Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

Hello all -

Wife and I are looking at a 1999 Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun. Looks like a great boat (dealer has it priced at 11,950 and that will need to come down I think) and fits what we want to do with it.

Comes with a 150 Johnson of the same year (two stroke) and a TrailMaster bunk trailer with surge brakes.

I did a search for this boat here and could only find one post so I decided to start my own.

My questions are:
- What are the general impressions of deck boats? We like that it has the room of a pontoon but the speed boat fun to it.

- Any opinions on the 1999 Johnson 150 motor? Things to look out for? Dealership says motor comes with a 60 day warranty.

- TrailMaster trailer was hardly used. I can tell from the scum on the bottom of the boat that it sat on a dock all summer. The trailer is only a single axle and this looks like a lot of boat for a single axle trailer.

- Most importantly, it's a fiberglass hull. I noticed that the keel had some chips in it and the dealership had repaired some of it. I also noticed that below the deck in the storage area there was the typical water scum you see in the hull of a leaky boat. They don't offer any warranty on the boat. I would demand they put a keel guard on it before taking delivery. Any thoughts on this?

- Speed!! Could we expect to tow a skier with four adults and two kids in the boat? Does that motor have enough umph for that?

I am going to try to get the number of the previous owners that traded in I think to ask about any leaking.

Thank you all very much in advance for your thoughts and advice on this!

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

I would try to post this in the General boating forum for more interest but ill take a stab at it.


Deckboats are great and fit most peoples needs.
The Johnson is a great motor and I doubt will give you much trouble.
Either check or have the Bearings in the trailer checked to make sure its safe.
I wouldnt be concerned much about chips but cracks are another thing. also make sure that this boat has a solid deck and transom and wasn't left out in the rain
I think the 150hp would be barely adequate for cruising and watersports but 4+2 kids and a skier is pushing it. I would want to be as close to max hp rating of a boat as possible and i bet that boat is rated for around 200hp..

This boat is priced high and i feel its worth around 8-9k as described in a good markey.. and according to nada its about the same including boat,trailer and motor separately.. and right now the market is soft so I would decide if this is the right boat for you and sleep on it for a week.. I believe this process should not be rushed and take a month or so.. Unlike buying a car you can be burned badly by a bad boat.. If you really cant live without this one I would offer 7500 and they will probably shrug you off and then you should move on..

Try reposting this in the General discussion area of the forum and you may get a better response.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

moving to boat topics, deckboat is totally different than an pontoon.

a deck boat gives you more of a bowrider ride, and bowrider speed, Hurricane builds a decent deckboat. and the 150 should power it well. i don't know where you are, but $11,900 is high side for a 10 year old boat in this market.

Buying a boat

1st you need to decide what you want to use it for, fishing, cruising, or water sports.

2nd how many people adults, children you want on board of the average outing.

3rd outboard, inboard-outboard, or inboard power plant.

4th Budget, what you want to pay, and what you are willing to pay, when you find
Exactly what you want.

You can hire a marine surveyor, to inspect the boat, or you can do it yourself.

You are mainly looking for soft spots in the deck, transom, cracks, all signs of a rotten, under frame. You walk all over the deck, that a mallot, or hammer with wooden handle, using handle, tap all over the transom, a shape rap is good solid base, a thud, is questionable base.

The motor should be clean, no spots where the paint is discolored, or pealing from heat, having run hot. (This part for outboard motors Compression should be atleast 100psi, and within 10% of each other,)
Spark on all cylinders, good pee stream, check lower unit for water in oil.

The overall condition of the boat will tell you a lot, as to how it has been maintained.
boat motor combo, A 30 year old may be in better condition, than a 3 year old.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

For that price I would expect the boat to be immaculate. You shouldn't be seeing "scum" anywhere. Otherwise, Hurricanes are great boats, I think they pretty much invented the deck boat segment. And the Johnson is a great engine.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

Thanks for all the advice folks I really appreciate it. I think that when I go back on Saturday to talk to the dealership again I'm going to bring my print outs of the nadda guide and let them deal me a new price.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

tashasdaddy said:

moving to boat topics, deckboat is totally different than an pontoon.

a deck boat gives you more of a bowrider ride, and bowrider speed, Hurricane builds a decent deckboat. and the 150 should power it well. i don't know where you are, but $11,900 is high side for a 10 year old boat in this market.

Buying a boat

1st you need to decide what you want to use it for, fishing, cruising, or water sports.

2nd how many people adults, children you want on board of the average outing.

3rd outboard, inboard-outboard, or inboard power plant.

4th Budget, what you want to pay, and what you are willing to pay, when you find
Exactly what you want.

You can hire a marine surveyor, to inspect the boat, or you can do it yourself.

You are mainly looking for soft spots in the deck, transom, cracks, all signs of a rotten, under frame. You walk all over the deck, that a mallot, or hammer with wooden handle, using handle, tap all over the transom, a shape rap is good solid base, a thud, is questionable base.

The motor should be clean, no spots where the paint is discolored, or pealing from heat, having run hot. (This part for outboard motors Compression should be atleast 100psi, and within 10% of each other,)
Spark on all cylinders, good pee stream, check lower unit for water in oil.

The overall condition of the boat will tell you a lot, as to how it has been maintained.
boat motor combo, A 30 year old may be in better condition, than a 3 year old.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Here's what we're looking for:

Room: 4 adults, two kids and two dogs (lab and beagle). No head needed but room for a cooler and small grill is a plus.

Where we'll use it: Outings will be day trips only on rivers and well protected lakes.

Engine: Outboard for sure just for plain ease of use and maintainence. As far as size I'd like it to be able to push the boat up on plane easily but I do not need to be the fastest turd on the lake.

Portability is also key as we will be trailering it everywhere. I don't have a issue towing most anything (2008 Nissan Titan) that would be consider in our price range.

Speaking of - price range is about 9-12k out the door. Boat, motor, trailer.

Or original thoughts were to but a pontoon but when we saw the deck boat we like the idea of being able to tow the kids on a tube behind us.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

i have a pontoon, and a 23 ft deckboat. both are great. the pontoon is a slow cruise, less than 20mph. a deckboat is one of the best all round use boats made imho. space, easier to tow, can do water sports, will accomodate your family, and a friend or 2 the kids are going to want to bring.

we take the Deckboat the the Keys every year, go 7 miles off shore, to dive.

the 226 is a nice all round boat. fish, cruise and water sports.

Chris Craft 230 5.7 VP 4800 lbs.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

Well, your price point of $9-12k sure puts you in the sweet spot of this current market! truth is, many somewhat higher priced used family boats are folks that are upside down on their new purchase loan and can't afford to sell for less than they are asking - which is way too much in many cases. At your price range you can get a great used boat in great condition.

Don't settle for less than a boat in great condition - they are out there and right in your price range. The dealers or privat party sellers need to move them as that's all they are selling right now.

That looks like a very nice, functional boat. Hurricane deck boats are closer to pontoon layouts than something like a Four Winns deck - which is more like a bowrider with a wider bow. I guess the bowrider/decks would be more of a sportsdeck. Hurricane's won't be the fastest out there by any means. Could pull kids on tubes though.

One thing on that boat - Hurricaine decks don't have full wind shields, right. If a warm climate, I'm sure that's fine. up north here you'd get your wife out maybe 1-2 months of the year going 30+ mph without a wind shield! Cold. Not a bad or good thing, just application specific i guess.

Re: Hurricane Fun Deck 226 Fish & Fun

*UPDATE*

Well went back to the stealership today and said I wouldn't pay a dime more than $10k out the door and he stonewalled me. Said that he wouldn't go down any further than 11k and that "there's another guy coming next week that's going to buy it..." Well of course there is!!

I HATE HATE HATE slimy high pressure salesman like that. So the wife, kid and I said goodbye. Told him that if his other "deal" goes south (yes I did use air quotes) that I'll buy it for 10k.

So we're back looking for pontoons and deck boats at other dealerships.