Yet another new boater with questions.

[JustJay]

Hopefully new boater here with a couple questions.

I'm not going to ask the same question of which is better, cuddy or bowrider or CC. I've decided on a bowrider in the 20' range with V8 power. I have no kids but between my wife and I, we have a large family in close proximity, so it won't be uncommon to have 6+ folks aboard, mostly adults with a couple young kids. Around here, I've seen a lot of Glastrons, Rinkers, Sea Rays, Chapparals, Crowlines, Bayliners etc. My one question regarding these lines, is there one to absolutely stay away from and why? I'm also looking in the 2000-2007 range based on what I think my budget is but my wife hasn't set one yet. I'm under the impression that all of these are quality boats but deferred maintenance seems to be the killer. Most all say they have been "professionally maintained and winterized" each year. I plan to put a tower on whatever I get if it's not already equipped.

Another question that may or may not get asked all too often is what necessities should I purchase for the boat? I'm not asking about life vests (USCG), fire extinguisher or water toys but more so like docking ropes, bumpers, anchor, and whatever else should be on a boat but isn't necessarily mandated. It will be a crap shoot what each boat will come with.

Thanks.

Jay

 

[oldjeep]

docking ropes, bumpers, anchor, paddle, small tool kit, first aid kit, rope that could be used for towing.

There are not any boats that I'd stay away from entirely - but I owned a Bayliner so I'm not predjudice Main thing is how it was maintained before you got it.

 

[Starcraft5834]

what Jeep said..... condition, condition, condition... tools necessary to change belts should one break......(have spare belts in the boat), if you don't, u will be towed in when they break and they do break, when? on the water of course..., not to many break during driveway muff fire ups, have belts and tools, toss new one on,, away u go....

 

[jkust]

Let's pretend that every boat you are looking at is in perfect shape....a trailer queen that was babied with 20 hours on it so condition and maintenance aren't an issue.
The span between 2000 and 2007 was not a very fast moving one for changes to boats except that for model year 2002, MPI became available which is a big leap forward but less common on the smaller bowriders in those years versus the larger cruisers and very large bowriders.

You'll notice then that each of those brands holds a slightly different spot on the continuum from budget to luxury/sporty. My opinion as both a Bayliner owner and a Chaparral owner is the following but note that it is only relevant to the 20ish foot and under boats because the paradigm changes when you get into larger boats.
Bayliner is a great way to get out on the water...not fancy but you are boating and some folks just don't care about extras.
Glastron is more bling and flash and decent design but a step above a Bayliner,
Rinker...I cannot comment on Rinker for that model year span as I just don't have enough experience with them.
Sea Ray; I cannot be harsh enough on the under 20ish foot Sea Ray boats...they are marketing over form from an era when they used to produce decent small bowriders (Large Sea Rays are fantastic but that doesn't translate into their smaller boats). I would only own a Sea Ray Select series and even then they are so-so.

Chaparral, Particularly with the 2002 and later Chaparrals, no matter the size except their very basic model you are buying a Lexus...Other brands you buy a smaller boat and you get the Toyota and move up to the Lexus with their larger boat...Chaparral is the standout in this list and is more luxury than sporty with a very heavy build.
Crownline, I put near the top of this list with Chaparral except that for some reason, the smaller Crownlines in this range of years didn't have snap out carpet as standard but instead had glued down carpet which is a no go for me. If I'm generalizing, I see far more smaller Crownlines with the MPI engine in this era than other brands. Crownline is a bit of a narrower small bowrider with a little lighter build and is far more sporty than luxury.

If I had to choose a boat on this list with my tastes, I would pick up a Chaparral SSi or a Crownline that was optioned appropriately. The Chaparral models from 2002 to 2007 are all almost identical with very small changes to the helm and rear pad....a very slow moving time.

 

[JustJay]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am sort of just looking to get "on the water" but I am well aware that a little concession goes a long way towards overall happiness. Did I mention I was married. Since it was stated that the early to mid 2000s were a slow moving period, it would be safe to assume that if I were to find a 2002 Chappy for the same price as a 2007 Bayliner given similar condition, the Chaparral would be far and away the better buy.

I'm sure many of you are very much like me in that you start with a $5000 budget, then for $2000 more you can get a 5 year newer boat with half the hours, then for another $2000 you can get an even newer boat with a few less hours, fiberglass deck, bucket seats, etc, and so on and so forth. I started my craigslist search at $7000, now I'm up to pushing $20k. It's a horrible mindset.

I also wanted to mention I'm in the Norman, OK area, so if anyone is close by that wouldn't mind taking someone under their wing and especially lending a hand looking at a boat or two when the time comes, I'd appreciate it. I don't really come from a boating family, nor do I have any particularly close friends who have boats.

 

[jkust]

We are both in a sort of a similar situation...I just bought my first Waverunner to add to the fleet two weeks back. There is a lot of comparison and give and take on hours versus year versus engine, etc. Believe me, I just went through this. One of the neat things about Chaparral with their small bowriders in the SSi series is that all of the stuff that everyone finally added in to their boats over the 2000's has been on those SSi boats for all of the 2000's. You almost cannot compare a Bayliner to other boats given Bayliner is so ultra entry level and others including Chaparral are on the opposite end of the continuum. You paid more and got more when new. Chaparrals have had fiberglass floors with snap out carpet on all but their single entry level boat (the 180SSe which is still a decent model) for all of the 2000's, Pop up cleats, all Faria gauges including digital hour gauge in the center of the tach, large gas tanks, built in compass and on and on. Chaparral does and has done a really good job at generally paying attention to the details that others sort of gloss over, hide their absence with blingy speaker covers or don't bother to include. Not everyone appreciates those things nor do they care as long as it is in good condition and gets them boating. In my state, we don't buy dramatically larger bowriders, we buy to the right of the continuum or just replace the bowrider with a pontoon as they have now become the replacement to bowriders. It has to fit in the garage for our 9 months of off season.

One metric I pay attention to is the dry weight of the boat...the heavier the dry weight with the same engine, you will notice a correlation to the build quality of the boat. For example, my particular Chaparral has sectioned off integrated storage on either side of the engine with hinged thick plastic lids, where other boats will have no partition or particioned but no lid or simply have cheap removable coolers that fit next to the engine. Those extras aren't light and add to the build weight and were on more expensive boats which this many years later aren't that much more expensive. Just keep in mind that for the last several years, most builders have caught up with those little details and features and so you can't compare say a few year old boat of brand x that is mid level to a 10 year old boat of brand y that was upper level back when it was new since builders have dramatically improved these last several years.

I would absolutely want a few year older higher content boat than a newer Bayliner.

 

[tpenfield]

Take a boater safety course, if you have not done so already . . .

Of the brands that you listed, I like SeaRay, Chaparral, Crownline . . . as stated the actual condition is the trump card.

 

[sub2010ss]

I bought my first boat in March. It's a 1999 Bayliner Capri 2050. It had a cracked 305 which I replaced with a reman 350. The boat was immaculate and solid. It's perfect for my family and I and with the 350 has plenty of power. I've been contemplating getting a boat for years. I got a heck of deal because of the cracked block but it was a lot of work, which I enjoyed almost as much as the boat itself. No matter what you buy things are gonna go wrong, break. I just got a head start fixing everything. The boat market is pretty crazy. I was told that the boats i was looking at were way over priced but apparently that's just the market here in Iowa. Good luck finding something largest for you.

 

[oldjeep]

what Jeep said..... condition, condition, condition... tools necessary to change belts should one break......(have spare belts in the boat), if you don't, u will be towed in when they break and they do break, when? on the water of course..., not to many break during driveway muff fire ups, have belts and tools, toss new one on,, away u go....

I don't think that too many people are going to tackle changing a 3.0L belt on the water Not that it is impossible but removing a motor mount in the middle of the lake is beyond a lot of people.

 

[jkust]

I bought my first boat in March. It's a 1999 Bayliner Capri 2050. It had a cracked 305 which I replaced with a reman 350. The boat was immaculate and solid. It's perfect for my family and I and with the 350 has plenty of power. I've been contemplating getting a boat for years. I got a heck of deal because of the cracked block but it was a lot of work, which I enjoyed almost as much as the boat itself. No matter what you buy things are gonna go wrong, break. I just got a head start fixing everything. The boat market is pretty crazy. I was told that the boats i was looking at were way over priced but apparently that's just the market here in Iowa. Good luck finding something largest for you.

Pricing on everything is so regional. Here in MN with our nearly many lakes, you can imagine that boats are in extremely high demand. Drive through a neighborhood and it seems like everyone has one in their garage or at their cabin. The good ones go immediately and there is a very small window in the spring when they hit the market and then the undesirable leftovers sit while a few good ones trickle onto the market. Overpriced in whose opinion? Non boaters or non boat shoppers? The other day the ice cream lady came into the cul de sac...she barely spoke English but wanted me to take her and her husband out on their new boat to show them how to use it.....everyone has or wants a boat it seems here.

 

[sub2010ss]

When I was shopping I did the typical new guy thing and posted questions here in the forums the boat I actually bought was originally listed for $8000. Everyone here said it's probably worth $6000. I couldn't figure that one out because there wasn't anything anywhere near as nice for that price locally. The closest thing I could find was one near Chicago that was trashed. Here in Iowa we have crap for lakes but it still seems like things are either "over priced" or junk. Either was. I bought it broken and fixed it myself and saved a ton of money.

 

[gddavid]

I don't think that too many people are going to tackle changing a 3.0L belt on the water Not that it is impossible but removing a motor mount in the middle of the lake is beyond a lot of people.

It's a bit off subject as the buyer intends to get a v8 but there is a clever way around this for the 3.0 engine. Just put a spare belt on around the front motor mount and use a zip tie to keep it out of the way. This way if your belt breaks you don't have to mess with the motor mount out on the water.

 

[KnotConnected]

One of the things I found really handy, and didn't know I needed one until it was too late, was a 2nd smaller anchor for the stern. Around my area we have a few really nice sandbars that are very popular in the summer. When anchoring on a hot Saturday afternoon in the sandbar next to ~150 other boats, its good to have a stern anchor to keep you from swing about.

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Hopefully new boater here with a couple questions.

I'm not going to ask the same question of which is better, cuddy or bowrider or CC. I've decided on a bowrider in the 20' range with V8 power. I have no kids but between my wife and I, we have a large family in close proximity, so it won't be uncommon to have 6+ folks aboard, mostly adults with a couple young kids. Around here, I've seen a lot of Glastrons, Rinkers, Sea Rays, Chapparals, Crowlines, Bayliners etc. My one question regarding these lines, is there one to absolutely stay away from and why? I'm also looking in the 2000-2007 range based on what I think my budget is but my wife hasn't set one yet. I'm under the impression that all of these are quality boats but deferred maintenance seems to be the killer. Most all say they have been "professionally maintained and winterized" each year. I plan to put a tower on whatever I get if it's not already equipped.

Another question that may or may not get asked all too often is what necessities should I purchase for the boat? I'm not asking about life vests (USCG), fire extinguisher or water toys but more so like docking ropes, bumpers, anchor, and whatever else should be on a boat but isn't necessarily mandated. It will be a crap shoot what each boat will come with.

Thanks.

Jay

Hi Jay,
You have had a pretty good amount of replies on what you should expect with the boat such as lines and anchors etc so I am going in another direction.

What kind of water will you be in ?
Any over niters if so how many people ?
This will help in limiting the search down.

Now then when you find a boat that just simply pops out at you - try this little exercize out - Decide your pump for the out drive or gear went out - search and see how hard it is to find a replacement and how expencive it will be. Do this with many things or parts of the boat that could need replaced over time. Spend an hour or two on the net doing this. This also can limit your choice down real quick.

Had a friend who bought a boat simply because he thought it looked cool. Took it out a couple of times after almost sinking it the first time out to only learn that parts for his boat had to be custom made for the most part. It sat and sat until it got hauled off for pennies.
Have a wonderful time on the water
Jim

 

[JustJay]

Thanks for the replies thus far everyone. It helps.

Something interesting happened yesterday. My parents lucked out on a early 2000s Maxum, somewhere around 20', for $1500. The previous owner (husband of the family) recently passed away and I assume the wife isn't boat savvy and just wanted to get rid of it and didn't know the condition. From the pics I've seen the boat is in great shape. Part of the reason I wanted to get a boat was because said parents have a house at a lake about 3 hours away but no way to get on the water. I live about 5 miles from a lake. I would tow the lake back and forth to their lake house when we visited and use it locally the rest of the time. I may try to see if they'll sell me that boat for a profit since my mom would rather have a pontoon. I think it would be worth it.

Jim,
We will primarily be on small-ish lakes (<30 sq mi) with depths ranging from 20'-50'. No overnighters. I'm not looking for exotic boats. I figured the engine and outdrive are 90% of the maintenance and repairs on a boat. Wanting to stick with Mercruiser power (no offense to Volvo or OMC) should net plentiful parts. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and having grown up working on Chevy's, the engines aren't a problem for me. Working on the outdrive and controls will be a new thing to learn.

 

[sub2010ss]

Very easy to learn and the Internet and this forum have plenty of info.

 

[444]

I stick to boats that have been properly stored. I see too many guys who just park their boats outside, no cover, getting full of rain and snow, then try to sell their boat for top dollar with a rotted out interior, moldy seats and soaked floors. That will usually tell you how well the rest was cared for.