thisistank

Have you ever heard of someone talk sh!t about Baja who has acutally owned one. Reading through the 'how many Baja.." poll thread I was wondering. When I hear people bashing Baja I know I always say that if you ever ask someone who has actually owned one you won't hear many bad comments.

I've also noticed a shift in opinion over the last few years in the over all feeling people have of Baja and I don't notice as many people bashing them as I used to see. I actually notice more people bashing Fountain than anything else.

Anyway, I was just thinking out loud.

articfriends

iTrader: (1)

I'm not impressed with BAJA's workmanship AT ALL if your asking. They are a mass produced boat with haphazard attention to detail. I have met and know several people with the same boat as me and they have the same list of defects and complaints. My understanding is the bigger baja's (mine is a 272) are built much better. My buddie has a 29 ft outlaw and other than normal mechanical failures he has had no real problems. The list of small attention to detail flaws with my boat is LONG. They are reasonably priced and alot of people have probably been able to get into boating with a new one for the price of what a quality built boat cost used,Smitty

CasinoRunner

Everyone I meet who owns a Baja is usually very happy with it. Then there are the ones who owned one and moved on to bigger and better ie. Cigs, but they still speak highly of Baja.

The Baja "Haters" I run into are usually fools to begin with. Whatever they have if they have anything, they think is the best and it's usually 10-15yrs old and needs constant work but it's not a Baja so that makes them happy.!

Saleen367

I think some of the older models had quality issues. Not that newer ones don't, but just not as many.

Honestly, I think Baja is a decent builder considering the volume they sell. Could they do better? Without a doubt. I had many quality control issues on my 30 Outlaw that just screamed stupidity. None of them kept me off the water however.

I would love to have a Cig 38 TG, but the reality is I will never own one due to Insurance cost 1st and boat price 2nd.

I believe that the majority of bashers are customers that had a bad experience or owners of other high end crafts that never would have considered one to begin with.

my $.02

pondfather

All I can say is that although there were some minor issues with my two previous Baja's, I had no problem ordering our third. Having a dealer who addressed every single issue till I was satisfied made me very comfortable going back for #3. I too never lost a minute of boating due to defects in a new boat. I was out of boating from 1987 till 2001. Our 1982 Formula bought new, is not even close to Baja's current build quality. The industry has come a long way. (Formula builds an outstanding, high quality boat)

I can't comment about Baja's past build quality so I guess I don't carry any old baggage. I just like the boats now, great style, gel quality, graphics, cockpits and interiors. Great hardware too.

dsandman6

Well for what its worth im on my second one i have had good luck with mine this is my fourth year in boating so mabye i dont know enough to judge I have seen alot of high end boats at the poker runs and there cool and all that but!! Honestly I would rather have more money for the stereo and beer since most of what all my friends do . Plus once the tops come off does all the rest even matter my02$

Dock Holiday

I've owned three and have had no major problems I'm glad to report. Baja did cut one hatch opening a little large on the 36 and we were getting water in through it every time we washed the boat. It totally ruined the head liner in the cuddy, but they stood up, fixed the problem and put a 100% new head liner in.

I have had friends with much more expensive boats that have had worse problems. With anything built by human hands there will be problems.

As for Baja being a production boat I think that is GREAT. If you have ever been to the factory you would not see that as a bad thing.

They have their departments, and the people are trained in one step of the building process and become experts at that one thing. They use the same fiberglass, vinyl, hardware, engines & drives that all the other builders do. But at a small builder a few people have to know how to do everything. At Baja several people know how to do their step in the building process very well.

How does the saying go? He that knows a little about everything, does not know a lot about anything.

As for Brunswick they probably know more about boat building than any other company. I know Baja spends a ton on R & D and has done research that others have not even thought about. Look who Skater came to for the 39 V-Bottom mold. SPIDERMAN is one hell of a race boat!

Look at the wind tunnel tests that have made the 30 Outlaw and now the 23 one hell of a boat! WOW, how about the 40 Outlaw at the miami show.

I have owned 6 boats to date and my family since I started boating with my Grandfather when I was seven have owned about twenty boats total. All types from party barges, to deck boats, to jet boats up to a 14 x 70 foot Stardust Cruiser house boat.

Two things I can tell you for sure.

1) There is no excuse for not being on the water if you really want to be. Boats come in all types, all colors and all price ranges. I just saw a new 18 foot Bayliner runabout advertised for nothing down and $119.00 per month. Get out there and have fun!

2) The best times I have had on the water had NOTHING to do with the brand, type, cost or speed of the boat I was in. Last year my wife and I took the boat to the coast and Jeff AKA Steel Outlawed and his wife took their 25 Outlaw. We had an absolute BLAST. Both of us were sitting on the dock at Charleston that night talking about what a fun day it had been. Then we started talking about how it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the boats we were in. It was friends, water and pretty weather.

You are right, most of the people that bash Baja do it to make themselves feel better. They have never owned one, it is just the thing to do. Or they always have that "I had a friend" story.

I have NEVER met a boat I did not like. You can find good and bad in everyone. We all would have to build custom boats to have that perfect boat, then no one would like it but you!

The wife and I have never been happier than we are with the 36. It meets all our needs. The time will come for us to trade and I hope that Baja has some new products that will keep me in the family.

Thanks Baja

Doc

thisistank

Well I think that pretty much sums it up!

But I have to say that I boated with my 97 24 outlaw for over 7 years in BIG water in the Pacific ocean. The boat held up with out even a hickup. I put that thing through the ropes in some big seas, seas I shouldn't have been in and it always got me home safely. When I sold it, it looked for the most part like a new boat. There was stress cracks in the wind fairing and a tiny one at the port rear engine hatch opening (where most boats stress crack).

If I think back the only negative thing I could say about the build of that boat was two fold:
1) The driver seat stripped the screws out of the floor board.
2) The rear engine hatch gets water in it and starts to rot.

Both problems I fixed myself but I saw other Bajas had the same problem. However, you have to remember that's over 7 years of beating on this boat! Other than that my boat treated me extremely well and even though I don't own a Baja anymore I still have nothing negative to say about them and I still wave at them and give 'em props when I see them on the water and yell out Baja Pride to whoever is with me in the boat

mcourson

It's just like cars. Someone has a bad experience with a X brand, then they go around bashing brand X and saying they would never own one. Then you have the ones that never dealt with it and form the own opinions(and we know what opinions are like).

Coming from a family that has owned several types of boats(A lot of Baja's, Fountain, and Magic, not to mention other types). Each company has their own thing going. Magic doesn't build as many boats as Fountain or Baja and are known as a "west coast custom". Yet they still had thier problems with attention to detail, etc, etc. Fountain builds less than Baja. But they have their problems as well(I had quite a gash in my finger from a 42s anchor locker because of fiberglass that wasn't sanded or smoothed.). Not too mention other things that were right.

I think Baja delievers the best bang for the buck. Anybody priced a 27 Fever vs. a 30 Outlaw lately.

thisistank

mcourson, are you from the west coast?? You don't see too many people east of AZ owing Magics