quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Sept - October is a pretty good time to be in the market for a boat right?

I found two Regals that I like as well as a super sweet 23ft Cobalt. I’m waiting to hear from my delightful HOA. I think worst case scenario I could still probably stash up to a 24ft boat behind my house. (I’ve been looking closely at the HOA rules)

Don't jump on a boat just because you have to have one. Wait for the right boat and the right deal to come along. With boats, the right deal always comes along sooner or later, as it and a Harley are the first thing to go when someone really needs money.

I'd highly recommend just renting a boat right now for $300 a day in the size range you're looking at 1/2 a dozen times till the end of the summer. It will really give you an idea of what features to look for in a boat, how you will use it, and what you don't want in a boat, or even if you use it enough to justify owning your own. Winter time a deal will come up.

I wish boat rentals were only $300/day in my favorite lake. $750-$1500 a day will make you an owner rather than a renter in short order.

https://mastercraftlakepowell.com/boat-rental/

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Sept - October is a pretty good time to be in the market for a boat right?

I found two Regals that I like as well as a super sweet 23ft Cobalt. I’m waiting to hear from my delightful HOA. I think worst case scenario I could still probably stash up to a 24ft boat behind my house. (I’ve been looking closely at the HOA rules)

Don't jump on a boat just because you have to have one. Wait for the right boat and the right deal to come along. With boats, the right deal always comes along sooner or later, as it and a Harley are the first thing to go when someone really needs money.

I'd highly recommend just renting a boat right now for $300 a day in the size range you're looking at 1/2 a dozen times till the end of the summer. It will really give you an idea of what features to look for in a boat, how you will use it, and what you don't want in a boat, or even if you use it enough to justify owning your own. Winter time a deal will come up.

I wish boat rentals were only $300/day in my favorite lake. $750-$1500 a day will make you an owner rather than a renter in short order.

https://mastercraftlakepowell.com/boat-rental/

Yeah, I pay $1000 a day for a 27' Contender in the Exumas. Here in Fort Lauderdale you can rent a whaler the same size for $500 a day. It depends on the area, but Virginia Beach should have bow riders for rent around the $300 price range. There's a 21' sea hunt CC on www.getmyboat.com in the virginia beach area for $225 a day. I'm sure there are other places that rent bow riders as well.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
^^^^^^Have you priced new boats? People complain here about new truck prices, but new boat prices would make their heads spin! Stick says his budget is $15k.

@Stick - you didn't waste 2.5 hours. You got an education and saved yourself a ton of time, money, and headaches. I'd look for a boat in Michigan. They have a 2 month boating season, seriously. They hardly get used and they're freshwater.

No kidding man....no kidding. I thought I could get into a good bit for 10k....nope, I’m looking at 25+k to get what I actually want.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
^^^^^^Have you priced new boats? People complain here about new truck prices, but new boat prices would make their heads spin! Stick says his budget is $15k.

A $15k budget for a new boat is that laughable.

We're currently cleaning up our 1994 Mariah 182 Barchetta to ready her for sale. If somebody offers us the right price this fall we'll sacrifice to get her out of the driveway before the snow flies, but, come spring that boat will be listed for $7k. That's what a 26 year old quality boat in excellent condition will bring.

I don't even want to think of what an 18' Mariah-level boat would cost, new, today. (The current Mariahs are actually made by Sea Fox Boats Inc. and are entry-level boats, as opposed to higher-end boats, as the original Mariahs are.)

So, two more names to look at, if you're looking at used boats: Mariah (1990-2002) and Stingray. Three names if you wish to consider older Glastrons, which were were very well-built. But I couldn't tell you what years.

As for bow-riders not being fit for skiing and wakeboarding, well, our little boat has a 4.3L MerCruiser V6 with a Quadrajet. Rated at 205HP, if memory serves. I can go from no-wake to planed in a heartbeat with a full complement of passengers, so I'm fairly confident that boat would have no trouble with skiers or wakeboarders

You guys should work a little harder at reading what I actually wrote. Of course I know new boats cost, as I wrote I purchased a brand new boat ~7 years ago (2012 model).

I also never said that Stick should expect to get a new boat for $15k. Rather I suggest he go to a well know trusted dealer as "seeing what new boats cost will also help provide perspective for what a nice used boat should cost."

I've been boating for over 25 years, belong to a boat club with hundreds of members, have spent hundreds of hours riding on dozens of friends boats, put hundreds of hours a year on my own boat, and I bought a new boat again last year. Yes that's right, when my new purchase 2012 boat ran out of it's 5-year warranty I traded it in on a new 2018. So I am well award of what new boats cost, how much their prices increase each year, how much they depreciate, what used boats cost, and all of the issues and repair time you will encounter with buying a cheap used boat with unknown history.

One of the not-so-secrets to having a good boat ownership experience regardless of what you buy is to have a good relationship with a well known and trusted dealer. They will take you on demos of new boats, help you figure out what is right for you before you purchase. If you buy used you will need their help for hard to find parts or to perform repairs that are beyond your skill set.

Boats are not cars, a 10-year old used boat will have significantly more problems than a 10-year old used car. You can't find most boat parts at every corner Autozone, and qualified independent repair shops are very hard to find. That's why you hear all of the cliche's about boat ownership.

A good dealer can/will help you will all of these issues. They will also let you know when they get in a nice used trade in good shape, and end-of year deals on closeout boats where you can really take a big chunk out of those ever increasing prices. I am suggesting Stick find a good local dealer so he can start to build this relationship in addition to learning a bit more about what is a reasonable budget.

Around 2010 I bought a 16ft Wellcraft bowrider for under 3k and even though the outboard was really old I got lucky. Other than chasing down a rusty ground on the starter I had zero issues over the following few years.

My garage is built into a hill and stays 67-74° year round. Could I get by with storing a boat in my garage and not having to winterize it? I like the idea of being able to take the boat out on warm winter days, which is something I did do often in my old boat.

My garage is VERY deep, it can fit a Corvette with a Porsche 911 right behind it. My issue would be clearance. How big a boat could I fit in a garage? Just by looking at pics it appears a 17-20ft boat will be the max due to the windshield clearance.

You know there is really another way to think about this. The bayliner looks pretty well taken care of in the photo for it's age. It's had the floor redone, the cushions redone, exhaust manifolds, and it's CHEAP. If the motor and outdrive and everything mechanically check out and there are no structural issues, for $3500 I'd tell the OP to absolutely JUMP on it.

Why, well if it's the OP's first boat, which it sounds like. The OP is most likely going to screw up in some way. So If he crashes into the dock and puts some stress cracks on the rub rail area, or a 3' scratch down the side, who cares. If he ties it up wrong and scrapes up the side, who cares. If he runs it across a sandbar at 30 mph after 20 uses and knocks the outdrive off of it...….even if he junks the boat at that point, it cost him $150 a use. Think of it as the HS kids first car, so to speak. As long as mechanically everything checks out, the interior sounds like it won't need any money spent on it for several years, it's a starter boat that you're not going to cry about if you damage it with newbie mistakes. Then after a season or two in the bayliner, you'll know if you love or hate boating, what features to look for in the next boat, and even if you destroy or sink this boat or lose a little money on the boat, you can't lose that much.....But it gets you out on the water, enjoying boating for cheap.....very cheap......

All boats are going to nickel and dime you with repairs regardless of the price or build quality.....bilge pumps, nav lights, engine maintenance, gauges not working, stereo etc. The Bayliner is no different and it preps the OP for that too. It's a hell of a lot easier to keep up with the repair costs, when you don't have a boat payment on top of it to pay every month.

IF your garage stays 67F you don't need to winterize the boat. Only if freezing temps could occur. Keep in mind you have to account for the trailer length also.....a 17' boat is going to be on a trailer that's 22'+ long with the tongue of the trailer etc. etc. Depending on the boat, as long as you can fit an SUV in the garage, most 22' bow riders would fit regarding height....this depends on windshield height and how it sits on the trailer too.

jimmy,

Definitely good points. I have considered that the boat would be a damn cheap way to get on the water and I wouldn’t care if it got some dock rash or whatever since it’s alreafy got quite a bit. I would estimate the gashes in the hull to be about 7 inches in one area, 5 inches in another and maybe the same on the other side it’s mostly just chunks of gelcoat missing. It wouldn’t be too hard to fix but it looks awful currently. Cosmetically it could be made to look great with some work. I’m guessing I could probably do it myself.

The catch is that the boat is sitting on a nice trailer, so I’d have to negotiate on it or find a cheap trailer to go with the boat.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
jimmy,

Definitely good points. I have considered that the boat would be a damn cheap way to get on the water and I wouldn’t care if it got some dock rash or whatever since it’s alreafy got quite a bit. I would estimate the gashes in the hull to be about 7 inches in one area, 5 inches in another and maybe the same on the other side it’s mostly just chunks of gelcoat missing. It wouldn’t be too hard to fix but it looks awful currently. Cosmetically it could be made to look great with some work. I’m guessing I could probably do it myself.

The catch is that the boat is sitting on a nice trailer, so I’d have to negotiate on it or find a cheap trailer to go with the boat.

You can always keep the trailer for the next boat. A good trailer last decades if you take care of it. You could fix the Gelcoat, it’s not that terribly difficult to repair Gelcoat. Getting the color to match takes some time. You want to compound the hull first to get to the true color. I wouldn’t care how it looks, just use it a bit before and enjoy it a bit. For the money, it is a cheap way to get on the water. If it checks out mechanically, just use it as is then sell it and trade up.

I’m pretty sure my wife isn’t going to like the 3.5in above water exhaust. It would be cool to be able to switch between below water and above water exhaust.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/0LDKTRog52s

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
I’m pretty sure my wife isn’t going to like the 3.5in above water exhaust.

I can't say as I'd blame her. I don't like them, either. Pretty much everybody on the water hates them, other than their owners.

There are diverter valves that you can install and switch back and forth between underwater exhaust and thru-hull exhaust. I forget the cost,I want to say around $2500 for all 4, but retrofitting them isn't cheap. When you're going fast in those boats, you don't hear the noise so much in the boat. Also the swim platform design over and around the exhaust should muffle it at slow speeds inside the boat. I certainly wouldn't want to feed it though.

"Captains call" is the term I've always heard the exhaust diverter called.

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
"Captains call" is the term I've always heard the exhaust diverter called.

I think that's a particular brand name.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by shiftyvtec:
"Captains call" is the term I've always heard the exhaust diverter called.

I think that's a particular brand name.

It is the brand name. Mercruiser also makes them and some or most now come with it OEM, but can buy the Mercruiser kit to add it as well. Funny thing is some big 38-40' center consoles down here go flying right by those 90's race boats, quietly with 4 strokes at 75-80 MPH. LOL

A friend of mine runs a 39' Yellowfin Center console for an owner that also has a big Viking SF and it had 4-350HP Mercury Verado's…...the owner traded all 4 in for new 400 HP's when they came out and spent like $80k (with trade ins) and gained only 2 MPH!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOL

Turn it over and make sure the S.O.S. is still painted on the bottom. This was a factory standard item for these "el-cheapo" boats.
I wouldn't own one if it was given to me.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
A friend of mine runs a 39' Yellowfin Center console for an owner that also has a big Viking SF and it had 4-350HP Mercury Verado's…...the owner traded all 4 in for new 400 HP's when they came out and spent like $80k (with trade ins) and gained only 2 MPH!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOL

Yeah, planing hulls aren't as limited by hull speed as displacement hulls, but still...

Meanwhile wind-powered boats that run on foils can achieve incredible speeds.

They're quite fascinating to watch, whether they're one-man moths...



... or boats like this...

I didn’t know until recently Bayliner was owned by the same parent company as Boston Whaler. Apparently Brunswick marine acquired Bayliner in the mid 1980’s. From what I’ve read quality improved but the bad name stayed.

It’s a shame I can’t find more bow riders in the 18-20 ft range that have outboard motors. I’m only finding VERY old examples or basically brand new boats. I’m also condidering a Yamaha jet boat but many of them have twin engines and I’m not sure I want to deal with that.

Try looking at boats called dual consoles. They are basically fishy bow riders. Same layout as a bow rider, but more fishing oriented. They'll have rod holders and storage, bait wells and live wells, more free board, more deadrise, self bailing, and outboard motors. Typically the hull will be the same hull the manufacturer uses for their center console boat of the same size. They usually have a ski pylon as an option.

Examples of this type of boat you might find in your price range is the Grady-White Tournament 225 and Tournament 205.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
I didn’t know until recently Bayliner was owned by the same parent company as Boston Whaler. Apparently Brunswick marine acquired Bayliner in the mid 1980’s. From what I’ve read quality improved but the bad name stayed.

It’s a shame I can’t find more bow riders in the 18-20 ft range that have outboard motors. I’m only finding VERY old examples or basically brand new boats. I’m also condidering a Yamaha jet boat but many of them have twin engines and I’m not sure I want to deal with that.

RUN from the Yamaha and seadoo jetboats. The older ones were very smokey and noisy (2 stroke) and they never track straight at slow speeds, they wander all over the place. BUT, they're a maintenance nightmare and stuff is always breaking on the waverunner motors they put into them. Constant headache.

Are Maxim boats any good?

Our tow vehicle is limited to a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs. That Bayliner 22 footer I looked at had a dry weight of 3700 lbs. Even with the trailer and fluids/fuel a 22ft boat similar to that Bayliner shouldn’t be too heavy for our tow vehicle. Right?