home on a large lake/lots of boats and live and breath boats. I have no allegiance to any brand. The best for the money wins.


Tahoe 500TS - I think of the Tahoe as high content with a fishing heritage that look nice but are ultra, ultra low end. Fine for a first boat.

Stingray 198 Great to go fast with low power at the expense of a great ride. Quality is not intended to be high as is reflected in the price. Stingrays to me are boat in your fleet, not your only boat.

Chapparal H20 19 Sport I've had two chaps but both were/are SSi. The H20 was the response from the company to the economic downturn to keep selling boats without the same quality or features as the SSi models. SSi level for many is overkill. Still a nice boat and popular because you still get Chap design but just a lighter, watered down version. Chap has all but abandoned their SSi line of boats for more affordable H20 models and Suncoast models with outboards (not considered affordable) as well as the upper end SSx line.

Regal 1900ESX I like Regal

Monterey M-20 I like Monterey

Glastron GT185 Glastron has become adept at distracting from their horrendous build quality and design with shiny speaker grills and retro gauges. My neighbor has a brand new 22 foot GT which is 24 feet with swim platform. Possibly the lowest quality boat I've ever seen on the lake considering the cost. He should have named it Corner Cut. For 50+K he could have bought a fantastic used boat. I like the earlyish to mid 2000's Glastrons for the money.
Used boats are where it is at because even lake people don't realize you are on a five year old boat that cost half what the new version is. Enthusiasts might but I'm surprised how little people who live on the lake actually pay attention.

 

[roffey]

My boat is a 2014. As I mentioned the boat is not a big water boat and chop will take the fun out of your ride. Two foot waves are ok but much bigger than that and your going to get wet and bumped around. My lake is 10 miles long but is sheltered so we don't normally get big waves.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...dd21d6cd01e1b7!8m2!3d44.7036437!4d-76.5586871

 

[jkust]

My boat is a 2014. As I mentioned the boat is not a big water boat and chop will take the fun out of your ride. Two foot waves are ok but much bigger than that and your going to get wet and bumped around. My lake is 10 miles long but is sheltered so we don't normally get big waves.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...dd21d6cd01e1b7!8m2!3d44.7036437!4d-76.5586871

Wow, you guys have a ton of lakes up there. The wake boat waves are the worst and even worse in our sheltered areas as that's where they all hang out on the average windy day.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

A nice day to boat here on Lake Erie is anything less than 4' chop. Just like guys that ride Bikes, not the pedal type, weather must be better and better every time we have a birthday. I cringe at some of the weather we rode our bikes in and the conditions we took the 12'boat out in. See my saying below. Good luck on the new boat buy, I'm jealous and happy for you. Shopping for toys is the best shopping ever.

 

[briangcc]

Briangcc,

appreciate the response, would be curious to know any information about its performance as far as top speed or fuel efficiency as that information has been hard to find on the newer models like yours, also any experience with say 4 passengers and pulling a tube as well? Have you had any issues out of the boat since you purchased it new? Thanks for your time.

Can't comment on top speed yet. I'm still under my 20 hour break in. Record flooding in my part of the country last year so boating was a no-go/slow-go proposition. Marina claims 50 and if you check YouTube there are reviews of older models hitting around 49 so I think that's reasonable. I've had it into the low 40's so far.

I can say this, I can take a hard left or right turn (and when I mean hard I mean the passenger is looking down/up at me) without the prop blowing out and no chine walk. I liken it to sports car performance. At lower speeds, I can turn a donught in the length of the boat (maybe a couple feet more) but it's an incredibly tight turning. No complaints. Mine came from the marina with a 4 blade 19P aluminum prop and it can definitely get going. I had my family of 5 (6yr, 4yr, 8mo old) and my wife's brother along with his girlfriend out last weekend and there were no complaints in the speed I could maintain while in break-in. So 4 adults, 3 small kiddos total. Pulling a tube should be a non-issue.

As far as fuel efficiency, again can't comment as break-in requires constant adjustment/varying of the throttle so any info is totally skewed. I will say that boats are terribly inefficient so I wouldn't go into this thinking that one boat is better than the other. A lot of that has to do with useage and the ability of the captain to trim the boat correctly. You could have two identical boats with different skill level of captains and get two totally different answers as to how much fuel the boat used. Water activities such as skiing and tubing chew through gas no matter what boat you have.

Issues - I had one with the trim up (or was it down) solenoid. I'm pretty sure I figured out what caused the issue too - operator error. I stored the bimini in the boat while trailering and the top was up against the controls. Must have lodged itself with one of the trim buttons active and caused the solenoid to burn up. I store it the other way around now so that the top cannot contact the controls and I'm good to go.

Only thing I've upgraded thus far is I added SeaDek (see my post entitled This Years Upgrade/Update) to see what I did and how much it cost. Going off what Chap is offering as a swim pad, I wouldn't buy this option from them.

Other than that, synching my wife's iPhone 6 Plus to the Jensen radio was a no-go. My Galaxy S6 synched up fine. Controls are miserable to use though and I'm upgrading next year to a Rockford Fosgate either PMX-2 or PMX-3. This is a personal preference and if you only use the radio for the radio function or play through a USB thumbdrive you'll be fine.


What my wife wishes it had was the pop-up cleats - cleaner lines. This is optional on the Glastron...yes I looked at them too!

What I wished it had for my kids - hand hold in the swim ladder cover to make boarding a little easier. My boys have figured out they can grab the cleat to get on the boat. I'll just add a knotted rope to help them get out but other boats do have a cut out in the cover as an aid to get out of the water. Minor in my book right now.

What I don't like - plastic drain plug at the transom. I prefer brass and its odd that this was a corner cut, in my mind anyways. I have a brass unit I bought way back when and either I'll have the marina replace it at the end of the season or I'll do it. Need to check with Chap to see what ramifications it has with the warranty in this regard.

Ask away...I have the deluxe package as well on mine.

 

[Cortes100]

For warranty, most things would be engine related, so guessing Merc power, any Mercruiser dealer will help you regardless of brand of boat. Our purchase dealer is a couple hours away but have found a couple good local Merc guys for any service.
I too use our boat in small inland lakes (6-12 miles long), and trailer to several locations.
I have a 2016 Glastron GTS185 c/w Shorelander trailer and after one season it's doing just fine. Don't see any quality issues different than my last Searay or my buddies '16 Chapparel. It looks good, floor layout was roomier than others in its class, nice vinyl on the interior seats / upholstry. Have not had any warranty problems with the boat. Handles fine in small chop found on smaller lakes.
As for the engine, the V6 is perfect for this sized unit. We went with the new Merc 4.5L 200hp version. Lots of power, runs real quiet, good on fuel. Engine performance doesn't seem to matter with full load or not. One outing we had 4 adults in boat and pulling 2 tubes with adults. Another cool feature is this adaptive cruise control. Comes in real handy with water sports.

 

[jkust]

For warranty, most things would be engine related, so guessing Merc power, any Mercruiser dealer will help you regardless of brand of boat. Our purchase dealer is a couple hours away but have found a couple good local Merc guys for any service.
I too use our boat in small inland lakes (6-12 miles long), and trailer to several locations.
I have a 2016 Glastron GTS185 c/w Shorelander trailer and after one season it's doing just fine. Don't see any quality issues different than my last Searay or my buddies '16 Chapparel. It looks good, floor layout was roomier than others in its class, nice vinyl on the interior seats / upholstry. Have not had any warranty problems with the boat. Handles fine in small chop found on smaller lakes.
As for the engine, the V6 is perfect for this sized unit. We went with the new Merc 4.5L 200hp version. Lots of power, runs real quiet, good on fuel. Engine performance doesn't seem to matter with full load or not. One outing we had 4 adults in boat and pulling 2 tubes with adults. Another cool feature is this adaptive cruise control. Comes in real handy with water sports.

My neighbor's new Glastron warranty issues so far have mostly been interior component issues with the engine only having a low fluid alarm that he couldn't diagnose himself for some reason. Stereo has gone out, speakers have stopped working, other trim and interior issues. All not totally unexpected for a new boat. Chaparral hasn't produced a 16 foot boat for decades so tough to compare anything pre 2000's to 90's and previous build technology. The equivalent Chaparral ssi to the neighbors new GT is almost double the price so can't fairly compare as they are not in the same ballpark and have a different demographic. Even the gas tank is very small so every single little detail is different except for the great equalizer being engines.

 

[briangcc]

For warranty, most things would be engine related, so guessing Merc power, any Mercruiser dealer will help you regardless of brand of boat. Our purchase dealer is a couple hours away but have found a couple good local Merc guys for any service.
I too use our boat in small inland lakes (6-12 miles long), and trailer to several locations.
I have a 2016 Glastron GTS185 c/w Shorelander trailer and after one season it's doing just fine. Don't see any quality issues different than my last Searay or my buddies '16 Chapparel. It looks good, floor layout was roomier than others in its class, nice vinyl on the interior seats / upholstry. Have not had any warranty problems with the boat. Handles fine in small chop found on smaller lakes.
As for the engine, the V6 is perfect for this sized unit. We went with the new Merc 4.5L 200hp version. Lots of power, runs real quiet, good on fuel. Engine performance doesn't seem to matter with full load or not. One outing we had 4 adults in boat and pulling 2 tubes with adults. Another cool feature is this adaptive cruise control. Comes in real handy with water sports.

Not so much. Anything can go wrong with a new boat. For instance, my 2005 Four Winns (I ordered it with all the options I wanted) had the following crop up after a few weeks of ownership:

*Water in the bilge - selling marina couldn't figure it out, said it was normal for the pump to run a minute after retrieving the boat from a day on the water. Trailered it an hour to a different Volvo marina and they found the bellows were loose. I got reimbursed by Volvo, eventually, but had to shell out the initial repair cost.

*Void behind the transom tie down - actually cracked the gel on the outside. Selling marina fixed this.

*Hourmeter wasn't working - it was hooked up backwards. I think this was a dealer installed item which is why it was wrong, dealer was a bafoon.


To the OP, I see you left Bayliner off your list. Some here will say you should stay away but they're going off their old reputation. The newer boats are quite nice, albeit with less frills than other boats. My '99 was rock solid and I had no complaints other than the now defunct Force engine sitting on it. They're mercury powered now so the dealer support is there. Might want to check them out.

Another that I saw at the Syracuse NY boat show this past spring was Pioneer Boats. Look at the Venture 197. While a lot less frills they seemed to be decent quality. And yes they're outboard powered so there's less maintenance. The ones we looked at were rigged with Honda outboards.

One last one we looked at were Hurricane deck boats. Space of a toon with a hull of a v-hull.

Not sure where any of these fall in your price range but you might pick up one that's been sitting at a marina for a year at a discount so it may be possible. Dunno till you look. **The marina where I bought my current boat still has new '16 and '17 Chaps on the lot so it is quite possible to find a deal.

 

[Cortes100]

Chaparral hasn't produced a 16 foot boat for decades so tough to compare anything pre 2000's to 90's and previous build technology. .

Who said anything about a 16' boat, (my comment said '16, like in 2016). The Chap H20 19' is almost identical to mine, which are still new at the dealer.

 

[southkogs]

Not to throw an unnecessary rock into Norris Lake ...

cedarbluffvol have you looked at the Sea Ray SPX? They seem to have been working hard on their boats the last few years and most of the models I've looked at are pretty impressive. They build the Sea Rays in Knoxville (not sure exactly which models) and there is at least one dealer over there. That puts the dealer and the manufacturer in prime "annoying" range should you need to go that far.

The MSRP on their site is toward the top end of your range, but there's also an OB option available that might bump it down a little.

I've always liked the Chaparral boats, but I'm so far removed from buying new stuff that I really don't pay close attention to brand any longer.

 

[SkiGuy1980]

I agree that the Tahoe is more entry level than the others. I'd consider Glastron in the same range as far as quality. I don't know enough about the Stingray to weigh in on those - I saw several last fall when I was looking to buy and they seemed to have some quality built in. Not sure, but also heard those are built in Tennessee?

I love Chaps. As someone mentioned the H20 doesn't have all the bling of the SS, but they are still nice boats and made by those that know what they are doing. Same can be said for the Regal and the Monterey. Another good Tennessee boat is the Sea Ray... they went off the rails a little during the '08-09 downturn, but their boats are regaining their quality footing (in my opinion).

Hope you enjoy whatever you decide to buy!