New Buyer, question about engine size & use

[Y-Guy]

Hello, I'm seeking some input on a possible boat purchase. We are looking for our first boat. Most of our trips will be here on the Columbia River or some medium sized lakes. Family of 4, boys are 11 & 14, mostly inter-tubing or knee boarding, and perhaps skiing down the road. Not big into fishing, but that might be come of interest if we had a boat.

I've strictly been looking at used bow rider boats so far. Popular boats around my neck of the woods appear to be Reinell, Bluewater & Bayliner. So I've been looking mostly at the various 19' units.

I've come across a 97 Regal 1900 that looks pretty nice, however it only has the 3.0 Merc (225 hours). I'm getting some very different opinions (so why not ask for more) - I've been told don't even look at at 3.0 and others say they are fine for what I'm looking at doing. Of all the other 1900s I can find they all have the 4.3 Volvo.

I'm not one into high speeds, but I don't want to get something totally undersized either. My gut is telling me the 3.0 is just to small for this size of boat.

Any thoughts?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

In the 19 foot range a 3.0 is just under powered. The 4.3 Volvo would be a much better setup.
The 4.3 is still fairly good on gas and will not work near as hard pulling tubes or skis.
My opinion is the 4.3 no question.
The 3.0 is the entry level engine in most boats and are better suited for a 16 or 17 footer...

 

[swordfish25]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

I agree, it would be under powered. You could put a small prop on and have more low end power, but that would not be a good way to go.[burn too much gas] The 4.3 is a good engine. You will need power if the boys decide to ski.Good luck.

 

[CaptainYARRR]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Think of it this way. Whatever you think you need, buy a step above and you'll probably be happy. I thought I wanted a V6 20' or so. I ended up with a V8 21.5" and I couldn't be happier. I could see the V6 being a real pig for this size boat.

I bet a V6 would suit your boat aspirations nicely.

 

[Y-Guy]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Thank you all for the very quick comments and the affirmation it was to small. Sad, looked like a nice boat and decent price.


Coming from the RV world I'm accustomed to finding some PDI links of things to inspect or look for when buying a new or use RV. Does such a list exist for boats?

 

[marine4003]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Y,
With a family of 4 you may consider looking for something bigger than a 19, in this market 22-28' are a steal,and its better to buy a tad bigger , than starting small and figuring out later you needed a bigger boat, what if one of your boys wants to invite a friend,or after you load up the wakeboards..tubes..ski's..coolers..ect..no room left to sit. bring your family along when boat shopping..have everyone sit in the boat..envision the "stuff" you'll see what i mean.

 

[Varago]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Something to keep in mind the length of the boat is not always a tell for the room in the boat. My 19'7" Bluewater has the same or more room inside as many 22-23' boats. Also plan on 6 people at the least with two sons, there will be girlfriends and a lot of boyfriends for wakeboarding in a few years. I have 2 girls 21 and 22 and go out with 6 at the least. For an 18' the 4.3 is min, for a 20-21' I would not consider less then a 5.0 and 5.7 for 22-23.

Dave

ps my last boat was a Reinell 181 had it for 18 years but was way to small for 6.

 

[Y-Guy]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Great comments, thanks. What I'm finding around the Northwest is Boats seem to be more expensive then I see in other parts of the US. Doesn't help that the area I live in has been fairly unscathed by the down economy. Local dealer has a few boats in, I asked if he was reducing stock or just getting ready for the slow season, response was no we can't keep them in stock. I work right across the street and see boats coming and going a lot so might be some truth to that. With the prices as such I'm hoping to be more of a cash basis and that may keep me out of a larger first time boat.

I did find a 1996 Regal 182 with a 4.3l V6 Mercruiser I/O price seems a bit high, but he's dropped the price $1,000 already from what I've found in searching.

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

I have a 20' 8man boat and I will be honest with you, like it was said, with all of our stuff even for the day 4 people fit comfortably, any thing more than that and it does get a little crowded, 4people + stuff = comfortable, the more people the more stuff

 

[gandude]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Y-Guy,

Are you the same one on rvnet?

Gandude here,

I can tell you that the 3.0 in our Bayliner has exceeded our expectations in every way. We have a 195 Classic. Some people said not to get a 3.0 but we couldnt say no to the price. We have taken it out several times since we bought it in spring. (People on RV-Net helped us out selecting one). The advantages of the 3.0 are that it's simple to work on, parts when you need them are cheeper (inline) and fuel mileage. I have nothing negative to say about it. Out first 4 person run was last week w/4 adults 210, 200, 170, 140 lbs in all, sking was no problem. A bigger engine will go faster and pull better but it's not like the 3.0 is a sloth. Since our boat is newer we were able to keep up w a friends 5.0 v8 he was a little faster 5mph maybe but his boat was old. He had to fill-up midway during the day, and we had fuel still in our tank when we left from the original fill-up. Look at boattest.com and other test sites. If we were going to ski exclusivly, I would opt for a higher performance boat/engine. Resale value may be lower for the 3.0 because of the lower power. FI should be standard on any newer engine, why it's not is beyond me. If you go bigger get FI.

Good Luck,

Glen

 

[Y-Guy]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

Hi Glen,

Yep I'm on RV.net too - took a trip along the Oregon coast and rented a ski boat for a day and that's sort of hooked us into it.

I've found a number of used 3.0s around here, though the dealers here don't seem to carry many at all. Reinell dealer said he only orders 1 a year or by custom order. Might have to do with the Columbia river around here too.

Did you go with a Class A or still have your Toy Hauler?

Trying to soak in as much information as I can about boats before we take a leap.

 

[gandude]

Re: New Buyer, question about engine size & use

No,

We didn't get a Class A. I would have to make payments - I did and still would like one though, darn payments in the way. I am reactivating a Toyota P/U that has been non-op for a few years. DW will tow boat with that and I the TH. (when we need both).

another good site is www.baylinerownersclub.org . Although it caters to Bayliners, all people are welcome. Most boats use the same GM based engines. Smart folks on that site.

We found good buys on dealer repo's. You can also check for boat MFG rebates, most have em now. Boat trader online, you prob know that one, and Ebay. A guy down here gets repo's and sells them. His user ID is ebay store,
nationwide.fleet.sales . He was good to us name is Tim.

Good luck finding a boat Y-guy!