Are you only considering I/Os? What is your estimate of fishing to skiing ratio? I’m not familiar with the Mercury Vaser engine, but 100 HP on a boat rated up to 150 HP seems underpowered. Are you thinking 4.3 L on the Glastron and Tahoe or only 3.0 L. Have you owned an aluminum or fiberglass boat before? My third boat was a 17 FT Crestliner aluminum fish/ski, but found it too small for a family of three and didn’t like the characteristics of the aluminum hull. Sold it and bought a fiberglass 18-1/2 FT Ranger fish/ski outboard, much happier, though paid much more. Between the Tahoe and the Glastron, the Tahoe looks better to me, but I’d have to spend some time with each at the dealers to decide. I see the Glastron has composite stringers and floor, but they don’t say whether the transom is wood or composite. I didn’t see anything on the Tahoe website about wood or composite construction. Having replaced a rotten transom and floor in my first boat, I much prefer no-wood construction. Buying a boat for multiple purposes is an exercise in compromise. Lots of factors to weigh.
The I/O, 3.0 L is the best for our budget. We own a 16' aluminum 35 HP outboard right now, that we've had no problems with. I spoke mostly to the Glastron dealer, who says that the entire hull is made entirely of fiberglass including the transom, he said Glastron made the 185 model entirely for the 3.0 L . The Tahoe's reliability has been questionable, I been reading a lot of bad things about poor craftsmanship and a lot of problems with the hull and engine. I havent heard much about starcrafts until we went and checked one out, and they seem to have the best price.
Looking at the test reports on the Glastron site I have to admit that 44 MPH isn’t bad for a 3.0, the 4.3 in the GLX runs 51 MPH. Does posting this in the wakeboard forum mean you’ll be wakeboarding rather than skiing? Speeds are lower for wakeboarding and the 3.0 should be adequate, though with a boat load of friends you would likely wish for a little more HP. Glastron has a good reputation and all composite construction is a big plus. Build quality is my #1 consideration when shopping for a new boat. Winterizing and maintenance are the biggest headaches with an I/O. My last I/O was a 5.7 L with five plugs to pull to drain the cooling system for winter, a few of which you had to be a contortionist to reach. I like to boat in the spring and fall when the weather is cooler and I’d have to tighten all the drain plugs before going out – then after returning if there was any chance of freezing I’d have to pull them all again. This may not be a concern for your climate, however. I do like the clean look and the quietness of I/Os and they do cost less initially.
The boat is gonna be used for wakeboarding and fishing with a 3:2 ratio of the two. Were really leaning towards the starcraft, does anyone know anything behind these boats? There isn't much information out there on them, in terms of the fiberglass runabouts.
If you have a Pro-Craft dealer nearby check them out my son got a great ski-fish boat from them for less than about all dealers we checked.We had to drive 75 miles to a dealer but worth it.They had a bad rep as a cheap boat back when but it's much improved now I have a 1984 pro-craft bass boat with a 1989 Force engine that has a bad rep to this day but is still going strong its all about maintenance..
go up to the Bayliner 205 Fish N Ski. convert from fish with pedistal seats, trolling motor to Ski in about 10 minutes, all conversion stuff has it's storage spot on board. so you can fish in the morning, meet the family are the dock, stow the pedistal seats, and have a great ski boat.
we all need to support iboats marine store when ever possible. you get, competitive prices. fast shipping, top notch customer service. also it provides us, this great FREE forum.
The Bayliner 205 is out of our price range. Were trying to stay around 18K. The starcraft seems to be the best offer for this price range. The nice thing about the starcraft is that the two aft seats can be removed and used as casting chairs, which doesn't require going to the dock and dropping stuff off. This is a feature we like because we are keeping the boat at a marina and we won't have any storage except for the truck.
How about a slightly used Stingray 190 FX or 195 FX, it would put you into a 19 ft boat with a 4.3. Bigger, more roomy, and a nicer wake since you say 3:2 wake boarding over fishing.
There is a good looking 2005 195 FX in the iboats used classifieds right now.
Well, I'm a little biased since we just purchased a 185GT SF w/ the 3.0L Merc. Only had it out once so far and we love it. This is our first boat also so we are learning. Performance seemed fine for the lakes and rivers we will be using. Planes out quickly. It converts from Ski to Fish and vice versa pretty quick also. Just a few minutes. I actually posted a pic in my topic in the Glastron Forum. I ended up getting close to 700-800 in extras that weren't part of the original offer and wasn't charged for. Nice guys at the marina.
I just need to learn how to use the fishfinder and then let the fiance read her book and I fish all day.
I recommend the Glastron 185GX SF. The 4.3 is a must if you are going to be doing a lot of wakeboarding. The 3.0 isnt going to give you the power, if you have a couple of people in the boat and trying to pull up a adult wakeboarder. The boat is great for fishing, live well, and tackle boxes built in, as well as bow mount trolling motor and fishfinder.
I believe the best model to be a Four Winns with the fish and ski package. I am a little partial as I own a four winns fish/ski 2000 Horizon 180. Of course mine is an outboard, and I wanted a an outboard because it has so much more room inside the boat without having i/o. I have often had 7 people inside the boat while tubing and wakeboarding and have fished as many as five people from the boat at one time.
I have been impressed with Four Winns quality as I have not had one problem with the boat.
If you are dead set on going the I/O route I think you will be kicking yourself later if you only get the 3.0. Everybody I know that has owned this engine always wishes they had more power. I would not purchase an i/o smaller than the 4.3. The dealer will try to tell you otherwise but ask previous owners.
My boat has 130 HP johnson, which pulls tubers and wakeboarders just fine even with 7 people in the boat. The wake is good, which is all that can be expected from anything but a V-drive. I had just been wakeboarding behind the pylon and just installed a tower about a week ago. This year I will experiment more with the shape of the wake and possibly buy a ski locker sac which adds about 300 lbs.
As four four winns O/B fish/ski boats I have the model that ran from 99 to 2004, As I believe 2004 was the last year of the outboard F/S package and now all have i/o. An outboard will give you the most hp for the weight, however the price tag is usually higher than a similarly equiped 3.0 i/o and closer to the 4.3 price point. If I were to do it again I would l would get the 150 or 175hp (the max is 175hp). I have seen some 180's withe 115's and some 170's with 90's, which I would stay away from.
for 99 to 2004 Four Winns had the f/s package on the 170 & 180 models. The 170 is 17'3" long and 7'6", while the 180 is 18'6" and 8' wide, so you get a lot more cockpit and bow room on the 180.
Hope this helps, if you have any more ? let me know. I alse talked about my tower install and research in the tower advice thread.
which is the best ski/fish package?
and then let the fiance read her book and I fish all day.
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