Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

[paulspaddle]

I'm sure there has been a thread about this...did a search and couldn't find it.

A friend is looking for a boat in the $10-13K mark.

Here's the criteria:
- 18' - 20'
- 4.3 or up (Mercruiser or Volvo)
- bow rider
- Deep-V preferred
- fibreglass
- swim deck
- buckets and bench layout

If you were to list the top 6 or so manufactures...who would they be?

Specific model to look for?

List a few "stay away from"?

If there is a link to where this has already been stated...please post...thanks.

Of course what goes without saying is condition, but we're not there yet.

 

[pmillar]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

To make it more accurate you might request that people a) identify the brand they own and, b) exclude the brand they own from their rankings.

Just a thought...

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

To make it more accurate you might request that people a) identify the brand they own and, b) exclude the brand they own from their rankings.

Just a thought...

Interesting...are you assuming people are bias? I'm unclear how that would make it more accurate. I like the idea of identifying what they own, but don't know why it would have to be excluded?

 

[MPII]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

I own a Rinker.

Top Tier:

Cobalt, Donzi, Chris Craft, Sea Ray, Carver

Mid and Bottom Tier:

Everyone Else. Wellcraft, Rinker, Crownline, Fourwins, Glastron,

I'm kidding. I have no idea besides if I had the money I would buy a Cobalt. But I looked for the purpose of use and then what I could afford. Look for something well taken care of and realize tha no matter what you buy Boat stands for something, B. O. A. T.

 

[MPII]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

By the way, I love my Rinker.

 

[truckermatt]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

i own a wellcraft.. ( see sig below) and i really like it...

I would suggest you figure out how your using the boat before you worry about brands..
a well maintained "cheap" boat will be better than a neglected "expensive" boat...

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Your friend is going about his search COMPLETELY wrong. That is the type of thought process you use for buying a used car, not a boat. When buying a used boat, the manufacturer makes ZERO difference. Yes, you heard right, I don't even care who made the boat if buying used.

First, the powerplant/drive train. It is most likely going to be a chevy engine if an I/O, with your choice of 3 different drive trains. (all very good) Doesn't matter who made the boat, this is what is going to be stuck in it.

Second, MAINTENANCE makes all the difference. A 20 year old boat can be in far better condition than a 1 year old boat, all with simple maintenance (or neglect)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

I agree. I think your friend should look for a boat that meets his size, power package, seating and options requirements and ta heck! with the brand name.

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Your friend is going about his search COMPLETELY wrong. That is the type of thought process you use for buying a used car, not a boat. When buying a used boat, the manufacturer makes ZERO difference. Yes, you heard right, I don't even care who made the boat if buying used.

First, the powerplant/drive train. It is most likely going to be a chevy engine if an I/O, with your choice of 3 different drive trains. (all very good) Doesn't matter who made the boat, this is what is going to be stuck in it.

Second, MAINTENANCE makes all the difference. A 20 year old boat can be in far better condition than a 1 year old boat, all with simple maintenance (or neglect)

Of course condition is #1...we know that...that is stated in the O/P

...maybe by saying in my OP "we're not there yet" it sounds like that is #2 consideration....poor choice of words on my part....I meant in the process of talking about boats (one debate before another)...it was a bit tongue in cheek, but in re-reading can see it was misleading.

Also what is already established is 4.3 or more Mercruiser/Volvo....yes, I'm fully aware of the various generation differences of the outdrives also. Consideration to local dealerships who work on them have been considered.

Also, what is already established is uses....hence the criteria.

...and so those which are *important* (and I agree with you...I would buy a minty Stingray over a beat up Cobalt) are already considered first.

Now second is brands. There are some clear top brands, but I was hoping for a list of the 'middle' brands.....Larson, Glastron, Stingray, Bayliner etc....with some opinions.

Brands has to be a consideration....and that's all I wanted to focus on in this thread....there are many other considerations and we have considered them....but here I just wanted to talk brands...all things apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

I hope that makes things more clear.

10-12K puts you in the early 2000's....

 

[2000silvers2k]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

I was in a similar boat ( pun intended) a few months ago. First time boat buyer with a budget of 8-10k. This was also the first question I had, I did a lot of searching on the forum. I do agree that the condition of the boat is your primary concern, but it is nice to know what brands are reputable and what brands are not.

Here is a summary of what i learned by searching the forums, take this with a grain of salt as I am still very green to the whole boating world.

Top of the line (premium price/resell value):
cobalt, donzi, chris craft, boston whaler

Very Good (good resale value and good construction quality/features)
sea ray, four winns

Mid line (decent boats for the money)
larson, glastron, stingray

entry level/ think twice (these would have to be near mint for an exceptional value for me to have considered)
Bayliner, Tahoe, maxum

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Well if you must..............(dons flame suit) here's some baseless opinions.

I wouldn't buy a Tahoe
Tahoe and Bayliner are at the bottom. I think Bayliners have improved a bit
Stingray, Glastron, Rinker, and Four Winns are lower-middle
SeaRay is way way overrated in that size class. I put them in lower middle to middle along with Maxum
Larson I don't know, I'm leary of them due to reading about a number of gelcoat and glass issues with them on here
Chapparall, Crownline, maybe Regal is a middle-high
Bryant, Cobalt is high

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Thanks for putting on the flame suits....I'm fully aware threads like this can go south in a hurry, but at some point "who made the hull", has to be considered also.

 

[spikeitaudi]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Another top of the line Bowrider company which I am suprised nobody put up is Formula.

 

[JaseBosto]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

While powerplant, condition and options(in that order) are most important to me, I strongly consider brand/model. Different brands/model's ride differently, handle differently and can be setup differently in terms of how the interior is setup to an extent. I purchased my Stingray for 3 specific reasons, and consider these reasons are MY experience, and someone else's may/probably are different.
I bought a Stingray 180rx because:
1. one of the faster hulls.
2. Good reputation for durability around here
3. cost.

 

[18WCmerc]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Thanks for putting on the flame suits....I'm fully aware threads like this can go south in a hurry, but at some point "who made the hull", has to be considered also.

You gotta tread lightly on iboats, speak only when spoken to and always answer with yes/no sir/maam lol!! You cant say today was a pretty day in southern ohio without someone telling you how wrong you are...

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

I also like to consider what/who the parent company that built the boat is, when considering a boat. Is the company going to be around if you happen to need a specific item or issue resolved from them? This may be less important on a used boat. However, many builders offer liftetime hull warranties or other warranties that may come into play on a used boat.

To that end consider this, in the last year there have been many brands shuffled around and some that are no longer in production.

Brunswick is by far the largest manufacturer of boats at this point. They own the following brands plus several more: Bayliner, Maxum (no longer in production), Sea Ray, Boston Whaler. Mercury / Mercruiser are also under the Brunswick umbrella.

Project Boat Holdings (Platinum Equity) purchased several of the brands in the Genmar bankruptcy. Currently PBH controls: Four Winns, Glastron and Wellcraft plus others.

J&D Acquisitions (former Genmar leader) was able to get some of the former Genmar brands back. Notable to this dicussion is Larson.

Rinker is part of the Nautic Global Group which is currently the parent company for Godfrey pontoons and Hurricane deck boats also.

Tahoe is part of Tracker Marine, which is part of the Bass Pro Shop empire.

Chaparral is part of Marine Products Corporation which also controls Robalo. This company is publicly traded on the NYSE.

Chris Craft is at this point essentially divorced from its historic past. The new company that was formed in 2001 has essentially no ties to anything prior to that.

Crownline went out of business and was bought up last year. They are essentially independent.

Cobalt is independent.

Byrant is family owned.

Stingray is independent.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

I can't necessarily speak to that specific size range per manufacturer, although I delieve there is a difference. I have seen a few large boats I would be very interested in but would not touch their smaller offerings as they appear to not be of the same caliber. That said:

Cobalt (Yes, I am biased)
Chriscraft

Followed by:

Mastercraft (You didn't say purpose built or not)
SeaRay
Donzi
Formula

 

[MPII]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

i own a wellcraft.. ( see sig below) and i really like it...

I would suggest you figure out how your using the boat before you worry about brands..
a well maintained "cheap" boat will be better than a neglected "expensive" boat...

My Friend has owned this exact boat, same year, since it was new. Before I bought mine we always boated solely on his. We've hand years of fund on this Boat and it still runs like a champ!!!!

 

[robert graham]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

The fit, finish and materials on the Cobalt boats is really fine! But guess I'll stay with my big, ugly, green aluminum jon boat, since it's paid for! Good luck!

 

[MPII]

Re: Rank manufacturer quality....looking for bowrider.

Did I say that I love my Rinker? Oh Yea, I did.