Could you recommend a boat?

[jkroeis]

Hello,

Im pretty new to water ski boats and considering getting one.

I found this site pretty useful and it looks like some decent offers:



Which could you recommend. My budget is about $9000.

Thanks in advance,
Jonas
Jonas, please go read the guidelines for posting.
This borders on the spam line to us.
Thanks

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

Size and HP depends on how many riders you'll have, I can yell you that wakeboard towers run $1000 more so it's a plus if the boat already has one.

 

[DJ]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

Jonas,

There are hundreds of choices out there. There are a couple things you have to consider.

1. Do you want a "dedicated" ski/wakeboard boat?

2. Do you want a "general purpose" boat that will do skiing and wakeboarding.

There is a BIG difference. Dedicated ski boats are good for little else but skiing and wakeboarding but they do both VERY well.

General purpose boats are great for cruising, etc. and do skiing and wakeboarding OK.

Let us know what you are thinking and we'll discuss further.

 

[lrdchaos]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

I have a tahoe Q7i runabout, it seems like a great boat. It's not a ski\wakeboard dedicated but it does both good enough for me. I would look for a tahoe q4 with a 4.3l engine. I think it holds 7 people and with the right prop will, provide for a fun family boat

 

[OhWellcraft]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

A lot depends on family size, friends who come with you, slalom skiing, etc. If you had a 18-20 footer with 6-7 people and only the 4.3 ltr You might be a bit under powered for pulling slalom skiiers out. Plus you start to run out of room pretty quick once you have people, cooler, skiis, tube, etc. all on board as well. If you think it will only be 3-4 people than the above setup would probably be just fine. One thing I have learned over the years is that no boat is good on gas especially if used for water sports. So don't give up the power of a V-8 just to save a few bucks at the pump. You can never add power if you need it, but you can always back off a bit if you have "too much" Not that there is any thing wrong with a v-6 but once they get some miles on them they lose power quicker and and gas usage starts to go up anyways. At your price range I would shoot for a boat that has the fewest hours on it that I could find. Plus whatever you decide on check it out real well or better yet pay someone to do it. It is usually money well spent.

 

[dcg9381]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

Are you interested in a "ski" style boat only - IE an inboard boat?
If so there are lots of older boats that will fit your needs - none of them underpowered. The Supera TS6m, Mastercrafts, and number of off brands and branded derivatives.


If you just need to water ski or slalom ski - almost any 17-20 foot boat with more than 200hp will work well.

 

[1skiwonder]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

It all depends on whether or not you will be using the boat for skiing primarily or a family boat primarily. If you want the best of both worlds and you'd like to have family and friends together in a boat and be able to ski at the same time I would look for something with at least a 5.0 V8. Mercruiser or Volvo doesn't matter. The reason I say this is that if you have a lot of weight in the boat and someone is trying to get up on one ski they are gonna have a hard time. An experieced slalom skiier will definitely get up behind just about anything, but a new skiier will have a lot of trouble unless you have the HP to support them.

 

[seven up]

Re: Could you recommend a boat?

You asked about ski boats so I'll throw in my .02.

A Correct Craft direct drive is an excellent choice. The engine is midships for fast holeshot and a flat wake. An ideal ski combo.

Enjoy