Budget boat for Lake Erie 22ft-29ft Suggestions?
#11
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Nate 2587
I know there is a lot of prejudice in my comments but may I suggest a Cobalt 242 with a big block since you want to primarily use on a big body of water. We currently have a 226 with a 7.4 MPI Bravo III and thru hull exhaust. Let me just say it goes very well-- 63 mph with 1/2 tank fuel and 2 people in the boat - minor chop. I spent a number of years (it was a long time) looking for a boat and out all of them Cobalt rose to the top. There are a number of very good boats that you have listed - Formula, Baja just to list a few. But take a look at the Cobalt - one the biggest thing that impressed the heck out of me was the composite hull - in fact there are only two pieces of wood in our boat - the instrument panel and the panel that holds the stereo -- that means no rot. The other was the aluminum backing plates on everything that goes thru the fiberglass/composite- that means no pull out screws or loose hardware. I could go on and on about them and I'm sure that the other brands that you spoke of have similarities- Now the downside is price - they hold the value pretty good so used ones typically fetch top dollar. But as the saying goes -- You can buy new oats or you can buy the ones that have been thru the horse -- they come a little cheaper.
All the best
3pointstar
I know there is a lot of prejudice in my comments but may I suggest a Cobalt 242 with a big block since you want to primarily use on a big body of water. We currently have a 226 with a 7.4 MPI Bravo III and thru hull exhaust. Let me just say it goes very well-- 63 mph with 1/2 tank fuel and 2 people in the boat - minor chop. I spent a number of years (it was a long time) looking for a boat and out all of them Cobalt rose to the top. There are a number of very good boats that you have listed - Formula, Baja just to list a few. But take a look at the Cobalt - one the biggest thing that impressed the heck out of me was the composite hull - in fact there are only two pieces of wood in our boat - the instrument panel and the panel that holds the stereo -- that means no rot. The other was the aluminum backing plates on everything that goes thru the fiberglass/composite- that means no pull out screws or loose hardware. I could go on and on about them and I'm sure that the other brands that you spoke of have similarities- Now the downside is price - they hold the value pretty good so used ones typically fetch top dollar. But as the saying goes -- You can buy new oats or you can buy the ones that have been thru the horse -- they come a little cheaper.
All the best
3pointstar
#12
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1989 Checkmate 251 Convincor. Fresh ZZ502. 74 MPH. Great in the rough. It's my buddy's boat and its clean. I have seen it run in some good Lake MI chop too! PM OSO member "Ross251" for more details. I think he is asking $14,900 OBO.
#13
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Your money situation is NONE of my business but I would recommend buying the newest boat for the amount of money you want to spend. Getting an older performance boat for around 15,000.00 would require much more than that to maintain it and keep it running, IMHO your asking for more trouble than you might be able to handle. Recommend you start with a simple pleasure boat (Tahoe, Stingray, ect) then as you are able to upgrade to something else.
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Your money situation is NONE of my business but I would recommend buying the newest boat for the amount of money you want to spend. Getting an older performance boat for around 15,000.00 would require much more than that to maintain it and keep it running, IMHO your asking for more trouble than you might be able to handle. Recommend you start with a simple pleasure boat (Tahoe, Stingray, ect) then as you are able to upgrade to something else.
#16
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This would be one of my recommendations also.
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I was looking for a similar boat last fall, and (based on photos), there were several I was interested in. I just did a quick craigslist search, and the stock has dwindled. You'll probably see a better selection as the snow melts. If I HAD to buy today, I'd be weighing these three as contenders and asking for recommendations on SURVEYORS.
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4287560693.html
http://lansing.craigslist.org/boa/4272003615.html
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4321688412.html (Needs interior)
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4287560693.html
http://lansing.craigslist.org/boa/4272003615.html
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4321688412.html (Needs interior)
#18
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I was looking for a similar boat last fall, and (based on photos), there were several I was interested in. I just did a quick craigslist search, and the stock has dwindled. You'll probably see a better selection as the snow melts. If I HAD to buy today, I'd be weighing these three as contenders and asking for recommendations on SURVEYORS.
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4287560693.html
http://lansing.craigslist.org/boa/4272003615.html
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4321688412.html (Needs interior)
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4287560693.html
http://lansing.craigslist.org/boa/4272003615.html
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/4321688412.html (Needs interior)
#19
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