Randy Nielsen

iTrader: (4)

Just remember when you go with twins everything is twice as expensive, It costs me between 4-500$ to fill my 34 and its stock so far. I dont know what they charge to winterize down there but it cost me 600$ the first time now I do it myself. But I have to say twin big blocks winding up makes the expense worth it maybe next year blower motors?

frankenstein

Welcome to OSO Thats pretty much all I got, sorry, no boat purchasing advice. Oh yea, I just thought of something, good luck. Now that's definitely all I have.

T-RAV

iTrader: (1)

whatever you get make sure you have it survey done on it. Have fun!

Irish

I was in the same "boat" as you. I'm 29 and was in the market for my first boat. I ended up buying a 27 ft Formula from my brother in law who bought it new. I mainly boat on a smaller lake, which the 27 is plenty big for. I made two trips to LOTO this year, the first one being during the week, and I didnt have too much trouble with rought water the first trip - mainly just in the evening on the main channel which wasnt too bad. The second trip was during the shootout weekend. I got beat to holy hell! It was hard to believe how crazy the water was, but with all the huge cruisers you'll see how it can get rough. Two people in my boat actually got sea sick on the way to the races. Of course their hangovers didnt help! I would say buy a boat as big as you possibly can. It doesnt take too long to get used to the size. I originally didnt want to go as big as what I got, but now of course I cant help but want a bigger boat. Twin engines are great - if one breaks down you have one to limp home on, you can get on plane faster and they are awesome for docking in tight spaces. I got to watch a 38 Cig thread the needle between two boats at Backwater Jacks, which im sure I would have been turning in an insurance claim if I would have tried it in my boat.

My advice is to go as big as possible for LOTO. My limited experience tells me its not much fun to be beat up on the water. Good luck!!

kilrbusa

Do yourself a favor and get a single ---for every reason stated--cost is half expensive, ease of maint., less to learn....more importantly your gonna have to contend w the washing machine effect regardless what boat your in....you just have to drive that sucker through it! I recommend a 27 formula or 29 w a single....strong hull. dont get stuck w someones old junker that will have you stuck at the dock fixing what they never took care of---get something newer... that will make you so miserable you will get back to motorcross fast!!

TexomaPowerboater

I recommend a 28 Apache for obvious reasons..................mines for sale Take a look at it for sale here on OSO. Needs some new interior, but still nice as is. Has almost brand new motors. Gets looks and comments wherever it goes.

I was in the same "boat." Started out with a 24/7 boat which could handle 2's maybe 3's. Got tired of getting beat up on the lake. Bought the 28 Apache and never looked back. The boat will run in 5-6's at 70+. Your passengers will think the cruiser wakes are fun. When the wind kicks up to 30 mph and everyone is sitting on the dock you'll go out and have the time of your life. Only reason I'm selling is because wife is pregnant and need to free up some money for new baby.

IMO if you go more than 27ft you need twins. Not really twice as expensive as some would say. The twin motors and drives will last longer and the gas is more like 25% more. This is because the twins don't need to turn as high of rpm's as the single, which also mean you don't need a 600+hp motor just to break 70.

SteveO782

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/boa/2576905211.html

Talked to the owner of this boat today. 68 y/o wanting to slow down and buy a pontoon boat. Owned it about 6 years and it's had a couple previous owners. Been down at LOTO it's whole life. Boat is a 1990 and it sounds like everything is OEM on it. Low hours for this year boat and does seem like it hasn't been used all that much. It does have carbs which I figured for that year. Any real major +/- between a boat that is FI vs Carb'd? Always liked Fountains, but most are out of my price range, except this one. What do you guys think of this price for this year boat?

Any advice appreciated!

boating37

Good luck in your search, that's the fun part of boating.
Try and get the biggest boat you can, because in a year from now
you will want to go bigger and faster. It's a sickness we all have.
Best of luck.

BIGSLOW

Just a few months ago I was exactly where you were at. Keep looking and take your time to find the right boat, don't settle on a boat you will not be happy with. It is getting close to the end of the season and you will start to see more boats come up for sale. I am 25 years old and it took me a year of searching to find the right boat. I ended up with a Baja 272. I wanted the biggest boat with a single that was not a slug, and the most bang for my buck. You can find great deals out there right now; so take your time, ask a lot of questions (everyone was a beginner once), get a survey, and have fun with it. Also, read the beware section so you can learn from other people's mistake when buying a boat, hint: survey and a good one.

88242LS

Well I'm on lake erie and my 271 formula is plenty, are river gets chopped up and the lake can churn up to 5 fters in a heartbeat I'm never outta place, the formula is a little slower because its heavy but rides that much better, also I'd consider some of the velocity's or active thunder's, if you go twins then thats a whole differant ball game and endless options, 29 outlaw is a great boat if you can handle having the same boat as everyone else, but dollar for dollar there a great buy ride great and run,,, good luck with the search