Just bought our first boat, a 1993 Celebrity 220 bowrider. Picking it up in two days. We were looking for a small bowrider to start with. Went to a couple of dealers nearby and weren't really impressed with the selection of small bowriders for around $3K. As we were about to leave the last boat dealer, I said to my wife that we should look at more expensive used boats, just for the heck of it. Well, we looked at boats in the 5k to 7k range, while nice, none of them "grabbed" us.
Feeling dejected, I went to the side of the dealership where a line of new boats with covers were stored. I looked at the first in line and noticed it was used and had a price of 9k. It was more than what we had planned to spend but the boat, at least the uncovered part, looked brand new. We asked the dealer if we could take the cover off and take a look inside. He said go ahead, the boat was to going to be sold a couple of days earlier but the buyer backed out.
Taking the cover off revealed a like new interior. My wife said this is our boat. I can't argue with that. We went inside and put a binder on it and now we will pick it up this Saturday, 2 days away. Needless to say we can't wait!!
My only reservation is that I don't want to screw it up taking it in and out of the lake. I thank everyone who posts to this forum, I have learned a lot from the mistakes other forumites have posted on this forum.
Here is our 89 celebrity 199Br. We've had it for about a year and use it almost every weekend. Hopefully the picture comes through as I had to compress it.
I've enjoyed seeing other's boats. Seems that Celebrity boats have had a couple of unique looks in the past. In addition to their uniqueness, seems that there are'nt many around - so far we've only seen two others in the lakes we've been in, and one on my neighbor's driveway down the street (a 1989 208SE)
Finally have a couple of decent photos of our 1989 224SE Bowrider powered by a 5.7L Merc. We love the boat. We've had it two seasons now, and enjoyed it immensely. It needs floor work, which will come before next season, but runs great, has incredible amount of room (10 without feeling crowded), and rides very smoothly. Hope to continue enjoying it for years to come.
Boat has some features we especially like; such as the long bow seats that will hold 4-5 people, the large gas tank (69 Gals) which allowed us almost a week of boating in Kentucky Lake without having to buy expensive marina fuel, and the fact that it runs quietly.
Link to the photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...&id=1242673906
I picked up my '96 Celebrity 190 last June and love it. It has the 5.7 Merc and only had 116 hours when I got it. I've seen a few other Celebrity fans on Ky. Lake.
Here is our Celebrity, it is a 1984 20 foot bowrider with the 5.7 V8. We just put a new prop on, refinished the wood trim, fixed the bow center cushions and alot of other little things. It is our first boat and we have been out every weekend since. Wasted alot of years NOT boating LOL!!!