Boat Advice

[Shamu]

I am considering buying a boat for water skiing and casual family fun. At one time my parents lived on a lake and we had an outboard ski boat, a Winner fiberglass with a 60 Merc.

 

At this time I am totally out of touch as to what I should consider. Money is a concern, I would like to stay under $25,000.00 and that is even high.

 

I will want a trailer but would like to rent a slip for the season. How much are slips?

 

Outboard or inboard, brand, aluminum or fiberglass, Bayliner, Crestliner or what?

 

Used or new...... I am leaning to used as most cost effective. With the economy I expect many good used boats are available. Also many may persons buy boats and then decide it's not for them.

 

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

Consider me a total noob on the topic.

[Dark Asylumn]

well I personally would rather have an inboard motor. much easier to fix when its broken.if you have any mechanical skills inboard would probably be best as the cost to fix is much less expensive

[deerejon]

If i recall you are in the pocons somewhere no?

You might be interested in this...it was one i came across...I'm ALWAYS lookin'.....

http://poconos.craigslist.org/boa/2491445618.html

Its well below your budget and with the savings you can fix the seats and such.....

 

DJ

[LtLaszlo]

There are soo many options out there Shamu, it really comes down to what you will do with it. I had for 16 years a Hurricane Fun Deck, that was a great family boat. It was basically a pontoon layout on a hull with a 100HP motor. Great for kids and entertaining, safe as it "fenced" in the kids (or drunks), but could tube and pull small kids skiing or tubing. But as my kids are now older, I sold it and picked up a 1990 Supra, inboard ski boat with a very clean Ford 351 (265 HP). Has VERY much power for skiing, but holds only 6 or 7 even with the open bow (the old boat held 9 or 10). While it is a 1990, it had only 324 hours on it (that's like 16 hours per summer - which are short here in Mich). It's also lower profile, like most ski boats so it takes water over the bow if your slow into a swell. I don't mind that since we're out to get wet anyway, but if it's colder and your just cruising, some guests might not like it!! I shopped a lot before buying and these are many deals, like you said. Like Dark said, I like the inboard over I/O, since there's one less mechanical failure possible (the trim mechanics). Good luck and enjoy!!

 

[DiRTySancHez]

I ben into boating for a long time now....I currently own a 2005 Sea Ray 22' sport open bow. It has a 300 hrs. motor, inboard, and I love it. used ones like it are going in your price range. I have owned bayliners but they seem to lose their value quickly and dont hold up. Ive also owned four winns boats and they are good ones. The trick is to find one thats been cared for. Personally Id stick with the inboard motor, more reliable and easy to work on, much like a car. Good luck and when ya get it have fun!

[billyblade]

me and my wife have entertained the idea for the longest, but at the end of the day she always says...

"you know what a boat is? it's a hole in the water you poor money into...." kind of discouraging for me...good thing she aint your wife. Good luck with the boat, i'm sure you'll enjoy the hell out of it..i know i would. If was me i would go with the party barge. If i could afford a boat, i could also afford a Seadoo for fun with speed. Those things can even pull skiiers.

[Blackbart]

There is some good advice here...I have only bought one new boat in my life and I have owned 8 different boats...New boats lose value quicker than most anything else so there are always very good deals on used one if you look around...

[widowmaker]

billyblade

me and my wife have entertained the idea for the longest, but at the end of the day she always says...

"you know what a boat is? it's a hole in the water you poor money into...." kind of discouraging for me...good thing she aint your wife. Good luck with the boat, i'm sure you'll enjoy the hell out of it..i know i would. If was me i would go with the party barge. If i could afford a boat, i could also afford a Seadoo for fun with speed. Those things can even pull skiiers.

 i kind agree. i've had boats and jet skies before and found out that boat stands for bust out another thousand. so i got out of them. still love boating. just on other peoples boats.lol

[Ferret]

Been boating all my life.... what your slips would cost would vary greatly on location.

 

From what it sounds like from your post, you need a "runabout".  If you are going to pull skiers/ tubes, you need at LEAST a 150 HP engine.   Inboard/ outbard is a matter of preference, functionally it makes little difference, as long as you have good "trim" control.

 

Bart is right, buying a "new" boat is kinda crazy, as they are god-awfully expensive new, and lose value quickly once used.  If you can find a well-maintained used boat, that is definitely the way to go.  The engine is the primary component of a boat, boat engines are usually designed to be rugged & durable - and just like a car engine, if you can find one that is well-maintained (that is the key), it is just about as good as a new one. 

 

I worked for Brunswick for a while (they make & own Mercury engines), and I would recommend to stay the hell away from Mercury engines if at all possible.  Bombadrier/ Johnson, Honda, and Yamaha are the best outboard manufacturers there are.  But again, stay the hell away from Mercury.

 

If you fish at all, I would recommend a fish & ski combo runabout, getting strictly a ski boat kinda limits what you can do.... and "fishing" is a damn good way to escape the house/ wife/ kids for a little while (fishing rods are optional, if you know what I mean).

 

Good luck with it, but I would recommend as a starter, to get something flexible in usage & reasonably priced, definitely go with a fiberglass hull (you'll need that weight to pull skiers)..... whenever you get accustomed to it & figure out exactly what you are wanting, you can trade/ upgrade to exactly what you want.

 

Again, I *LOVE* getting out on my boat, I fish to "get away", but with my fish & ski rig w/outboard (Yamaha 125 HP) I can either take the kids tubing/skiing, or just go fishing by myself.

 

I paid about $12,000 for my rig, it serves me well.... and for just a little more than the cost of one years' family vacation, my family can have a little vacation every weekend for years.  Yeah, it takes some money to have a boat, but life is short, and you can have GREAT times & memories for years.   You can get a damn good boat for $15K, but maybe consider towing it (if you have the vehiccle to do so), and save that berthing/docking expense.

[Dark Asylumn]

when deciding between an alumn. hull and a fiberglass hull talk to people around the lakes you will be getting the most use out of. up in wi the lake we spent 90% of our time on had lots of stumps that were easy to hit. we wouldnt use our bayliner in there, we would have to use our alumn. sea star. just a heads up

[GixXxer]

I want a boat 

[Shamu]

Deerejohn, yes, I am in the Poconos and for many years my parents had a lake front home on Lake Wallepaupack. So thanks for the link.

 

From the rest of the posts I am thinking more inboard motor, the comments make sense. When I was a kid outboards were the thing, Evinrude, Johnson and Merc.

 

Tomorrow on my way home I plan to stop at two boat dealers, one at Lake Wallenpaupack and the other near Quakertown, PA. Just trying to get my feet wet and gain a little experience on what my needs and costs will be. I doubt I will buy for this years season but suspect late fall would actually be a good tome to negotiate.

 

Obviously I need to go through an educational process on a decision like this.

 

I might even surf E-bay. because of my business travels I have a larger market area to work than many buyers.

 

Thanks for the comments, all are appreciated and considered.

 

One more thing, should I trailer the boat instead of a slip rental isn't it difficult to launch a boat by yourself? I was spoiled as a kid, we had a private dock and no need of a trailer.

[LtLaszlo]

Ferret makes a good point - if you like to fish there are some other factors. Trolling rig? Livewell? Do you want a "head" /porta-potty on it (or jump in a pee!!)? I wsn't concerned about the fishing myself, since I'm on the water and best fishing seems to be off my dock - spend hours out on boat only to come back and do better off dock (go figure) or I have a little pedal boat.  (Didn't mention earlier, but I paid under $10K for mine.) The convenience of being on the water already is very nice. Don't know how it is by you, Shamu, but here in southeast Michigan if you don't trailer to the launch/water by 6:00 AM you might not get on for hours since public launches fill up fast, especially on weekends. So go used and use the savings for a slip?? Just a thought and again....good luck!!

[Blackbart]

Shamu

Deerejohn, yes, I am in the Poconos and for many years my parents had a lake front home on Lake Wallepaupack. So thanks for the link.

 

From the rest of the posts I am thinking more inboard motor, the comments make sense. When I was a kid outboards were the thing, Evinrude, Johnson and Merc.

 

Tomorrow on my way home I plan to stop at two boat dealers, one at Lake Wallenpaupack and the other near Quakertown, PA. Just trying to get my feet wet and gain a little experience on what my needs and costs will be. I doubt I will buy for this years season but suspect late fall would actually be a good tome to negotiate.

 

Obviously I need to go through an educational process on a decision like this.

 

I might even surf E-bay. because of my business travels I have a larger market area to work than many buyers.

 

Thanks for the comments, all are appreciated and considered.

 

One more thing, should I trailer the boat instead of a slip rental isn't it difficult to launch a boat by yourself? I was spoiled as a kid, we had a private dock and no need of a trailer.

 

Most boats that would be used for fishing or skiing can be loaded and unloaded by yourself...The biggest concern there would be how busy the ramps are and how long you would have it tied up loading/unloading...There are many inconsiderate people that wait until they pull on the ramp before they unstrap, put in the plug, ect. and tie up the ramp way longer than they should...As far as buying you are right about the deals being better in the fall...Just make sure you test drive the boat you are thinking about and preferably pull a skier or two with it if at all possible...No two identical boats perform the same...

[Shamu]

Darn, did not have time to stop and look at boats.

 

This is where I will visit and a link to their pre-owned boats:

 

http://www.highwaymarine.com/pre_owned_list.asp?newused=U&mfg=0&category=0&TypeID=0&ModelYearFrom=&ModelYearThru=&PriceFrom=&PriceThru=&lengthMin=&lengthMax=&feetmeters=feet&s=search&industry=2&submit_form.x=18&submit_form.y=8

 

It;s not too far from my house.

[StormCrow]

i launch my boat by myself all the time... but then again i only got a 14ft aluminum with a 15hp

[iFuerza]

there are pros and cons to everything

Fibeglass: does a great job as absorbing bigger waves found on lakes because there are a lot of people doing what you are looking to do, but then again fiberglass needs maintance, gelcoat, waxing, and not to mention if you hit something with it, it can be a hefty pricetag to fix it. i would reccomend this for your application

Aluminum: easy to take care of, needs repaining every couple years, very durable, not as nice of a ride, a hole is easy to fix, but they are also not as nic eto ride about in, and in cold water the aluminum lets you know its colder water because everything gets cold

Outboard: great type of motor, maybe could cause obstructions for the rear observer, most crusing and ski boats are i/o o believe 

I/o: inboard/outboard: the engine is inside the boat and the prop is on the outside, this is a good feature because you can trim your engine which means u can adjust how the boat rides in the water my adjusting a knob, for example if your bow is sitting high when on plane and its hard to see in fromt u can trim the motor down and it lowers the front, it gives it a nice ride and if timmed right your motor can get better GPH (gallons per hour) because it doesnt have to wark as hard. bad side is if something goes wrong, theres more places for it to go wrogn in

inboard is untrimmable, personally i dislike these but they have less to fix if something goes wrong.

 

honestly do your homework, i can see your are doing it right now by posting here, all boats are great, create memories, but the most important thing to having a boat is making sure you keep on top of the maintencance, unlike cars boat engines are much more suseptical to breakage because of the enviroment they are used. but keep up on the maintenance, also i would reccomend taking a safety class some states require you do, and in that class you learn about all the parts of a bat, what you are legally required to do and so on and so fourth. 

[Blackbart]

iFuerza

there are pros and cons to everything

Fibeglass: does a great job as absorbing bigger waves found on lakes because there are a lot of people doing what you are looking to do, but then again fiberglass needs maintance, gelcoat, waxing, and not to mention if you hit something with it, it can be a hefty pricetag to fix it. i would reccomend this for your application

Aluminum: easy to take care of, needs repaining every couple years, very durable, not as nice of a ride, a hole is easy to fix, but they are also not as nic eto ride about in, and in cold water the aluminum lets you know its colder water because everything gets cold

Outboard: great type of motor, maybe could cause obstructions for the rear observer, most crusing and ski boats are i/o o believe 

I/o: inboard/outboard: the engine is inside the boat and the prop is on the outside, this is a good feature because you can trim your engine which means u can adjust how the boat rides in the water my adjusting a knob, for example if your bow is sitting high when on plane and its hard to see in fromt u can trim the motor down and it lowers the front, it gives it a nice ride and if timmed right your motor can get better GPH (gallons per hour) because it doesnt have to wark as hard. bad side is if something goes wrong, theres more places for it to go wrogn in

inboard is untrimmable, personally i dislike these but they have less to fix if something goes wrong.

 

honestly do your homework, i can see your are doing it right now by posting here, all boats are great, create memories, but the most important thing to having a boat is making sure you keep on top of the maintencance, unlike cars boat engines are much more suseptical to breakage because of the enviroment they are used. but keep up on the maintenance, also i would reccomend taking a safety class some states require you do, and in that class you learn about all the parts of a bat, what you are legally required to do and so on and so fourth. 

 

iFuerza has touched on the most important part of owning a boat...Safety...It doesn't matter what size boat you are in you are legally responsable for the safety of it's passengers and its operation...No one and I mean absolutely no one gets in my boat with out wearing a life preserver...Children must wear them at all time and adults may remove them only if the motor is not running... 

[Ferret]

Being from Tennessee, I thought I'd share some sage advice with you about some of our boating technology.....

 

 

 

 

 

And finally - the Tennessee Coast Guard:

 

 

[Blackbart]

Damit Weasel, You guys have stolen that technology from us in Arkansas...LOL...

[iFuerza]

i took my class from the US Coast Guarx Aux, it was a good idea, sailboats when uder sail always have the right of way, you learn what 1,2 or 5+ horn blasts mean, light signals, learn that if there is an accident on the water regardless of who hit who, both people are at fault, what to do when fueling with an inboard gas tank as pooposed to a external commonly found on smaller outboards, what bouys mean, i mean this is shit that people need to know, its like driving with out a license, and no idea of what to do, boating is fun, but safety is paramount. it costs 30 bucks to get into the class and it pays off and could save u thousands. also all boats need certain things depending on their sizes, and even if you meet the requirements, its a good idea to have redunancy, for example if you need 1 fire extingisher, have 2 1 in the front and 1 in the rear, and if you take a course you will know why. i a not a worry wart either, but i have been effected by a boating accident where a family member was paralized due to a mishap, so i preach it, but then seccondly have fun, also your states BAC level is usually the same for boating so dont get a DUI, and the beer, it can wait

[Bushape]

Just do your homework and get a nice pre-owned boat. A new one just isn't worth it. If you look around enough you will see something that catches your and your needs. You have a lot of good advice, so go out and play. You can usually get better deals just before Christmas. Or in the winter.

I have a 17' open bow Larson and a 24' Cuddy Cabin, sleeps 4, SeaRay.

It is a lot of fun and your grandkids will love you. That is what is cool is seeing how much fun the young ones have.

[Sweatnbullets]

Anyone who says you should get an Inboard is insane, It is a car engine, with a drive sticking out, If you enjoy maintaining your car, then an inboard is for you... If you just wanna turn the key and go, year after year, get a 4 stroke outboard on any boat design you like. Personally i like a walk through windshield... good for all weather, get a 19 to 21 foot Aluminum or Fiberglass, Used... Prefferably not used alot...  Do not by a bayliner... Junk...    I have a 17 ft Alumacraft with a walk through windshield, 90 hp merc outboard, And fish lakes Like Lake of the Woods, Lake Michigan, and Small lakes all over Minnesota.  About 2 hours of Maint a year

[LtLaszlo]

Haha!! Too funny Ferret!! Hey, as long as it floats and you can control where you're going, it's a good boat!!

 

 iFuerza...good point. It's hard to believe how easy it is to get on a boat and go and you only need to be 14 (at least in Mich). The age is younger, yet there is less control than on the road. No lines, signs...just common sense which many are lacking. In Michigan the "rule of thumb" is you travel a counterclockwise direction and it's amazing how five boats will abide and one ass will be going full bore clockwise bewteen them all!! And that's when their sober!! You can only shake your head a watch what's going on around you. Obviously, bigger water is a bit easier since you'll have more space to move aound.

[StormCrow]

LtLaszlo

Haha!! Too funny Ferret!! Hey, as long as it floats and you can control where you're going, it's a good boat!!

 

 iFuerza...good point. It's hard to believe how easy it is to get on a boat and go and you only need to be 14 (at least in Mich). The age is younger, yet there is less control than on the road. No lines, signs...just common sense which many are lacking. In Michigan the "rule of thumb" is you travel a counterclockwise direction and it's amazing how five boats will abide and one ass will be going full bore clockwise bewteen them all!! And that's when their sober!! You can only shake your head a watch what's going on around you. Obviously, bigger water is a bit easier since you'll have more space to move aound.

Here in Ontario i had to take a 3 hour online course then a 1.5 hour Test to get my Pleasure Craft License. You need it for everything in the water with a motor. It costs like $40 and it gives you ALOT of info. You need an 80% min on the test to pass, but if you fail, retests are free, just gotta wait 24hr. I spent almost 4 hours doing the course (i took a shitload of notes) and got 92% on the test and its good for life. I know around here they are VERY hard on people boating. They are checking all the time for licenses and drinking.