Hi everyone,
My wife and I are in the market for our first boat. We first purchased an Intex Excusion 5 and after taking it out on the water we both agreed that we LOVE being out on the water BUT the Excursion was not the right boat for us at this time. Thanks to Cabela's legendary return policy, we were able to return the Excursion and upgrade to a Mariner 4. After reading the thread on this forum, we are very excited and will be adding a wood floor for increased stability.
Then things get interesting...
I found a used Achilles raft that we can likely pick up for roughly the same price as the Mariner 4, however it is 14 years old. The owner claims it was only used 2 years and stored in a garage but the fading on the registration letters/numbers is significant, I could be mistaken but it appears to have more than 2 years worth of use.
So now we are at a crossroads, keep the Mariner 4 or go for the 14 year old Achilles?
The boat will be used for fishing in lakes and ponds and will be powered by a Minn Kota 40# thrust motor. We are both in college, I am graduating in December while my wife is graduating a year from December. We plan to upgrade in 2-3 years when we have more spending cash. My belief is that potentially the Achilles could last us longer than 2-3 years, allowing us to upgrade to an even BETTER boat later on. I believe that the Mariner will suit our needs fine for the next couple years but do have some hesitations about the quality.
My wife wants to keep the Mariner 4 while I am leaning towards the Achilles.
Pro's for the Mariner:
Roomier
More stable (after adding wood floor)
New
Pro's for the Achilles:
Originally a $2500 boat
More durable?
Can take a higher HP motor (not really a factor for us at this time)
What do the experts think? Keep the Mariner or go for the 14 year old Achilles for roughly the same price?
Thanks
My wife and I are in the market for our first boat. We first purchased an Intex Excusion 5 and after taking it out on the water we both agreed that we LOVE being out on the water BUT the Excursion was not the right boat for us at this time. Thanks to Cabela's legendary return policy, we were able to return the Excursion and upgrade to a Mariner 4. After reading the thread on this forum, we are very excited and will be adding a wood floor for increased stability.
Then things get interesting...
I found a used Achilles raft that we can likely pick up for roughly the same price as the Mariner 4, however it is 14 years old. The owner claims it was only used 2 years and stored in a garage but the fading on the registration letters/numbers is significant, I could be mistaken but it appears to have more than 2 years worth of use.
So now we are at a crossroads, keep the Mariner 4 or go for the 14 year old Achilles?
The boat will be used for fishing in lakes and ponds and will be powered by a Minn Kota 40# thrust motor. We are both in college, I am graduating in December while my wife is graduating a year from December. We plan to upgrade in 2-3 years when we have more spending cash. My belief is that potentially the Achilles could last us longer than 2-3 years, allowing us to upgrade to an even BETTER boat later on. I believe that the Mariner will suit our needs fine for the next couple years but do have some hesitations about the quality.
My wife wants to keep the Mariner 4 while I am leaning towards the Achilles.
Pro's for the Mariner:
Roomier
More stable (after adding wood floor)
New
Pro's for the Achilles:
Originally a $2500 boat
More durable?
Can take a higher HP motor (not really a factor for us at this time)
What do the experts think? Keep the Mariner or go for the 14 year old Achilles for roughly the same price?
Thanks