Choosing a new boat

beefarmer

Cadet
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Aug 26, 2016
Messages
13
For the last couple years my family (me, wife, five kids ... youngest is 10) has enjoyed messing around on Lake Roosevelt and some of the other local lakes and such with a little 14' runabout with a big outboard. Mostly tubing with a few sight seeing runs.

Pretty much everyone has the bug of some sort, but the tubers are aging out and moving out. First one leaves this month, the next leaves next year.

Biggest problem we've had is the size of the boat ... a four seater (at best) so we have to be close to a dock and we can't all enjoy it at the same time. Inevitably we'll end up wanting to go to the lake with five people, leaving one or two on shore. Not so much fun.

My wife and I have been talking about getting a bigger boat that will fit everyone. We've borrowed an open bow ski boat to play with, but we'd really like something with more of a cabin feel to it.

As the kids get older and move out/on over the next couple years it ends up being her and I and the younger two most of the time.

The plan is we're going to hang on to the old runabout so that when they DO want to have the tubing parties, they can. And we'd like to get a bigger boat that we can use for 2-3 night trips if we want to with four of us.

General use:

- Day trips out onto the lake, just having fun, maybe drifting and swimming, that sort of thing
- Overnight, to 2-3 night trips, several times a year
- Fishing
- Occasional tubing if the urge strikes on one of those 2-3 night trips
- Should be trailerable ... I intend to rent a slip on Roosevelt, but Lake Coeur d'Alene and Pend O'Reille are close and fun, and of course the occasional trip over to Puget Sound for a week up in the San Juans would be nice -- I have a one ton F-350 Dually I use for hauling stuff, so pulling power isn't a problem

Things we think we want:

- Full cabin (or at least a full height cuddy)
- Sleeps 4 at least, and carries 8 minimum
- Galley (at least a sink/partial stove)
- Reasonable amount of seating outside, not just in the cabin
- Aft cabin would be nice but not necessary
- Head with holding tank preferred over portapotty

Budget: Prefer around 10k, maybe up to 15k. I'm paying cash, I don't do credit.

Obviously with that budget I'm open to partial projects ... I restored the runabout and the engine, and am pretty handy with things. I don't mind cosmetic fixes or mechanical/plumbing/electrical, but would prefer not to deal with major hull repairs or anything like that.

With all that said, I'm curious what I'm missing, and what kinds of boats I should be looking for. I've got a fair amount of boat experience, but not with this kind of boat.

So....Who has boat suggestions for me?
 

tpenfield

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SeaRay 270, Formula 27 PC, Chaparral . . . Your budget is a bit low to get something that sleeps 4 and has good standing height. I did look at a Formula 31PC that had an asking price of $18K though . . .
 

lineman09

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
126
fairly tall order for that budget ... might think about prioritizing what is most important to you in a boat , and get the best boat for your budget .. or spend more $$$ .. boats like what you want that need repairs can be a money pit that just doesn't stop ..
 

JoLin

Vice Admiral
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Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
You have some tough challenges in your wish list. Ted's (tpenfield) list is reasonable if you want to weekend with 4 people comfortably, but they're relatively big and heavy boats to haul around. Your truck should handle it, but it'll be a chore to launch and retrieve. They're also pretty big to use for watersports, and it'll take some careful shopping to find a decent one in your price range.

You might consider a smaller (22-25') cuddy with a cockpit layout that'll accommodate one or two sleepers. Add in a full 'camper back' enclosure for the cockpit and you have an extra bedroom. Bathroom facilities will be marginal at best.

My .02
 
Last edited:

tpenfield

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If you go to the iBoats classifieds or a site like Boattrader dot com and put in your budget, region and figure a length of boat of about 24' - 28' to stay in a reasonable trailering range (some might require the wide load permits) . . . you come up with a lot of Bayliners from the 1980's -> early 1990's, which is not really a good thing (sorry to say), but there are some reasonable choices.

There are a few better choices that come up:

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...cer-102790228/
this boat could be had for a lot less I would imagine, but expect to do some work on it.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...268-102825527/
This one has twin engines, which you don't often see in boats this size.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...vee-102817434/
I'm not a big Rinker fan, but this one looks pretty well kept

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...cer-102840697/
A friend of mine has this boat in a 1996 model . . . it has held up pretty well.

http://boats.iboats.com/1994-chaparr...0/1739382.html
Here is a Chaparral in a cuddy version (24 feet)

http://boats.iboats.com/1999-cobalt-...a/1704981.html
Cobalt boats are higher end if the quality spectrum . . . but may not fit your price range when you try to sleep 4 people


I do like JoLin 's idea of getting more of a cuddy cabin boat that you could do the bimini/camper top and have a couple of people sleep out in the cockpit. That approach would get you into a boat that may have some water sports capability to it. Although you can pull a tube with just about anything, wake boarding would be a different story with the bigger boats. . . not enough get-up-and-go with those.

The big thing with these boats in the $15K range is that they are mostly from the 1980 -> mid-1990 era, and most of them will have the fiberglass over wood construction. So, you will want to have a marine survey done to check for moisture (or rot) in the structure. Lots of members here on iBoats have bought older boats only to find out that they needed restoration of major repair of the structure in order to make them structurally sound & safe. I had to do some structural repairs on my 33 footer that I bought a few years ago (1996 model year), so even a 15 year old boat can have some issues.

If your budget can stretch into the $25K range, then there are more possibilities in newer boats. Keep in mind that some asking prices for boats are higher than what they would realistically sell for, so do your price comparisons. www.bucvalu.com is also a good price reference for a small monthly fee.
 

oldjeep

Admiral
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May 17, 2010
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6,455
All that at 15k is going to be really tough. 10k will barely buy a reliable used 19ft runabout. You seem to be describing a 24ft plus boat. What is your annual budget for repairs?
 

beefarmer

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Aug 26, 2016
Messages
13
If I need to bump up the budget a bit, I can, it just delays the purchase a bit more.

I'm not afraid of doing work on it, even a fair amount, if the purchase price reflects the work to be done. Our current runabout is an early 60's plywood and fiberglass boat, and at this point I've redone almost everything on it. I enjoy the work, but I don't want to take on a huge project with lots of structural or hull repair, etc.

Thinking of my wife's requirements realistically, I need to have decent bathroom facilities and a cabin she can stand up in, hence cutting out most cuddys. There may be one out there that fits the bill, but I've not seen one. So bumping budget a bit is probably more likely.

Thanks for the listings there Ted, those are some good data points. I'm curious though, what's the issue with Bayliners from that era? Like you said, there's a lot of those out there around here, so I'd like to understand what's wrong with them.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/5747545499.html

http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/5694451496.html

are a couple of quick examples I've seen (not physically, just on the net)

This one caught my eye too, but I don't know anything about Carvers: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/5729984750.html
 

beefarmer

Cadet
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Aug 26, 2016
Messages
13
I should add that I'm not hung up on the whole 'pulling a tube' part ... like I said, I'll keep the runabout, and could invest in a PWC or something too if I needed something else. My primary focus is something that my wife and I can enjoy longer term, both while a few kids are home and after. In three years we'll be down to two kids in the house, and in five years #4 will be gone too...
 

tpenfield

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The Bayliners of that era tend to have more structural issues than a SeaRay ( for example ) so it may get you into some work that you are not planning on or willing to do.

For that matter, I had to do some structural work on my Formula 33 footer. It is all good now.
 

JoLin

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Aug 18, 2007
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This one caught my eye too, but I don't know anything about Carvers: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/5729984750.html

Carver makes a pretty good boat, but at 20 years old they (and any other brand, really) are all about condition. The best brand out there will turn to junk in that time if it's neglected. Mine is well built, with good quality materials and very few 'gotchas.' Good use of space and livability is what Carver does better than almost anybody. Granted, mine has a flybridge, but most people who see my boat for the first time simply can't believe what they managed to accomplish in 26'. They're definitely worth a look, IMO.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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I'm partial to both Carver and Cruisers.... Then again, I personally know people at both facilities
 

beefarmer

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Aug 26, 2016
Messages
13
Carver makes a pretty good boat, but at 20 years old they (and any other brand, really) are all about condition. The best brand out there will turn to junk in that time if it's neglected. Mine is well built, with good quality materials and very few 'gotchas.' Good use of space and livability is what Carver does better than almost anybody. Granted, mine has a flybridge, but most people who see my boat for the first time simply can't believe what they managed to accomplish in 26'. They're definitely worth a look, IMO.


John (and anyone else) ... what's the benefit of a flybridge for a boat like I'm talking about?
 

beefarmer

Cadet
Joined
Aug 26, 2016
Messages
13
Well, a friend of ours has a '90 Bayliner Ciera 2651 that he wants to get rid of. Been out of the water for a while (6+ years) and condition is 'good' but I haven't seen it.

They're moving to Hawaii after their youngest graduates this year, so I guess they're looking to get rid of it.

Don't know how it will feel size-wise, no idea of the REAL condition, and it's got a 305 which sounds small for a 26' boat, but maybe it's not.

We'll see. Going to go look at it tomorrow.
 
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