Keep the Nova for play...I had the 28 Nordic, never really felt like skiing behind it, not a real good hole shot boat, not nimble either. I guess it's nimble compared to the 35 but neither are my choice for water sports.

I think what you need to do is go have a look at these boats, walking around a 28' Nordic will definitely give you the impression it is a serious boat...and one not made for water sports. It is a pretty big boat and of course the Flame is a monster. I could see doing water sports with a Rage though.

I'm confused about your posting, what do you like about performance boats? Is it the look? The sound?

The reason I ask is because not one of your "wants" has a lot to do with an offshore style performance boat. What year corvette has the highest towing capacity and trunk space?......see how crazy that sounds?

Do you realize how much gas you will be using to try to go "slow" on one of these boats? Not to mention the load on the drives and engine? The slowest my boat will go no tab is about 50 mph, going slower than that requires tab and MORE throttle because of the resistance of the tabs.

I agree that the formula SS line prob fits your bill the best, however they are not styled like the boats that you have listed.

Have you thought about keeping what you have and adding one of the high performance machines you have listed to your collection? I have listed common "wants" of a performance boat owner below

-speed
-rough water ride
-handling
-looks
-acceleration
-sound
-high cruise speed

there are boats are there designed to give you more room to carry occupants, yet retain still be performance boats, however none are designed to tow tubes.

Most cockpit and cabin room- Sonic 386, Baja 36,33 OL, Baja 38 special, Baja 342

My guess is if you used one of these performance boats to tube with, tabs down, cruising in a circle, towing tubes and skiiers.....cost per hour of operation would be in the $300-400 range depending on gas prices

If you are looking at West Coast boats you owe it to yourself to look at Laveycraft.

Not sure the Nordics are vac bagged yet and you could endup with side tanks on some models.

Uncle Dave

I'm with 4Bus on this. Sounds like you are really wanting a WATERSPORTS boat, but are looking at a PERFORMANCE boat. In your list, you don't mention speed at all, except going slow. While there are some out there that try to do both, you will give up one aspect or the other in these boats. While I COULD pull someone on a tube or skis with my 32 Victory, I can't think of WHO would want to.... Also, the steps are gonna work against you. Find yourself a 28 MC or similar.

I have to agree the 33 baja outlaw might be perfect for him. 496HOs, swim platform, tons of room, and most importantly a straight bottom. XR's will last forever and the 496's aren't too loud.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o47749-en.html

Or even better....7.4's... extra seating....
http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o48000-en.html

Were seeing boaters on the West Coast gravitate to the bravo 3 496 combo.

This combo comes out of the box like a rocket and really grabs the water the way a single prop wont.

This combo is great for heavy boats that you are trying to get to plane at low speeds (skiing tubing)

Of course you give up top end.


Uncle Dave

Sell both your boats.

Get the go fast you really want with no compromises and one of these for both fishing and family:

I didn't really specify it, but I really like the look and feel of a performance boat. That is why I like the mid cabin open bow boats. In the past, we were actually looking at Cobalt boats which are very nice. BUT, driving a Cobalt on the water verses a Nordic would be like driving an SUV verses a corvette on the road. The SUV is comfy and will get you there, but the corvette is fun as hell to drive as your getting there.

If I was not worried about capacity, I would go with a standard closed bow boat. We fit 8 people in the Spyder Nova (several are kids) right now without much problem. My hope is that with a MCOB, we can go to 10+ if needed.

In regards to the factors of interest, I would rank them

0. The boat beam must be 8'6" or less (added this one)
1. looks
2. handling
3. rough water ride
4. sound
5. acceleration
6. speed

That being said, I really would like the boat to be a 70+ MPH boat with a medium load.

I do like several of the Baja boats you mentioned, but they are a dime a dozen around here in Texas. I would like to have some a little more less common.

I do like some of the Formula although they are heavy and slower. The SS line is nice, but the larger ones are too wide of beam.

Thanks for the feedback.

I use my bass boat for quite a bit of tournaments. Not sure how many on here are bass tournament fishing, but bringing a fish-n-ski to a bass tournament is like showing up to a poker run with a pontoon boat.

I fish may not car that the boat is a fish-n-ski, but I can promise you that the pontoon boat will not attract much "talent" if you know what I mean:)