I really like my 32 AT. It has been a fantastic boat. There are not a lot of them out there, so when you find a nice one for sale, you need to jump on it. I closed the deal on mine within a couple weeks of it being listed. That also keeps resale good on them. Suncoast has a 32 that looks very nice, but a little overpriced IMO. They have had it for sale for a LONG time.

The decks are all the same, but cabin layouts can vary depending on the year and what the person who had it built wanted. BTW, the freeboard on my 32 is as deep as Top Gun. I have 5 & 8 year olds, so I understand what you're talking about with regard to feeling safe.

Sent you an email. I have some nice options available at our Marina. I look forward to hearing from you.

LOL I did.
FYI
Baja's.. light, relatively fast,, economical "Chevy's " of the water. Won't take the pounding on the Big Pond too long.
Fountains.. Ditto. A bit better built.. but too many out there. A dime a Doz. (sort of speak) and just forget about the beak. Just reduce about 2' from "claimed" size. Many has stringer and delamination issues.
Donzi... Good boats. Depands on the year.. jelcoat and fiber glass issues. Same with Scarabs.
Formula.. a bit heavy but great huls and boat. Need lots of HP to get them going.
AT.. Cultic.. :) good boats...Single step.. Depands on year step varies. Can get a bit tricky to hande.
Sonic... Great hull.. Deep "V" good rough water.. not the fastest hull around.
Hustlers.. well built boats.. Slingshot is pretty dafe to upper 90's. OK headroom.. Good choise.
Cigs.. Northtecs. OL's etc.. great hulls.. good boats.. Planty of $'s too.
Velocities,.. OK bot no headroom.. a bit strange deck design.
Powerquest,... OK hull.. heavy... good headroom... a bit slow for the HP's.Steps are worthless.
Power play.. OK boats.. over rated,, due to limited production...
Nordic... Pretty decent overall stuff.
And a bunch of other are hit and miss.
Now you got the boat market 101 , have fun shopping.. just remember... every one will tell you what THEY like. Select what YOU like, for YOUR use.

(I'm ready for the chit I will get after this. but it seems that every time there is a "boat buyer" inquery.. no one is being objective.)

I'll start:

"AT.. Cultic.. :) good boats...Single step.. Depands on year step varies. Can get a bit tricky to hande."

Tricky to handle??? Couldn't be farther from the truth.

Have you driven all these boats?

It will be well earned.

Yeaaah I know.. Sometimes thruth hurts. But no disrespect for any boatowner.. or boat.. just some data, and info. for boat buyers.

Great example of why I posted my summary. And yes. I drove most of them. I have not driven a Nordic to date.
As far as the AT's my comment stands. I have driven them before and I know Pat personnaly as well as Harry who designed the step/hull. I drove AT's back before Pat ever got the wind of the AT's in Chicago (North Subberb actually)
The step hull is a decendent of the Challanger Offshore hull designed for the Black Hawks. (originaly ownd by John Simpson, in MI) We tested the hull in lake "X" with twin 502 Black Hawks, and I drove hull no. 1 in the Pier 33 Poker Run in 1995, (With John) Later the AT hulls were pretty similar in design. (By Harry S) Later years the step decreased to make the hull better handling. (I think it's 4.5" now, but not 100%) Did not drove the new reduced step AT yet. Most step bottoms needs special care with driving. Due to the AT's as single step.. it's a bit more squirmy then double or tripple steps. Nothing wrong with it, good hull, but most people. (probobly like you) don't really know the charachteristics. If you REALLY know about the hulls, you would have said. "you right.. it is a bit tricky, but one can get use to it and the additinal lift and speed it's worth the learning curve".. And I would agree with you. AT's have a real nice free board design, but that adds weight. There is NO perfect boat for all boating needs. PERIOD.
Any more questions?

None of the 32 AT's have/had a step.

The 37 stepped hull(DDC) did not even get produced until 1998 or 1999. The standard step is 4". There is more info in the AT forum from Pat on the step height and what subtle changes do.

You have alot of info there, but I stand by my statement and you have not driven the current Active Thunder. You have no knowledge of the ride characteristics or handling of this boat.

Not sure why you would state that "most people. (probably like you) don't really know the charachteristics."

I owned the first 33 AT with the DDC hull for 4 years and have been in many 37 AT's with the DDC hull. I REALLY do know this hull and it is not tricky, nor does it take any getting used to. In fact, it is the complete opposite.

Steve

Steve. I'm not knocking AT's or any other boat.
In fact see post no. 25.
Glad that you know your hull. (Not knowng you and based on your post why I said "probably" like you)
But for a first tme boatowner or some one stepping up to more performance, stepped hulls need different attention.
"Tricky" by no mans it's bad.
I would hate to see some one jumping in a single stepped hull (Specially a 7+") want to make a sharp turn,.. tuck in the drives and spins the boat, (not knowing anything about "pivot points")
That's all.

Drive the boats that you want to buy. Many of the boats ride differently, even the same brand. Depends on setups, drive heights, props, power, steering. To many factors. Don't think the boats can be summed up in one paragraph. Just my 2 cents.

A few facts:

I only played with the step on 2 boats after the #1 AVH. Everything else has a 4" tall step. I brought it down to 3" on the 700 NXT #3 boat. I feel it enhanced the ride at 100.

Harry Schoell designed the DDC bottom specifically for the AT. You just don't take it and copy it and throw it in the next boat. Hence the Challenger and the AT are uncomparable.

As far as cornering or handling, I'll chase your v-bottom around any corner you can find. Sorry, let me re-phrase that. You can try and chase my step-bottom around any corner I can find.

lol, discussing boats is like discussing any piece of machinery, everyone likes something different. Anyway im glad to see all the info, and the discussion. I have been out of boating for some time, although i have been browsing for a couple years. Its nice to hear feedback from people that acutually use them, get some ideas on likes and dislikes, or heads up on any problems certian brands/years have. I have never driven a step hull boat, but from what i gather it just takes common sense/know the limits of your gear/your own skills. I have driven everything from golf carts to gravel trains, boats from rowboats to cruisers, and used to fly airplanes, so i can figure out just about anything:) Hopefully in a couple weeks ill have looked at some more boats and narrowed down the field.

I agree with a lot of that, thx

for you guys pushing sunsation, whats the scoop on the innovator? looks like more freeboard and room than the older dominator. idk if the flip up dash to the cabin would work but they seem to be priced right these days so any info?

The innovator hull is the same hull as the 32SS/SSR; I think the only difference is the deck. The flip up dash to enter the cabin awkward to say the least, but great running boat. I think there is a few for sale online. I have personally seen the one for sale from Highway Marine. Nice boat.

there's a real nice 38 sonic for sale on Ebay with 3 500hps in your price range

Nearly impossible to get financed on trips right now and the insurance on trips is much higher.

It's nearly impossible to get financing on any high performance boat now.

I know there os more free board like the new s,ss,ssr than the older dominator. Call the factory for more information 1-810-794-4888 they will point you in the right direction on the innovator. I dont' know much about them. But i can tell you Sunsation will be more than happy to assist you in you search... Good luck

You are kind of correct, I think because of the values dropping on the used and new boats it is harder to get a loan on the whole amount like in the past people are up side down in the loans because the got a loan for the whole amount and now want to sell for the whole note. I keep hearing this but find this a little un true, yes banks have really tightned up the loans but I had no trouble getting pre aproved to shop had the answer within 24 hours but just taking my time. But before I sold mine I wanted to make sure I could get aproved for another with all the crack downs on loans. The banks are doing things different there loaning to people that should get loans not if you have a heart beat. And now they are looking at the true value of the boat.

finally got out and looked at a few boats, one round trip plane ride and 600 miles on the rental car in 2 days, got to get in a few days with friends too after. saw some nice boats, lots to think about, here were my impressions
33 powerplay-love the lines and old school style, straightest glasswork on hull, clean rigging job, very solid looking, cockpit ok, not my favorite, cabin roomy but NO headroom, seating in cabin only good for laying on in my opinion
30 cig mystique-great look and lines, i still love cig designs, best cockpit/dash look and feel, cabin layout so/so, soild build and rigging, NO headroom
31ss sonic-can ALMOST sit straight up in cabin, lot more room than other previous 2, like the pull out center cushion, cockpit layout good, style so/so, boat look and style ok but not my favorite, seems to be good solid build, also like the walk around
28 pantera-no show
i have previously looked at
33avs scarab-like the lines, cockpit looks/layout ok, cabin layout ok, its been a while but i think i could sit upright on the benches
33zx donzi-definately most room in cabin, my wife could stand up, good room in cockpit due to wide beam, like the looks and lines but it doesnt have that "sleek" look, more like a cruiser

this is going to be a tough call, i still need to look at a 32a/t, it seems its going to be a game of tradeoffs, i really want to be able to sit in the cabin, i want the "look" i like, havent seen both in the same package. roomiest is def. donzi then sonic, wife likes both. still open to suggestions if anyone has any. maybe i should be looking at cig cafe? only prob i want a newer boat, i dont want a project, unless it had updated power and drives? or else just buy a 28 something and forget about the cabin altogether. wish i had gotten to look at the pantera for comparison. like i said, any input or opinions throw them out there

You should go check out Kaama's 32 AT. Its not that far from you and will give you a good perspective, even if you don't want something that old. Or, if you're ever in the Omaha area, you're welcome to check out my 32. Its in my garage(heated) all winter.

32 Sunsation for sure. Probably as much cabin room as anything on your list. I know two guys that sleep on their 32's every fri/sat night in the summer. With the family. With equal power, it's going to be the fastest on your list. And they are about 90 minutes from Bay City to have service done.

im planning on getting down there soon, or if not i do have family in omaha and am there occasionally so i may take you up on that, thanks for the offer

yeah, i meant to look at one while i was out east but it didnt work out time wise, i do like the looks and i have looked at older ones, i def. would want an ss though and that would prob. be the highest price boat out of all of these. im not feeling real good about this economy yet with all the b.s. going on especially here in michigan so im a little leery about spending too much $ on a toy, may need it down the road if business doesnt pick up soon.

if anyone has a ss close by, and would like to let me take a peek just to see what they are like inside let me know

Might want to take a look at some Cafe Racers. Quite a few already upgraded for sale. I have one & it fits my needs well.
Tall freeboard keep you feeling secure in the cockpit. A really well layed out cabin with head, sink, and sometimes ac. Great ride in rough water. Its a fairly heavy & extremely solid 35' Cigarette. I even upgraded drives to Konrads. The Cafe Racer works well for me, not to long ... but not to short either. It might just work for you ................... or not. Decisions ... decisions. Good luck with your search.

it may be on option for sure, ill keep my eyes open for one, i wanted to buy sean's here on oso earlier this year but i was too late finding out about it

also any opinions on saber or checkmate?

If you want to stay on the smaller side of things maybe have a look at Powerquest. They are a nice boat and over some nice room both in the cockpit and in the cuddy.
My 28 Silencer has the 2 facing benches and I can sit straight up with plenty of head room, I stand 5'8", .....I know , I know...lol.
With a single 496 ho with my Raylar engine package I can run 74 gps mph with 4 adults.
I just had a complete bimini with camper enclosure made to overnight in.
I can send pics if you like.

Mike.