My advice is to figure out exactly the type of boating you will be doing, then narrow your search from there.

Some things to think about:
#1 Will you be boating in a lake or in more open water
#2 Windy/Choppy area of boating, or generally smooth and flat?
#3- Will you be using it to just ride around in, will you be day boating at the beach, or do you plan to overnight in it all?
#4- How many people on average will you be taking out? Just yourself or will you regulary have a crew of people with you
#5- Do you need a cuddy cabin of some sort with porta potti?
#6- How handy are you and do you have the knowledge to fix an older boat?
#7- How fast do you want to go?

I think once you answer those questions, you can start to focus in on a specific brand/type and then go from there. THere are good deals out there right now, but defiinitly remember....the purchase price is only the begining of the costs!

This is a fun performance boat for the money. Not necessarily for a beginner though. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...#ht_500wt_1182

Brandon can you please tell me how to turn $15K into $30K by next summer, I sure could use some extra cash:drink:

Do you think Joe is Dreamer in drag, trying to get the word out on his boat that's for sale:p:D:boat:



Just kidding but it would be a good tactic:flag: posted by Ms PatriYacht

Nobody has mentioned a Fountain and you definitely can't go wrong with its power, handling, safety, etc. All around awesome boat and you can find some great deals on them right now!

LOL def. NOT a boat for a newbie. :D

Great Boat
 

This is a great boat to start with, my friend has one and we rebuilt the engine to a 502 600 horse and it runs about 75MPH. My point is that you can make 'em go pretty good if you don't want to sell the boat once you get more money.

im very unfamiliar with boats im in the learning state now. To describe what iam looking for is some kind of (deep vee etc) performance/race boat, single engine, the more basic the better for me. I dont need a cabin. I guess the best way to describe what im looking for is a Activator 22' sport. something along those lines but maybe a little cheaper. I live on Long Island, NY. So i got the sound and the atlantic. i would probably choose the sound but would like to boat off the south as well. my mechanical experience is not to great just beginner. Im not looking to do overnighters just day trips. im aware that boating can be expensive. at least one guy told me boat stands for break out another thousand. i know boats can be headaches but im sure there is something that is reliable out there for me, i just gotta do some research.

Dreamers boat got us from Miami to Islamorada and back for the Poker Run. It was comfortable and ran flawlessly.

You can never go wrong with a Cig as far as resale. Twin engines are ALWAYS better than a single. And they are small blocks so fuel econ is not too bad.