Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

[mschmidt33]

All,

Looking for our first boat. Criteria below.

- It will be trailered and used at least a dozen or so times a year. (07' Odyssey to tow)
- Will be mostly for 2 adults and 2 girls (2 and 4 now)
- Will need to be comfortable with 4 adults and 4 kids.
- Garage kept. Would prefer to be 21' of less with tongue closed so we can get both cars in garage as well. Can go up to 24' if angled.
- Would prefer if trailer width would fit in 8' door opening, not a necessity
- Needs to have enough power to pull up skiers, wakeboard, air chair, tube, etc with full boat. i.e. we just drove a Tahoe 195 with the 4.3 190hr carb and it did not appear to have enough torque.
- Will be used on 300 acre lake mostly with a large section of it 5ft deep with a few spots about 3ft. Most people have ski boats with inboards, but I do see some I/O's
- Open bow
- 50% fishing / 50% skiing - Needs to accommodate both with serious features for both.
- Want trolling motor, min 2 fish chairs, rod storage, anchor, livewell, etc. Can add own fish finder.
- Windshield
- Bimini top
- Wakeboard tower (collapsible if possible for easy garage storage)
- Price is really not an issue if we get all these features, I just don't know if such a boat exists.

We have been in plenty of ski boats and they are great except they don't appear to offer fishing packages. We also been in a hurricane deck boat and the Tahoe 195 but the lack of a windshield was a big turn off.

All of these features do not have to be stock options, aftermarket is ok, I'm fairly handy. I also understand I will not get everything so give me some options guys/gals. Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[ma glastron]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

I would say a195 is to much bout for a mini van. I have a Glastron 175 with a 3.o mercruiser and It has plenty of power . I have had 4 adults and my daughter pulling a tube with no trouble. So I would think the 4.3 would be great.

 

[kellmike626]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

You're asking too much out of that van. I have an 05 odyssey and with my bayliner 175 we struggle with the towing, and it's about 2300 lbs loaded with gas and equipment, with 5 people in the van, and a whole bunch of other stuff, which is why we bought a truck.

Upgrade your tow vehicle or your stuck with a boat under 20 feet. There are a few 19 footers that can have a 5.0 MPI engine, but you don't see it too often.
But, a 4.3 in an 18 footer would be perfect for the van and just about as much as you can ask from it. a 19 or 20 footer is pushing it, a lot. The odyssey can tow 3500 lbs with the cooling package. Why not get a beater truck that's road worthy for 1000 bucks that can tow more? Then your options would be a lot more open.

 

[oops!]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Upgrade your tow vehicle or your stuck with a boat under 20 feet. I know of one boat under 20 feet that could be of use though. The Bayliner 195 can seat 9 people, and you can have a 5.0 MPI 260 hp engine in there.

agreed ^^^

buy unless you have your heart set on a 20 or over....i would be looking at 17-19 with a 4.3....

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

All,

Looking for our first boat. Criteria below.

- It will be trailered and used at least a dozen or so times a year. (07' Odyssey to tow)
- Will be mostly for 2 adults and 2 girls (2 and 4 now)
- Will need to be comfortable with 4 adults and 4 kids.
- Garage kept. Would prefer to be 21' of less with tongue closed so we can get both cars in garage as well. Can go up to 24' if angled.
- Would prefer if trailer width would fit in 8' door opening, not a necessity
- Needs to have enough power to pull up skiers, wakeboard, air chair, tube, etc with full boat. i.e. we just drove a Tahoe 195 with the 4.3 190hr carb and it did not appear to have enough torque.- Will be used on 300 acre lake mostly with a large section of it 5ft deep with a few spots about 3ft. Most people have ski boats with inboards, but I do see some I/O's
- Open bow
- 50% fishing / 50% skiing - Needs to accommodate both with serious features for both.- Want trolling motor, min 2 fish chairs, rod storage, anchor, livewell, etc. Can add own fish finder.
- Windshield
- Bimini top
- Wakeboard tower (collapsible if possible for easy garage storage)- Price is really not an issue if we get all these features, I just don't know if such a boat exists.

We have been in plenty of ski boats and they are great except they don't appear to offer fishing packages. We also been in a hurricane deck boat and the Tahoe 195 but the lack of a windshield was a big turn off.

All of these features do not have to be stock options, aftermarket is ok, I'm fairly handy. I also understand I will not get everything so give me some options guys/gals. Thanks in advance.

Mike

I don't think you will be happy with any one boat if you are wanting it to be that versatile. Fishing every now and then out of a FS bowrider without a tower would be tolerable, but using it equally as much would be a problem. I know I wouldn't like it.

I'd get a good used aluminum pan fishing rig and 20 foot bowrider. Keep the bowrider in the garage, and park the fishing rig around back. Fix them both up how you want them, and you'll be much happier.

May not be what you wanted to hear, but that's the way I would do it.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Sounds like my boat, to the tee.

Except I think the 190hp has plenty of torque. It planes with 4 adults in less than 2 seconds.

Tower lays down, burns less than a quarter tank of gas a trip.

Oh, well. Never mind. Probably wouldn't work for you...

 

[convergent]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

I agree with the last post... don't think you can do all you have on your list because you have some incompatible requirements. If you want it to be 50% fish and 50% ski in the shallow lake you mentioned, I would think a nice fish and ski type boat would serve you well. I just picked up a ProCraft 200 Combo and its about the largest real fish and ski by my definition. And my Grand Cherokee can pull it fine, but we just sold an Odyssey last year and there is no way I'd want to pull this boat with a mini van. What you are asking for is an even larger boat.

You need to prioritize your list of requirements so that you can get to a list that is doable.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Carolina skiff DLX series. Very high passenger rating for the size; stable; maintenance and cleaning is a breeze; tons of room; requires a smaller motor for boats of its size.
Consider a ski pole instead of a tower; that's a lot of equipment unless you are serious about it. We did fine for decades without them; I think they are a gimmick.

don't buy a boat based on a garage. Your length has to consider the engine and tongue.

A boat that is comfortable with 8 should be rated for 10.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Are you looking for a ski boat to fish or a fish boat to ski behind? You might want to look at the swiss army knife of boats (center console). It will be a great fishing boat and if properly equipped will pull a skier with no problem. My fishing buddy has a 20' neptune with a 115 that I've wake boarded behind and I'm only a few beers shy of 200 lbs. If you were going that way I might suggest a little more power, maybe a 150? I've also seen some smaller fairly high end cc's that even my wife would approve of.

 

[stic88]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

you really need another tow vehicle. i know 3 people that have had and i repeat had an odessy and each and every one of them went through transmissions, between the 3 cars 7 trannys in 3 years. not a very good vehicle if you want to make it to the lake.

 

[Divecaptchris]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

sounds like a hurricane fishing version might work for u!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

I like the aluminum fish/skis better than most of the fiberglass ones. They seem better set up for fishing. Check these out:

http://www.lundboats.com/boats/2010-lineup/sport-a-fish-boats/1950-tyee-boat

http://www.princecraft.com/Content/en-US/produit/663/Platinum-SE-207.aspx

 

[mschmidt33]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

thanks for the replies guys... I will read through them in depth and try to rank our criteria after work tonight. the lake we will use has a private launch in our sub 500 ft down the road. may only travel long distances once or twice a year. i can borrow a truck for that...

 

[rw99]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

thanks for the replies guys... I will read through them in depth and try to rank our criteria after work tonight. the lake we will use has a private launch in our sub 500 ft down the road. may only travel long distances once or twice a year. i can borrow a truck for that...

Yah, borrow the truck! But the launch is exactly where you'll have a bunch of trouble with your FWD Odyssey. Underpowered, with weight off of the drive wheels... I think you'll be burning some rubber trying to retrieve any boat over 15' or so. Might be OK with a lighter weight aluminum... but that's probably not what you're looking for in a fish & ski.

I have a 2010 Glastron GT205 with the EFI (220 HP) 4.3 I/O. It's a good match for what you want to do... I run with a MinnKota 24V trolling motor, and I think you'd want one with this kind of thrust for a fiberglass boat >18'. This boat seats seven comfortably and tows a two-person tube with no drama. I think you'd find it sufficient for your skiing/boarding needs, certainly you can add the tower and/or change the prop to improve its ski-boat performance...

 

[mschmidt33]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Spent hours on websites and the following seem to be what will suit our needs best. Now we need to go check some of them out.

Tahoe Q5 sf
Glastron GT185
Stingray 195fx
Four Winns h183
Bayliner 184 SF

Any further comments are welcomed!

 

[murf e]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

X2 about using a truck, and a full size one at that! I picked up my 18' EBBTIDE with my 4X4 DAKOTA V6 and it labored tremendously getting the boat home. The truck is lifted with 285 tires which kills the gearing but at one hill I had to go to 2nd gear. Luckily I have a full sized V8 truck to tow the boat to the lake.

 

[ma glastron]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

My vote is for the glastron. But the four winns is also a nice boat too. Also larson makes a nice boat as well oh and then there is searay, my friend who got me into boating has a 175 that is nice.

 

[BF]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Hiya & welcome,

I'd agree about all the towing comments you've heard. Last year I bought an older 4x4 expedition to replace one of our family's vans. It makes retrieving my 17' searay I/O on our cottage lake's steep launch a non-issue. I was only successful about 1/4 of the time in pulling out my 16' aluminum tinny on that ramp with my FWD van. I wouldn't have even tried retrieving the I/O with the van on that ramp... (although on a gentler sloped and nice dry/paved ramp I was able to retrieve it) Is there any chance you could keep it on a shore lift or keep it moored to avoid having to launch/retrieve whenever you want to use it?

I also agree about it seeming like there might to be some re-thinking or a larger need for compromise.. At our cottage, I have had only fleeting thoughts of a "do it all" boat... I have the 16' aluminum with 25 hp 4 stroke set up for fishing, and the I/O as a tubing / water sports boat. I've never been fishing in it (who wants fish goo on the nice carpet?). Drop the worm tub or spill my thermos of coffee in the fishing boat? No carpet.. no problem...

It doesn't sound like price is a major factor, so how about 2 gently used boats rather than one new "do it all" boat. You could stagger 'em. Get the family/tubing bowrider first. And then year 2, get a used rig more suited to fishing and getting in the shallows. It's actually quite fun to "raft up" and you'd have the smaller boat as the "tender" for the watersports boat. It's also good if you have guests that you have some of the gang fishing while some are tubing and then swap. Of course if you'd have to always launch retrieve, that would be a drag, doubly so with 2 boats. I'm lucky to have boat house and sheltered dock that I can moor to if I want to leave a boat in the water.

Sounds like you've got some more research to do! (which is fun to a point) But be warned, I don't think I know anybody who has what they consider the "perfect" boat. Instead they either have more than one, or they sell every year or two to try a different style for a while (until the grass looks greener on the other side again).

 

[crqflier]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

Spent hours on websites and the following seem to be what will suit our needs best. Now we need to go check some of them out.

Tahoe Q5 sf
Glastron GT185
Stingray 195fx
Four Winns h183
Bayliner 184 SF

Any further comments are welcomed!

i'm going through the same process you are. also a soon to be first time owner. one thing that help a ton was going and sitting in a bunch of different boats at a used boat dealer after web spec shopping. what i found was that the beam and seat layout made a huge difference in my comfort and practical use of the boat. for example, prior to sitting in the boat, I was convinced that the SeaRay 185 Sport was "it". Stepped inside and realized the layout wasn't going to work.

having spec searched, my guess is you need something bigger if you want 8 people on board AND pulling an assortment of toys. as everyone has already said, your tow then is an issue.

if money is really no issue, maybe look at the yamaha 212 or 210 (power might be too low). plenty of power on the 212. space is amazing and it's good to go for shallow water. kid safe. and i think it's less than 3000 lbs.

 

[mschmidt33]

Re: Help me choose our first boat... PLEASE

My vote is for the glastron. But the four winns is also a nice boat too. Also larson makes a nice boat as well oh and then there is searay, my friend who got me into boating has a 175 that is nice.

Checked out Larson and Searay and they did not appear to have a fishing option in the smaller open bow boats. the Larson Escape 204 looks very nice, but just might be too big for a starter boat. Likely expensive as well. We are going to check out the Bayliner 184 and a Stingray 195fx locally in the next week or so. Found both within 15min.