Price, mainly.. and wanted something you didnt see around here very much.

Wanted top notch Customer Service and not another production built boat that you see 20 of everywhere.

I did a little research, talked to a bunch of guys about different boats and their advantages and disadvantages, and ended up shopping for a 24 Formula. Figured that would be a good boat for what I was looking to pay. Then I found a 27 Fountain in my price range and bought that instead.

Once you decide how much you want to spend and how old a boat you're willing to buy then you'll have the field narrowed down a lot. I'd recomend a clean, low hour, used V-hull from one of the big names with stock merc power.

I could have gotten a smaller boat when I was younger but I waited until I could get to the 30 ft. mark. 90% of all the places we go to around here you need to travel via the Ocean or across Sandy Hook Bay to NYC and it can knock the fillings out of your teeth at times...

So for me it had to be a boat that was at least 30 ft. and had some rough water capabilities, so I choose a 30ft. Scarab Panther. Had it for 6 years before I got the Apache and was also due to not wanting to get beat up in rough water anymore..

If I were on a lake I would probably just have a smaller boat.

coin toss :D

would you take a 496HO or 525efi?

Depends on the size of the boat and the budget (initial purchase AND gas budget). Both are great, bulletproof motors though.

Im looking for something in the 27'-35' range, budget is up to $100k.

Gonna be hard to get into a twin 525 efi boat for under 100K. How much boating experience do you have, where do you usually boat, what kind of tow vehicle do you have, how mechanically inclined are you (do you want a project or something you'll rarely have to turn a wrench on), do you want single or twin engines,ect? Just a few of the things you'll need to think about before you start looking at boats. For a 100K you could have your pick of brand new 25 - 27' boats or buy a 5 or 6 year old 35'. Depends on what your priorities are.