Jkust Relax there Lieutenant, my remarks were not meant to be disparaging and i didn't call you a liar in a backhanded manner. No need to be so touchy. I just don't happen to agree with you and frankly i have never read any professional review that would agree with you. If you can show me one then I will gladly come over to your side. I have been in a lot of small runabouts and owned a few myself. Yes there are some that ride a little better than others in chop, and I wouldn't say that Stingray is on the top of the list but to say that it is terrible is simply wrong in my opinion and misleading. I'm not sure where you are coming from with your comment that "stability even in medium chop is terrible". Again this is a new one to me. I assume you are talking about stability at speed, granted Stingrays do ride on the last few feet of hull when running at speed and trimmed up giving a very light ride (not ideal for medium chop), and in medium chop you want the deeper part of the hull to cut the waves but that is just trim. I've been in my first 17 1/2' Stingray in just about every condition even small craft warnings, a friends 19'Stingray at 70mph offshore in medium chop and decent sized rolling swells, and my current 22' Stingray in everything but big chop. Never experienced this terrible stability that you refer to. And yes i've driven and had other boats for comparison.- But then again i am only a "cadet"
These boats are what they are, excellent value, fast, efficient and handle well and the company is second to none when it comes to service. They are not offshore boats but neither are 19' Cobalts, Four Winns, Bayliners or even Chaps. If you want a boat to handle big water then don't buy a small runabout.
I agree 100% with V153 - it doesn't matter what kind of boat you have as long as your on the water. Forbin - good luck in your search i'm sure you enjoy your boat no matter what the decision.
