Newbie here from Iroquois

[Will-Sandy]

I am starting to look for a boat for the wife and I, am looking for a 17' or 18' boat with fuel efficiencies as a priority, plus a sun bed for the wife, the boats I have looked at all have the same 3.0 Merc engines and we will be boating on the St. Lawrence river which is fresh water, I really don?t want to pay more than $20,000.00 since I will be retiring shortly, can anybody give me their top 10 list in bowriders, which we should look at

Thanks

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

I think the first priority is finding a local dealer you like, with a good service department. Beyond that, I would suggest going for a higher quality builder so you get nicer seats, fabric, hardware. In a small runabout, the base construction and hull design are similar across the industry. I prefer Chapparall, Regal, or Sea Ray for seating quality. I am not a fan of the 3.0 because of noise and vibration, and would opt for the V6 - which will give nearly the same fuel usage.

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

Looked at Chapparall website nice boat but out of my price range, will check out the other two you mentioned

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

+1 for Steve's comments. With your budget Will, there should be plenty of quality rigs on the used boat market. Good luck.

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

Regal does not make 18' that I could find, Searay is expensive and not really impressed with the seating in front (haven't got the terminology down yet)

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

Four Winns H180 is selling at a good price any thoughts

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

Sorry The Rooster, my budget will probably be $10,000 to $15,000 wife is nervous about buying used

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

You want a new boat, asked for our list of top brands, but then your budget is 10-15k? Pretty sure that limits you to maybe Bayliner or Tahoe and perhaps a stripped model Four Winns or Glastron.

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

I know I am low on the money, should have left it $15,000 to $20,000, all I wanted was an idea what people thought of different boats, I have been on different forums and websites and everybody has their favourites, I just wanted to get the opinion here

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

My Larson 180 has treated me well. Its almost shocking to see the sticker prices on new boat nowadays. In your price range you may be able to squeak out a new bayliner 175 or 185 with a 3.0 in it. Here is a suggestion and I'm not sure where you are from. Wait until the winter if you can. The dealerships will be looking to unload their prior year models and you may be able to get a big discount. Also if you can wait go to a winter boat show, lots of models with prices there.

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

jmarty Thanks we are just starting to look, we are in Ontario Canada

 

[Will-Sandy]

Re: Newbie here from Iroquois

Talked to co-worker who does alot of boating on the St Lawrence and says I should look for a 19' with a 4.3 engine, because of the waves, so now we are looking at 19' bowriders