fastninja

After talking to several people in the west michigan area. They have all told me not to go with anything smaller than a 25 ft boat. With that being said im eithier going to go with a Formula 242,272 SR1, or a Baja 25 OL. I would love an old Pantera,but like i said my budget is realistically going to be sub 12K max. What would be your choice if given on the the above boats?

88242LS

formula 242 hand down, you will notget a 25 otlaw fir 12 maybe a older 240 sport which will have plywood floors, that ends that might get a 272 85-87 for that also

c_deezy

iTrader: (1)

Go as big as you can afford. I would say a 272 Formula.

Nightlife1970

12k may be tough, but don't forget about the Baja 250, 265 and maybe you could find a 260 around that price. You also may find a 270 in that price range.

270 http://muskegon.craigslist.org/boa/3188829759.html

Spend a little more and get a 280 http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/boa/3148233374.html

soldier4402

formula for sure. But with that budget your probably looking in the 80s. Which isnt bad a lot of nice older boats out there.

machloosy

A late 80's formula with the rounded windshield can be had for that budget at the end of the season. Otherwise a solid square windshield 272 can be had for 12k all day long on a trailer with 600hrs or less. If I where you I'd hold out and find the right 87+ 272sr1

bens87241

and IF you were liking the 241 liberators four winns made a 261 as well they came with with twim sbc or bbc or bbf me i would stay away from the ford setups, first they are heaviers but second IF you do have a problem with the cobra drives ( which they are good drives with stk motor and driven right dont get me wrong ) parts are now very hard to get depending on what you need. but you can always switch them to volvo drives too. the bbc came with alpha again not the best choice but since there was not bravos then the alpha are good to 400ish hp when not hole shotted or bringsing the boat out of the water too much. these 261 ran lowers 60s but had tons more cabin spce than the 241 and have more cabin space and room in the cockpit and passenger seating area than all the other boats.

So like stated before. it all depends on what you need from your boat. if you have lots of ppl and kida maybe the wider deaper liberator is better. if you want more speed the other ones are for sure faster, but will have less seatign room and less cabin room due to there shaped and width.

often time 261 liberators can be had for under 10k i personal got my 241 for 5k with the bravo upgrade already done. do keep in mind if you have 12k to spend if you can get a good solid boat for 5K which i see 241 libbys going for alot. you can spend 3k on a slammin wrap job and make it look alot newer, and still have 5k to put in your pocket if you cool with doing low 50s or to put in the motor 5k buys a nice blower intercooler setup that on a stk 330 hp 454 will give you a solid 450-475 hp safely should be enough to get lower 60s in the boat......and if you look around you even find 496 carb motor, 502 and sometime 540 for that 5 k as well

i like the libs for the space i am 6'4 300+ pounds and we have alot of ppl on the boat most of the time. So the fridge and potty and sink and all that means alot to us to have. but there was nice 272 formula with twin sbc on cl in mich for 11 looked like a nice boat too the formula would be my second pick and the the others my 3rd

Also consider your tow vehicle and how much the boat and trailer weigh in at if you only have a 1/2 truck maybe stepping up to the larger boats might be too much for the truck to safely handle.

sounds like you have heard the good and bads of all 3 or 4 boats mentioned here just sounds like its down to figuring out what do you need and want from your future boat

soldier4402

bens had a lot of good points. make sure you truely know what you want. Alot of people get into these performance boats because of the loud noise speed etc. And they have kids and a wife that dont really care or enjoy that stuff and would rather have some more room and ammenties. Im in a fountain and love it but to be frank I dont much go over 50 boat goes 70. And I have to be honest with myself if I start having kids and all that, i will probably be looking for something more in the hybrid range of performance/standard speed boat. If not maybe just a standard rinker/four winns type boat.

bens87241

there are lots of good cross over or hybird boats there formula made a nice 242 sun sport that has the main hull of the go fast but built with 260hp 350 and have a smaller cuddy but alot more passenger space. swap that 350 out and get a nice 383 making 350-400 hp not the torgue of the big block but also not the expensive to buy new manifolds and all that and have a good blend of both worlds. Its no secret i picked the liberators for this exact reason......i have some of the go fast qualities....looks and sound and some speed. but lots of space. i have personaly 8 adults on boat for a island trips. been in 5 and 6 foot waves without feeling worried about it at al and not having to crawling through them.......rode nice at 25 mph in the 5-6 white caps with all 8 on boat. sleeps 2 very nice with lots of space( again i am 6'4 and 300 plus) but with smaller ppl 3-4 would be no issue. has an ice cold fridge to help eliminate lots of coolers and ice for longer stays. It has a pressure water system not the pump system, 15 gal of water 100 of gas. had a potti that i added the flush out too. and i added shore power plug for fans and all that and a charger to keep the bats up when gridge is in use. The only things i wish it had was a/c, and an extra 100-150 horse for the days i can and want to do 60+ which honestly most of the time we run low 30s on cruise to help save gas and keep the rpms low on the motor...runs low 30s at 3000 and under.

i have rode on baja but not formulas so not much info to go on as far as that

I am not trying to talk anyone into any boat just giving a good description of mine

soldier4402

Yeah the sunsport is tops on my list if I go another route I would probably opt for the 26ft one but I would look at 24ft as well.

The fountain holds 6 but there is a lot of jockying, and really is comfortable with 4 people in the boat. Fountain is a little smaller in the cockpit then others but most boats of this class really arent a night and days difference