What kind of boat should I buy?

[nwboater]

I'd like to buy my first boat and was hoping for some advice. I have been looking at an 07 or 08 Bayliner Bowrider 205. Can anyone give me some ideas on other similar boats? Here is what is important to me:

1. I have 2 young kids 8 and 6 so family friendly.
2. I'd like to be able to take 6 to 8 people out at a time.
3. I'd like to use this mainly for family cruising around, pulling the kids on various floatation devices and some fishing with my son.
4. I like the extended swim platform concept on the 205.
5. I'd like to have some sort of canopy that I can put up when my wife or kids want to get out of the sun.
6. I have budgeted about $25 to $30k to spend.

The 205 covers all of the above but I want to make sure I'm not missing out on something really great. The Seattle Boat show is currently on now and we went last week but it was a little overwhelming. Be nice if I had a list of boats to go back and check out.

Thanks in advance here for my first posting.

Tony

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

i was one of the first to test drive the Bayliner 205 when it came out. it is my opinion, that it is the boat that the other brands are going to have to beat. the overall preformance of the boat, was fantastic. we drove the He-- out of those boats. i have never abused a boat like i did that one. pass every test with flying colors. if i were in the market for a new boat, it would be top of the list.

here is my thread on test driving the 205.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=198208&highlight=boat+test

 

[KCook]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Will you be running this on The Sound, or lakes? Your requirements for 8 people + fishing + canopy may be better met with a deckboat than a bowrider. Bayliner also makes deckboats, as do a few other brands. Here is a link to a thread on deckboats -

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=222910

Kelly

 

[mhasha]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

With plenty of walk-around room a deckboat might be the way you need to go. You can actually get a fish package on a Larson or a Nautic Star deckboats. You can get a bimini top for those who prefer to stay out of the sun. If you have any questions on either boat, I would be happy to talk with you about them.

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

This would be used mostly on the lakes in the Seattle area and occasionally on the sound when I became more experienced. I hadn't thought about a deck boat. It looks pretty nice. Other than the more spacious layout is there a downside to this versus a bowrider?

 

[KCook]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Broadly put, the bowrider has the advantage for comfort and style, the deckboat has the advantage for crowds and utility. A deckboat would be good for most lakes, and the lower Sound on fine days. The bowrider will expand the envelope for number of days on the Sound. But this difference is not miraculous. If the Sound is truly rough you won't want to run the bowrider on it either.

Kelly

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Tony, I think you are using sound reasoning and have picked out a great kind of boat. I recommend you maximize the size of the boat within your budget. You might like to consider an outboard to maximize the interior space as well.

I went from an 18' I/O bowrider with a 7' wide swim platform to a 21' outboard bowrider with a 2' wide swim platform. The interior space was greatly increased, at the expense of the swim platform. It is still better to have the OB model, since the interior is wide open.

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Thanks to everyone for their input. I really appreciate it.

I think I'm going to go with a bowrider instead of a deckboat. I don't realistically know how often we would need to accomodate a lot of people. The guy from Bayliner also said there isnt a windshield for their deckboats? If I understood him correctly. He said the bowrider shields everyone better from the wind when going fast etc.

So they just offered me the following deal valid only during the boat show. I was hoping people might be able to tell me if they thought it was good:

2008 Bayliner 205 (MSRP $29,437.00)
Includes the following:
Family Fun Option (Add $664)
- Bimini Canvas Top w/Boot
- Color Choice (Black, Blue, or Red)
- Deck Gel Stripe
- Steering Wheel Upgrade

Sport Seating (Add $664)
- Helm & Port Bucket Seats: Swivels 180? w/Flip-Up Bolsters
- L-Lounge Cockpit Seating, Large Aft Sunlounge,
- In-Floor Storage (in the Transom Walkthrough)
- Molded-In Cockpit Cooler

Flight Series Option (Add $4,107)
- Bimini Canvas Top - Integrated w/Tower
- Extended Swim Platform
- Flight Graphics Package
- Wakeboard Tower

Total Retail for this (off the bayliner website) is $34,872

They are offering it to me for $29,781

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Tony

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Offer less you can always come up. As the show winds down they will be ready to make a deal. Make an offer and leave them your # I would start around 26K.

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Offer less you can always come up. As the show winds down they will be ready to make a deal. Make an offer and leave them your # I would start around 26K.

That sounds like a good plan. Although they will of course point out that they have already have dropped it 5k well below... blah blah blah... lol I've put down a 1k refundable deposit to hold it so I can string it along till the very end to see if they will drop it further I suppose.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

i do know from my visit to test drive them, there is very little margin for them to haggle. they have one of the lowest markups of production cost, to manufacturer suggested price.

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

i do know from my visit to test drive them, there is very little margin for them to haggle. they have one of the lowest markups of production cost, to manufacturer suggested price.

Really? Very good advice then, thanks for the feedback.

 

[KCook]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

For negotiating I like to comparison shop. Get DealerA bidding against DealerB. Even if I'm not really serious about the boat at DealerB. Bayliner as a brand is a bargain, the closest other bargain brand would be Glastron. So will Glastron be at this show?

Kelly

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

For negotiating I like to comparison shop. Get DealerA bidding against DealerB. Even if I'm not really serious about the boat at DealerB. Bayliner as a brand is a bargain, the closest other bargain brand would be Glastron. So will Glastron be at this show?

Kelly

I just looked and yes they are at The Seattle Boat Show. I'll go bye there and see what they can offer me thats similar to work against Bayliner.
More great advice! Did you have a model in mind? You seem familiar with them.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[nwboater]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

So I just talked to a guy at the boat show who represents Glastrons and Regals. No surprise he said he had a much better product for a lower price then the Bayliners. He absolutely trashed Bayliner, talking about horrible resale value and customer satisfaction. Can anyone here give me some information on Glastrons and Regals versus Bayliners?
I've been on this site one day and already received a ton of helpful information. Thanks everyone!

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Check Mfrg's web site Glastron has prices and pics study up before you go

 

[dmcb]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

You might want to check in here: http://baylinerownersclub.org/forum/

Lots of good folks there who will give you an honest answer to your Bayliner questions.
Of course it might be a little tilted in favor of Bayliner but you will hear a good report.
Doug

 

[KCook]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

Your boat salesmen all sound desperate! Regal is very much in a different class from Bayliner and Glastron. And the Regal price will reflect that. Bayliner prices are so low that the Glastron guy will be doing well just to match their price. Resale by brand swings somewhat from region to region. Both of these brands are low price "entry level" boats. So neither is going to have terrific resale. If you are REALLY worried about resale, simply buy a used boat instead of new. Then the other guy takes the hit.

IMHO both Bayliner and Glastron are very good values. If the prices do end up close, and both boats appeal equally to you, then also think about which of these dealers you would rather end up doing business with.

Here are links to some more threads on the different brands -

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=61294

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=105766

Kelly

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What kind of boat should I buy?

NW - What kind and amount of power in that boat? You will want a V6 outboard or V6/V8 sterndrive.