Newbie with ???'s
 

First off, just wanted to say hello. I found this site searching on google and man, I am glad I did. Love the site!!!

I am fairly new to boats (been a drag racer all my life) and am now looking to buy my first one. I really like the Baja's and would like something in the 25-27' range. Of course, having the craving for big power, I want something that will run low 80's. I am very mechanically inclined, although I know very little about boats, so I figured something with say a 502 and I'll either install a procharger or buy one already fitted with one.

Now, here's my questions.... I found a couple of 30' and 32's that I like, but they usually have two motors. What is fuel consumption like with two motors vs. one blown motor? On these type boats, how long will a full tank of fuel last you? Meaning one with two motors vs one blown motor.

The reason for the fuel question is two fold.... first and foremost, fuel prices. WHOA!!! And secondly, I like to be out running around the water.... taking my kids out, taking friends out, blah, blah. Obviously I know the two motors would use more fuel, but are we talking a whole lot more? Or just a little more?

Also, I figured a smaller boat 25' would be easier to run around the river, although, I have seen some 32's there. But not quite sure how they manuever some of the more shallow parts.... but anyways.

Last question and yes, you guys will probably laugh at me for this.... but can you realistically pull a tube or stuff behind say a 27' Baja? You know for the kids and stuff? Or is the turning radius and other stuff just too much to be drug behind this type of craft?

Please be gentle, this is my first post and I really want to learn about this stuff. Love these big boats and even more.... I love going fast.

Baja is a good boat, a 25-27' can pull a tube ok if there is room.

80mph single boat is going to average about 2miles per gallon if you are lucky. Twin 80mph boat may get 1.2-1.5 mpg.

For river work a single may suit you better up to 29' from there you will want twins

I'd suggest a single engined factory powered boat for your first go round.

I have a great single Scarab for sale
http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o20200-en.html

Welcome aboard.....!

First piece of advice....research as much as you can on quality of the different manufacturers.
Second my advice is go with a single in the 25' range as your first boat...good way to learn and keep it simple.

Welcome from a fellow newbie....Glad you just made this post b/c I had some very similar questions!!!

If I may interject a question on the behalf of quality. I too have been looking towards Baja. However, some of my friends question there quality and craftsmanship. Are there any points to take not of on the negative aspects of Baja???

From what I have seen, a Baja is a durable boat with good quality. Obviously there is better out there, but you will be paying accordingly.

Welcome to the forum. Your not going to go wrong with a baja. Make sure you buy it at the right price. Good luck.

welcome to OSO!

i do not have much info on baja , but we do have a fourm for owners with different brands of boats..


http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...aysprune=&f=31 this is a link for the baja fourm.

but , the boat that kimmer has is a good boat for what your looking for with a very fair price..
http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o20200-en.html

Thank you both for the info. I was searching my way around the Baja forum. But, clearly if the forum is filled with Baja owners they will all be slightly biased to the brand :D

I have a single engine 27 Fountain for sale. 95mph

As far as fuel consumption, a good(not great) way to estimate it is at WOT you will burn 10% of the horsepower. So if you have a 500 HP engine, you will burn close to 50 gallons an hour at WOT.

Welcome,

I would be inclined to say that if you purchase a dual engine boat you effectively put yourself out of enjoyable tubing/watersports. It get's pricey fuel wise.

The age old debate of 1 engine vs. 2 is one that is discussed frequently. If it is your first boating experience you might indeed want to get a nice stock powered boat for the summer, and get your sea legs during this first year of ownership. The real thing to think about with 2 engines is maintenance and insurance - not fuel costs. Twice as much everything. The rest of the decision really depends on your boating circumstances.

Check out all the owner's forums below because there are alot of neat boats available in that size/price range.

That looks like a great boat at a great price! :D

That would be a fun boat for an "engine-head" like yourself Niceguy. It's a good brand of boat. A bit on the pricey side in my opinion though (Sorry Kimmer, just what I think).

Kimmer's boat looks like a good one.

But, take your time and don't rush into something just to get on the water. Posting on here is good and you will get a lot of opinions. I would recommend bumming rides with people (pay for gas, lunch & drinks) who have different boats to get an idea of what they are like. Again, posting on OSO to find locals.

I agree with everyone on the 24/25 range but 80MPH can be pricey, both to buy and operate. We don't know what your purchase budget is so it's hard to recommend a boat but to get 80MPH out of say, a 25 Baja Outlaw, you will need at least 500 + HP. I had a 496HO (425HP) 25 Outlaw and it would do about 70. Horsepower can get real expensive real quick.

Baja's are good dependable boats, not the highest quality like say Cig, OL, Formula, etc but you're not paying those prices either. Some hulls are faster too, like a Fountain (their 27 would be a 25' boat).

I also recommend spending 70-80% of your purchase budget on actually buying the boat. The remaining 20-30% can then be used for accesories and upgrades that you will want to do (things like PFD's, anchor, dock lines, fenders, coolers, etc). Also, if you buy used you may need to do some basic maintenance such as oil change (motors & drives), impellers, plugs & wires, etc. and don't forget the trailer (bearings, brakes, etc). Then there is breakage. If you want to run hard you have to plan on breaking something eventually (as a drag racer I'm sure you are familier with this!).

The bottom line is buy the right boat, don't let your ego make the desicion for you (spend too much for too much power & bling) and don't over spend. Nothing worse than having a bad azz boat sitting in your driveway but no money to fix it or run it!

Welcome to the site, you will be amazed with the amount of information & good quality advice that is available here, no matter what brand of boat you decide to go with.

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o19100-en.html

This was a boat I was considering before I found my Sonic. I spoke with the owner, real nice gentleman, & was very specific as to what he's done to the boat. You mentioned Baja, with a 502 & future Procharger, this has it for ya....I'm not sure how flexible he can be with the asking price, but it may be worth a phone call.
I'm only a couple of hours away from him, if this is something you may be intrested in, I'd be happy to run up & take a peek at if for ya. I'm always into looking at boats.....:D

Good luck with your search.....

Ditto to what everyone is saying. Go with a single engine boat in the 25-27 range and you can't go wrong.

You will definitely benefit from the advice of other owners and experienced boaters on this site. I had similar needs to your own and I just bought a very clean Formula in that size range - though I didn't need 500hp. At least not right now. :cool-smiley-011:

I read a lot, listend to what people had to say, and looked at a lot of boats. Also fought the natural desire to buy the biggest damn boat I could afford. I saw lots of older twin engine boats in the 30'+ range, some very sharp...and very reasonably priced. But then I had to take a realistic look at :

a) where was I [mostly] going to use the boat?
b) my Durango's towing capacity;
c) my experience level;
d) fuel, maintenance costs & reliability
e) Okay - what my wife would let me spend....:D

Yeah, deep down we all want to stretch and have the biggest, fastest boat on the lake...it's only human. But there's always going to be somebody with something bigger and faster. I've come to believe that no one needs to understand that more than the first-time boater. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you need; listen to the sound advice the folks here have to offer and you should have a great summer. :boat:

Even though this isnt my thread, I'd really like to say thanks to everyone that has contributed to the thread. Thesee are pretty much all my questioned laid out in front of me without me having to make my own post!!! So thanks to niceguy for posting up and thanks to everyoen for responding!!!!

Aside from Baja 24-28' what other manufacturers out there should I/We look at in that size range with a single engine setup?

checkmate also makes a 24, 26, and 27 which i can vouch for as a good boat, ironically is owned by baja now

I've looked at a couple checkmates. They seem to be slightly more expensive then baja across the board. With Baja as an owner would this be considered an "upscale" brand compared directly with the same type/style boat produced by Baja?

They just recently took over checkmate, so that may be what they are doing, but i think maybe if you look at the older 25's they will probably be in about the same price range as the 25 outlaw, there are much fewer checkmates out there in this style than baja's so that could make a difference

Good stuff. I'll look into those. I have been looking through some mid 90's 24-26' outlaws right now, just wondering if I can broaden my horizen on that particular budget.

Furthermore, Newguy hopefully you dont mind me tagging some questions in your post. If so I'm sorry for jacking the thread.

Regards,

Seth

sunsation 288

good first thread. you will learn a great deal from this site.

I think most can agree that a single screw makes more sense out of the gate - maintenance and gas and kids tubing etc.

eventually, it will come down to your personal preference. I have a friend who says bajahahaha everytime he sees one...I have nothing against the boats but his opinion has worn off on my perception of their quality. (my bad)

I think Kimmers Scarab looks very sweet (just based on personal preference) and I would be investigating that boat.

The old adage that goes something like..."every mile an hour over 70 gets expensive" is very true.

In my opinion this feels like a buyers market with a bunch of boats available and more coming to sale and I think you would do well to take your time and enjoy the research...after all, shopping for boats is whole lotta fun!!!

Welcome to OSO. A 25 Outlaw is a great boat. Big cabin, decent speed with stock power. Good luck. Now get a membership here so you can get the full effect of OSO:D

couldn't agree more! I lurked for several months before stepping up and I was like...WTF was I waiting for...now I can see the light!:D

Welcome to SOS. Looks like every one wants to sel you guys a boat.. So Do I.

For the first boat, absolutley a single. Like mine. :) 26' Infinity with 454 Merc. Mag. Bravo 1.. 69.3 MPH, Good on fuel and easy to trailer.

Take all the post and learn as much as you can. Like Schweitz58 said, review your personal issues. THere will always be time to move up and go faster.

Baja's are good boats for the money. I just looked at Kimmers boat and it seems very reasonable. You can do everything you asked in a 25-27 baja. Mine runs solid mid 80's and I pull tubes every year(maybe a little faster than they want to go). The 272 will have a full cabin with a door. The 25 will not. If you need a lot of room an older 260 is huge. Baja's only major draw backs are the crack smokers who pick out some of the color combo's! There are a few blown 272's around $40K. You are NOT going to be running 80's for any less IMO.
Good luck, spend a little more to get what you want because it takes no time to get tired of something you settled for( this includes women too!).

Thanks a million guys for the responces.... this is so much fun. I think I have made my decision and gonna stay in the 25-27' range with a single.

Rangerrick.... I actually have this boat saved and was looking at it. My wife loves it too!!! I may take you up on your offer. Still waiting for my cash to get here.... (sold my racecar), so i wont actually be calling anyone till I have cash in hand. LOL

Apppendigree..... I'd love to have a Fountain!!! But I doubt it fits in my budget. I'm trying to stay in the low 40's. I also dont know much about Fountains other than their legacy for extremely well built boats. I associate them with only the best.... but I dont really know that much about them other than their name association.

Oh and I will be getting a membership.... thanks again guys for all your help. You'll be seeing alot more of me throughout the next couple of years.

Niceguy aka Ernie

Ernie,
Just let me know, my bro-in-law lives up there & I'm always looking for an excuse to drop in on him so he can buy the beer....:D
It really sounds like a good boat, & if the deal on the Sonic didn't come around, I would've definetly taken a closer look at it.
I too considered something in the 30' range, ie AT, but I was finding it hard to justify the additional cost to own something with twins, not to say I won't make the jump down the road, just right now, it didn't make sense....
I also had a Sunsation 288 on my list, it is down in S. FL, there was just something about the boat that worried me, so I decided to continue my search & I stumbled on the Sonic....I feel it worked out for the best.
Rick

That is almost identical to my boat! It looks good for a Baja. The colors are classic and will stay in style for a while. You can't buy a stock one and do all that for that price. Since you are a motorhead you'll love it.

24 Superboat
500hp will get you to 80 great riding boat

Holely smokes - is that the Harbor Inn and Hook Line and Drinkers in your aviator? Loved going to those places when I lived up there!! :evilb:

Do you take your performance boat to Portage Lakes??? That is one small puddle of water.

Great list!

Just a word about Baja in general. Do your research. Nothing against them, they are good boats and pretty fast for the $ and HP. Depands on where you boat and how, Bajas tend to have a "flatter" bottom, (thus the speed) but have some rough water issues. JMO

When you say rough water issues, do you mean no air time? or are you referencing running hard in big water such as the ocean or say lake michigan? Just curious as to the limitations...

Great discussion guys.... lets keep this going.

As for usage: Mostly lakes, some river usage, maybe a run to the bay?

towing: F250 Superduty Powerstroke... no problems towing.

Experience: Very skilled mechanic and fab skills. Boating... driven a few 20' ski boats and ridden in a 48' Apache with triple 588's.

Fuel, maintenance, reliability: I have a great set of tools. LOL

That must have been a 47' Apache they didn't make a 48'. BTW welcome to OSO:ernaehrung004:

I would not call them limitatins. Just FYI. I used to run on lake Mich. it could be worse then any Ocean. No rolling waves on the lake, Towering white caps, Washing macine stuff. YOu get stuck in a storm, better have something good under you. Biger is better in rough water. I was on the lake with the 26' Infinity when 45' yachts came back in a Diversy. :) I miss those days and Navy Pier. LOL best place to see skiiny deeping by the boat babes.
YOu need to decide what's more important for you. speed,?rough water handling?, creature comfort? price? etc.
Example, a 26' baja will outrun a 27' Formula with the same power, in normal waters. Then when you get into 4' chit the Formula can take the pounding faster then the Baja.
Baja, lighter, faster, smaller deadrise, slower in rough water, it will bounce to much,
Formula, heavier 24 deg. (I think) deadrise. slower but will take the beating better.
Any boat buying is a compromise. I compromised about 6-7times so far, but the best boat is your first boat.

well I'm not surea bout niceguy but my price range is substantially lower then the average guy in this as is my age!!!! I am trying to keep it under 30k and preferably under 25k.......in between 24-29' prolly single engine....and as far as use, I would like to run fast, but also get some airtime "if" that is possible with the boat in my price range.