First Time Boater Help

[Boomer01]

The wife and I are looking to get our first boat this offseason. We really don't know much about them and thought you guys might have some pointers. I've been doing a little research and have rode on plenty to know sort of what we want. We are looking for a used 20ft bowrider. Probably year 2000+ (maybe 2000-2005) and want to spend under $15,000 (preferably around $10,000). Musts are a good looking, clean paint job and a padded layout pad at the back of the boat for her. I don't have to have all of the bells and whistles since this will be a first boat but I want it to be nice and last 5+ years.

1) What brands of boats do you recommend?
So far we have liked Crownline, Chaparral, Glastron, Four Winns, Regal, Sea Ray, Monteray, and Stingray. I've heard to stay away from Bayliners, Tahoes, Maxums, and Rinkers.

2) For a 20ft boat, would a smaller 4.3L engine (190HP), the larger 4.3L engine (220HP), or the 5.0L engine work best? I don't need to go superfast and would like decent gas mileage. We would be occasionally pulling people (wakeboard, tubes, etc.).

3) Any thoughts on engine brands? I first heard to go with Mercruiser but online it seems like most people prefer Volvo Pentas. It seems like they are more or less equal.

4) Looking at a used boat around the early 2000s, how many hours should a boat have? 100? 150? How much is too many to worry about (like a car with 100,000+ miles)?

Throw out any other pointers or tips for me to look at if you think of them.

Thanks!

 

[The Rooster]

Re: First Time Boater Help

Hey "Boomer", welcome to the forum!!! I'm no expert w/ bowriders or I/O's, but (2) points I would comment on. Brand, and engine hours. You will probably get better resale value with the first group of boats, but, having said that, if they've been taken care of, especially if stored indoors, and mechanically maintained, any of those brands should provide years of good service.
Second, depending on length of the boating season, I'd figure closer to (40-50) hours of use for each season. Could easily be more. A 10 year old rig could easily have over 500 hours of runtime
or more. I'd consider that about average. Good luck. You should have little trouble within your budget. Please keep us posted.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: First Time Boater Help

Your price range may be tough to meet, particularly if you want to stay away from some of the 'lesser' boats that you mentioned.

If you are thinking you need a 20 foot boat, get a 22 ft boat. Boats have a way of 'shrinking' once you put them in the water.

Mercruiser and volvo penta both use the same engines (GM). The major difference is in the outdrive. I like Mercruiser the best, but I do not have too much experience with V-P. They are both good and have their followers.

A boat should acquire about 40 - 50 hours of use during a season (year). So, if the boat is 10 years old, expect to see about 500 hours on it. The life of and engine is about 1,000 hours. So, if you can find a boat that has less than 50 hours per year, it will offer some longevity over those with higher hours.

Use NADA and/or BUCnet for market values. NADA tends to come in a bit lower than BUCnet, so maybe factor NADA up about 10%. Regardless it is a range, a general guideline, if you will.

7 years ago, I bought a 13 year old boat (Formula F-242SS) with only 305 hours on it (Mercruiser 7.4L). Today it now has about 530 hours on it and it is 20 years old. It could last another 10 years, who knows. I ended up spending about double what my original budget was, but the strategy of buying a better boat with lower hours worked out, because they seem to last forever.

Take a boater safety course, if you have not done so already, and 'welcome aboard'!

 

[Redneck_Randy]

Re: First Time Boater Help

Used Bryants are hard to find because they are so well built with no wood at all in the construction and they hold there value very well too. Here's a very nice 2003 19 foot 196 with a V6 I/O. Comes with a Boatmate trailer which are very well made also. It's a 50+ mph boat.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2003-Bryant-196-99121651

 

[Boomer01]

Re: First Time Boater Help

Thanks for the responses.