My girlfriend had a 20' Baja Outlaw and we would get beat up on our small AZ lakes. I would in no way consider this boat for Lake MI! My .02.

If it were me and had 20k to spend....i would look for either a Wellcraft Nova III or a Formula or a 26 Stinger if you can find one in good shape....all of them are somewhat heavy so the ride would be good...you can get them with twin smallblocks so the fuel bill wont kill ya....some of them can be found with bravos but most likely have Alphas on them...but since its a starter that wont much matter...the next boat you can be pickier after you get used to driving this one :) They all have nice cabins for over-nighting too....but again...every person has their specific tastes! :D

I run in the big lake all the time in our 24 Empress, sometimes we sure wish we were in one of the bigger ones, but all in all, it's not too bad. It's only a 18 degree V I think, so it beats you pretty bad on the rough stuff if you pound it. It sure is nice to run around in Spring Lake vs the bigger ones though. That no wake gets really old in a big hurry. Loads the engines too. I wouldn't consider anything over 25'11" if I lived right there.

There are several boats in the Baja OSO Classifieds that fit the bill.

So an outlaw and a checkmate seems to be the logical solution at this point. I always thought checkmates looked and ran decent when i see them up at brower park near stanton. Thanks guys for the awesome feedback.

If any one (hint,hint) in the area gets bored sometime and wants to show me the ins / outs of a performance boat. Drop me a line sometime.

How does Barrets and Portside rate as dealers in Fruitport?

Have to agree with the Baja, either a 250, 240, or 24OL would be a good boat to start with. Several of them listed for sale in the area right now as well. I think there is a 240 on boattrader in GR that is listed for 10 right now.

I also know of a Checkmate 253 in South Haven that is pretty nice looking and is close to that 20k mark.

Checkmate is a great starter boat for sure. I had one and loved it. The 251 has a pretty decent cabin. Don't really think any boat in that range will handle the lake when it gets stirred up. Good luck, glad to see someone is buying a boat these days.

I agree. However, on 90% of the days in the summer boating season, you can get from port to port no problem. On the other 10%, you have to pay attention and run smart to hole up somewhere. I think the smart boat is still something as close to 26' as possible, (if it says 26' on the title you will get a ticket, make sure it says 25'11" or less), built strong with a 24 degree V. Heck, I used to go over the Columbia river bar salmon fishing in a 16' all the time. Coast Guard used to escort us back sometimes just to keep us from becoming a statistic.:D

Why NOTI HAVE HAD MY BAJA SINCE 90,and in mass on the cape I have run SB 24 MY BUDS and I kill him his 575hp against my 650hp I beat him in the rough or flat ran some twin ob 30'sb beat then on the cape ran a friends pantrea he hung with me until my carb chit the bed and way back ran a pan off of boston passed him after running for 3miles off shore we turned around and the knuckleheads pumped there hands like they beat us:rolleyes::p, but never been beat by either here on the cape I was at onset for 8 yrs down the cape there a good boat but a better ride would be a 26 sutphen then a 30SB or a pan 28, but for true 24, true24degree hull we are wider, longer, taller, heavier, = better ride with lots of horses I am going for 900 to 1000 over the winter,I SHOULD BE ALL HEALED UP this fall.:rolleyes::p and I have seen pans, and SB , CIGS with stress cracks too:eek:and hulls that split from wakes.

You must have been exited when you typed that.:D

Is the 25 Baja OL a good choice for him, and how does it compare for him to the 25 Checkmate?