1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

[BMWboatski]

Hello all just bought a new home on the water in MI. Lake is good size and all-sports. Looking to buy first boat in next couple of months.

Noticed on topigraphical map lake is about 15ft in depth all around.

Moved in during the fall, but I did see skiers, tubers and fishing. Do I need to take the depth into consideration when purchasing a boat? Or is that plenty of depth for the type of activities I would be doing (Wakeboarding, Tubing, Fishing, cruising)


Looking at 20-22ft deck boats with I/O motors such as the Tahoe 216 wt, Larson, Four winns etc. Heard some good and bad things about these any reccomendations for a 17-25k budget?

Thanks you very much for the guidance.

 

[KCook]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Larson or Starcraft may be your best bang-for-the-buck. Here are links to more threads on deckboat selection -

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

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=267821

Kelly

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Thanks. what are your thoughts on the depth of the lake 12- 15ft average. No stumps mostly sand bottom with a lil vegetation near bottom, but am I safe with most motor types and a 21-22ft boat ?

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

nothing is gonna touch bottom if you are in 12ft of water requardless of motor.

even in 6ft id say you are generally safe tho i dont like being that shallow personally unless going slow as it can get real shallow real fast.

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

good to hear, the lake is 12-15 in most spots with a few sandbar near shore.

 

[H8tank]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

These are really fun boats, I would look for an I/O Hurricane: http://ads.boatboss.com/135_Detroit/8436_Hurricane_Fun_Deck_GS_202_I_O_deck_boat.html

 

[Mr Happy]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Welcome to boating. I would bet a lot of us are going to be jealous of you. Meaning we all would love to live on a lake and walk out to the boat every day after work.

As far as the depth of the lake, no problem. Most boats will not hit bottom until you are in 3 to 4 feet of water. When looking for boats ask for the specifications. You will see overall length, beam, which is the width of the boat, a one foot difference is huge. Then you have the draft of the boat or how deep does the boat sit in water.

I own a Sea Ray and will use the new 2009 210 Sundeck as an example.
Overall Length : 22' / 6.71 m
Beam : 8'4" / 2.56 m
Draft - Stern Drive Down : 40" / 99 cm (engine down in the water)
Draft - Stern Drive Up : 24" / 61 cm

Boats are like cars. Some owners will die for their brand or make. The other good thing is that boats and cars are alike. You come across owners of both who are anal-retentive about their boat. This is the kind of owner you want to buy your boat from.

Bottom line. There are a lot of great boat brands out there. Most have the same engine either a Mercury or a Volvo. The next is how much BLING do you want or really need.

I bought a 1991 Sea Ray 225 BR a few years ago for $13,000. If I changed the carpeting I am sure people would think the boat was new. Do not think you have to buy a new boat. Boats are not like cars in this matter.

First boat was a 1988 Four Winns 170 Horizon.

 

[Mr Happy]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

And yes, it is a buyers market out there. You can get a great deal.

For fun go to this site and type in your requirements, 20-22 feet, deck boat, price range. You're lucky that you live in a great boating state. BAM

http://www.boattrader.com/search/

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Thanks for the replies all, just like the boating market the housing market was a buyers as well, and i was able to get a great house on the water well under value. Thanks for the great links as well. Im thinking of starting with a pre-owned boat 2002-2006 depending on price and quality. Hurricane, fourwinns, rinker, and larson all seem to fit what i am looking for, just a matter of time.

I know the winter is the best time to buy price wise, but is it ok to buy a boat without test driving?

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

just cause it is winter doesnt mean you cant take it on the water.... if they really wanna sell it and a lake or body of water is close they will let ya take it out.

i bought mine w/o a test drive but had it on the water the next day. i also told the p.o. if it sank id be bringing it back for a full refund. lol

he kinda chuckled and said i had no worries. and ya know what. i didnt boat ran awesome!

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Well I live in Michigan, I/O or OB hard to test drive on solid ice. ANy other suggestions?

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

oh, hahahaha sorry i live in texas we might MAYBE see some ice here and there but never a lake.

i have family up in indianna and they get ice on ponds but ive never seen a full lake freeze, tho i have seen the top section of a river once.

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Yes lots of action on the lake right now, in the form of ATVS snow mobiles, and ice fishing shanty's.

Anyone from the are have an opinion on buying without a test drive, can you start an I/O without a water supply to see how it runs? I did this when I bought my sea doo and it ran great.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Wouldn't recommend it, it would likely be a very hard start to begin with. Tough call, you might get away with a few seconds, enough time to check for knocks and smoke. No good at testing the driveline though.

Ian

 

[H8tank]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Anyone from the are have an opinion on buying without a test drive, can you start an I/O without a water supply to see how it runs?

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Never start any marine engine without a proper water supply. A quick blip of a Sea Doo two stroke motor is one thing...however, you could easily cause serious damage on any motor without water.

A few thoughts on your boat purchase.

Write a deal that is contingent on your satisfaction during a water trial in the spring. If you find an issue with the boat during that water trial either make it the owners responsibility to fix it or have the ability to walk away. A deposit would be expected for this type of deal. If you are buying a boat from a dealer make sure you include storage until spring in the deal also.

For a first time boat buyer it may be a good idea to buy a little bit smaller boat than what you are looking at. I have always liked the Hurricane boats. Have you consider the FunDeck GS line? I think you get a lot of boat in the 172 and the 194 o/b for less money than the boats you are looking at. Also, I would reccomend and outboard. They are easier to maintain and you can extend your boating season a little bit since the water drains from the engine by gravity when it is out of the water.

 

[KCook]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Here is a link you can copy and paste to my report on deckboats at the Phoenix boat show -

"http://boatreviews.needsabeach.com/PHX-09/HTML_Index/"

Kelly

 

[204 Escape]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

We bought a 2006 LARSON 204 Escape deck boat with the fish/ski package. It has a 5.0 V-8. Nice boat, PLUS, we have a great dealer.

Like it really well !!!!!!!!! It's Aztec Red, and white.

 

[BMWboatski]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Just wanted to go back to one of my original posts as I entered the new wonderful world of boating. After many discussions, hours of research, the detroit boat show and 50 posts later....I was not able to find much of a market for the deck boat but found a traditional bow rider was more for me.

I have officially purchased my first boat a 2003 Four Winns H200. Beauiful White and red with a 220 hp Merc 5.0. Only 90hrs on it with 1 owner.

Cannot wait...I got to pick it up Saturday.

Any final suggestions or things i need to read up on since I have 3 weeks before I will probably be able to put it in the water?

 

[tmh]

Re: 1st time buyer looking for feedback on Deck Boats. What to buy?

Great boat! Summer can't come soon enough for you.