poor mans cruiser

lucky7

lucky7

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
262
i have been boating with my young family for a few years, i have mooved up to a nice 20 foot bow rider that i bought as a new leftover and plan to keep for the duration. however, the kids have all expressed intrest in what they call 'camping boats' or what i might call a pocket crusier. now there is no way i can afford anything remotley new or big, but if i sell off my bike i might have 5k to spent on a trailerable weekender. i am thinking 25 yaar old bayliner or the like. i would primarily use this in the bigger lakes of nh but an ocean outing would likely happen down the road. am i totally unrealistic in finding somthing in this price range? preformance would not be a high priority, dont even really care if its fast enough to plane, so the smallest motor would be ok for me. has anyone had a boat they could recomend i look for?
 
HighTrim

HighTrim

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
10,486
Re: poor mans cruiser

How many ppl are we talking about?

A 25 year old "overnighter" is in your price range. This is a 20, 21 foot cruiser with cuddy, porta potty, sink.

If you are looking for a "weekender", having a stand up head, aft cabin, etc, you would be looking at a real fixer upper.

Wanting to take your family on the ocean, it must be safe and reliable. Shop smart. Take your time. There are some deals out there.
 
jaxnjil

jaxnjil

Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Messages
1,368
Re: poor mans cruiser

lucky;for what you want and are able to spend your most likely looking at mid 70's to mid 80's. sounds like your looking for an express cruiser. not knowing how many persons you want to accomodate or what you have to pull it with i would say off hand you will be better to stay under 24'. when you go over that in a cruiser you have to watch what you have for power. under that size and you can get by with a small block preferably a 350. all so if you are carefull you can tow with a 1/2 ton pu or suv. you are at max tow but do able. there are boats out there but for that price range your going to look at a lot of junk befor you find the bargan. realy for that age boat i would be open to any brand and look more at condition of the boat.
start looking and when you find a possibility chek back here and you will get the low down on what that model has to offer, good or bad.
are you looking for a boat to sleep on and taking your other boat to play, taking both out together, or using separately?
the reason i ask, is you could get by with a not as good a boat if you have your other boat to put most of the hours on and have a back up so if it should break down your not in a bind.
 
lucky7

lucky7

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
262
Re: poor mans cruiser

thanks for the quick responses. my crew are my wife and our 3 kids 10,7,and5. i have a f150 rated to pull about 7000 lbs. my other boat would still be my main boat, {67 hours this summer) but i could see a couple weekend trips in this one.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
Re: poor mans cruiser

define a camping boat.... in your eyes.
i camp on my boat with 2 people overnight. it's the boat in my sig. it wouldn't accommodate 3..
i think your gonna need pretty good size if ya want to go out on the ocean. specially if you want your family onboard. you don't want to be under powered either. a small engine may get ya by. but when ya need some hp. sometimes ya really need it.
might look into some old bell boys or the likes. i've seen a few of them go for about 5k + or -... don't know if i'd take one of them to far out into open water though. 5 would be a pretty tight sqeeze in one too i'd think.
how bout sell yer bow rider and put it towards a cruiser. might have to make a decision as to what kinda of boating you and your family want to do.
maybe ya can make a full encloser for your bow rider and make it a camping boat...
if you get a old big boat for 5k. i'd think it amazing that it wouldn't be a money pit.. b.o.a.t...... over and over... who knows though. maybe in this economy ya might come across somebody that's gotta bail.. no pun intended... ;)
 
lucky7

lucky7

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
262
Re: poor mans cruiser

"camping boat" = enough bed space for the 5 of us. the 3 kids could sqeeze togther in 1 bed or the v berth, i kinda like the idea of the wife and i both in a single... a single burner and a grill, and a door to keep out bugs. as far as the ocean i wouldnt stray more than a mile or 3 off shore, if things go well the first year in the lake.
 
slasmith1

slasmith1

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
1,028
Re: poor mans cruiser

I don't know about the 5k range but there are definatly some deals to be had out there. I just paid 30% of surveyed value for my new boat (was bank repo)
 
ondarvr

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: poor mans cruiser

Boats like this http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/974422681.html come up all the time. I'm not saying this is the boat to get, just that 21 to 24 footers are listed all the time in the $4,000 to $8,000 range. Many have rebuilt motors and outdrives and come with all the electronics and safety gear. People buy them and fix them up to fish with, some like fishing and move up to a better boat, others lose interest and just sell, both sell at a loss for what they have into it.
 
G

Godfirst

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Messages
228
Re: poor mans cruiser

Hi
There is no poor man's cruiser..... I bought a used 24 crusier cuddy last summer had a 25 year old Bayliner bowrider before. The crusier has a merc 5.7 and a alpha 1 sterndrive be prepared to have a open pocketbook on a 20 year old boat, second don't make the mistake I did to try to pull anything over 20 ft cuddy with a 1/2 ton truck I also have a f-150 5.4 with a 6,300 tow capacity this is a mistake you need a truck that will pull your boat safely and not beat up your truck remember about the 70% ratio tow max on your truck. Just trying to to give advice from my mistakes. Just buy the best boat that meets your needs and have the truck to pull it properly.
Take care happy boating
 
L

lucid484

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
175
Re: poor mans cruiser

I think this is the type of boat you might be looking for....a mid 80's Bayliner 2450 Cierra Sunbridge http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/gallery/21-to-25-feet/PHTO0379

I almost bought one in good shape with a volvo for 7k (was at a dealer so private could have been cheaper).They can fit an amazing amout of room in a small 24' boat....Had a nice size upper deck,really nice master stateroom below that aft deck.then up front it had a small stove,fridge,sink,head with shower and a berth up front with a table that could go in the middle.......a perfect weekend camper really!
 
J

jollymon

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 2, 2002
Messages
293
Re: poor mans cruiser

Think about your budget, before taking the plunge. If you could come up with a little more money you could come up with a lot more boat.

If you get the right boat, you may be just as happy with one boat instead of two.


Unless you keep one or both boats in the water, how will you use both boats at any one time. I could see keeping the cruiser in the water all the time, and bringing the other boat down for the weekend. But if you keep them both on a trailer, it is going to get old real quick.
 
T

tmcalavy

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
4,005
Re: poor mans cruiser

Might consider a sea/water camping excursion with a rented boat first. Take the fam out for a weekend or two, trying a different type boat/configuration each time. That will tell you and the fam whether everyone is on board with the camping idea before you take the plunge...no puns intended.
 
JoLin

JoLin

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
Re: poor mans cruiser

lucid484 said:
I think this is the type of boat you might be looking for....a mid 80's Bayliner 2450 Cierra Sunbridge http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/gallery/21-to-25-feet/PHTO0379

I almost bought one in good shape with a volvo for 7k (was at a dealer so private could have been cheaper).They can fit an amazing amout of room in a small 24' boat....Had a nice size upper deck,really nice master stateroom below that aft deck.then up front it had a small stove,fridge,sink,head with shower and a berth up front with a table that could go in the middle.......a perfect weekend camper really!
Click to expand...

I agree with what Lucid wrote. I looked real hard at a 2452 Ciera (that's the hardtop model) just recently, and was VERY impressed with how nicely the cabin and cockpit were laid out, and how much room BL had made available. I had to pass on the one I was considering because of a wet transom issue, but I think that one in good shape would be near perfect for a small family using it in protected or near-shore waters.
 
C

Cptkid570

Ensign
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
967
Re: poor mans cruiser

There are a lot of good deals out there. Depending on how handy you are, you can definitely find something in your price range that is a 24' to 25', 1980's Bayliner Cierra or Sea Ray Sundancer. Both look right up the alley of what you are looking for. Make sure it has a volvo penta or mercruiser, stay away from OMC's since they aren't made anymore.
 
C

Cptkid570

Ensign
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
967
Re: poor mans cruiser

However, I must say. If you follow through this message board and learn to diagnose and repair your problems yourself, it can make boating much less expensive.
 
lucky7

lucky7

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
262
Re: poor mans cruiser

thanks for all the response! that 24' bayliner hardtop is what i have in mind. im thinking rent a slip for the summer and trailer my bowrider. kind of a cheap summer cabin.
 
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