Re: To all Stingray Boat owners
I have had mine (190LX) out four times since I bought it and love it! I was struggling to find a boat light enough to pull with my 3500 weight limit van, but that was 1- at least 18 ft, 2- could legally hold at least 8 people, and 3- had a V6. A local guy happened to be selling a barely used 19 ft stingray. Low and behold, its 2500 lbs with a 4.3. How do I know, they have a great website where you can research all their old models, right down to the weight of the hull, engine, pitch of the prop, etc. I wish other manufactures had this, as I kept seeing other potentially viable boats, but could not find the specs.
Why are there not a lot of stingray owners here? Likely because they have a sweet forum on their site. So far I see no heavy handed moderation from them. However, I think I need an additional non-Stingray owned forum, so this one seems great to complement it.
Cons of stingrays I seem to see over there are some are slow to plane, as they seem to be designed for top end speed. It seems like a consensus that you add smart tabs to counter this. Some people complain of a rougher ride. This has not been my experience, but then again my previous (pre-family) boats were malibu and mastercraft competition ski boats.
In terms of time to plane, mine does not have this problem. It came with a keel guard and se sport hydrofoil. It planes and hold speed at 18-19 mph, with a 23 pitch aluminum prop. The previous owner said he added the foil because he did not like having to hold at least 30 mph just to cruise across the lake. Thus, I guess if used to have this problem. I am yet to keep it WOT for too long, as I just got out of the break in period (previous owner just looked at it in his driveway), but so far I have made 48 with just a quick drop of the throttle, in rough water.
If you are looking for a little lighter boat with more room because of towing limitations, check out stingray.
