Wow. Something wasn't right. I'm 5200 lbs. dry, and I'll bump 70 all day.

I may be partial....but I say Nova all the way. Classic Welly's are sexy boats, once you clean them up. Not many of them left around, so once you get her looking good, almost a guarantee you won't look like the rest of the crowd. Trust me I have a fully restored(still going thru ideas for some quick upgrades for the twins)Nova III, and it gets long stares from everyone.

They may not be the fastest thing on the water, but they will last forever, and ride smooth when the goin get rough. Great all 'round boat.

Don't like that nova, Mirage is better taken car of, so thats the winner, I would say keep looking its early, save a few more bucks, 9/10k buys a much nicer boat of the same vintage, if you consider those, consider, 23 nova, 223/242ls formula:thankyouthankyou:, 87-90 C~mate convincer, also 221/241 Liberaters can be had in that range, LOTS o options

Note that nova is not going 60 unless its warmed over

Here's one problem with that logic--I live in Seattle!!! There just arent that many performance boats to choose from!! The NW is and always will be the land of the sailboater or family bayliner. Its kinda funny because you will literally give people a heart attack when you fire up at the boat launch because NO ONE here has thru transom exhaust! Ive seen kids jump 3 feet in the air when I turn my key!
BTW--My powerquest (which I sold) I bought in Michigan 5 years ago!

I just pulled up craigslist--there are very few to choose from!

How many scarabs are currently for sale? none
How many Formulas? Three and one of them is 56,000, another is $14000 and then there's one with a 5.0 litre/alpha for $8500
How many checkmates? zero
Liberators? 2 of them! One for $21k and another which is 21 ft with no motor for $3000.
How many Baja's?? 5 and the CHEAPEST one is 14 yrs old, 21 feet long and selling for $18,000!!

So, either I pay another $4000 in shipping costs or pull the trigger on one of the few local performance boats around that are in my price range. Im paying cash this time around! I dont want any more boat payments when I live in a city that only has good boating weather 3 months a year.

Neither.......just get the new Outerlimits 27 (or 28 or 29) for only $200K. :D

Your right!! Hey, could I borrow $200,000? I promise to pay you back! Trust me, Im good for it!! Lol!

Bravo boat better than Alpha, all other parameters being relatively equal...

I copied the ad:

1987 24' Formula SR 24 $13,999 - $13999 (Auburn)

Get ready for summer!!! This is a great boat.
Powered by twin Mercruiser 350 Magnum 5.7's V-8
Port motor freshly rebuilt and only 3 hours on it.
Starboard motor has low hours

Alpha drives, Drives recently serviced, New water pumps on each drive
stainless steel props,
Silent thunder exhaust
Zero effort controls
Trim tabs
Head and sink in cabin
Electronic engine hatch lift
CD sound system
Tandem axle trailer with disc brakes FULLY serviced
A few minor tears in seats.

****I dont know how this boat is any better than the Wellcraft Spyder.
Its 1 yr older, 2 feet shorter, alpha drives, sit down seats (I want drop down bolsters), needs some seat recovering and the big thing is that the price is double!! $14k vs $7k!