VIP & Ebbtide boat quality

[superbenk]

We are looking at several boats this weekend & one of them is a 2005 VIP Victory 21' that looks to be really clean. The price seems reasonable but I don't know much about VIP. How does the VIP brand compare to other brands like Maxum, Chapparal, Crownline, Cobalt, etc.? I know when you're talking about used boats it's all about maintenance and care but I'm just curious how they rate in general as a brand assuming all things are equal.

Also found a 2005 Ebbtide 21' that looked decent. Any idea how Ebbtide fits in the quality ranking?

 

[Slip Away]

Re: VIP & Ebbtide boat quality

VIP makes a decent middle of the road quality boat. They have been in and out of business for the last several years, so not sure on consistent QC there.
Ebbtide has won dozens of awards for their bowriders. Very well made boat that does not get much press. The company was recently bought by a Chinese
investment firm, in hopes of expanding their international presence. I would put Ebbtide quality much higher than VIP, sort of lower end of high quality boat
builders like Cobalt,Regal,Chap and Monterey.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: VIP & Ebbtide boat quality

Like mentioned above, VIP was a good mid line boat. Ebbtide is still in business, and operating quietly from just west of Nashville. They too are good mid line boats, and I wouldn't be afraid of either.

The Cobalt and even Chapparal are higher level boats. Our lake has a bunch of their 27' open bow runabouts with 8.2 Mercruiser and Bravo III outdrives. My buddy came by the other day visiting in a Cobalt, and I later saw the same 2 year old used 27' Cobalt listed for $99K. They're pretty pricey boats new.