All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

[splasher2k]

I am looking for a good ski/wakeboard/runabout boat 18-22ft to replace my aging, dry rotten boat.

I am looking to leverage some of your advice on brands and years that use no wood at all in the construction of the boat (except decorative). Bow rider with a big inboard/outboard or a mid engine direct drive tournament style boat. I want to make an intelligent decision this time...

I dont want to spend more than $10k or so and dont want to worry about water inside the boat.

Any suggestions are appreciated, I dont have the knowledge that many of you have.

Splasher

 

[drrpm]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Lots of manufacturors advertise wood free constuction. That 10 K budget won't go far for a good 22 footer especially if your are really looking for a designated ski or wakeboard boat. A general purpose bowrider will be a bit cheaper, but you're still looking at boats that are 10+ years old. At that point how the boat was cared for and maintained is key. The difference between 18 and 22 feet is big in terms of price and the number of people you can carry comfortably. A 22 footer will definitely need a V8 for good water sports performance, while a V6 will be OK in an 18 footer. That will effect the price as well.

 

[splasher2k]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

I should have been more specific, I am looking at 1993-2001 year boats and have found many in this price range (sea-ray, larson, reinell, crownline, century, bayliner, glastron, sea-swirl, mastercraft, nautique, etc.). Information on boats of this era is scarce, and people with experience and knowledge are the best resource for this info?

My budget probably pushes me closer to the 18 foot range, but I have seen some 21-22 footers that look pretty good too.

Primarily a good family boat, that would also easily pull skiers, tubes, etc. Not specifically a towboat, but a nice direct drive would perform really well? Performance is very important, but I can look at the mechanical on a case by case basis.

I just want something durable and reliable that wont develop soft floors or need expensive repairs due to dry rot. We live in an area of really high humidity too, so that doesnt help. Rot problems are sometimes hard to find until it is a big problem (the case with our last boat). If I can at least get dry rot out of the equation, I can better judge what boat is best for us.

Thanks for your input and suggestions!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Very few boats have no wood.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Look into Bryant boats. They are wood free since 1994. Really nice boats.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

My '97 Larson bowrider has non-wood stringers but a wooden transom core. Don't know when (IF?) they went to completely non-wood construction...

Jim

 

[JEBar]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Sea Pro boats built in the time frame you mentioned are well worth considering .... they were very well built fiberglass boats

Jim

 

[ziggy]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

I just want something durable and reliable that wont develop soft floors or need expensive repairs due to dry rot.

some all glass boats have a lot of foam in them. get breached by water and the foam becomes saturated over time, weighting down the boat to poor performance.
don't limit yourself to specific years imho. my old '75 is 'mostly' wood free. certainly no wood stringers. maybe some wood in the transom, but if there is, is isolated to where the gimble housing is mounted. outboard of that is certainly glass. a wood free boat for all practical purpose. there is wood in my seats. and the worst place there is wood is the ft. motor mount. there's a piece of wood only under the ft. motor mount. guess my oem figured they had no choice and had to use something to fasten to for the ft. mount. who knows. or there's even older yet. fiberglass stringers. wood free boat.
guess if i were you, i'd find a boat i like and then research it to find out what it's made of. i did prior to purchase of my boat, i had a good idea of it's construction prior to purchase. i just didn't know what to reasearch specificly prior to finding a boat i thought i might want.

i hear ya about not wanting wood though. my last boats got totally spent wood. it sits in my back yard... none servicable a wood free boat was a real selling point for me too..

 

[jigngrub]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Look for a boat that has been well cared for and garage kept or covered when not in use.... and then keep your boat in a garage or covered when not in use and wood content is a moot point.

If you bought a boat with rot, you didn't know what to look for when you were buying.

If your boat developed rot while you owned it, you neglected and didn't take proper care of it.

 

[jstutz101]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

I have a 2006 Hydra Sport 20' Fish and Ski that I paid $4500 for this year. They are supposed to be wood free. I know where your coming from, Ive had my share of rotted floors.

 

[Augoose]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

According to a wood free listing I found - "Allison, Angler, Aquasport, Avocet, Bass Cat, Bertram, Bryant, Bumble Bee, Carver, Caravelle, Carolina Skiff, Champion, Cobalt, Defiance, Dolphin, Ebbtide, Four Winns, Glastron, Hatteras, Hydra-Sports, Interceptor, Key Largo, Key West, Larson, Marquis, Mastercraft, Nautic Star, Nitro, Panga Marine, Pro Craft, Pro Sports, Progression Offshore, ProKat, Ranger, Rinell, Robalo, Sea Chaser, Sea Hunt, Sea King, Sea Quest, Sea Ray, Seaswirl, Skeeter, Stratos, Steiger Craft, Triumph, Triton, VIP, Wellcraft, and World Cat". I don't know when exactly the above manufacturers went wood free however......

Like others have said, the care of the boat is the most important thing. Even an all fiberglass boat can be destroyed by neglect so don't let wood-free construction forgo an in depth inspection by you or a marine surveyor.

I was in your exact same "boat" (pun intended) last year after my old boat had rot issues. So I went looking and found a 1999 20' Chris Craft for $4,500 which had no wood and was stored in a lift when not in use. After an inspection, it was in great structural shape. I modified the trailer for storage purposes and keep the nose up high when parked to ensure the water doesn't sit in the boat. I also open up all the compartments when it sits covered to keep the air moving and the moisture level down.

Deals are out there just keep looking!

 

[sktn77a]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

I don't think you're going to find a wood-free boat for $10k. Most of them are newer and/or higher price brands.

 

[jestor68]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

Mariah boats are 100 % wood free, very high quality boats.

There is a 19.6 ft 2003 cuddy on E-Bay(4 days to go). 4.3L Merc with 150 hrs. One owner.

Asking 12.5K or best offer. Clinton, CT. Check it out.

 

[86 century]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

The skiers choice (supra/moomba)line went full composite in '92.
maria is the 21.5'or saltare is 23.5 both open bow.

There are moomba models that are the same thing but will be a bit cheaper.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

According to a wood free listing I found - "Allison, Angler, Aquasport, Avocet, Bass Cat, Bertram, Bryant, Bumble Bee, Carver, Caravelle, Carolina Skiff, Champion, Cobalt, Defiance, Dolphin, Ebbtide, Four Winns, Glastron, Hatteras, Hydra-Sports, Interceptor, Key Largo, Key West, Larson, Marquis, Mastercraft, Nautic Star, Nitro, Panga Marine, Pro Craft, Pro Sports, Progression Offshore, ProKat, Ranger, Rinell, Robalo, Sea Chaser, Sea Hunt, Sea King, Sea Quest, Sea Ray, Seaswirl, Skeeter, Stratos, Steiger Craft, Triumph, Triton, VIP, Wellcraft, and World Cat". I don't know when exactly the above manufacturers went wood free however......

Most of these boats have wood in them . . . so maybe not a good source where you found this list. Lots of people think that their boat is wood free . . .it helps them sleep at night.

Current day Glastrons and Larsons with VEC hulls do not have wood stringers, but for bulkheads etc, they do.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

apparently there is a standard "wood free" which isn't really. My 1988 key west is wood free and it has wood backing up the fiberglass decks, console, etc.

Although not the style you want, one of the best old boats that is less likely to have wood rot is an outboard used in salt water. For one thing, there is way less water intrusion with an outboard instead of that big gaping hole in the stern covered by a condom and a water-pumping plant inside. Salt water seems to make a difference (wood is less likely to rot in salt) but if you think about it, much of the standing water in the boat is coming from rain, coastal or inland.

 

[babbot]

Re: All Fiberglass runabout brands? Burned by dry rot before, not again...

When you have completed your research and ready to purchase a boat whatever it may be definitely hire a surveyor to go through the boat. If there is wood they should be able to determine the condition and give you piece of mind.