Thread:

Boat Question

Members,

I have been looking for the "Perfect" boat for my family, one that my wife feels is roomy enough for others to tag along and for our 3 children. She loves the pontoon (but that makes me feel like I need to leave my walker in the truck before going out on the lake) and I have been looking at 21-23 foot open bow boats such as Ultra, Renegade, Eliminator etc. Does anyone have any suggestions? Being that it's our first boat together, I wasn't thinking of dropping $50k on a boat right off the bat.....

I'm needing some help!

Thanks in advance,

Milton

If You Want An Openbow V Hull Look At Howards 22 Great Boat.should Be Able To Find One For 25 To 30,000.look For 97 And Newer.
Or Look At Deck Boats.

What are you looking to do on the water. IMO there is no boat that will do it all. You need to figure out what is the most important, skiing, wakeboarding, tubbing, going fast, cruising around, sitting on shore and drinking beer all day. Everyone views boating in a different way. Let us know what you want to do, and it will make it easier to help you.

See (2005 21' shockwave jetboat). IMO this is a perfect all around boat. Safe with children, (no prop), also great for river running. Goes fast, priced right, and low hours.

Thanks for all the replies.... We are looking at a boat that we can ski, tube behind, hang out in cove and have a few beers and relax. Being that I use to race motorcycles, I am a bit of a speed junkie (hey it could be worse eh?) so I would like something that can run a bit....

Originally Posted by Beer:30

You will just have to try a few on before you decide. I grew up boating, so I have been in several different lengths. A decade or so again, we started boating with friends that had a 1998 Malibu VLX tourny boat. That was great for local "protected" lakes without much wind or large boats. Get onto Havasu or Mojave or any other "unprotected" body of water and we would get slammed. 5-10 mph tops back to the dock in only 18" chop. Not good rough-water boats.

Rode in a few 25s, 26s and a 28. Real nice size for all-around boating. Plenty of room for family/friends. So, when I got serious about looking for a boat, I looked at those sizes.

Definitely go USED. Especially for first boat. The wife and I set a "cap" of $55K. I was looking at new 21s and 22s for 48-52K. I ended up with a super-clean THIRTY FOOTER with only 140 hours for $54,500. I didn't want a 30, but it was cleaner than two of the 28 Eliminators that I was looking at.

After having it for 3 years now, I couldn't have made a better choice. We have some friends and family that are "scared" of water (and alot of other things) but, after being in a wide boat with that much freeboard, they felt very safe. It also makes for a dry ride, no splashing onto passengers.

So, you can get 3 or 4 times the boat for the same money.

Set your limit on $. There are several boats for sale here that you could get a smokin' deal on. Pretty much everone here takes above-average care of their boats, so anything acquired here should be like new.

Good luck in your search.

Thanks Beer30 - I followed your new truck build on Hot Boats forum and must say that your ride still looks great! Love the wheels and the drop!

I have been looking at 27' Fountains, but not really sure that's the style I truly like. I love the Ultra's and Renegade Performance type boats...

v hull 25' Shockwave open bow
cat hull party deck boats
Magic
Conquest
Howard
Ultra
Cobra

Originally Posted by tunneljet

See (2005 21' shockwave jetboat). IMO this is a perfect all around boat. Safe with children, (no prop), also great for river running. Goes fast, priced right, and low hours.

Thanks for the plug. I sent him a pm.

J

I was looking at Lake Speed's 29' Fountain, it is a 1990, twin 454's etc for $32,500 obo, any thoughts? Beer30 - any thoughts? It's a local boat for me, even though we were looking forward to making the drive to Lake Havasu for a week or so of playin....

Thanks in advance,

Milton

If you decide to go with a new 21, I will cut you a smoking deal. Handles rough water awesome and runs VERY hard for a 21. New boats start below $50K too.


Donahue Custom Marine