$30,000.00 to spend

[actusreus]

My dad taught us to ski on an immaculate 2004 Malibu Sunsetter. I'm an intermediate skier, as are my (4) kids (ages 4-15), but they all want to get into wakeboarding, surfing, etc. So I want an all around boat that is comparable, at least, to my dad's boat. I have 30k to spend, and I'm going to be using it, mostly, in fairly cold idaho lakes, if that makes any difference.

Can I get people's suggestions on some good options with my situation in mind?

Thanks!

 

[OrangeTJ]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

Given the watersports focus, I'm thinking a V-Drive wake boat might be just the ticket. I'm thinking you could get into a similar age of Malibu Wakeseter, Sunscape, etc for around that money. My buddy recently picked up a very nice 03 Malibu 23 LSV for pretty close to that price. Centurion's Avalanche might be another good one to check out.

 

[sschefer]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

Given your location and desires, I'd be looking closely at the Correct Craft line up. A Natique would be an excellent platform I think. Your budget won't get you a new one but they are solid boats and I wouldn't have any problem buying used if it checked out good.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

I'd say just about any v-drive boat from the big 4 would do nicely.

 

[rallyart]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

For where you live and what you want to do you should look for a Sanger V215 that is just a few years old. It has enough size and will work well on bigger lakes or in a storm. The price will be lower than a comparable Malibu and your ski wake will be reasonable, your wakeboard wake will be excellent, and your surf wake will be excellent. You should be fine getting a good one used for $25,000 and have money to equip it as you need. (My experienced opinion but you are going to use it differently than me so just test drive what ever you might like as they all have different characters)
Whatever you get, consider adding a heater with two or three 'hot tubes' to make it more comfortable when you get out of the lake.

You could get a bigger boat but the price goes up and they get harder to tow.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

Yeah, find a 2004 Malibu Sunsetter! See if your dad will sell you his?

 

[sangerwaker]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

I'm kinda partial to Sangers, and I think a nice, used V215 would be great for your needs. They are less expensive than the Malibus and Mastercrafts, and equally nice boats. A V237 would be better for surfing, but not so good for other stuff as well as likely over your 30K budget.

http://www.sangerboats.com/boats.html

 

[skibrain]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

If you like the Sunsetter, buy one. $30,000 is a generous budget.
Here is a nice, low hour 2003 for $23,000.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=20982

 

[oldjeep]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

My father inlaw had a sunsetter before his current response - great boat but with the same problem of any inboard. Inboards (non vdrive) doesn't make a very good family boat. If you are skiing then you lose all the back seat space and are left with the spotter seat and the bow seats. I personnaly wouldn't have small kids in the bow at ski speeds.

30K will buy you a lot of choices, I'd be looking for a 20ft or so V drive with a skier type hull. Then you get the nice ski wake and a lot of seating for the family.

 

[copenglenn]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

I've been looking for a surf boat much like you have. I've been looking mostly at the Centurion's (elite, avalanche), Tige (22ve), and Sanger 215's. Any one of them should fit the family nicely since they are v-drive with wrap around seating. They all should put out a nice surf wake and be within your budget. Happy hunting.

 

[Don S]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

I merged all of your threads into one forum. Please don't post in more than one of the forums with the same question.

 

[actusreus]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

sorry about the multiple posts.

here are some of the boats i've found, after taking into account everyone's suggestions (thanks, by the way). Can i have your opinions?:

http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Malibu-247-Lsv-Wakesetter/137102031
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Supra-22-Ssv/136898031
http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=30940
http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=31624
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Tige-20-Ve/134122031
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Mastercraft-Maristar-210-Vrs/137560241
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Centurion-Elite-V-drive/135472031

Sorry for the boat deluge. I found so many! Prices are a bit higher than I expected though. I really thought I'd get something decent in the 07-08 range for 30k. Not many to be found.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

All of them but the first one look good for skiing/boarding. That first big wakesetter would suck to ski behind. I'd also be suspicious of a 2008 247 LSV Wakesetter with 85 hours selling for 27K - that seems insanely cheap, it should be more like 50K - 60K

 

[jafo9]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

i was thinking the same thing about the bu. too much boat for that price. seems fishy.

i can't comment personally on the others except the MC 210VRS. same hull as original X10. no perfect pass and no tower and no ballast would be a major problem at that price. wait a little longer and the prices will start to drop as winter sets in.

the CC super air's (210) and the MC gen 1 xstar (205v, x2, x1) are generally accepted as great hulls and would be good solid boats to start with. i don't know of an analogous bu in that price range since i'm not as familiar with that brand. depending on how many folks you need to carry, those boats may get real small quickly. i was in a similar situation with a similar budget last year. we settled on size vs. pure function and went with an MC X30. not "great" at any one event, but we boarded, slalomed, and surfed all summer long with plenty of room for ourselves and lots of guests. in our price range, CC didn't have a large enough boat and we didn't like the bow configuration of the bu's.

 

[actusreus]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

i was thinking the same thing about the bu. too much boat for that price. seems fishy.

i can't comment personally on the others except the MC 210VRS. same hull as original X10. no perfect pass and no tower and no ballast would be a major problem at that price. wait a little longer and the prices will start to drop as winter sets in.

the CC super air's (210) and the MC gen 1 xstar (205v, x2, x1) are generally accepted as great hulls and would be good solid boats to start with. i don't know of an analogous bu in that price range since i'm not as familiar with that brand. depending on how many folks you need to carry, those boats may get real small quickly. i was in a similar situation with a similar budget last year. we settled on size vs. pure function and went with an MC X30. not "great" at any one event, but we boarded, slalomed, and surfed all summer long with plenty of room for ourselves and lots of guests. in our price range, CC didn't have a large enough boat and we didn't like the bow configuration of the bu's.

What year X30 did you get? I like that boat, but I'm having trouble finding anything newer than 02 in the 25-30 range. Maybe as the year goes on eh?

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

The internet's your friend. There are hundreds of inboard ski boats online. I find boattrader.com the best place to look, first filtering for boats in your locale.

With the $ you have to spend, something's available. Just don't look at the new ones, as their prices are borderline insane.

Straight inboards have a very long, long lifespan if they're kept out of the water and out of the weather. We often have perfectly nice older SkiNautiques and Mastercrafts advertised locally for $7-9K.

 

[jafo9]

Re: $30,000.00 to spend

not trying to treadjack...

we bought an 02. the biggest advantage to an 03-05 x30 is the MCX motor which is rated at 350hp vs our 330hp on our LTR. otherwise, its the same boat up to 06. there were some changes. the 03's had horrible board racks. iirc, the 04+ had the newer tower with the availability of the swivel racks. once you start looking at the near 06 years, for the money, you might as well buy an 06+ to get the newer hull.