Tell me about it!!
Spring cannot get here quick enough!!

Bank approval all in place just waitng to sell mine, still early. Hopefully it will sell come April May.

Waiting sucks....man that would kill me!!

tell me about it!! either that or own two boatsmy wife will lose it

No doubt!!
I did that once and it took a year to sell the second one!!

Verbi, i caught this thread i from a google search for a "baja 342 w/ hp500" as i too am looking for the same boat with most likely some of the same reasons as you were. Of course you already know the package is so rare you rarely find one. In seeing what you ended up with it sent me on a new search. Not to copy you but i am now looking at a couple of pq 38's.

How would you compare the overall quality of the pq38 vs the baja 342? I was not really looking to go much bigger than the 34 but it seems as though the 38 will run as fast with the same engine options. Im guessing the stepped haul is to be credited for that.

I really only like the look of the full windshield boat and want a deep haul with full width so i was attracted to the baja and now the pq.

What is a good year and bad year to purchase? I would like to stay under $75k as a budget and would like to find one equipped with HP500 motors. Are there any you looked at that maybe passed on the deal that might fit for me?

Well both boats are nicely laid out and depending on what you are going to use the boat for one of them gets the nod, and we know which one I ended up in.
If you are interested in staying with a 34' then Powerquest has the 34' Vyper, both the Vyper and the 38' Avenger have more head room, the galley is a lot nicer with better build material.
The 1998 through 2000 Baja 342's have HUGE engine compartments which gives you the huge sunpad and massive engine compartment storage.
The 342 has a walk through windshield, and for some is a must, I for one like that feature, and now do not have it with the PQ.
The head in the Baja is a sweat box compared to the PQ which has 5' 6 or so height(give or take an inch). The door to the head on PQ is lower to the floor allowing for easier entry. The one downfall to PQ is ther is no sink in the head.

PQ are hard to find with electric bolsters but the seats in my opinion are more comfortable than the McLeod bolsters.

A 342 will run 78 ish with 500 efi's and a 34 Vyper will run 78 ish with 496 HO's, the twin step hull is efficient.

PQ hull changes were made in 2001 or 2002 from what I have read (can't remember exactly when) and for the better.

All in all both boats have some really cool features and you just got to get in them and see for yourself what works best for you!
Better deals to be had in the PQ line though imo.....

As far as 500 equiped PQ's go I haven't looked at any other than the one I bought, but if you want leads on 342's with 500's I can give you that.
Let me know..
Mike

I've seen this boat before it's nice. Don't know the seller myself: http://loz.craigslist.org/boa/2238772643.html

That was on the market in the fall and has just come back.
It is listed here as well.
Havent seen it but looks nice.