Hi All,
Thanks for indulging in another new forum member who wants to buy his first boat thread. I have read the sticky, searched the forums and have a decent mechanical understanding of the workings of a boat. I would like some advice from experienced owners on my specific situation and a better understanding of how boat brands compare, what features to look for etc. I appreciate any feedback I get.
First, a quick introduction. I'm a 40 yr old engineer with a wife and 3 kids that lives in PA. In the fall last year, my family was fortunate enough to buy a 2nd home in the finger lakes. We've vacationed up there for the last 6 yrs and fell in love with the area. Each year we've rented either a Glastron or Larson 185 BR and used it for skiing, tubing, fishing and general boat enjoyment. The kids love the water. We've never owned a power boat, but are on our kayaks and canoes all the time.
So now that we have the lake house, the next logical place to waste money is on a boat. I'm a complete noob when it comes to boat ownership, so I would like some help from anyone on the board that can point me in the right direction.
I'm leaning towards a 2007+ 175 to 200 class bowrider. My budget needs to stay under $20k, with my wife's goal being closer to $10. It seems like most major boat manufacturers use the same Merc 3.0 engine with Alpha outdrive. Are there major differences between the Merc, and the Volvo Penta that would push me towards one over the other? How much less maintenance do you have w/ a FI engine vs a Carb? Is the step up to FI worth what seems like a $3k premium in price?
I'm leaning towards an inboard, as most of the use will be tubing/skiing and swimming off the back, but want to be sure I'm not screwing myself by not getting a better boat w/ an outboard for some reason. The boat will only be used on our lake on nice days for the above activities (ie: there is no intention on taking it to the ocean, sleeping on it, trying to survive the perfect storm etc.)
At this class/price range, are there major differences among quality of manufacturers? It seems like Bayliners have/had a bad rep based on some of their older boats, but reviews read more positively now. It looks like I can get a newer/lower hour Bayliner for the same price as an older Crownline, Larson, Sea Ray, etc. Besides this site, boattrader/boats.com and craigslist, are there any good sites to check out for sale listings?
What questions should I ask, things should I look out for, etc? I'm focused only on fresh water boats and have a couple of friends that can help inspect engine components and mechanicals. I'm not too worried about trailers, as we'll only be moving it a few miles down the road 2x / year (spring/fall). I have a boat lift at my dock (which will be covered this spring and don't have a tow vehicle anyway. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. The nice thing is we have cash off season, so I'm hoping to score a deal.
Based on the above, I've been shopping for a bit and found these 5 options. Assuming that they have similar maintenance histories and check out based on the sticky checklist for no fiberglass issues, water ingress, etc how would you rank them?
2011 Stingray 185 w/ FI engine:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Stingray-185-Ls-lx/142009841#.VLbwImd0zLQ
2008 Crownline 180 w/ FI engine. The guy is down to $14k:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Crownline-180-Bowrider/170348841#.VLbwM2d0zLQ
2007 Bayliner 185 flight ?carb? engine:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Bayliner-185-Flight-Series/164748871#.VLbwOmd0zLQ
2007 Glastron 185 (this is the brand we rented):
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2007-Glastron-GT-185-102337411
2012 Four Winns 180 outboard:
http://www.boats.com/sites/keukalake/boat?entityid=165941321&mid=1521
thanks in advance for all your help.
______________
Thanks for indulging in another new forum member who wants to buy his first boat thread. I have read the sticky, searched the forums and have a decent mechanical understanding of the workings of a boat. I would like some advice from experienced owners on my specific situation and a better understanding of how boat brands compare, what features to look for etc. I appreciate any feedback I get.
First, a quick introduction. I'm a 40 yr old engineer with a wife and 3 kids that lives in PA. In the fall last year, my family was fortunate enough to buy a 2nd home in the finger lakes. We've vacationed up there for the last 6 yrs and fell in love with the area. Each year we've rented either a Glastron or Larson 185 BR and used it for skiing, tubing, fishing and general boat enjoyment. The kids love the water. We've never owned a power boat, but are on our kayaks and canoes all the time.
So now that we have the lake house, the next logical place to waste money is on a boat. I'm a complete noob when it comes to boat ownership, so I would like some help from anyone on the board that can point me in the right direction.
I'm leaning towards a 2007+ 175 to 200 class bowrider. My budget needs to stay under $20k, with my wife's goal being closer to $10. It seems like most major boat manufacturers use the same Merc 3.0 engine with Alpha outdrive. Are there major differences between the Merc, and the Volvo Penta that would push me towards one over the other? How much less maintenance do you have w/ a FI engine vs a Carb? Is the step up to FI worth what seems like a $3k premium in price?
I'm leaning towards an inboard, as most of the use will be tubing/skiing and swimming off the back, but want to be sure I'm not screwing myself by not getting a better boat w/ an outboard for some reason. The boat will only be used on our lake on nice days for the above activities (ie: there is no intention on taking it to the ocean, sleeping on it, trying to survive the perfect storm etc.)
At this class/price range, are there major differences among quality of manufacturers? It seems like Bayliners have/had a bad rep based on some of their older boats, but reviews read more positively now. It looks like I can get a newer/lower hour Bayliner for the same price as an older Crownline, Larson, Sea Ray, etc. Besides this site, boattrader/boats.com and craigslist, are there any good sites to check out for sale listings?
What questions should I ask, things should I look out for, etc? I'm focused only on fresh water boats and have a couple of friends that can help inspect engine components and mechanicals. I'm not too worried about trailers, as we'll only be moving it a few miles down the road 2x / year (spring/fall). I have a boat lift at my dock (which will be covered this spring and don't have a tow vehicle anyway. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. The nice thing is we have cash off season, so I'm hoping to score a deal.
Based on the above, I've been shopping for a bit and found these 5 options. Assuming that they have similar maintenance histories and check out based on the sticky checklist for no fiberglass issues, water ingress, etc how would you rank them?
2011 Stingray 185 w/ FI engine:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Stingray-185-Ls-lx/142009841#.VLbwImd0zLQ
2008 Crownline 180 w/ FI engine. The guy is down to $14k:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Crownline-180-Bowrider/170348841#.VLbwM2d0zLQ
2007 Bayliner 185 flight ?carb? engine:
http://www.boats.com/boat-details/Bayliner-185-Flight-Series/164748871#.VLbwOmd0zLQ
2007 Glastron 185 (this is the brand we rented):
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2007-Glastron-GT-185-102337411
2012 Four Winns 180 outboard:
http://www.boats.com/sites/keukalake/boat?entityid=165941321&mid=1521
thanks in advance for all your help.
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