NJBearJew

Hey Guys, I have been reading this forum for a while and it is really making itch. I'm dying to have a boat of my own but sadly school loans and bills are in the way (if anyone wants to offer me a job to pay these off fast i'd be greatly appreciative haha).

Anyways I always like to have a goal to shoot for so I am planning on starting to save up now. I'm guessing that in the prices I would be able to afford as well as truck towing capabilities I would be looking in the Baja 25OL/272 range or Velocity 260/280 area if i could find a deal. I am based out of Hoboken NJ and would plan on doing a lot of my boating in the Hudson river area. Are the boats I mentioned above in a mostly stock form enough to survive trips around NY harbor, farther up the hudson to run with you guys for a $400 burger? Maybe pushing it even more would be a run to long island or AC?

I appreciate you experience and advice on this and hopefully I will be seeing you on the water soon.

PS. If anyone needs a hand working on their boats I am pretty mechanically inclined and would be willing to pay it forward to get some rides once the season gets going!

1989mach1

will i see that u r new here so just wanting to say welcome... now i dont know the area around u but i do have a 27 and i can say with what i run it witch is mostly 2 to 3 footers and some times up into the 5s and up on lake eriea my 27 is a ruff ride. if u can i would go for a 30. now for the truck i pull my 33 with a ram 1500. it relly depends on the tralor i think. my 33 is on a triple axle that was set up for the boat. now my 27 is one a dubble and not set up for that boat and my 33 pulls better then my 27. what do u think your price range will be? there r some nice 30 bajas out there and also look at the 292 fast tec's thay r nice too.

Big Time

I used to have a 29 Fountain that I ran a few times up/down the Hudson and used a lot out in LI Sound in some pretty good chop. It can, and will, get rough out there, but if you are not out there trying to break any speed records, you should be able to handle it. I ran my boat from north of Tap Zee bridge all the way down around the tip of Manhattan and back with a couple of other boats. Some guys had to turn around while others broke, but I just kept it steady, trimmed and tabbed it for the conditions, and was fine the whole way. Go at your own pace, you really don't need to keep up with the guy that has the 46 Cig.

Obviously the bigger the better, and those boats you listed are most likely going to be an rough ride in some of the conditions that you may run into in those waters. Me personally, I wouldn't want to run down to AC from NY in a smaller single engine boat, but that's not to say it can't be done...just make sure you have a contingency plan in place.

I think a great rough water boat would be a Superboat Y2k (at 30 ft). There is one in the classifieds for under $40k.

88bullet

iTrader: (1)

i got a couple 28 pantera's for sale that would fit your bill just fine. tow with a half ton and crush 3 footers all day long.

NJBearJew

I guess a little more info would help. As much as i wish i was going to be shopping for this upcoming summer, i think next year would be a bit more realistic unless i get a 100% raise at work haha. I figure I am looking in the late 90's or maybe early 2000s if i find a good deal. If i could keep it under $20000 that would be great, 20000 is more of what i was thinking and maybe mid 20s if it was an amazing piece of hardware. I have a Nissan Titan which is rated to 7200lbs. This big tow version is rated to 9600 but that has different gearing, tranny temp gauge and i think an extra tranny cooler. I looked into getting the extra cooler, gauge, and gearing swapped but I would have a lot of other problems after that. I think that if I went much bigger then the models i mentioned above I would lose the option of safely (and legally) towing the boat around which means I will be locked into NY harbor and the hudson since i would probably be based out of hoboken or liberty landing. I would do my best to avoid really snotty days and bad weather as much as possible but i would like to know that if on my ride home one day the chop picked up a little bit i'd still make it in one piece even if it is a little bit of a bumpy ride.

I really appreciate the feedback so far and would love to hear more of the knowledge you guys have to share.

Gladhe8er

FYI my Titan tows my 28 Active Thunder great. It does have the tow pkg and is rated for 9,400 lbs I believe. I figure my rig weighs around 7500.

1989mach1

I have had my 27 out in 5 to 6 footers and make and made it back fine. It was a slow go with a lot of slaming and geting wet. My wife wasnt varry happy thow lol she was crying and hiting me the hole time. But when u got to get back u have to do what ya have to do.

ReggieRaft

I ran the nyc poker run twice in a 22 ft bow rider. You can go anywhere if it floats and the engine runs. If your going through NY harbor on a saturday you mite want to leave early because waves can get to the size of school busses. NO Joke.I have stuffed my 35 more than once.

prostock85

I turned around that day thanks to my passenger laying on the floor asking to be dropped off at the nearest rock... Out of courtesy I came off plane until I found a nice sized cruiser and let him drive back in his wake.

As for the OP, as its been said, if it floats, doesn't leak and runs you'll have just as much fun as the rest of us. I nearly stuffed my 29 trying to run along side the NYC poker run one day once we got near the south end of the city. Even Tim Shakey (photographer) did the NYC run in a 13ft O/B. I believe he said that's part of the reason he enjoys shooting the smaller boats is due to the lack of coverage he failed to get being a "toy" compared to the monsters out there. Regardless of what you get, keep the seats above water and you'll have a blast.

kreed

iTrader: (2)

This is a nice option! Cool boats.