What and Why?

[infideltarget]

Re: What and Why?

Whoa.....no bashing or swinging intended. You asked for my opinion and I gave it. If you like used, that's YOUR opinion and I respect that. It's just that i have a hard time personally getting excited about buying something that the other guy thought wasn't good enough for him to keep.

My statement about depreciation myth is just my opinion. Forever is a real long time....LOL. But in ones lifetime is not that long. For example, in 1952 my Lyman (total rig) sold for about $800 brand new. Its now appraised at about $7000. Now I realize that if you invested the money in the stock market, bought bonds, got a IRA, yada, yada, after 59 years you would have a lot more than $7K, but I dare anybody to say the boat depreciated.

On the other hand, I admit that nobody (well not too many....LOL) keep their boats that long, but then again not too many people can be kept satisfied that long either.

It's all good brother! And truth be told, if you had invested that money (the $800) in the stock market, you'd be dead broke and prolly owing the Fed money right now!
Thanks for sharing your boats!

 

[SNye45]

Re: What and Why?

1st boat- 16ft Aluminum Smokercraft Lodge with a 25hp 4 stroke Mercury. Great starter boat, to make starter mistakes in (chose aluminum due to fear of damage to fiberglass and cost of repair) could scrape dock with no fear. Low cost of ownership and miserly fuel consumption. Had for 6 years and made mistakes but learned a lot. Sold in good condition for a good price.

Researched for 4 years. going to yearly boat shows 2nd boat- 20ft Aluminum Thunderjet 115hp OB. Again aluminum, but mainly this time to keep down weight (as I did not want to have to change my tow vehicle - only a V6) plus wanted more room, windshield, more power, and more stability as wife had gotten really scared in first boat.

So far have been very happy with my choice. It really boils down to what the individual wants, what they get.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: What and Why?

Currently I have two boats.

The first is a 12' home made duck boat. I got the itch one day about three years ago to build a boat. Being an avid duck hunter, I decided to try to find a small boat that would be a floating blind. I looked at layout boats, john boats, etc - nothing caught my eye. Then one day, perusing the net, I came across Glen-L boat designs. 10 minutes later I placed my order for a set of plans for their "Duck Boat Too". It had the lines I wanted, was the right size (at the time, I wanted something I could put in the back of a truck), and seemed simple enough to start with. About a year later, I finished it up. First trip out was great. I purchased a 3.9 hp Merc and I gotta be honest - the feeling of accomplishment was awesome. Since then I have built a trailer for it, changed motors a couple times, and dragged it over countless swamps, beaver dams, log falls, and the like. If I can keep it in one piece, I'll have it for ever.

My second boat is a Procraft Fish and Ski. Wow, where to start with this one. OK, as with everything in life, this was a compromise. Truth be told, I wanted several boats, but that's not in the budget. My wife and I sat down and decided to list what we wanted most in our boat. #1 - just get out on the water. #2 - Something our dog (10 year old Lab) would be happy on. #3 - I wanted to be able to do some bass fishing (nothing serious). #4 - water sports. #5 - Speed (we're both into going faster than we should). #6 - I wanted an OB due to previous experience with I/O's. #7 - we wanted something nice looking (you know what they say, beauty in the eye... and all that).

We settled quickly on some kind of fish and ski. The wife was leaning towards a bowrider styled F&S, until we went and looked at the first one. She immediately commented that Bailey (our lab) wouldn't be happy with the little bit of floor space. The next boat we went and looked at was a bass hull F&S (I believe a Skeeter). We immediately liked the front to back carpet (no vynil to keep the dog off of). I liked the layout for fishing. This one was yellow and teal (no offense to those with that color scheme - just not for us). The 3rd boat we looked at was a Nitro 185. This one was close. Looked nice, decent shape (for a 2002), had most of what we wanted. We took it for a test drive and quickly were dissapointed with the 115 HP Merc. We walked away. We searched and searched, and finally found it. A 2006 Procraft, 200 Merc Optimax, Black and Silver, everything we wanted. The previous owner had been stationed in Afganistan for a couple years, and was headed back. It had 52 hours on it, and he was willing to deal. After a title snafu (he had never registered it - so we had to get that cleard up), I drove 6 hours and picked it up. We enjoyed the heck out of it last summer, and are looking forward to more of the same this year.

Hope that wasn't too long winded.

 

[blifsey]

Re: What and Why?

Nice Procraft DuckHunterJon! I've always had a soft spot for them after owning one. Your '06 is in much better shape than our '84 was in though

 

[emilsr]

Re: What and Why?

I don't think I've ever sought out the "perfect boat" for me, but here's my history:

First boat - 1980. I was moving away from home, dad wanted me to stay on the water and out of trouble so he gave me his '68 16' Whaler that I grew up on.

Second boat - 1989. After spending more time working on the Whaler than actually using it I had new boat fever....bad. Wanted a fish/ski setup, and also wanted a V-8 stern drive (an emotional decision at the time). Went into debt and bought an almost new (12 hours) 20' Concord with a 305/Alpha drive. Had the boat on the water 6 times when I found out I was getting a job transfer overseas (Germany); sold the boat for a $400 loss.

Third boat - 1995. Back from Germany I had boat fever, and a neighbor had his 5 year old 17' Whaler for sale. Was somewhat of an emotional decision based on experience with the previous Whaler. Kept the boat a little over a year.

Fourth boat - 1997. One of my boating friends had an open bow runabout (I forget the brand) and I really liked the layout of it. I also liked the smoother ride of the v-bottom so started visiting boat dealers. The Bayliner dealer had a new (but year old) 18' Capri with a 90hp Merc, offered me more in trade than I had paid for the Whaler so hauled it home and got 4 good years out of it before boat fever hit again.

Fifth boat - 2001. Had several friends/family members with cruisers, spend a few weekends out on a couple of different boats and I was convinced I needed something to spend the weekend on. Ran across an '88 model Century Grande; twin 350's, v-drives, genset, etc for a great price (or so I thought). Sold the Bayliner (lost about $800) and bought the Century. Right away I learned that was more boat than I could afford at the time, and the previous owners hadn't exactly kept it up. It was a maintenance nightmare and slip rental/gas was sending me to the poorhouse. I only had it for about 6 months when a pending divorce prompted it's sale and I actually made a few bucks on it. That's probably the happiest boating moment of my life. I threw myself back into aviation and forgot all about boats for a few years.

Sixth boat - 2006. Wife #2 actually enjoyed boating (unlike wife #1), and we had spent a couple of years renting various boats to try to figure out if/what we wanted to buy. A bowrider (again) seemed to fulfill what I was looking for so I went boat shopping.....new again as I didn't want someone else's old crap that I had to wrench on all the time. The Sea Ray, Crownline, Cobalt and Doral dealers wouldn't even give me the time of day, so since we saw a lot of Baja's on our local lake I strolled into that dealership, struck up a conversation with the owners (who were VERY nice) and wound up buying a 20' bowrider with a V-8 (Baja 202 Islander). Loved that boat, but after a year or so wifey wanted something smoother riding with a cuddy (we had lots of friends with these types of boats and she liked them). I wasn't in any hurry to get rid of it, but 2 years later (almost to the day) we had $4/gallon gas prices and prices on "big" boats were dropping like a rock and I ran across boat #7.

Current boat - 2007 Baja 26 Outlaw (a leftover boat with 0 hours). Wanted something sporty with a deep cockpit and standup bolsters. I had been looking at a 26' Donzi and a 28' Sunsation; the Baja was "big for it's size", seemed to fit our wants and was considerably cheaper than the Donzi (which I liked) or even the Sunny (which I really didn't due to the shallower cockpit). As it turns out it was a good move as we wound up moving to Lake of the Ozarks less than a year later where the rough water would have beat us to death in the 20-footer.

Next boat - Am thinking I may want to go back to an outboard powered boat and definitely would like to step up in quality, but location will probably determine the type of boat. I'm in no hurry.

 

[takirb]

Re: What and Why?

1st boat was a 1994 Crest Sport II 22ft pontoon. LOVED the room, the simplicity of basically an open blank floor plan to work with, and the fact that they're a bit harder to sink. I only take it out on local lakes here in SC. It was a great catfishing boat, and could hold quite a few friends for recreation trips on the weekends. It only had a Johnson 48SP on it though, and wouldn't even reach 15mph. The motor gave me so much trouble, and wasn't worth the continued maintenance on a motor that slow also. She was also a pain to tow to/from the lake, and i didn't have room for storage at my own house so she stayed at the in-laws (which was a pain in itself).

I recently purchased a 1989 Venture 18ft Fish and Ski from a repair shop i found on Craigslist. Price was right, looks were good for the $$, and i was able to hear it run prior to buying it. It's got a newly rebuilt 77 Jonson 115HP OB that runs like new compared to my last motor, and gets almost 50mph on the water. It's great for tubing/skiing, as well as fishing (my main priority for it). It has room for my wife to lay out on the back if she wants, and isn't a pain at all to tow around. Downside is that there isn't much room for more than 2 ppl comfortably, and definitely no room for a playpen for my daughter this year. But it'll be a great boat for her to go fishing on the 1st time. I just wanna hear her say "faster daddy, faster!"

I really miss the room and comfort of the pontoon though. Me and the wife have discussed purchasing another one so we'll feel safer with our daughter. It's going to be a toss up between another pontoon or a camper in the next few years.

 

[hostage]

Re: What and Why?

I got a 2000 19ft Cuddy Maxum (1900 SC Maxum). It has a 190hp 4.3L V6. I got this boat since I wanted a boat that I could do a lot of things from fishing, skiing, camping, and going into Lake Ontario. I was shopping for boat condition and size. I wanted something that got decent gas milage, but still had enough to have more than a couple people on the boat w/ 1 skiing. I did enjoy boat searching and I think I found my perfect first time boat. I first wanted an open bow, but went with a cuddy so I could be safer if a large wave came over the bow in lake ontario. I also can go camping in the boat since it has a bed in the bow. I liked bargain hunting and I found I could get better deals w/ craigslist. After I bought the boat, I did put a thousand or two into it. For new battery, new transom seal kit, new bimini top, and some other goodies to get the boat as new to the orginal spec. I even got the seats reseamed as they were coming undone at the stiching.

The boat had some nice features: Snap in carpet, lots of cup holders, steps onto the top of the bow, depth sounder, cool folding table, seat style I wanted, full camper enclosure, cockpit cover, and a new stereo w/ aux input.

Hope this helps,
Hostage

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: What and Why?

I had a few different boats. All with outboards.. Not going to go into detail with those cause rather yap about my Four Winns..

I really shopped for the Four Winns.. After the stink of 2 strokes and the fuel suckage.. I just thought I had to have I/O.. I do love it, just miss the hit the key start of my outboards and winter maintenance of lower the motor.
Anyhow after many boats we went and looked at I found the Four Winns I have now.. Got it for $1000 from a fella that needed the storage for his brand new stingray.. There was no sea trial.. The trim motor was toast.. So I took a little risk and bought it( well my girlfriend bought it for me with prize money from a singing contest).. After fooling with trying to fix the trim motor. I found one new with a year warranty for 65 bucks so we did that.. Installed it.. On the lake that weekend.. I love this boat(always thought Four Winns was the best and it is).. Fast, smooth riding,(after having a tri hull you realize how nice smooth is) in pretty good shape for 24 years and is paid for.. Has a swim platform, which is a must if ya ever done a belly dive across the transom of a boat that doesn't have one.. Have had to do a bit of work to this boat.. Installed new exhaust manifolds, carb cleaning, bellows, gimble bearing and alignment.. Replace the cassette player(still works) cause the gal wants to use her mp3 player.. Replaced a few other odds and ends.. Still less than 3k in the boat.. I can't afford a new one.. I want a unmolested boat, but don't want the payment..

Of course I do have the bug and am always looking at boats.. Our next one is for sure going to have a walk though transom and some of the other things we like about the newer stuff.. Till then I will just have to be happy getting on the water for $1065..

 

[JoLin]

Re: What and Why?

I've gone from a 21' walk-around cuddy to a 24' express cruiser to the 27' express cruiser in my sig, in 4 years. Why? Because the more the Admiral and I boat, the more weekends we want to spend on the water. I bought this boat at the very end of last season and have only run it twice. Once on the sea trial and once to run it from the owner's home to the marina where it's currently blocked and wrapped.

Okay, so why this boat?

Room enough for the 2 of us for a long weekend. Adequate water and holding tank capacity, and a cabin that provides dedicated sleeping areas without having to set up and break down the v-berth if we want to sit or eat inside. I also have A/C for when we overnight at a marina rather than on the hook. We have such a trip planned with a convoy of friends at the end of July. 7 nights in 3 different marinas.

The wider (9.5') beam means I won't be trailering anymore. I've decided that's a good thing even though expenses shoot up significantly. The 24' and trailer was tough for me to manage. I'm getting old...

I wanted a boat with a single big-block, but couldn't find a good one. I went with twin V-6's as a (I hope) reasonable alternative. I like it that they're fuel injected. That said, this boat was nearly a coin-toss choice... was looking at a pretty nice Larson 28' Cabrio with twin V-6 Mercs, too. The Four Winns surveyed well, I preferred its cabin layout and F.I., and I got what I think was a real good deal on it.

My .02

 

[ezmobee]

Re: What and Why?

My first boat was a 16' aluminum Starcraft. I didn't really "pick" that one. It basically fell into my lap. Friend of a friend bought it as a project and was getting divorced and needed to unload it. He only wanted $200 and when I saw it had a serviceable trailer and a V4 Johnson on it I figured it was a good buy. I also felt the aluminum was a plus though I didn't really know why. I enjoyed that boat and ran it for 5 seasons. I liked how light it was and that due to being aluminum, I didn't really have to care for/about it much. If it banged the dock or took a hard beaching it wasn't going to damage it. It was a closed bow though which I really felt was a waste of space. Since I liked the boat so much and it was so easy to restore, I went looking for a 16' or 18' open bow version of the same boat. I ended up with an 18'. Turns out it just fits in my garage with an inch or two to spare. It's deeper and wider (and obivously longer) than the 16' and feels like a much bigger hull. I absolutely love it. I grew up using outboard boats and prefer them.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: What and Why?

You will love having those twin V6's.. Will be the leader of the pack

 

[grzzzz]

Re: What and Why?

I understand your request... I put much thought into what I bought. I am originally from MI, near the lake St. Clair and had boats, family had boats and friends had boats like most young adults had cars in most places. Considered myself knowing a bit about them. When I move here to New Mexico I had no idea how many lakes and how much boating was here....and GREAT fishing. Knew I needed a boat but what to get?? Was going fishing with friend that had boats. One was kind of a bass boat. Nitro? Fast and pretty but low in the water. The lakes are small here and very unprotected. They go from glass to 3 footers in a matter of minutes. Found myself bailing more than once. Another had what I called the "family ski boat" "Four winds"? Pretty, big, fast but not a fishing boat. Always climbing over sets and "stuff". couldn't drop worms on the floor, couldn't get into the coves ot shallows where the fish were cuz afraid to scratch the gel, drag the prop. Shorelines and bottoms often VERY rocky.

So, the decision was obovious. An alumium, high gunnel, inboard... a bought an old 18.5 Starcraft. Alumimum so I could run her up on shore at night to camp-fish, maybe bump a rock or 2 and still get home, high sides to get back to dock when the waves kick up and an inboard ..... so if/when i have engine trouble and I flip the hood I see soemthing I reconize.

Happy hunting

Grzzzz

 

[BTMCB]

Re: What and Why?

I bought the one I did for lots of reasons - most of which were related to personal preferences with respect to appearance, comfort, reliability (new) and of course........I believe I got a "deal" on the price. The size of current boat and possible next boat (boat show is this weekend!) is ideal for just the admiral and I and not too bad when our grown sons and their families join us for water sports and relaxing (don't do much fishing). But, when deciding on the "size" my primary consideration was (and will be) - can this old guy (57), with a bad back, launch and retrieve it easily when I go solo (which I do quite frequently) since I trailer it. Until and unless I ever decide to "slip" a boat, I will probably keep it under 25-26 LOA max - just for that reason. Just my .02.

 

[642mx]

Re: What and Why?

1st boat: Had no idea of what we wanted. I wanted a cheap boat that ran at least 50 mph. Wife wanted something flashy that stood out from the Bayliners, Sea Rays, etc... We both wanted something in decent shape, but we both knew that it would get some dock rash, chips and scratches (it was our first boat after all, your going to bang the dock sooner or later).

We ran across the Baja Islander 180's. They were cheap, looked good and most had 4 barrel 4.3L's. It was only 18 foot long, so we felt comfortable driving it, towing it, etc... My Dad always had bowriders, so we thought it would work out perfectly for us. We found a 96 Islander that was in great shape, we bought it the same day we looked at it. We kept it for right at 3 years and loved every second of it!

What we learned from the first boat guided us to boat #2. We figured out that a bowrider was nice for getting in and out of it, but we wanted something we could sleep on. We also got caught in some storms with the bowrider and thought it would be great to have a place to hide from the weather. So a small cuddy was top priority. After being on the river around big power boats, we both decided we needed open exhaust and at least a small block V8. My wife likes to ski, so it needed to be small enough and pull hard enough coming out of the hole for watersports. Also, after boating on KY Lake, we needed some trim tabs!

With that being said, we looked at the Baja Hammers and H2X's. After owning the first baja, we decided it was the brand for us.... sporty, flashy, and good resale values. Most of the H2X's were a little more money than we wanted to spend on our first performance boat... so we looked at a couple Hammers and fell in love with the look, power, and features.

We found one at a dealer and it was almost too good to be true. It was used, but the dealer sold it new, it was a one owner and the dealer did all the service on it. It had a bone stock 7.4L big block with aftermarket exhaust tips... low hours, etc, etc... it had some fading, but I can be pretty handy with a buffer so we test drove it and left with it an hour later. So far we've put almost 100 hours on it (just bought it last June) and we love it!!

After owing the Hammer for almost a year, we've already decided on our next boat. It will be a 29 Baja Outlaw with twin big blocks. We're wanting to be able to have a boat that will handle the big water for vacation trips to the Great lakes, LOTO, and the ocean. My wife really wants to take off from Florida and run to the Bahama's.... so I think the 29 will be just about perfect and easy to tow.... I think we'll keep the Hammer this season and start looking for a 29 in the Fall.

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: What and Why?

I selected a 1996 Glastron 20ft bowrider because I wanted a good all around ski boat with enough I/O power to do all the water sports that Holds 8 People.
Even though its a V8 its good on GAS because I rarely go over 25mph or 3,000 RPM. I wanted a boat that easy to trailer, Launch and Retrieve and this fits the bill.
My boat has a common Motor and Drive so to find Maintenace is easy.
I believe I made good decision with my Craigs List purchase with the help from research on IBOATS on boat purchasing Tips.
I have owned my Boat over a Year. My wife likes Purple and I like the color too. Its a Win Win.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: What and Why?

First boat: 1994 Cobalt 252 7.4 (Carb) BIII - Had been looking to get into boating and went to a number of boat shows. We knew we wanted something in the 24-26' range. Much smaller and you get pounded by the bigger boats around here. Much bigger and we couldn't tow it and were concerned it would be too much to handle. We fell in love with the Cobalts at a show, there was just something about the level of quality you could feel being on the boat. I owned a small development company at the time and business was good. We were looking at a new 24SX. Then the real estate market collapsed. We still wanted a boat but couldn't spend $100k on a bow rider. After looking for quite awhile we found our boat with about 380 hrs. It needed a good cleaning and wax but was in really good shape otherwise. It was a great first boat, but we thought we would do more watersports. Turns out that we really just liked to go for a nice cruise, find our way to cove, and float around drinking beer. Who woulda thunk it???

Second Boat: 2000 Cobalt 293 - Twin Volvo 5.0's (TBI) with Duoprops

We had both wanted something a little bigger, and trying to back the old single into our slip was a PITA. We also got towed home due to a bad ignition module on the merc. I wanted a Tiara, but the wife thought it was too much of a fishing boat and was not fast enough. That's when we found the 293. She only had 166 hours on her. The cabin didn't look like it had ever been touched. We took it for a sea trial in the middle of a small craft advisory. She ran 48 knots into the wind and we didn't even get splashed once on the way out or back. The seller had gotten the boat as part of the deal when he bought his house...but he wanted a fishing boat. He had no attachment to the boat and was really just looking for a down payment on HIS boat of choice. We got it for about half of blue book at the time, so we couldn't pass up the deal. Green and white wouldn't have been my first choice, but there was a lot of other green at stake...

She's built like a tank but will still carve a nice turn if you trim the bow down. She's also quiet enough at cruise that you can carry on a conversation without yelling. All in all, I would do it again. That said, if there were a low hour Cobalt 343 out there with twin 496's I'd be on it!

 

[possum2082]

Re: What and Why?

the mrs. and myself recently had our first kid and we were reflecting on how we had almost no hobbies in common (i like hockey and rockclimbing and she likes relationship building). after much talk, we discovered how much we both loved spending time at the lake when we were younger. it was then decided that we would buy a boat as a family investment (our son is now 1).

a buddy of mine bought a 25ish' larson cruiser and i spent the night on it. galley? head? unbelievable. i knew from that point i wanted a cruiser. i went to the local dealer and a bayliner cuddy was going to run about 40grand. we would need to buy used as that is all we could afford and i'm pretty handy on cars anyway. i spent a lot of time on iboats lurking...learning to stay away from omc. i found two boats on craigslist. an 86 larson that was supposed to be in great condition and an 86 bayliner 2150 sunbridge. we drove all the way up to dayton ohio from lexington, ky and the larson was beat. and he wouldn't even budge on the price. the cabin upholstery was horrible. the deck was carpeted (definitely didn't want carpet). the list goes on.

we left dejected and decided to check out the bayliner which was about 20 mi away. i saw it and fell in love. just rebuilt volvo outdrive. newish engine. new upholstery in the cabin. great trailer. and it had a nice layout with a private head and a mini galley. i never knew how big the aft cabin was until i layed in it (i'm 6'4"). couple of things...trailer didn't have brakes, no windshield (he broke a window and threw out the whole assembly), and no rail on the transom. it was pretty clean but he was wanting 4000 for it which i was not comfortable paying as i wanted a windshield. he was taking his pilot's test the next day and needed some cash. i offered 2600 and he took it. i ended up putting about 1400 into it and it is a boat that my family can enjoy for a long time.

it's not too big to tow with our mountaineer and it fits in the driveway perfectly. also, the small block chevy pulls pretty well for water sports. and, when it gets dinged at the dock b/c i'm an idiot...oh well, it's an 86.

so, in conclusion: desire for boat + teacher's salary = 1986 bayliner 2150.

 

[Tolyn]

Re: What and Why?

Greetings!

What: Crownline 266br (our first)

Why: My wife drove by and saw it for sale on the side of the Highway. We had talked previously and decided on a bow rider instead of a cabin cruiser since we have kids. She mentioned this one sitting there so we both hopped in the car at lunch and went and had a look at it. Funny how your perception of size changes wildly while driving by things. I hopped out of the car and my first thought was "holy.... this thing is huge!"

We talked about it some and both of us seemed ok. The engine seemed in good shape. Probably the kicker was when I took it out for the test on the tiny nearby lake. Something about the sound of that 454 through-transom exhaust. It was funny to see the same little "ooo!" smile on her face when she showed up a few minutes later and I fired it up.

Respectfully,
-T

 

[AZBoatDreamer]

Re: What and Why?

People you got to post Picts please.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: What and Why?

This is turning out to be a really good and useful thread! Keep 'em coming folks! Thanks for sharing!