Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

[roscoe]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

How about a Porsche? Because I've done that before. I've also broken down on the side of I35 near Dallas with my then 6 year old son in a BMW that we flew to Austin to buy, he still tells that story.

My grandfather always had "project" boats. I can't tell you how many times I can remember being towed back to the trailer as a kid after his boat had broken down. Were I headed out to sea I could see your point, but on a relatively small and well traveled lake on a nice day? I'm afraid I just don't see the risk. I bought the boat for family fun, and my kids were just as excited as I was. Part of the learning is how we deal with the kids during launch and recovery, it's best to start learning that on a slow weeknight vs a busy weekend.

I see.....

Too many new things to be concerned with.
Too many things to do, or correct, or respond to, that need your 100% attention.
There is plenty to occupy your attention without having children and a wife getting in your way.

Don't forget the doohicky and the switch.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

I've done a LOT of reading on this site

....and you still bought a Tahoe?

Just kidding. Looks like a real sharp boat. Enjoy it! and congrats.

 

[Taylor31]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Hot looking boat!!! Congrats!

 

[90stingray]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Has everyone forgot? He's gotta name the boat!... if it doesnt already have one. But good looking ride. Hope she treats you well. We will be boating eldorado on saturday.

 

[slag]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Hoping not to look like a thread hi-jacker, but I bought my boat from Lake Perry Marina, did the water test there. Settled in on Marion Lake, we were in McPherson at that time, 2006-2008, and brother kept RV at Marion so we camped a lot with them.

Makin' plans to get back to Wichita soon, later guys....

Another Kansan here. Live in Lawrence, boat in Clinton lake. Wonderful lake, 10 minutes from the home, and we store our boat out near the lake. Haven't been out yet this year, but will this weekend, weather permitting. I'm down in Winfield all the time at the inlaws.

 

[SteveMcD]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

No boat is complete without a vessel safety inspection sticker, anchor(s), and first aid kit. If KS has a marine board or equivalent, download your local vessel equipment requirements. You may need ruby slippers there. Got kicker? They have come in handy. I have heard of $600 tow bills. Awesome boat. It looks like you can eat off of it. If you got her cheap, please don't tell us. Safe returns.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

No boat is complete without a vessel safety inspection sticker, anchor(s), and first aid kit. If KS has a marine board or equivalent, download your local vessel equipment requirements. You may need ruby slippers there. Got kicker? They have come in handy. I have heard of $600 tow bills. Awesome boat. It looks like you can eat off of it. If you got her cheap, please don't tell us. Safe returns.

There's not a lake in KS big enough to amass a $600 tow bill, lol.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

There's not a lake in KS big enough to amass a $600 tow bill, lol.

Sadly that is very true.

Thanks all for the comments and compliments. I did do a little searching on Tahoe before buying and found mixed reviews. Frankly it was the nicest and newest boat in my limited cash price range, my thought was that condition and upkeep were probably more important than a getting better name brand. Out of curiosity, what is the knock on Tahoes? If there's some inherent flaw I'll do my best to correct it.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Sadly that is very true.

Thanks all for the comments and compliments. I did do a little searching on Tahoe before buying and found mixed reviews. Frankly it was the nicest and newest boat in my limited cash price range, my thought was that condition and upkeep were probably more important than a getting better name brand. Out of curiosity, what is the knock on Tahoes? If there's some inherent flaw I'll do my best to correct it.

Luckily for you, Oklahoma/Missouri has a ton of good lakes and looks like where you bought the boat from!

The knock on Tahoe is the same on Bayliners. It's not that Tahoe is a bad brand, it's just that people like to dig in against the low-end runabouts. Tahoe uses the same Mercruiser engine packages that every other manufacturer does, so it's pretty hard to argue that Tahoe is faulty on the mechanical side. Thickness/quality of the interior vinyl, more plastic and aluminum vs stainless steel, etc. There's nothing wrong with Tahoe, or most anything else from Tracker marine, but it won't have the build quality of a Cobalt/Formula/Chris Craft. As long as you know that going into the purchase, then there's nothing wrong with that. Most would love to be able to throw down cash on a newer Cobalt, but a Tahoe will do the same thing for 1/4 the price new.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Thanks, that's consistent with what I was expecting. Frankly it still looks nearly new inside so it obviously isn't THAT cheaply made, but I'm also realistic. I will say that it seems to be higher quality than most of the Bayliners that I looked at, but I'm sure that varies boat by boat. A good friend of mine just bought a 2007 Crownline 180br, and the difference in quality is noticeable in comparison to my Tahoe. Of course he also paid double, so I'm ok with it.

I bought the boat from the Tulsa area, the first owner was also in NE OK. I'm sure we'll be making some road trips to both OK and MO, as they definitely have more to offer than KS.

 

[jkust]

Re: Bought My First Boat (Tahoe) - Now What?

Thanks, that's consistent with what I was expecting. Frankly it still looks nearly new inside so it obviously isn't THAT cheaply made, but I'm also realistic. I will say that it seems to be higher quality than most of the Bayliners that I looked at, but I'm sure that varies boat by boat. A good friend of mine just bought a 2007 Crownline 180br, and the difference in quality is noticeable in comparison to my Tahoe. Of course he also paid double, so I'm ok with it.

It's like anything to me. Do like to get from A to B in your Hyundai or your expensive import? Ten seconds in the Tahoe is what it would take to pick it apart if you are the expensive import driver and/or an enthusiast in the analagy above. It's like my Grandma used to say when she couldn't understand how anything could sound better than her clock radio. The contempory Bayliners and Tahoes of today have come a long way since 2004 and now it's more what you don't see than what you do see that separates.