For the Baja bashers
 

This comes from HOT BOAT MAGAZINE, the July 2007 Issue that lists all the boat manufactuers with a brief background of the company....

BAJA
Ohio-based Baja builds a thriving performance vee line that continually meets / beats standards set by top custom builders, despite overall monthly volume matching some builders' annual yields. It sparked the Euro-styling explosion and was among the first to blur the East Coats / West Coast performance boundaries. First perfromance hull was released in 1978. Year after year, it hits the styling mark and backs beauty with hardcore performance and consistent driveabilty.

Baja is a OK boat. We raced one for 3 years. I just wish they would support racing. Because that is the main reason we changed to Joker Powerboats.

Who's bashing Baja's? Lots of people here have them, they're nice boats. :D

Don't be calling us player haters or an admin will have to poof this thread.

Oh, and welcome to OSO :drink:

Ahhhhh hot boat the best compliments money can buy. Honestly - they have the most biased performance magazine out there and I dropped them because of it. They will say anything you want them too as long as you pay for advertising.

So what are you trying to say..........

BAJA PRIDE!!!:drink:

I`m not saying anything negative towards Baja, I owned one for 5 years and it was a GREAT boat.

I don`t take boat reviews seriously. It`s all fueled by $$$.

Here we go...............

I'm gettin' popcorn!

I'm on my third one. Nice boats for the money IMO. Alot of room in cockpit compared to others also.

IMO, Baja's are a great boat for the money. They build a lot of boats and some have problems. Its to be expected. The biggest thing I have seen in talking to people is the variance in how the Baja dealers take care of their customers.

Gents ..... life is fueled by $$$

It seems that the only folks who regularly criticize Baja's are the folks who don't own them.
I guess that I missed all the posts from thousands of frustrated Baja owners ready to abandon ship.

Take a moment and visit TBM ...
there's about 3000 Baja owners just wishin' they could buy a "real" performance boat someday!

I'm trying to say that anything that Hot boat says about any boat should be taken with a grain of salt.

or because a joker would kick @ss in the rough? :evilb:
I like the baja's and seem to be alot of boat for the $. Just to common for me.

I've gotta 320 and a 270, love them both

It's like this....Most people either love or hate Baja...Kind've like Ford and Chevy owners. You like one and hate the other. It's like Bill said, people that hate Baja most likely have never owned one. 99% of the people that have or had a Baja agree they are a great boat.

You can go buy a Baja for usually half the price of a comparable boat, show up to the poker run or local lake and have just as much fun as the guy in the 800k+ Outerlimits/Cigarette/Skater/ etc. And deep down in places people dont want to talk about that pisses the sh!t out of the guy that just paid all this money for a boat and has to tie up next to the guy with a Baja. People like to justify spending all that money by bashing Baja to make themselves feel better about buying a more expensive boat.

I don't really understand any other reason for someone to bash a boat they've never owned. People bash Fountain too but I think thats because Reggie is a complete TOOL....but that is a different story. :evilb:

That's just my .02 on it. Agree or disagree that's how I see it.:drink:

Oh how true.

Good thing I got a good one:D

I've owned a Baja. It was older, and before they went to the "euro-style" or whatever you want to call it. I really liked the boat at the time. It was my entry in to "performance boating". But then I statred seeing things in the same size range that were much cooler. Pantera, Saber come to mind.
I beat the crap out of that Baja - I was using it as an offshore should be used. And I saw other guys using their (insert brand) the same way, and there's held up alot better than mine.
Mine was used, and maybe it was just abused before I got into it.
At this point I want to get into something a little more unique.
I don't want to have an identical boat to 6 others on the same lake.

Seems like there's some "identity" issues on this forum!

If that is in refernce to me - please explain.

Everything is a good boat for the price, if the price is right. We almost universally knock Bayliners, but they're a good boat for the price.

Back in the early 90's, I saw a lot more new Baja's than new Fountains.

Seems nowadays, I see a lot more early 90's Fountains than I do Baja's. The last 15 year old Baja I tied up to looked like a 15 year old boat (right down to the huge stress cracks in the sides). The guy asked me how old my 1991 Fountain was by saying "How old is that boat, 2-3 years old?"

I must agree, though, that he was having as much fun as I was, and I had all the same problems with my Mercruiser motor that he did with his.

Nah ..... just enjoying a variety of opinions and commentary.

Besides ... life is good ... fun is fun ... even if your stuck riding in a Baja!

Everyone wants something different in their boat. If you're happy with your's (aside from the fact everyone has 4 footitis, 50 HPitis), that is all that counts. It depends alot on where you boat, how you boat, and of course how much money you have to throw at it.
I know what I'd really like is Bschoe's boat here on the board, but it's missing some of that criteria - mainly the last one.
For me, I don't have a lot of time, don't have a lot of money to throw at it, and just want a hobby. Even if I'm just puttering with it in the backyard, and only going out every few weeks.
When I had my Baja, I was on it 6 out of 7 days. But, circumstances change. I was 12 mins. from the Marina on Erie. I'm now 3 1/2 hr's. And the OH river just isn't the same. Different type of boating. Different type of boat that I want.

Beats where I am right now by a longshot...
And I won't completely rule one out - just lower on my shopping list.

If by chance you get stuck in a Baja, I'll bet you'll still have a blast out on the water :D
However, you might have some explainin' to do here on OSO .....

No, I don't feel I'd have any explaining to do.
And agreed, I would make sure I had a blast.
It's just not my choice in a boat.
I've been on pontoon boats, inflatables, duckboats, and had a blast on everyone of them.
Not that I'm comparing Baja to any of those - not at all.
We could be having the same conversation about Cigarette, Fountain, and, heaven forbid APACHE.:evilb:

This is a load of crap! :mad:

Hot Boat does feature more advertisers boats than non advertisers but I don't think they say anything that isn't true about a boat.

I used to think the same thing and wondered why they never really said anything bad about a boat. Then I had the privlage of spending a week at Havasu doing test evaluations and photos shoots. I got to drive and ride in a very wide variety of boats; Magics, Advantages, DCB's, Domin8ers, Conquest, Lavey, Eliminators, and many more. I was determined to point out all the flaws in each boat and then make a fuss with the staff to write about them. Well, guess what? I couldn't find any! They were all great boats, well built, great gell, fast, great handling, etc. No wonder every review in the magazine says good things. I'll bet if any one of you were to go to dealers and take these boats out for a test run you'd feel the same way. I'd like you to tell me what is bad about them.

By the way, look for my 29 Outlaw to be featured soon! :p

Here's the crew I was burdened with to haul around the lake! :eek: :D :evilb:

Remember stevez, YOU started this!!!!! :evilb: :evilb:
:D

That's the way I saw it. :evilb: :drink:

Yeah i know i started it but i must say that i love all boats. Small big fast not fast as long as i am on the water i am happy. It just seemed to me that it was an pretty true fact that hot boat made. I have total respect for all boats and boaters.I just love bajas :drink:

Bajas ae the best bang for the buck and there are lots of owners who will stand behind that. People who bash any boats have no right to unless the have owned one and had bad luck with it. Thanks all now lets get to the water.

:D Well............ I can't say that I could find something wrong in any boat either if there were tits like that flying all over the place.:D

Evaluating a boat takes longer than a short joy ride with a bunch of hot chics. You have to be in and out of one for atleast a year and you need to evaluate the boat and its condition 5-10 years down the road.

bang for the buck yeah if you could buy a new 26 with 525 for 80.000:p they are priced as the others now at 130,000 for a 525:D before stepped hulls came out my lil 240ol would kick azz with 600hp back in the 90s I shocked the chit out of a lot of big boats to. still pass my long time friend with his 575 hp 24 SB IN MY 650HP BOAT BY 6MPH. OH he has stresss cracks, Ive seen them in every boat built just about over the last 18yrs. I'm doing a little extra this fall and winter going for 700hp high 80s only 83 right now well before my chit was stolen in march. so saving for so more goodies besides the stuff that was stolen. hate to miss 07 but thats life my next boat will be a sutphen that a friend might sell in the spring that needs motors or a new joker 28 with my baja parts and sell the baja as a hull and trailer set up. well got to go having surgery in the morning:p :p artie

I agree completely. Car magazines like Car & Driver, Automobile and Autoweek get long term test vehicles from manufacturers and do long term testing. I don't think many performance boat manufacturers would give up a boat for a year. I'm sure Hot Boat ( or powerboat) would love to do a long term test.

I would like to see less tests per issue and more indepth testing and write up of each boat. It would be nice if they could spend more time with each boat to get more "owner" type usage reports. Unfortunately, testing is costly so they test a bunch at a time and then spread the articles over several issues.

I think you just illustrated the point most here are trying to make. I doubt by your bias you have ever owned a Baja, you base your opinion on other boats you have seen or tied up to.

I do like the Fountain brand of boats, as well as just about any go-fast. Every once in a while I tie up to a guy with an older 32 Fountain that looks like the only thing holding it together is the rub rail. But you have seen this type of owner before, the kind that is in and out of his boat with his dirty street shoes, launching off every big cruiser wake without knowing at all how to set the boat up right so it does not come crashing down on the stern etc.

What I am saying here is, should I base my opinion of Fountain off this one guy who has no idea how to take care of the boat or even drive it correctly? No, I base my opinion on the folks that enjoy their Fountain and are repeat buyers. Repeat buyers is the best endorsement any brand can have. People who are truly not happy will not buy another of the same brand.

Baja builds a chit ton of boats. You hear about more problems simply because there are more of them. I am on Baja number three and outside of two Merc related problems they have been trouble free. The real problem with Baja is the dealer network. There are a few gems but I have found the majority to be chit.


By the way, what ever happend to the old saying that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Regardless of what someone is driving (even a Bayliner) they spent their hard earned money on it and they are having fun.

I have never understood why folks feel they need to bash something to make themselves feel better.



End of rant, back to your regular scheduled programming. . :drink:

couldn't you say the same thing about Formula?

I had one and yes, there were two more on the water just like it, Baja is sort of the "GENERIC" powerboat. Alot of people that are just getting into a performance boat, buy a Baja because of PRICE, seems like alot for less money, but when it comes time two step up to anther performance boat most never buy another Baja.

Baja's are a good value.

Hey as long as your not sittin' on the dock. . . . . . . .

My first boat was a Baja Sunsport. Very fun boat with a 150 outboard. I have always loved the lines of the outlaws.

Truthfully, there really aren't many go fasts that I don't admire. We can't all own a $200,000.00 + go fast and Baja hits a wide market of boaters. As an owner of a Sunsation, you will see no disrespect from me towards Baja's...or any other brands for that matter. Be proud of what you have and run it like you stole it!:drink:

Hot boat is no different than any other publisher. They have ad pages to sell. They aren't going to get a new advertiser into the book by telling the cold, hard truth about their product. You're also not going to keep big-page-volume advertisers like Reggie in your book by showing photos of hull/deck separations and sinking hulls. It isn't just the boat biz- this is universal everywhere in the publishing business. Unless you're 100% reader-supported, like Consumer Reports

Maybe Havasu isn't the best place to test OFFSHORE boats. Everything works pretty well on a pond. Your opinion might be different if you were to see a motor mount torn out of a stringer off of a 6' roller.

There's Bayliners and then there's Apaches. In between is an enormous gulf of difference in materials and construction quality. Of the boats you named, there are certainly differences, although not as dramatic as the one's I used in my example. Because you aren't identifying them, that doesn't mean they don't exist. Maybe you're either not looking very hard or you lack the long-term experience to know what to look for. Maybe you were a little star-struck too.

New boats, hand-prepped for a magazine, test driven on a small lake does not make for the best real-world examination of what you're going to be living with a few years down the road.


No, they're not all "great" boats. They're "OK" boats. That would be like comparing a Kia, a Chevy, an Audi and a Porsche. They're not all "great" cars. Not everyone can tell you why, though.

I've owner one of just about everything, from old wooden Lymans, a Bayliner or two, a couple Bajas, 3 Cigs, 2 Velocities and 2 Apaches- and a bunch more. Every one of them was lots of fun- much better than watching from shore. Some were constructed exceptionally well and some weren't. If you come on a site like this and say "my XYZ is a great boat- as good as anything else made" you have to expect to get some feedback from more than a couple of folks.

btw, what's a 24 baja w/ a 496ho cost these days?

how about a 32/33 w/ 525s?