Help me pick a boat - performance version

[curtis73]

I have been a lifetime boater. I had my first boat when I was 6; a 12' vee with a 6hp Evinrude. Since then I have had many boats ranging from pontoons to tri-hulls, and Bajas to Crestliners. I sold my last boat (19' Baja Sunsport) when I divorced and it wasn't a big deal since Dad had three and my nephews had two boats, there was always lake transport around. Well, dad sold one, the other went kaput, and my nephews sold one of theirs. Now we're down to two boats for 11 people in the family. I need a boat.

In the past I've always done all-purpose boats; fishing, skiing, touring, etc. I now have the opportunity to get one that doesn't need to be very fishable. Sure, I'd like to use it to fish from time to time, but it doesn't need to be a fishing boat. Here is the list of what I want:

- 17-20 feet, bowrider (or open bow) required. No runabouts or cuddys.
- Fast. I'm tired of it taking 45 minutes to get to the other end of the lake to do things. 60mph is a good target (with one person)
- I/O, jet, and outboard OK. (shallow shore docking means non-trimmable drives are no-go, so no inboard or vee drive)
- V-hull pretty much necessary. The lake gets a bit of chop, but nothing crazy. Enough vee to cut little whitecaps
- Split console/walkthrough preferred.

I'll give you this to start with: I had a 17' SeaRay with the 3.0L. Nice boat, but it had a "cadillac" hull. Deep vee could take any chop, but it drafted so much and killed top speed. In my opinion, those cookie-cutter deep vee I/Os are made so that Joe McBoaterface doesn't kill himself when cornering at speed. It also was a very deep hull which made fishing and shore landing a royal pain.

I then switched to the Baja. Much more performance hull, 383 making 330hp, good for 60+. Lower gunwale height made things much nicer for my use. Still more than adequate vee angle to smooth out any chop.

I want to go one more step. My shortcoming is that I'm not familiar with the performance-type brands; which ones are good and which ones suck. I've been looking at Donzis, Bajas, Interceptors, Checkmates... but the only "performance" boat I've found with a bowrider is the Baja. I'm looking for a true performance boat. One that looks right with a couple gals in bikinis on the deck. Boats like SeaRay, Magnum, and the other cookie cutter I/Os are cadillacs. I'm looking for a Porsche.

Some inspirations in photos:

The first one is a Donzi classic 22. If I could have something like that in a walk-through bowrider, I'd be so happy.
The second one is an Allison Grand Sport. Again... no bowrider option. I sure do love Allison hulls, though.
Third one was my Baja Sunsport

Help me pick a hot-looking (and performing) bowrider boat.

 

[Chris1956]

So, high performance bowrider. Not a style you will find a lot of, I predict. A deep Vee hull is best for rough water. If on a lake, you can go with a flatter hull. I expect the "checkmate" style bassboats will have the speed you want, but the hulls will stink in chop.

You will likely end up with a fancy bowrider with the largest engine offered. It will hit abour 45MPH and have the room you need. JMO. Let's see what you can find.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Shockwave, Sunsation, Hallett, Nordic, Donzi, Sleek Craft, and Baja have made boats like you want. I'm certain there are many others. That style is popular in SoCal.

 

[gm280]

If you like to go fast, and possible fish as well, how about a high performance Bass Style boat. Speed will certainly be there. JMHO!

 

[spoilsofwar]

Checkmate Pulsare lineup

http://www.checkmatepowerboats.net/C...e-1850-br.html

www.checkmatepowerboats.net/Checkmate-Power-Boats-Pulsare-2000-brx.html

 

[curtis73]

If you like to go fast, and possible fish as well, how about a high performance Bass Style boat. Speed will certainly be there. JMHO!

I did give a lot of thought to a fish-n-ski boat, which is basically a bass boat with a split console. It ticks off all the boxes except the "hot-looking performance boat" category.

 

[gm280]

I did give a lot of thought to a fish-n-ski boat, which is basically a bass boat with a split console. It ticks off all the boxes except the "hot-looking performance boat" category.

Well that all depends of the graphic you could apply. :noidea:

 

[curtis73]

Looks like some good suggestions. Thanks.

I also forgot the important part... Budget. Used, under $10k all in. I don't mind finding a good hull for $4k and putting $5k in it for a floor and motor, or finding something turnkey for $10k. Looks like most of what you've suggested can be found in that range.

 

[H20Rat]

Just nitpicking terms, but bowriders by definition are open bow! Two of your pics are closed bow.

 

[curtis73]

No Title

Just nitpicking terms, but bowriders by definition are open bow! Two of your pics are closed bow.

Correct, but if you notice I described them as "if I could get this as a bowrider..." They were images to get you thinking in the right direction in case my description wasn't clear.

A bowrider is an open bow, but an open bow is not necessarily a bowrider. For instance; the first one below is a bowrider. The second one is open bow, but not a bowrider.

 

[jkust]

I was right there with you until you threw out the 10k budget. ouch. 60mph continuously over whitecaps is either a light boat with a large engine or a nice riding boat with a larger engine(s) and all are going to be older. How old are you willing to go?

 

[444]

No Title

I have a Glastron CVX-20 Sprint. 175hp outboard, medium Vee. Good handling, quick, does well pulling, I think it nails everything in your list except for the open bow. I believe the bowrider version of this boat is the CVX-19, which has a removable rigid fiberglass cover to hide the open bow when you don't need it. Will be a tough find, but if you're determined they are still out there.

 

[curtis73]

I was right there with you until you threw out the 10k budget. ouch. 60mph continuously over whitecaps is either a light boat with a large engine or a nice riding boat with a larger engine(s) and all are going to be older. How old are you willing to go?

Did it all day in the Baja for a $1000 buy-in and $3000 worth of engine, outdrive rebuild, floor and motor stringer replacement with my own labor... Dad and I spent a winter getting that thing really nice. I don't mind going 80s-90s for a boat as long as its not clapped out. Any earlier than that and its hard to find a hull that isn't kinda single-purpose. Early hulls are usually good at one or two things with bigger trade-offs.

So, yeah... I don't see an "ouch" with a $10k budget. In fact, the only reason I raised my number from $5k to $10k is because I don't have as much free time to do the work myself this winter. You say "nice riding boat" and I picture 23* deadrise, big hull drafts catching rocks when shore docking, and 2500-lb cadillac boats. I refuse. I've owned some of those and I felt like I was driving it in molasses. If I'm going to own a boat that drinks that much fuel, I don't want it to be a marshmallow. The Baja was a nice step up. I'm looking to go one or two steps more

When I say whitecaps, I'm not talking 3' swells in the ocean, I'm talking 18" swells in a lake that is 3 miles wide. The Baja (even with its relatively shallow 16 degree stern deadrise) was like a steamroller over that kind of chop.

It may also depend on your area. In central PA, 60mph for $5k is very easy to find. The catch is finding it in bowrider, and finding it in a hull design that doesn't need 400 hp to get it.

 

[jkust]

Well, OK, if you are a project type of person, I get it. Have you checked out Stingrays? They are cheaper/on the lower end price-wise but they are cheap speed with even a small power plant as is the purpose of their hull. They are not designed to take waves and chop like some of those cadillac boats you mention and could be a good option.
60mph all day in what you are describing in MN is a bit of a challenge for 5k but I'm seeing some price reduced ads lately as the summer is winding down.

 

[curtis73]

Haven't looked much at Stingrays. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm kinda shocked at what I'm seeing up here in Ontario right now. This region IS called Land-o-lakes for a reason (much like MN), so I expect boats to be expensive-ish. Just across the road from me was a Lund with a 60hp Yammy from about 2002. It just sold for $16k (cdn) after being in his lawn for three days. And if you knew how remote I was out here, you'd be even more amazed. At home, it would have been a $5k boat. PA has plenty of water, its just mostly little 10-hp lakes and rivers, so I think the demand isn't present for the boats I'm seeking.

 

[NHGuy]

Use searchtempest. It's a combiner that goes through craigslist, ebay etc. Why not get another sunsport? Or find a beat Donzi bowrider and recondition it.
I had an 88 Baja Sunsport that was full bowrider. It did 60 with a 350 that had the stupid torque heads that Mercruiser uses. I tried to build it by adding a cam. But all I got was midrange punch, fuel economy and maybe 3 mph.
A Sunsport 196 has a fair amount of dearise. Too little for my lake though, the wife got me to sell mine for a fat formula.
A thought out 350 355 or 383 would push a Sunsport way past 60. Something with reasonably good heads and big - ish cam.
If you got the boat cheap enough to afford good exhaust you could go big cam.