New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Hi everybody, I've been lurking around here for quite a while and I've learned a lot! Now, it's time to start shopping. I'm looking for a late model 25-27' single engine boat. I'm in the Pacific Northwest so there's not a huge selection. So tell me, what do you have? Thanks again for all the info, the site has a lot of knowledgeable people here.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Welcome Doc :D Heres what you need

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

First thing you need to do is decide how much you want to spend.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

So I guess I need to show my hand a bit. I'd like to be into the boat for under $50k. I'm only a basic member of the forum, so I can't see pics. Can you email to [email protected]?

PS: Trailer needed too!

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

second thing you need to do is upgrade your membership

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

:D :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Spend the cash upgrade your membership and check out the uncensored section :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Take a look at
www.chicagofountain.com

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

That's right! With that much porn, who needs a boat! :drink:

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Hi Ya Dan,
I sent you a email.

Welcome aboard! :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

You need to tell us if you will be chasing Ogopogo or whatever that B.C. lake monster is,

http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start...ogo.htm&e=9797

or bouncing off deadheads in the gulf islands. Do you intend to fish or strictly cruise?

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Plan to use the boat mainly for cruising. Most of the time spent in Lake Washington, with trips into Puget Sound and the Pacific. If I can come up with spare time, I'd be happy to be part of the Ogopogo hunting party! I hear it's best fried served with a nice Chianti.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Cool, I attended this one Lake Washington Miss Budwiser race on a 90 foot yacht, right on the log barrier.....only remember the first half of the race, then something about the race having to be briefly stopped because a guy and a chick were floating in a rubber dinghy, seemed to involve me and a girl off the boat, ohhh my head the next day. <gg>

I hate to say it, but I really think your trailerable best bet would be a hardtop Searay or Bayliner 2452 classic or something like that, because the typical performance boat just is not practical in the rainy and cold NW. You want something with a good sized cabin and big windows to sit out the showers and cold summers in. You will have a problem selling a performance boat if you find it is not suitable as I suspect. No demand up there.

Do you have a wife? Kids? If so, go for the Bayliner/Searay whatever, preferably with hard enclosure and windows. If not, you might want to try a custom pop up cover for a 26 sonic which has a big cabin for a performance boat.

Also, in the big seas/deadheads you are going to get in the gulf islands, I'd rather be driving a 30 foot Sonic or something bigger with twin engines. Seen way too many deadhead busted outdrives etc. At least with two you might get home after breaking one of them. A big cabin in my view is mandatory to wait out rain showers, and Sonic has about the biggest for performance boats. Problem... any canvas top is going to leak given enough rain, hard to see out of plastic windows unless fitted with a heated and wiper glass "porthole" hence a hardtop cruiser is really more practical.

Seen many performance boats out there? Nope, the above are the reasons.

With 50K I'd be tempted to go for a 28 - 34 foot Tollycraft or Uniflight, heavy boats suitable for bouncing off deadheads while visiting waterfront logging camps. <gg> But, they are going to have to be moored somewhere.

Here is a nice tolly for you:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...73&slim=quick&

Notice the rain on the windows? Now imagine boating in a gofast in a rain storm because you have to get home. Been there done that, and it ain't fun! Once you get home everything is soaked, so when you seal it up, it stays soaked until you use the boat again, and mold starts growing.

I am from the PNW but likely would not bring my gofast there were I to return.

Good luck!

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Thanks CBR. I really got the boating bug after spending a few years at Seafair on friends boats. There is not a large amount of performance boats in the NW, that's why I'm searching out a little farther. I know with my budget I won't be heading out in to huge water, just looking to have a little summer fun.

I don't have wife/kids so I'm not looking for an all weather cruiser. They are nice, but a bit of speed is a must.

Do you have pics from the race you attended or did you destroy all the evidence? Maybe I'll post some pics from the past when I upgrade my membership. Thanks for your input.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Ok, I think the Sonics gofasts are likely are the best bet for you, as they have the biggest cabins in the bunch, and one of the toughest hulls for bouncing off deadheads. I'd go for a used 26/30/31SS if I were you, should be able to get an older one for $50K. They have been making the same boats for twenty years, so it will still look new. Works for me. <gg>

Nope, no pictures of my youthful events out there....used to see how long it would take me to get from Seattle to Vancouver, and back again in my 69 GTO, customs guys used to know me and wave me through. Ah the old days!

Seafair was great, a million people on the beaches at 9AM, and the races did not start until noon or something. Yep, looking forward to any pictures you may have of the hydros on the lake! There used to be a 45 Sonic with triples and a checked pattern on it running around Lake Washington.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Hi Chris,
Havent talked to you all winter. Its getting close again, I can feel the need coming on bad. Are you planning on being at Grovers again this season? I talked to JohnnyD, he made arrangments to keep his boat at Grovers also.

Vinny

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

I bought my first boat a checkmate from Grover's

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Welcome to the board. :drink:

I have a 1996 Velocity 280, HP500, trailer all the goodies for sale. Check the boat trader on line, or pm me and I'll give you all the details.
Dean

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

The first decision is are you with SBRT or with E-DOCK crew. :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

I lived in Portland, Oregon 37 years before moving to Michigan. Used to run up to the San Juan's every year with my boats. One thing in the Sound, the boat doesn't have to handle rough water like here in Lake Michigan unless you go out into the straights. The best Go-Fast offshore for the Northwest, in my opionion, is one of the Velocity's. With the back radar arch it makes a perfect support for canvas and you can leave it attached so it goes up in a hurry. They still have a fairly large cabin and perform at decent speeds without steps. Also, in all of the years I ran around the islands, I only got rained on twice up there. Now Seattle and Portland were different stories.....

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

My ex-wife is from the Tacoma area, so I have been there several times. She always told me it really doesn't rain here as much as you think... :rolleyes: Lot's to see and do in the NW, but just not very perfomance boater friendly.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Harper220, boating in the PNW only has two good months in my opinion, August and September. But, if you are in a heated, enclosed cruiser, then you can boat all year long in the rain!

Hey Vinny, are you up for the Muscle Car filmfest in Manhattan? What about JohnnyD? Ten motorheads with their long suffering girlfriends makes twenty people and a go for doing this. Thread is in the Bilge.

Likely will bring the boat back to Grovers, if I don't move to Florida first. The boat is enjoying it down there and keeps telling me to make it permanent! I need to get this resolved quickly. Look forward to seeing you again.

On PNW ocean cruising, lots of tugboat wakes and loooooong cruises of 4 footers will make you want at least a 23 degree V gofast as found in a Sonic. No pad bottoms!! Pad bottoms are okay for the lakes, but make a nice target for solid deadhead hits.

BTW: Notice that in the ad for the Tolly, it mentions a spare prop shaft...that is because I have seen dozens of them bent by deadheads, and wise cruisers carry their own spare prop shaft as well as props for boatyards to quickly effect repairs. If you have a gofast with bravos, carry spare props.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

My suggestion is a 26' Sutphen. Race proven deep vee with 26 degree deadrise. No steps, no pads, no gimmicks. Call Rich Sutphen Jr or look for a used one.

http://www.sutphenboats.com/

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Chris,
Sounds like an idea, but I hate the city. I avoid it like the plague. My wife tries to get me to take her there and I always refuse. I tell her my car only points east of here. Besides, I have so much stuff going on right now, time is a problem. I took a promotion at work thats killing me. My mother in law is in North Shore Hospital with a broken hip after a fall from a heart attack. Between shuttling my father in law and who ever else back and forth to the hospital and the B.S. at work, I havent got time for myself. Good thing its winter, I hope things calm down before May.

thanks anyway,

Vinny

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

what he said...

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Sorry to hear it Vinny, good luck, and I hope everything works out. Oh yeah,if your wife still want to go to the city, I think she "might' be acustomed to engine sounds and we would ensure she has a good time in the lower east side at the Cin Bin film fest. <gg>

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

I've got a 2000 Checkmate 259 for sale with an HP500, all freshwater use, excellent condition. PM me if you're interested in some photos and some more detail.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Welcome Doc :evilb: :evilb: :evilb:

I disagree with many of the posts here about no performance boating in the Northwest. We have Poker runs from The first weekend of June until the middle of October, yes once in a while we get caught out in the rain but that's just boating. We kind of expect to get wet on our New Years Day Poker Run :drink: :drink: There is a lot of boating on the dry side of the mountains also. Our poker runs and fun runs and such include all types of performance boats, there are Outerlimits, Nor-tech's, Skater's, Spectre's, Fountain's, Velocity's, Warlock's, Profile's, Eliminator's, Stoker's, STV's, Progression's, Donzi's, Cigarette's, Mirage's, Scarab's, Superboat's, and some that I've probably forgotten to list. I think most of the manufacturers are fairly well represented in the area, we do have some fairly protected waters where the smaller boats can run right along side of the larger boats.
For more info go to www.nwoffshore.com

We might get a little rain once in a while but we don't have hurricane season here either.

Caleb

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Question is, which crew are you with????

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

The only one that matters if i want to stay breathing.W.I.F.E.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

There is a nice 24 superboat for sale, and its in Washington.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=123244

There is also a nice 28 pantera, but it may be more of a boat than you are looking for.
http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/4/6/82073746.htm

Here is a 27 progression on LI.
http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/8/9/81730389.htm

And there are a bunch of 26 sonics for sale at www.boattraderonline.com

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Thanks for the input to everybody! I've seen many of the large performance boats in the WA waters, but not in large numbers. I did neglect to add the fact that there is some great boating and partying on the east side of the state also.

Does anybody have any experience good and bad with Nordic? I found this boat online earlier today, plus it's located nearby: http://seattle.craigslist.org/boa/137986653.html

FYI: I wish I were a doc, but the username is just initials. I think a real doctor would be working with a larger budget! :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

seems like alot of hours for an 02 boat.

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

A little big or small but Superboat will have the answer with the Y2K or 24. The AVanti 27 is also a great boat just neither are near you. :(

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Nordic makes a good boat, but its a west coastie. :eek: :D :drink: :p

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

Thanks for the link and info about the scarce PNW gofasters timewarp, I just registered on that site. Very cool that you guys have poker runs, never knew this before.

I will likely be visiting up there this summer, seems logical to time it with your Vancouver Poker Run, any seats for a Jersey/New Yawker guy and gal? :p

Was it RVYC that hosted you in the Gulf Islands? I used to be their Coal Harbour acting harbourmaster while attending college eons ago. I got a really good view of deadhead bent prop shafts while operating the boat lifts. :D

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

That Pantera would crush the big NW waves! and it looks sweet...Fountain NW had a 05 27 fever (few weeks back) bet u could buy for 65k and its new so if your financing should get a better interest rate then if used. Welcome to OSO by the way. If your gonna spend 50k upgrade ur membership it will be worth it even if u never come back after buying. Peace :cool:

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

If you ask that question on nwoffshore I'm sure that someone knows the boat. I know that there are a couple other 25 Nordics in the area. Powerboats Northwest is a Nordic dealer and may have some used boats in stock. Might want to check with them.

So if DR is your initials, what should we call you??? :drink: :drink:

Caleb

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

I believe that it was the Burrard Yacht Club, but can't remember for sure. There are a few large yacht clubs up in that area.
As far as a seat for that run, when it gets closer you might want to ask on nwoffshore, there are usually some boats with room. It's a fairly small run (20-30 boats) but incredible scenery and very friendly people.

Caleb

Re: New around here... now looking for a boat!
 

I can live with Doc.