Boat Guys

Adower · Jul 17, 2020

For the boat guys here. I am looking into buying a family boat to take out on the lake.

Would be using the boat mostly for day outings and tubing. Can anyone recommend a few brands/models of boats to look into? I’ve checked out a few Mastercraft x series and wakesetters but I don’t necessarily think we would do any wake boarding/wake surfing.

ON D BIT · Jul 17, 2020

Budget? My friend picked up a sweet New RI237 for just over $100k at the end of the season last year. Great buy. I’d look at the FI23 personally.

The centurions have the ram gate fill ballast which fill fast and I believe some of the best mpg on a wake boat. Like 30% better than Malibu.

Adower · Jul 17, 2020

ON D BIT said:
Budget? My friend picked up a sweet New RI237 for just over $100k at the end of the season last year. Great buy. I’d look at the FI23 personally.

The centurions have the ram gate fill ballast which fill fast and I believe some of the best mpg on a wake boat. Like 30% better than Malibu.

I’m looking at 35k for a budget. Looking at an early 2000 boat

velocicaur · Jul 17, 2020

I'm interested in this topic. A boat is about the only toy my family hasn't had. I'm looking for basically the same thing - a day boat to pull the little cousins around in tubes on a small lake. I knew boats were pricey but damn. I cannot justify that kind of price - at least for my first one. I'm looking for a small bow rider in the 17-19 foot range. Does a 3.XL boat have enough power to pull two tubes at a time at max capacity? What about the 4.3? Well, what kind of horsepower should I be looking for? I'm looking at the older (90s) Ski Natique(sp)/Mastercraft ski boats or a cheap-o Four Winns/Sea-Ray/Rinker. I know I'm buying into some problems but we would probably put on 60 hours max the first year. We have a pretty short summer in Michigan.

ON D BIT · Jul 17, 2020

For this budget you are looking for a well used boat. If you can find a mechanic to go over it before you purchase that could save you a lot of hassle. Good luck.

Adower · Jul 17, 2020

velocicaur said:
I'm interested in this topic. A boat is about the only toy my family hasn't had. I'm looking for basically the same thing - a day boat to pull the little cousins around in tubes on a small lake. I knew boats were pricey but damn. I cannot justify that kind of price - at least for my first one. I'm looking for a small bow rider in the 17-19 foot range. Does a 3.XL boat have enough power to pull two tubes at a time at max capacity? What about the 4.3? Well, what kind of horsepower should I be looking for? I'm looking at the older (90s) Ski Natique(sp)/Mastercraft ski boats or a cheap-o Four Winns/Sea-Ray/Rinker. I know I'm buying into some problems but we would probably put on 60 hours max the first year. We have a pretty short summer in Michigan.

Yeah it’s crazy the prices for a new boat. I saw you can get a 15 year loan on a boat I believe.

Adower · Jul 17, 2020

ON D BIT said:
For this budget you are looking for a well used boat. If you can find a mechanic to go over it before you purchase that could save you a lot of hassle. Good luck.

Thanks. I’ve seen a few older Mastercraft and Malibu’s that’s the in the 20k range with less than 300 hours of use in my area.

ON D BIT · Jul 18, 2020

Adower said:
Thanks. I’ve seen a few older Mastercraft and Malibu’s that’s the in the 20k range with less than 300 hours of use in my area.

Links? 300 hours on rebuilt motors?

coposrv · Jul 18, 2020

Should be able to find a really really nice low hr lake boat for 35k. Don’t listen to the idiots with multi year loans on 100k ski boats. In a decent year you’ll put less than a 100 hrs on it.

Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

1o1proof · Jul 18, 2020

Agree coposrv 100%! I also don't have SVTP money, which kind of holds me back. lol

We found a 2002 18' chaparral bow rider with the 4.3 and 330 hours for 6k at the start of this season. Needed a prop and cleaning but really that was it, was surprised how good the interior was. End of the season we will sell and repeat next year if we still want to go out.

I have always had 20 -22' boats in the past and will not have another 18'. They ride like crap compared to even a 20', just something to keep in mind while shopping.
There are tons of boats in this area and that helps with the pricing. Keep your eyes open, deals are out there.

nxhappy · Jul 18, 2020

stay away from the V drive shit, they have transmissions, and more problems. You want a merc cruiser stern drive and a merc cruiser v8 5.0 or 5.7 (chevy). More available parts and more reliable. Also stick with a 21+ foot, more stable in the water. For sure test the boat on the lake. Have a mechanic look it over if you can. If you can't, just make sure it has a good top speed. Ask if they have any service records. Check the oil and make sure it's not milky.

nxhappy · Jul 18, 2020

2001 SEARAY BOW RIDER 230 SIGNATURE - boats - by owner - marine sale

BOOGIE MAN · Jul 18, 2020

Couple things and I'll stfu and leave

1 - Boat = hole in the water you throw money in to
2 - Two happiest days of a boat owner's life: day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat
3 - it's better to know a friend with a boat and pay for beer and gas than it is to own a boat
4 - if you have a boat you know what you're doing every weekend: most of the time working on it or out on the water with it

Good luck with finding what you want. It's hard to beat life on the water

Posts and likes are not mine.

nxhappy · Jul 18, 2020

BOOGIE MAN said:
Couple things and I'll stfu and leave

1 - Boat = hole in the water you throw money in to
2 - Two happiest days of a boat owner's life: day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat
3 - it's better to know a friend with a boat and pay for beer and gas than it is to own a boat
4 - if you have a boat you know what you're doing every weekend: most of the time working on it or out on the water with it

Good luck with finding what you want. It's hard to beat life on the water

Posts and likes are not mine.

LOL very true. but hey ....ya gotta pay to play.

01yellercobra · Jul 18, 2020

My boat has been the cheapest vehicle I've owned since we bought it. And until this year has been dead reliable. I think it just has a corroded connection somewhere, but I'm too fat and lazy to go looking for it. So I'll be taking it to a mechanic to have it fixed.

It's a 2005 21.5' Sea Ray 200 Sport. Has the Mercruiser (Chevy) 5.0 in it. Tops out about 45mph. Has enough power to throw my kids around on tubes and a tank of gas usually lasts all day. We bought it used back in 2012 with 50 hours on it. I think we're up to 135 now. We don't get to take out as much as we like, but it's still fun to have.

oldstv · Jul 19, 2020

I have owned a boat since the early 80s. With out a doubt the best thing I ever bought. Pick the right one and take care of it and you will get most of your money back.
I like inboards because we surfe and wakeboard but they are also easy to sell. You should be able to get a 2005ish Mastercraft or Malibu for that money and have something you can keep for a couple of years to see if you like owning a boat.

03 Cobra DSG · Jul 19, 2020

BOOGIE MAN said:
Couple things and I'll stfu and leave

1 - Boat = hole in the water you throw money in to
2 - Two happiest days of a boat owner's life: day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat
3 - it's better to know a friend with a boat and pay for beer and gas than it is to own a boat
4 - if you have a boat you know what you're doing every weekend: most of the time working on it or out on the water with it

Good luck with finding what you want. It's hard to beat life on the water

Posts and likes are not mine.

Kinda sounds like my Cobra

1- Cobra= car that sits in garage, open hood throw money at it.

2- work on it during the week to break it on the weekends.

3- spend next week fixing what i broke.

4- wash it and repeat.

Sent from my SM-G950F using the svtperformance.com mobile app

velocicaur · Jul 19, 2020

The boat dealer rents out a pretty nice boat at ~430/day. I figure if I can get it on the water at 500/day that would be a great deal. We could go 5 times for 2500 bucks and not have to deal with any of the headaches. That is almost impossible to beat. Any boat of value will depreciate faster than that and all you have to do is turn the key and go.

2020 Bayliner VR5 Bowrider RENTAL 081 | Leaders RPM

SID297 · Jul 19, 2020

Only use EtOH Free fuel, period. My current boat has gas motors and I can't wait to get back into one with diesels.

capnkirk52 · Jul 19, 2020

ON D BIT said:
Budget?

The centurions have the ram gate fill ballast which fill fast and I believe some of the best mpg on a wake boat. Like 30% better than Malibu.

If you're buying a boat, MPG doesn't matter lol.

I'd get a used Mastercraft X30. You should find one in the $30,000-$40,000 range in the 2004-2005 era.

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