Re: crownline 240 ls vs chapparal 226 ssi and 7k
Either boat can be a bit big for small lakes but if your a lake boater then your most likely a trailer boater as well and what I have found is that while my boat is a bit much for smaller lakes I enjoy bigger lakes so much more, where as with my old boat I was comfortable on smaller lakes but got beat on bigger lakes, so I just trailered a bit more to get to bigger lakes. The bigger boat trailers so much better with a tandem axle as compared to my single axle, plus I have peace of mind in knowing that I'm not going to destroy anything if I have a blow out because I now have three other tires carrying the load.
You will also find that unnecessary size gets taken up incredibly fast, you will now have room to carry things where before you had to choose what to leave behind, for instance now I carry 12 life preservers, I know exactly where they are, imagine that! I also have installed a power inverter for 110 volts AC power, now I can plug anything in like a 110 volt air pump, Dual batteries for a good stereo, I have a camper enclosure, bud I tell you I still have so much storage room I'm not sure how I did anything with my 196! I have three two person tubes on my boat, I can store them where ever I want because I have power to inflate/deflate them quickly and I know where they are! My engine compartment has a 7.4L motor in it and I can change the oil myself without the need for a chiropractor! Get the bigger boat, you deserve it but don't go into it thinking that the lakes in my area are to small for my boat, you will simply find yourself looking for bigger and better places to boat anyway!