Brand Ranking?

I'm thinking about moving up to a newer/bigger boat (18-20') for general family/ski/tube/fishing use. Would anyone care to rank these brands? I don't want anyone to be offended; I'm just trying to get a feel for the market. Bunch 'em up, if that's easier. I tend not to trust anyone selling boats for this information!

Let's try these: Stingray, Glasstron, Monterey, Crownline, Bayliner, Malibu, Reinell, Maxium, Sea Ray, Chapparral, Mariah. For what it's worth, please indicate if your ranking would be different for, say, a 2001 model vs. a new one.

Or maybe compare to cars: Brand A is like a Hyundai or Kia, Brand B a Toyota/ Honda, Brand C like a BMW, Brand D Cadillac. Or whatever.

Thanks a million!

Dave:$

Re: Brand Ranking?

Pricewise, Bayliner is usually least expensive. Glastron has different models to cover different price tiers, their lowest price models come close to Bayliner. Expect Monterey, Crownline, Sea Ray and Chaparral prices to all be some higher than the others. Malibu (unless you really mean the Bluewater Malibu model) will be REALLY high priced, since they are premium ski boats. Whole other category from these I/O bowriders. The fancier Glastron models, Reinell, Stingray, and Maxum kinda rattle around in the middle area. Not sure about Mariah.

And that covers only prices. Quality and value (bang-for-the-buck) are entirely other topics. Nobody has ever bought a boat thinking it was low quality, or a poor value. So these topics usually start a war.

Back to the bunker,
Kelly

Re: Brand Ranking?

in the past bayliner and glasstron had a reputation for rotting. if i were buying one of the newer boats, i would want a no wood hull, thats that the base of the stringers and transom are not wood to rot out . the others are all nice boats. for a family boat i would consider on of the Deck Boats, it is designed with more room for the kids to be able to move around, and still be a good performer. they are the best of the bow rider style hull, and the space of a pontoon. this is a 1999 23' chris craft, no wood, that we use for a family boat, 5.7 volvo, will run 43mph with 8 people aboard.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f119/tashasdaddy/9f_3.jpg

Re: Brand Ranking?

fwi, I've read threads from Mariah owners who say older ones are good boats but newrer (since 2001 maybe?) are not well-built. I think it was an ownership change and they changed how they are made.

Boat brand comparisons are very interesting. Unlike cars, the MOST important part of these boats are basically the same - engines/drives by just a few manufacturers and often the same when comparing brands. Some only come one way, some you can choose. However, I think this makes the non-wood construction era boats closer in value to each other than ever before. If Bayliners, etc. DON'T rot out like they used to, are they THAT much worse than the more expensive models? Same engine, "lifetime" hull/floor/stringers.

It will be intresting to see how they age.

Re: Brand Ranking?

Glastrons have no wood in the entire boat...Tashas Daddy must be referring to Glastrons of the past...They use VEC technology that is a solid mold rather than hand layed fiberglass...They also have figberglass deck with optional snap in carpet which keeps the boat clean...I almost bought one and still would buy one today if I wanted to do a little less fishing...Best bang for your buck on your list is the Glasstron in my opinion.

I went with a SeaPro due to saltwater durablility, outboard, no wood, and 9" draft fully loaded...love the boat (not too many people talk bad about their own boat though

Re: Brand Ranking?

yes the older ones, i said had.

Re: Brand Ranking?

The wood in my boats was not a problem. Here is another thread on the woodfree topic -

http://forums.iboats.com/bbBoard.cgi?a=viewthread;fid=1;gtid=853277

Kelly

Re: Brand Ranking?

If your looking for quality and luxury in a (18-20') brand new bowrider 2007 (regardless of pricing) here are the ones that most impressed me :

Cobalt , Chaparral and Doral are on top of my list

Crownline and Regal are close but did not have the same fit n' finish of the other three and SeaRay was way behind !

Also I cannot comment on how these bowriders handle on water yet so my opinion is based on quality and finish only since I have shoped for these boats for the last 2 months

Hope this helps