Couple of newb questions...

[tobias89]

Long story short the wife and I are looking to sell the vacation house at the lake and trade it in for a boat we can spend the weekends on. We are both new to the boating world so forgive my "newb-ness" . Anywho, we are looking at cabin cruisers with the most we wanna spend around 90,000. We really like the look of the Larson Cabrio series, particularly the 274. Are they pretty good boats as far as reliablity and durability? One other question, if we opt for the factory installed air does it only work dockside or can it run off the engines? If it can't can it run off them will the factory installed generator be able to power them? Thanks, Tobi.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Couple of newb questions...

You will need a Jenny to run the air.

We have boated for over 40 years and owned around 17 boats, with that being said, I would recommend a good used boat.
New boats lose to much money and just aren't worth it.

Look at some aft cabin boats, they will have a lot more space for livability and you can use them for a floating cottage. Something like a 33 aft cabin Carver.

It will be tax deductable if it has a head, frig. and sleeping quarters. for what you want to spend there will be a large variety of boats.
Having a fly bridge is a nice option for docking and cruising. If you go for a large express model remember man handling all that canvas gets real old after awhile, that's why I say look at an aft cabin, not much canvas.

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: Couple of newb questions...

If your not often in a hurry to get anywhere a nice trawler would be my pick. In this market, $90K will buy something very nice. Maybe something like this:

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/1801925208.html

Or if you need a little more speed, something like this:

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/boa/1769744745.html

 

[speandme]

Re: Couple of newb questions...

I would recommend used too, but for a different reason. If you are a new boater you will want something that already has some bumps and bruises so that when you add one you won't feel so bad.