Vote now, help me pick my boat!

[1badhusky]

Hi All,

New on here, but have been boating all my life - live-aboard sailboats, powerboats and old old old tahiti style ski boats.

Now I'm looking at my first half-decent wakeboard boat.

Looking to spend between $5-9K on an open bow 17-21 footer.

I've been looking for about 3 weeks and narrowed my choices down to 4 boats. I've found here in the pacific northwest, boats seem to be way above nada values - maybe those are off or it's just that boats tend to be in better condition cuz they are used less due to weather?

Anyway, here's the big question - should I get a lower quality newer boat or go w/ an older higher quality boat? I'll be doing wakeboarding w/ friends, typically 3-5 people and a dog on board, and some short distance cruising. We're all beginners, so not worried about huge wakes.

Ok, the choices: (all look to be in cherry condition from pics and ads, but haven't seen them in person)

1992 Crownline 196BR for $6700 - has the Mercury 5.0 liter engine with a Alpha 1 outdrive. Beautiful boat, read on here the new ones have great quality, not sure about this age though...low hours, I think a reliable engine/drive?, and it's big! But worried about the age.

1996 Seaswirl Spyder 198 - V8 - doesn't say what make...$7300 Sexy boat - don't know much about them. Sold at a reputable dealer, but old.

2003 Four Winns Freedom 180 Open Bow - $8900 volvo 4.3. Nice boat - most expensive one I'm looking at. Read on here 4W makes awesome boats - so much that it's worth the extra money, no warranty? It is 7 years old after all.

2005 glastron mx175 - $8500 3.0 volvo penta w/ 35hours - it's basically brand new and has a two year warranty on engine! Love the warranty, the new factor, but worried the engine won't be enough to pull wakeboarders w/ 4 people on board...will a 17 prop fix this? I don't care about top speed - 35 is fine w/ me.

Ok, so I'm really torn between all these.

4Winns and Glastron seem like great deals...and haven't even started negotiating.

But if I knew the crownline was going to hold up, I'd probably most like to have it b/c size, looks, comfort and the big engine. Plus it's the least expensive.

Don't know much about sea swirl, but it's a hot boat and the only one where I'd have a dealer involved.

So, any help on value, reliability, quality, experiences w/ these boats would be greatly appreciated!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I'll pass on the Glastron because of the engine. It may be enough for some people, but not for me.

Actual condition of the hull, engine, and drive, mean more to me than the age.

 

[stormin94]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I voted to keep looking, but I just read that the Four Winns has a 4.3 Volvo. Just wondering, is that a 4.3 Chevy block with a Volvo outdrive?

My dad has a Bayliner with a 4.3 Mercruiser, and that's a pretty good motor. It has decent power, and also isn't too bad on gas. We had a Cheyenne ski boat for the summer a couple years ago. It had a 350 V8, 4 bbl carb, and really liked the gas....although it was pretty quick (top speed ~50MPH with ski prop, and got there quick).

 

[Craigmri]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I voted for the Four Winns because of the boats listed it has the best combination of Engine, age and Manufacturer reputation.

Craig

 

[wildspeed]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

Seaswirl Spyder 198 if it's in good shape and mechanically sound

17/18' tend to get crowded pretty fast with friends, boards and pets........

 

[superpop]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I would go with the Crownline or Seaswirl. With the number of people you are talking about having, plus a dog. the 18 footers are going to feel way to small real fast. Plus with that many people you are going to want the v-8. Forget about the 4 banger, and the v-6 would be marginal in the newer boat. The bigger question when looking at a boat of any age more than 1-2 years old, is how was it cared for. You can tell this by reviewing service records and inspecting the boat very carefully. Super low hours on an older boat can be bad as well. Maybe it sat for a 2 or 3 year stretch with no use and all the rubber seals and gaskets dried out and now it has constant leak problems. The best used boat is one that was used regularly, maybe 30 hours a year, and was well cared for and stored indoors. They are out there, but unfortunately, for every one of those, there are 5 others that have been neglected by the owner. Aside from mechanical issues, the other thing to really watch for is rot, particularly in the transom and stringers. Look for soft spots in the floor. The other factor you are dealing with if you are in the Pacific NW is the fact that boats tend to command a premium the closer you get to Seattle, I have bought my last two boats down in Portland as the economy down there is much worse and more boats can be had for cheaper prices.

 

[basstracker219]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

a glastron would be a good ski boat.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

Crownline, Four Winns, Glastron are all good boats. I know nothing about Sea Swirl.

 

[Northern Lights]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I voted to keep looking. Besides checking nada also check with your insurance carrier on what they will insure it for. Probabley close to nada. Also if your going to finance your purchase the bank will most likely use nada numbers for a value. A couple of other boats you might consider are Cobalt & Chaparral. Good luck with your search.

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

Hey everyone, thanks for the votes and the insights - keep them coming!

So, the 4Winns is winning w/ 33% of the vote so far.

Don't know about who makes the engine in the four winns - assume it is a quality engine though as I've read that 4W is top of the line in quality.

The more I've thought about the crownline, the more that age really bugs me - for 2k more, I'm in a boat that's 7 years newer...yes, only a v6, but that seems like a pretty good engine for what i want. Or for 1k more i'm in the seaswirl that's 4 years newer and same size.

Superpop - why do you think the v6 is marginal in the newer boat?

Any thoughts on the 17 prop on the glastron - will it still pull a wakeboarder w/ 4 peeps on board?

Do you guys think any of these are decent deals, fairly priced or overpriced?

Someone's got to know about sea swirl! What's the deal w/ these?

Thanks!!!

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

For the uses you are going for the boats with V-8 power in a 19ft hull would be the way i would go.
Crownline is a well built boat.
Out of the drive choices i lean towards Volvo but Mercs are good drives too.
As usual the condition means much more than the brand.

If the 4.3 is a Vortec, 4 barrel carb then it has near the same power as a 5.0...220 hp.With less weight....So many decisions...

I see many Sea Swirl boats around here...seem to be nice rigs too..

Is this the Sea Swirl?
http://www.buyandsellboats.com/boats/for-sale/53283/

 

[Subliminal]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

4.3 MPI is 220 HP, carbed is 190...not that I think that'd make that much difference, but still...

I don't know why people think you need so much power to wakeboard.

Slalom ski needs that umph to rip you out of the water fast, wakeboarding does not.

I would think the 3.0 would be fine if that's the boat you like, and you aren't going to be doing any real skiing...but wakeboarding, if the boat will cruise around 20 MPH, you're pretty much set.

4 people on an 18 ft is not bad at all. We usually go 6. Sure you have to manuver a little bit, but it's for paling around anyway, right?

Out of the boats you mentioned, I'd probably go look at the Crownline first...see what condition it's in...look inside the ski locker for rot or what not, test drive it if possible and make sure it runs right and go from there...work your way up the list. The 18 ft 4W would be my next stop...that sounds like pretty much the boat I just bought (except mine is a Monterey).

 

[chadelliott]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

Just my 2 cents.......I have a 1997 Four Winns Horizon RX w/ the 4.3L Volvo Penta SX, it's an 18ft. bowrider. I have owned a bayliner and a sea ray also and the four winns has been the most stable out of them all. The Stable vee hull is awesome. The drive has been great 0 problems with it. Enough power and great on gas. My wife and I have our four kids on it most of the time. We fit o.k. but it gets a little cramped at times especially when they want to move around. With four adults i would want something a bit longer and if you have more than four, definately bigger. I know I am already looking at a 23 to 26 footer for 2012 to keep the kids outta the way and stretch out a bit more......

But all the manufaturers you are looking at have good reps. i have heard to stay away from the Tahoes if you see one!!!

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

For the uses you are going for the boats with V-8 power in a 19ft hull would be the way i would go.
Crownline is a well built boat.
Out of the drive choices i lean towards Volvo but Mercs are good drives too.
As usual the condition means much more than the brand.

If the 4.3 is a Vortec, 4 barrel carb then it has near the same power as a 5.0...220 hp.With less weight....So many decisions...

I see many Sea Swirl boats around here...seem to be nice rigs too..

Is this the Sea Swirl?
http://www.buyandsellboats.com/boats/for-sale/53283/

yep, that's the one.

I don't think it's the hp that's really making the difference when you think v6 vs v8 but the torque - I imagine a v8 would have a considerable increase in pulling power - not that I neccessarily think I need it.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

More power is always a good thing. I think that is a nice looking setup.
It is the Volvo drive too from looking at the pics. Volvo makes a rock solid drive.
Is it the 5.7 engine?
The dealer should give more details in the ad...

 

[superpop]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

The V-6 is marginal in the boat because you have stated that you could have up to 5 people in the boat and all the gear associated with that many people equals lots of weight. While you only need to cruise at 15-20 MPH while wake boarding, pulling up a wake boarder without drowning them due to an underpowered boat is the difference. It takes a lot of torque to drag any body over say 200LB out of the water. I had a 1996 Wellcraft Excel 195 19 footer with the VP 4.3L V-6 and with 4 people in the boat, it was harder to get the larger dudes up on anything, ski or wakeboard. I would not base your decision on the motor though, I would base it on the condition of all the boats. Sounds like you want to go out with several other people, and the number of people will only grow as you get more into it. I say buy the biggest boat you can afford and store.

 

[JimMH]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

I had a glastron and I was pleased with it but with my kids getting in their teens they always seem to have a friend with them so my 19ft got a little small. It had a 4.3 liter Volvo and had plenty of power with 3 adults and two kids to pull me out of the water on a slalom ski, 5'10, 195LBs and pull me at 34MPH with no problem. I voted four winns because of the motor, age and size ratios. If the Glastron had a V6 I would have voted that way.

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

Well, looked at the sea swirl today - can cross that off the list - it can only hold 775lbs! So w/ me and 3 friends couldn't even bring my dog...i have burly friends!

Sometimes a little math helps:

Glastron: 2025 lbs/135hp = 15lbs/1hp
Crownline: 2900lbs/220hp = 13lbs/1hp
4winns: 2720lbs/190hp = 14.3lbs/1hp

Really interested in the Crownline - but man, that's a heavy boat...guess it's got the hp/weight ratio to make it move though..but it must be a total gas hog! It's also probably the most overpriced boat, considering it is 18 years old - but it looks to be in perfect shape w/ only 250 hours on it. I've heard they don't use marine plywood when they made them, so it will need to be in perfect shape for me to buy it.

The Four Winns looks like the best deal...way under market value - wondering if something is up w/ that though - too good to be true?

 

[superpop]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

The other thing to consider is that it would be fairly easy to squeeze another 50 HP or so out of the 350 with some Vortec Heads and a 4 barrel. I would think you could also get the price of the Crownline down a bit based on the age. I would really spend some time on the first two or three choices walking around and imaging were everyone is going to sit and if everyone is going to be comfortable. The reason I keep coming back to the Crownline is because of its size. Plus, it is much cheaper so you can still aford to enjoy the boat, maybe throw a tower on it and buy all the other stuff you are going to need.

 

[1badhusky]

Re: Vote now, help me pick my boat!

The other thing to consider is that it would be fairly easy to squeeze another 50 HP or so out of the 350 with some Vortec Heads and a 4 barrel. I would think you could also get the price of the Crownline down a bit based on the age. I would really spend some time on the first two or three choices walking around and imaging were everyone is going to sit and if everyone is going to be comfortable. The reason I keep coming back to the Crownline is because of its size. Plus, it is much cheaper so you can still aford to enjoy the boat, maybe throw a tower on it and buy all the other stuff you are going to need.

Yeah, I keep coming back to it too. It does seem overpriced for it's age, but got some new pics from the guy and it looks absolutely flawless - stored inside, light use (250hrs), beautiful dual axel trailer, just in great condition. There's really nothing comparible in this price range on the market w/in 250 miles of me. Don't think he'll budge on the price from what he's said, but I guess we'll see. Going to look at it tomorrow.