Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out? :)

[KFS]

Family of four (two adults, two teens) currently seeking 18-19' 4.3 I/O or Inboard Bow Rider for inland Ohio lake skiing, tubing, fishing and swimming enjoyment. Looking for a clean, solid, and well maintained mid-90's or newer boat to fit our $10K price range. We do love to boat but don't get to do it quite enough to justify a real boat payment and will have two teens learning to boat on it so we'd rather have something where we don't have to go through the Five Stages of Grief every time someone bumps a dock.

Family currently has and enjoys a 1988 85 hp 16' Bayliner Capri. Purchased off someone's lawn for a pocket-change(ish) price. Two summers in children have grown, brought friends, and we are fast outgrowing our cute little boat.

We just missed out on a '96 Four Winns Horizon 190 with a 4.3L Volvo 190 hp -- clean. Had some cosmetic dings (seat cover, speaker cover) but otherwise good. $7800 and it sold before we could even make an offer.

Right now we (think) we know:

We want a 4.3L for pulling a boatload of teens and adults and a large tube.
Def I/O or Inboard.
May lean toward Merc over Volvo for avail of parts
18' minimum for larger passenger capacity
Bow Rider


We are checking
Boattrader
This site
CL
Have feelers out to a marina

If I was your friend knowing little to nothing about boats (just enough to be dangerous) what would you want me to know? (We do have great boating friends and they were great in helping vet the Four Winns - we just got there too late!)

 

[JimKW]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Mine is a 2000 18' that I picked up here in Columbus for $10,750 two years ago. It's a great boat and we really like it. But based on what you are saying I think it would be small for the number of people you will have. You get four adults and two little kids (less than six) and it's crowded.

Mine is a 4.3 L V6 and I like that quite a bit, but on a bigger boat I would probably want a small V8 especially with the equivalent of six adults or more on board.

You already have boat that is a little too small. Don't buy another one just a little bigger and wish you would have got a bigger one.

I'm in the Columbus area and will keep my eyes open for something.

 

[steamboater1]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Yeah I would think you are in the 2000 year range

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Yeah I would think you are in the 2000 year range

Wow really? Thanks!

I really felt we needed to be realistic and move into the mid-90's. We are looking for condition more than age (okay that's a lie: I'm also super picky on appearance

We ride with a friend who has a 18' Chaparral with a smaller engine than what we are considering and it seems to fit our family plus theirs (8 total) well. We are hoping that a boat that seats 8 can easily handle six (our family of four + a couple guests) under normal conditions.

Will def take advice under advisement re: size. I hear there is something called "foot-itis" that takes hold of a boater.

On the '96 we looked at what I liked was the wide body, interior configuration, and that it was plain. Just a white boat with some rear graphics and white/tan interior. I just want simple.

I want to be sure we narrow down what we want/need so we aren't "tire kicking" and wasting a seller's time and ours.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Swim platform, 20 feet and V8 or at least the MPI V6. I wish that I had the swim platform, got the 20 footer with a 5 L MPI V8. I usually have 6-8 (3 kids + friends) wife and me and its a decent size, but things can get tight with tubes and coolers etc.

 

[87glastron]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

I will put in my 2 cents. You want at least a 19 footer, we have an 18'6" bow rider now. 5 people with gear is snug but doable. No way you'd want to go 18 foot.

4.3 liter is the smallest engine you'd want (I'd think 5.0 v8 would work better for water sports if you are going to have a few people on board)

You definitely want "sport seating" - 2 buckets and a bench or wrap around (more comfort)
And yea I'd think you could make it to the 2000-2003 range depending on the boat for 10K
Check craigslist (BUT BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS TEST DRIVE YOUR BOAT)

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

I will put in my 2 cents. You want at least a 19 footer, we have an 18'6" bow rider now. 5 people with gear is snug but doable. No way you'd want to go 18 foot.

4.3 liter is the smallest engine you'd want (I'd think 5.0 v8 would work better for water sports if you are going to have a few people on board)

You definitely want "sport seating" - 2 buckets and a bench or wrap around (more comfort)
And yea I'd think you could make it to the 2000-2003 range depending on the boat for 10K
Check craigslist (BUT BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS TEST DRIVE YOUR BOAT)

Thanks for the advice. I admit 20' seem so HUGE to me but we have ample indoor storage. I think my husband was leaning to the 4.3 (again working off our friends meticulously maintained Chaparral with a smaller engine) for being strong enough but still fuel efficient. I appreciate your input and will have him read through all advice here. You just know how a man hates to hear he might have to buy a bigger engine

I think the market is still off right now. No disrespect intended but if we think we can pull into the 2000-2003 range then what am I missing that a 1989 Baja is asking $8900 I'm truly not meaning any snottiness. I'm probably missing something that makes the boat worth more.

Already feeling better about having "missed out" on the 96 FW. Have made it my mission to read through and learn more here. Cannot thank you all enough for sharing your information and input. Already passed on two ads due to OMC. This time yesterday I wouldn't have had a clue.

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

You definitely want "sport seating" - 2 buckets and a bench or wrap around (more comfort)
And yea I'd think you could make it to the 2000-2003 range depending on the boat for 10K
Check craigslist (BUT BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS TEST DRIVE YOUR BOAT)

Thanks! Will continue to do that and wanted to say that I appreciate you providing the search term for "Sport Seating" that IS what we want and I couldn't figure out how to search for it - or properly ask/explain so as not to waste a seller's time.

Do you happen to know what this style of graphic is? I want a very simple, very plain boat. Almost just plain white with maybe just a little bit of something on the side to the rear. Is there a name for that? I like how clean and simple it is with not a lot of color on the boat to worry about.

Knowing almost nothing we are leaning towards seeking out Four Winns for being a good standard with a look and feel we like. Are open to all others though.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

What you are missing is a couple things

Condition of the boat

Dilusional Boat owners

A boat meticulously cared for will always bring a premium on the market, But more often Boat owners think they have a diamond in the rough, the same diamond that has been left out in the weather, improperly covered, and poorly maintained and they think its worth more then it really is. Older is not bad but is more likely to have problems associated with age, and improper maintenance, however newer boats can have the very same issues, you need to work your way through the BS and find the true diamond in the rough, could be 20 years old could be 10, be ware there are many more people who think they have something that they do not, mostly because of people who don't know any better they just want a boat, a good boat but have no real idea what they are looking for to find out what makes a used boat a good boat.

Welcome to the site, probably the single smartest thing you have done since you decided to get a boat, here you can get educated and find the help you need to make the right choice for you and your family.

One of the things I always tell people is to get the biggest boat they can afford, space fills up quickly especially with growing kids, another thing to think of is that your once fuel sipping 4.3L is going to have to work harder to push a bigger boat or to haul those darned kids on the tubes so by going bigger boat you need to go with bigger motor also.

Do not associate a bigger boat as being a more difficult boat to drive nothing could be further from the truth, bigger boats take more driver input to go where you want them and are much less difficult in windy situations. My first was a 196 BR almost 20' long, I moved from that to my 248 BR almost 25' long its a night and day difference my 248 is much more responsive and much more forgiving then the little one but most of this has nothing to do with the size of the boat it has more to do with a fuel injected motor and a Bravo III compared to a carbed motor and an alpha.

 

[JimKW]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

There is not a single time I go out that somebody does not say to me "nice boat". My answer is always the same "You got to like red". Red has always been my favorite color and I didn't want a basick white boat.

My 2000 Crownline is in excellent condition and like I said I bought it for $10,750 two years ago. Crownlines are hard to find, but very good quality. Four Winns and Sea Ray were two of the other makes I was looking at when I bought mine. I have the Mercruiser Alpha II outdrive. Only trouble I've had with mine is the stereo so I just quit using it.

 

[steamboater1]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

The problem for you will be finding the right ad. They are 1 in a thousand on Craigslist. As mentioned above, people ask way too much for their garbage on Craigslist. You really have to sort through thousands of ads before finding the guy that has the boat you want and isnt delusional with their asking price. It is not a quick process if you want the best boat for your dollar, but guaranteed if you wanted to wait for a bit, you will eventually come across something that is quality for that much money.

If you want a boat right now, then yes you probably will have to settle for something that is older.

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

There is not a single time I go out that somebody does not say to me "nice boat". My answer is always the same "You got to like red". Red has always been my favorite color and I didn't want a basick white boat.

My 2000 Crownline is in excellent condition and like I said I bought it for $10,750 two years ago. Crownlines are hard to find, but very good quality. Four Winns and Sea Ray were two of the other makes I was looking at when I bought mine. I have the Mercruiser Alpha II outdrive. Only trouble I've had with mine is the stereo so I just quit using it.

And if I could find something as sharp as yours in the photo I'd fly to look at it. It's beautiful!

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Double Post. Sorry.

 

[ma glastron]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Just remember that even if the boat stats 8 people. you cant' go over the weight limit that is listed , that's people and gear/ food /drinks. So I would get a 19- 20 boat.

 

[KFS]

Re: Purchasing a Used Bow Rider - Help a NOOB out?

Just remember that even if the boat stats 8 people. you cant' go over the weight limit that is listed , that's people and gear/ food /drinks. So I would get a 19- 20 boat.

Great point. Thank you!

All of this information and input is very much appreciated. Just getting it narrowed down to what we are looking for is going to be helpful. It is really not useful to search for "Every boat in the world."

We want to do our homework and then keep our eyes open so when "our" boat comes along we'll recognize it and be able to buy with confidence. I'm really feeling better because the '96 FW was darling - but I really think we would have had Buyer's Remorse.