I wanna go fast and be comfortable
 

OK, here is where we are at...sailed for many years, have a comfortable 30' pilot cruiser, but now I want to take the wife and kids (13 &15 years old) and do some wicked cruising out of Narragansett Bay to Block Island.
I'm Thinking sell the Alura 30' for about $35 and buy a used performance boat for under $50.
What are my options? Formula, Fountain, Sutphen?
Do any of these boats come with an interior that is not full of fuzz? What is sensible horsepower? Can I be looking at Formula 35.7 or is that wishful thinking to find a good used boat within my price range?
Thanks for any help that might come my way. John Gov.

Need more facts. What speeds are you looking for? Do you want a single engine or twins? Do you want something newer with a warranty or will an older boat work? Are you willing to do some updating and rework or do you want to get in and drive? How much maintenance are you willing to put up with? How often will you use the cabin and for what purpose?

I can do maintenance, we get some 3 to 5 foot seas running into them or following. and I don't think we need more than 40 knots speed. The cabin would be for minimal rest, snacks, toilet, possibly sqeeze in some overnights but the idea here is to get a room. A ten year old boat should be ok. I like simplicity and clean lines.

Best bet, tell Too Old what your favorite colors are and then you can buy his next project! :D Just kidding.

You should be able to easily pass your 40 knot speed target and run in the mid to high 60mph range while staying in your targeted price range. A Formula 336 SR1 with 502s, Scarab 31, older Cigarette 35 or 38 and several other models if none of those suit your needs. Good luck with your search.

Miller's got it. Cig, Formula, Fountain, Formula

Carefull what you get for Ocean running.

Thanks guys. This is helpful. GL, what are some of the things to be careful for in ocean running?
I have never had outdrives before but over the years I have heard different things good and bad about different types. Any drives in particular to stay away from?
Oh, GL, are you the GL in the construction management business??
Thanks for the help. John Gov.

There was a 35' formula for sale in RI a couple of weeks ago I will see if I can find the number. You want to stay a way from any big block bolted up to an Alpha drive Merc did it for one year 1987. Then they stopped. The alpha is good for small blocks.

There are plenty of good candidates in the boats for sale section of this forum to get you started (and yes, mine is there too if your interested).

-Greg

An older 31 Sonic sounds RIGHT up your alley.

If you want 30 feet, then 28 Pantera, 31 Cig, 28 Apache would all fit your bill to a T and were built for ocean running. A 28 Pantera is the same size as a 32 Fountain as are the other 2. If you want bigger, then 35 Cig, 33 Powerplay would be my choices. Those two however would be over 50K unless you go 15years old on the cig. You want to run in 3-5s consistantly and have a comfortable ride then thats where you want to look.

As for drives you want Bravo drives at least and probably don't want to have more than 5-600hp running through them with 600 behing on the high side but still OK if you don't hammer it. The Pantera will run about 70ish with a single 500, I would say the apache will be about the same speed. The cigs only have twins which the other two can be had in single or twins. Twins might be nice for ocean running.

Go take a ride on these as well as a formula, fountain, Sonic and Sutphen, I think you will then be able to see what fits your needs best