Spa shopping vs. boat shopping?

[spaman-]

Ok I have the almost go ahead from the wife to buy a boat. My question is how does boat shopping compare to spa shopping. any brands to stay away from? as I am goin from a crawdad to somethin I can ski behind. My wife works @ Bass Pro Shops and gets a healthy discount. I am just wondering is there something better I gotta have?

[spahappy]

We have a Crestliner and it's been a good boat. The kids ski behind it but it's really more of a fishing boat.

Hubby thinks an outboard motor is better than an inboard but I forgot why he thinks that.

Kind of hard to wet test a boat like you can a spa....

Good luck and hurry up summer is half over...

[96SC]

We hav a year old Ebbtide (190).  Except for some small stuff it's a nice boat. (snaps coming off that hold down the cover, different pieces that are suppose to fastened down have come loose (cup hold, sign on glove box)).

Just like a spa if you are happy with a local dealer and their boats go with them.  If something goes  wrong do you want to take your boat out of the water and then go several miles so they can work on it?

The reason we bought an Ebbtide was they were local, otherwise we may have gotten a SeaRay, Regal or Chaparral.  

As far as inboard vs outboard.  Outboard you have to add oil to the gas.  An inboard you just fill up and go.

I don't remember what brand BassPro carries but if the price is right and they are able to work on in......I'd see a BassPro boat in my future.  They aren't going to sell junk.

My youngest son is a fishaholic, I may have him send his BassPro wish list to your wife.

[Chas]

As far as inboard vs outboard.  Outboard you have to add oil to the gas.  An inboard you just fill up and go.

Not any more. They have a tank you fill with oil - should last months - and the oil is automatically injected. This makes them much easier to fuel up, but it also makes less smoke and smell cause it can do the lubricating with far less oil by injecting it exactly where it is needed.

Of course, most makers are going to 4 stroke engines anyway, and they don't burn oil with the gas. They are also a little more complex, but are generally quieter. This is all picky stuff: most likely whatever boat you choose will have one motor available - take it or leave it. Some will let you put on a choice of motors, for more money.

I have owned several boats - mostly inboards with Chevy V8 engines. I had a 40' Silverton with twin Chrysler 340 and velvet drive transmissions. Very nice - but the thing would burn over 100 gallons of gas in one overnight trip to the islands (20 miles away across the Santa Barbara Channel).

I went to a 35' "Cruisers Inc." after that: a single chevy V8 inboar/outboard. Much less gas consumption, just as fast, but much rougher ride on the 3' chop common on the ocean around here.

I also had a 16' Glaspar with a 90HP outboard just for the lakes. That was a fun boat! We could take out all the seats and use it for camping, or tow skiers, or just take a bunch of people around the lake, race the jetskiers, etc.

I never got very good performance out of it until I had a pro adjust the trim angles and mount it just a tad lower on the transom. Wow! What a change! If you get an outboard and you don't think its doing what you expect, take it back to the dealer and have him 'set it up.'

I personally would avoid Bayliner.

Right now, I am looking for a boat. But I want to ROW the thing. They want Crazy money for these things! The one I like, with a sliding seat, oars and the whole thing is $4500 !! For a ROWBOAT! I may have to build one myself! For about a thousand dollars, and a bunch of time I could build something like this:


Here's one of the pricey ones I like - NINE GRAND:

I need to find a dealer who wants to trade for a Grandee or a Niagara...

[Brewman]

 I have a 18' Crownline bowrider- it's a 2003 model year.   It's a 220 hp I/O (4.3L Mercruiser V6 with multiport fuel injection).  Plenty of room for up to 8 passengers, lots of oomph for pulling tubers, skiers, etc.
Crownline has a very well deserved reputation for quality.  Their boats are very well done.


A lot depends on what you have to choose from- not sure what Bass Pro Shops carries.  Do you want fiberglass or aluminum?  Do you want an I/O, inboard or outboard.  
Do you want a boat that is primary for fishing, or one primary for pleasure and cruising, or a combo of the 2?
Crestliner makes a nice aluminum boat that is primarily for fishing, but can be easily used to pull skiers.  
Lund boats are even more fishing oriented, but they can also be used somewhat as a pleasure craft.
My Crownline is more of a pleasure boat, and isn't really setup as a fising rig.
So you gotta figure out what you want to do with the boat.

As for service, I woulnd't worry too much about that.  The nearest Crownline dealer is about 30 miles away, but there are dozens of dealers close by who do work on Mercruiser engines and drives around here, and it's way more likely that I'd need the services of an engine mechanic than anything for the boat itself.  Any mercury dealer can service any mercury engine/drivetrain.  Doesn't have to be the purchasing dealer.
Volvo is the other primary maker of I/O drives, they are a bit more expensive, but not very much so, but have fewer dealers in my area.  Mercury pretty much rules the I/O world around here.  
Outboards all all over- Mercury, Johnson & Evinrude, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Nissan.  
If you go used, stay away from Force outboards and Johnson Cobra I/O's.

I'd caution you to not under power the boat.  Some dealers and manufacturers offer their base level boats with minimal engines.  In many cases those engines are barely adequate.  bayliner at one time was famous for this- sticking on the lowerst level motor to advertise a lower price.  But it looks like they have gotten better at that, and some of the newer Bayliners I've seen look pretty decent.  They are known for being a value line boatmaker or at least they once were.  

Look at the max HP rating on the boat and at least consider a motor that is close to that.  Larger engines add quite a bit to the cost, but it's way cheaper in the long run- engine swaps can be very expensive.

In addition to the standard 4 stroke I/O's, and inboards, which are very similar to car engines, there are 2 cycle outboards, which as was mentioned you have to add oil to a tank so it can be injected into the gasoline, there are also 4 stroke outboards available that you don't need oil.  Theses are getting very popular around here- they idle very quietly and cleanly (no cloud of blue smoke) and run at low RPM's very smoothly.  And they are available at all HP ranges now.  
Earlier on they were only available in mid and lower HP ranges.  

Lots to consider, lots to choose from.  

[96SC]

Kudos to Chas and Brewman, the last outboard I owned I had to add oil.  Technology must have caught up with me.

JD Power rates power boats, you can find it on the internet, but I don't know the URL.

[Brewman]

Try www.jdpower.com



Thanks for the reiminer- I looked at this months ago and forgot all about it.

[96SC]

Spaman,  how's the boat search doing?  Do you have a favorite?

[Spatech_tuo]

Kudos to Chas and Brewman, the last outboard I owned I had to add oil.  Technology must have caught up with me.

I just had this conversation with my FIL about his fishing boat and why he's got a 2-stroke engine. He said while negotiating he told them he'd prefer to skip the 2-stroke and having to add oil to gas each time so they showed he the equivalent engine which wouldn't requie the oil/gas mix. It was much larger and just too big (physically) for the boat he wanted so it was either accept the 2-stroke or move up to a bigger boat.

[countryboy]

I believe Bass Pro cares bass tracker fishing and pontoon and Tahoe pleasure boats. Ditto on staying away from Bayliner. Where will you be using it? Big Lake, small lake? salt or fresh water?