BiscuitsJaM
Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2007
- Messages
- 10
What boat to get?
Skiing, innertubing, etc.
Fun to ride around on the lake
Fast
Under $10,000
I'm thinking about selling my waverunner for a boat of some type. My Yamaha SUV1200 (4-seat 130hp) is great fun on the water - it has great acceleration, top speed, and stability in rough water. It is almost the size of a small boat and lets you do a lot of boatlike things, but also lets you play around as a PWC. Most importantly, it does a pretty good job of pulling skiers and innertubes. The big downside is:
In my state, you need three people to pull a skier behind a PWC, but you only need two if you are using a boat.
There are a few other minor downsides too (seating arrangement on a PWC isn't as nice as having individual seats on a boat, burns tons of gas, wake isn't the best for skiing behind). If it wasn't for the requirement of bringing an extra person on a ski trip, though, I'd consider these trade-offs well worth the fun I've had and continue to have.
I'm lost on what to do though. I'd like to get something small that is fun to pull skiers or innertubes behind, but that is also fun just to drive around the lake. I was looking at the tiny jetboats, which are about the same size as the SUV1200, but I've heard bad things about them. I'm also curious about some of the more traditional prop-driven craft, in the 15' to 22' range.
I don't have a problem doing minor mechanical work, but I don't want a project boat either. This will be stored at a private dock at our lakehouse. We also have a pontoon boat. Total budget is about $10,000 - but I'd like to keep the cost down and have some money left over to buy a 1.5-seater PWC at some point in the future.
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Skiing, innertubing, etc.
Fun to ride around on the lake
Fast
Under $10,000
I'm thinking about selling my waverunner for a boat of some type. My Yamaha SUV1200 (4-seat 130hp) is great fun on the water - it has great acceleration, top speed, and stability in rough water. It is almost the size of a small boat and lets you do a lot of boatlike things, but also lets you play around as a PWC. Most importantly, it does a pretty good job of pulling skiers and innertubes. The big downside is:
In my state, you need three people to pull a skier behind a PWC, but you only need two if you are using a boat.
There are a few other minor downsides too (seating arrangement on a PWC isn't as nice as having individual seats on a boat, burns tons of gas, wake isn't the best for skiing behind). If it wasn't for the requirement of bringing an extra person on a ski trip, though, I'd consider these trade-offs well worth the fun I've had and continue to have.
I'm lost on what to do though. I'd like to get something small that is fun to pull skiers or innertubes behind, but that is also fun just to drive around the lake. I was looking at the tiny jetboats, which are about the same size as the SUV1200, but I've heard bad things about them. I'm also curious about some of the more traditional prop-driven craft, in the 15' to 22' range.
I don't have a problem doing minor mechanical work, but I don't want a project boat either. This will be stored at a private dock at our lakehouse. We also have a pontoon boat. Total budget is about $10,000 - but I'd like to keep the cost down and have some money left over to buy a 1.5-seater PWC at some point in the future.
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
