Baja Islander or Wellcraft Eclipse
 

Looked at several boats this weekend, two that stood on out condition and would make the family happy were a 1995 Wellcraft Eclipse, Bravo 1, carb 454 and a 1996 Baja Islander 272 Injected 454 Bravo 3. Would be boating Elk River and Northern part of the bay. Any opinions on which is the better boat, the Eclipse had no trailer and was only $500 less that the Baja with a nice roller trailer. The Eclpise vinyl was perfect and the Baja Sunpad has maybe a year left. Baja had thru hull and Eclipse did not and cannot be converterd so probably no worthwhile performance mods down the road. The dealer for the Eclipse said they use the same hull as the Scarab. would probably be keeping this boat for a while so I value members opinions.

What size is the Eclipse? I would also consider the weight of each boat. The heavier boat may give you a little better ride in some of the rough stuff. I'm biased towards the Wellcraft as I've always liked their boats. The older scarab boats are a well built boat and solid hull design. They tend to be heavier, but you will be thankful for that in rough water. Does either boat have trim tabs? They can easily be installed, but something to consider as they help a little in rough water and to level the boat from side to side if you have several people on board. Take a ride to the following dealer as they usually have some decent boats for sale. This place should not be too far of a drive for you as they are in North East Md. http://www.tomeslandingmarina.com/pre_owned_list.asp

The Eclipse is a 26., no trim tabs, the Baja has them.

Even though I'm biased towards the Wellcraft, I would have to say the Baja should give you better performance then the Eclipse. I would suspect the Eclipse would be the better ride, but the Baja should beat out the Eclipse as far as performance goes.....in my opinion.

Dealer Anchor Marine in Northeast said the 26 Eclipse should run mid 50's and the private individual with the Baja said strong acceleration on the Baja with the Bravo 3 with a top speed of about 55. The Baja has the Captains call type that also diverts down to the prop but that is stuck on thru hull. Not sure if it will be needing manifolds in the near future.

did you do the deal? I have an eclipse 260
love it