Hello,
New member and hopefully first time boat owner in 3-6 months.
Looking forward to the venture, I hope boat people are as nice as motorcycle people. *hint, hint, nudge, nudge*
Anyway, I digress...
There are so many boats out there, it is a confusing land slide, but I believe I am surfing through it. I have some boats that I am interested in narrowed down. Was looking for real life owner experiences. All I have to go on so far is salesperson talk, which is taken with a grain of salt, they are, in fact, trying to sell me a boat.
Conditions:
I do want to buy new. *shrugs* I just do, I consider it my contribution to the economy paying MSRP. The boat will be kept for life. When/if I want bigger/better/different then additional boat(s) will be purchased.
I want fuel injected. Dinkering with carbs on motorcycles has made me bitter. I would much rather use a code reader on the Mercruiser to diagnose problems than mess with fouled carbs.
I want a deck boat. Boat outings will have 10 people. 4-6 young kids potentially. A changeroom/portapotty a must.
Our budget is $30,000
Models I am looking at:
2008 Bayliner 197 - I am shocked at dealer mark ups. I have seen a $9500 price difference between dealerships on this boat. This was the first boat I was interested in, but I believe I like the other two better. Regarding the fiberglass hull, we live in 100+ degree summers and the sun rots everything. I've seen too many faded/weathered/ugly fiberjobs it makes me concerned. Can you avoid an ugly fiberglass boat after 10+ years? keep it covered in your driveway?
2008 Sun Tracker Sun Deck - For some reason the aluminum hull is attracting me. I am concerned about the "treated" deck though. Is it going to rot after 10 years of water abuse?
2008 Tahoe 195 I/O or maybe even the 215 I/O
All 3 boats I planned on putting the 4.3 MPI Mercruiser in it.
I know I should not ask this since we are talking about pushing a boat through liquid concrete, but how is fuel economy amongst these boats?
I know I should only be asking gallons per hour, but my mind thinks in mpg and mph... I saw some statistics that running 30mph or so can get as high as 4mpg in a fiberglass boat of these sizes.
Uses of the boat:
- Day/Weekend outings, sleeping ON the boat if possible or camping on shore with tent.
- In-Laws will most likely take it all year long on weekends for fishingg.
- Tow the kids on the rafts/boards/skis/etc.
- Floating for hours on end reading a good book enjoying the sun.
Thanks in advance for any input.
New member and hopefully first time boat owner in 3-6 months.
Looking forward to the venture, I hope boat people are as nice as motorcycle people. *hint, hint, nudge, nudge*
Anyway, I digress...
There are so many boats out there, it is a confusing land slide, but I believe I am surfing through it. I have some boats that I am interested in narrowed down. Was looking for real life owner experiences. All I have to go on so far is salesperson talk, which is taken with a grain of salt, they are, in fact, trying to sell me a boat.
Conditions:
I do want to buy new. *shrugs* I just do, I consider it my contribution to the economy paying MSRP. The boat will be kept for life. When/if I want bigger/better/different then additional boat(s) will be purchased.
I want fuel injected. Dinkering with carbs on motorcycles has made me bitter. I would much rather use a code reader on the Mercruiser to diagnose problems than mess with fouled carbs.
I want a deck boat. Boat outings will have 10 people. 4-6 young kids potentially. A changeroom/portapotty a must.
Our budget is $30,000
Models I am looking at:
2008 Bayliner 197 - I am shocked at dealer mark ups. I have seen a $9500 price difference between dealerships on this boat. This was the first boat I was interested in, but I believe I like the other two better. Regarding the fiberglass hull, we live in 100+ degree summers and the sun rots everything. I've seen too many faded/weathered/ugly fiberjobs it makes me concerned. Can you avoid an ugly fiberglass boat after 10+ years? keep it covered in your driveway?
2008 Sun Tracker Sun Deck - For some reason the aluminum hull is attracting me. I am concerned about the "treated" deck though. Is it going to rot after 10 years of water abuse?
2008 Tahoe 195 I/O or maybe even the 215 I/O
All 3 boats I planned on putting the 4.3 MPI Mercruiser in it.
I know I should not ask this since we are talking about pushing a boat through liquid concrete, but how is fuel economy amongst these boats?
I know I should only be asking gallons per hour, but my mind thinks in mpg and mph... I saw some statistics that running 30mph or so can get as high as 4mpg in a fiberglass boat of these sizes.
Uses of the boat:
- Day/Weekend outings, sleeping ON the boat if possible or camping on shore with tent.
- In-Laws will most likely take it all year long on weekends for fishingg.
- Tow the kids on the rafts/boards/skis/etc.
- Floating for hours on end reading a good book enjoying the sun.
Thanks in advance for any input.
