First of all I am aware that Renegade is a different make then Concept, however they don't have there own thread so I figured you Concept guys could help me out? Switching from High performance to center console and want your guys opinion on A. moving from Sonic to center console? B. The brand Renegade? C. Outboards in general? The boat is a 2004 29 which is now called the 31 from what I understand with mercury 250 efi's. Thanks for your help.

Cant speak about the hulls....but there is a thread about renegade currently on the forum. I would get newer engines than the efi's. Opti's or etecs. Much better fuel milage and little to no smoke.

I saw the recent forum.... wanted more info. As far as the engines go they are what they are. Reliability is far more my concern then gas mileage. This is the wrong hobby if fuel is top priority. Thanks for your response

I went from a 28 PQ Silencer to a 30 concept last spring, love the boat and having OB's. I am 100% saltwater so having an OB is much easier IMO, OB's are made for saltwater. If your boating consists of hanging out, rafting, swimming, pulling tubes or wakeboards, fishing, they are awesome boats, way more versitile than a go fast. I love my Concept, Renegade seems like nice boats too, I think Concept is a little more refined than some of the older Renegades I've seen, I have a built in rear bench, I think older renegades dont have a bench built in. You can fit a lot more ppl on a CC and if you have small kids, you got more room to run around, the downside is the openess in colder weather, you dont have nearly the protection so if your running in the spring/fall you will be colder.

The 250 efi is a great motor, very reliable, the smoke and they are pigs so they are less desirable (tougher resale) than the newer DFI OB's. My Optis will get 20-30% better mileage, I thik they are snappier than aa EFI too, if you dont care about the price of gas than you'll be fine with EFI's, OB's in general are awesome unless you like wrenching, run them and flush them out and your done, it took me a while to not feel like I'm neglecting my boat beacuse I was so used to dicking around with my 502.

Hope this helps, good luck

I think your are way off base comparing the "opti's to the EFI's, I know a lot of Mercury mechanics and all told me to stay away from Optimax motors, I have EFI's, they do not smoke and have good fuel mileage,

Pre 2003 Optis were bad, they had not figured out the fuel delivery, they were know as Opti-bombs, ater 2003 they got it right and have very few issues, they get 20-30% better economy, that is a fact.

Ask around and form your own opinion, the 250 xs and 300 xs are Optimax and they are one of the most desirable motors out there.

Yeah after 2003 the opti's were sorted out and very reliable. In my opinion the 250xs is one of the best 2 stroke motors made. You can run it on 87, dyno at 270 ish, reliable and good on fuel. You would be impressed if you ride on a boat with 300xs's. Power and efficiency cant be beat.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. I boaton the chesapeake bay and am looking for a family friendly high performance boat.

Kevin, sorry we could make it happen, you are straight up guy and I thought it was a go, word of advice, water test the boats and compare brands, you will understand what I ment, good luck on your search.. Dave

Dave, appreciate the kind words and the advice. Will keep searching and if anyone knows of a good deal on a used center console 30-35ft fairly new pm me cause im ready anytime to buy.