SP 180 cc w/ 115 Yam - tube,ski,comfort?

[ckone0814]

OK so I've been looking for my first boat and here's where I'm at. Want something that can go from bay to lake, fish (fresh and salt) to fun. Will usually have 2 adults, sometimes 4, never more than that. Hope to be able to tube and maybe ski. Wife wants something more comfortable that standard cc bay boat. We plan to take boat to bay or sound several weeks per year so a typical bowrider gets kinda chancy if there's chop.

Found a beautiful SP 180 cc w/ Yam 115 2 stroke locally. It's babied and priced right, in my budget range. Has bimini and full cushion set.

So will this boat cross over into bowrider fun and comfort territory? Will it pull a tuber and skiier? Anyone have experience here?

Wife and I have spent a few weeks bay fishing off 18' May Craft cc basic bay fishing boat so we know well what that's like. The design, ruggedness, utility, works well so I want that as the "base" - for our own boat, we just want something "nicer" than basic bay fishing boat.

 

[Ahhhh-Spray]

Re: SP 180 cc w/ 115 Yam - tube,ski,comfort?

I've got a 2001 190CC w/ 115 Suzuki 4-stroke & it has plenty of power to pull a skier or tube. The only problem with the tube is that the rope drags through the wake, especially with my lightweight kids on board. Not much I can do about that unless I get a ski eye mounted on it, and I don't want to do all that. It is a fishing boat, after all. The rope drag isn't as much of a problem with adults on the tube. More weight=better whip! We take the boat to the Outer Banks every year on vacation and it's great for fishing trips in the Pamlico Sound. I've run it with the motor tilted up in 1.5' of water and it will float in about a foot of water, so you can get pretty much anywhere you want to go, even if you have to get out and push for a while. I'm sure it would do great in the ocean too, in less than 3' seas anyway. Every time I've been out there, the seas have been 3-5' or 5-7' offshore, so we just stayed in the sound. I've had the boat for a year and a half and for what I paid for it, I've got no complaints. I had to repair a leak around one of the screw holes for the livewell intake grate and I just replaced the sending unit in the fuel tank, but other than that, it's just been routine maintenance. I've met a few other Sea Pro owners and they've had no complaints either. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Ahhhh-Spray]

Re: SP 180 cc w/ 115 Yam - tube,ski,comfort?

I forgot to ask what year you're looking at. From what I've heard, the pre-Brunswick Sea Pros (2003 and earlier) are put together a little better.