272 needs to tell us two major things....

1. Budget?
2. Where on LOTO do you do most of your boating?

Upper MMs a 30' hull is plenty. I used to hate our 293 when we were at the 11MM, but now at the 41MM, I love it once again! I agree, get as large as you can afford & maintain. Hopefully, your lift is sized for the upgrade, too.

While I have not been to LOTO YET, everyone I know that has been there says you should have at least a 38' to deal with the rough weekend waters. I can't say that is true having not been there, but I do agree, you should get the biggest boat you can afford that you like..............you will end up with it eventually anyway:D

Get A cafe. That'll be good and heavy, and most likely slow too!!!
They are affordable.

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The only time LOTO is BAD is Saturday when ShootOut breaks- Then you NEED this^^^^^^^^




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And THESE^^^^^
and Hold the F&uK ON lol

I guess my idea of rough water may not be everyones idea. To me, rough water is being on lake michigan when the lake kicks up, and you're in a 38ft boat and cant go faster than 45mph without a possible stuff, or simply taking some hard landings. Ive only been to loto a couple of times, but this summer on saturday and sunday, I had no problem running my boat up to 75-80mph in that weekend slop, from the 35mm up to the dam a few times. There were a few times my drives left the water, but never once did I "slam" the hull, catch spray in the face, or get weird. To me, it was more of just a big sloppy washing machine.

With that being said, no doubt on the weekends I'd rather be in a 38 Gun, than a 31 Bullet, or a 42 Fountain, over a 35 Fountain. Nobody can argue that. :D

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S K A T E R

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Just give Eddie a call..he will hook you up for sure..

LMAO.. There is rough waters, and there is the Mich. I been out there when 45'+ boats turned around and headed back to Diversy Harbor and I was going to have some fun. :) I known many "sailors" from the Naval Station, (closed now) but back in the 80's 90's many confirmed and got sick.. lol that there is noting worse then the Mich when it gets pisses of. YOur boat handles the lake a bad times, it can handle anything.

Curious about the rough water performance of a 38 activator... stepped and staggered 700s .

Boat was for sale on here awhile. Said "hardcore" in font on the side I'm pretty sure.

Wow guys, I really appreciate all the insight. I definitely knew that I should go with the biggest I can afford from all of my searching on here. The family house is close to the dam, so I am usually around the 0 to 26 mm, which is extremely rough since it is some of the most populated. On Saturday's I didn't usually make it even close to the 26 because all the cruiser wakes made it unbearably rough for the wife and even myself at times. I would love most of the boats that everybody is dropping, but I am really trying to keep it under 75k...well under if I can find a phenomenal after season deal. The 03 312s are asking low-mid 60s an the 01 33OL is mid 50s. Plus, like I said with the dock, if I go over 31-32 feet total length I'm going to have to cut into the boat budget to make the dock slip bigger. I will look in the classifieds and see what some of the recommended boats are going for.

I do have a question about surveys. When I was looking at a 32 Sunsation at one of the biggest boat dealers at LOTO, when I mentioned having a survey done, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said that those are for cruisers and unless I wanted to waste a couple hundred dollars to have someone turn on all the switches and let me know which ones don't work I shouldn't waste my time. I thought these were thorough examinations of a boat that would reveal if there was any leaks, hull damage, wood rot, electrical issues, etc. Do I not understand these correctly? I do think that I would still need to have the engines and drives checked out by a certified mechanic if I wanted to know their condition as a survey doesn't cover these. I didn't have one done when I bought my 272 as I was a owner newbie and didn't know better. I thought I did now, but he made me question myself and what I have ben reading on here.

Please keep the opinions coming.