Powerboat swsp shop is a group on Facebook, 22,000+ members, used bolsters complete with bases go up for sale almost daily. But if you are wanting more suggestions you should check into Envisions or Mach 1s, they are both offered in 29' versions with U-shaped seating and fuel injected single big blocks and can be found for 15-25k depending on age and condition ect. Not the fastest but are big boats with huge cockpits and cuddys that handle the rough well.

Ok, List of what I have found:

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...d-Xl-102330845

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/boa/4959456446.html

http://sarasota.craigslist.org/bod/5037098161.html

http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/boa/4984302928.html


Thoughts? About all I could come up within budget and that I liked.... I don't know...

Search craigslist at Lake of the Ozarks , Missouri. TONS of freshwater well taken care of boats. One long road trip is nothing when you are trying to get a specific boat in a specific budget.

Found a few on CL ozarks. But that's a long long way from tampa. Plus FL will tax me when I register it in FL vs buying a FL boat they will not. I'm sticking to something in FL. That 26' Donzi ZX is top of my list!!!!! That is literally exactly what I want. Looks like it needs a good scrubbing inside and out though. Started off looking at 5-10k boats, now i'm looking at a 21k Donzi. Ha.

You guys don't pay sales tax on in-state purchases? How fantastic. Up here in Michigan we pay it regardless of where we buy it. A nice 6% on top no matter how many times the vehicle changes hands.

I looked through your links and also liked that Donzi from a styling standpoint. But I'm betting the Powerquest has more room. I spent a lot of time running around with a Powerquest 26 a while back. It "felt" twice the size of my Baja H2X (24'). And my experience with Donzi has always been that they felt smaller for their size. My experience only, however.

^Yes, FL is pretty tax friendly. That tax and handout mentality up north has doesn't work. Look how well Detroit is doing. Tampa is booming. As I type this reply, my subdivision is crawling with new home construction 7 days per week. I complain about it b/c I can't get any sleep but it's a good problem!! FL is back kid. I built my house last year, one of the first houses in here. Nice change of pace from 2007-20012 times. I don't know much about the power quest. how is the construction? The Donzi looks awesome. The power quest cabin looks pretty bare.

No sales tax of you buy within your own state!?!? Wtf must be nice! Lol that Donzi looks bad ass, nice and modern looking too. If you are cool with just a bench rear seat then that would be a good choice cause I believe they have a nice wide beam. Plus a 20k boat will probably cost you way less in the long run then a 10k boat... ask me how I know.... lol

When I was looking the boats I came across were all pink, teal,purple, yuk.1990's boats were in my price range.Looked a long time found a yellow/orange Scarab.

Do a deal on the Donzi.

If you're looking at a used boat, and most of us are, remember that every single part on the boat and engine is used and worn to some degree. Fact! If you can find a few boats that you like, my suggestion is to buy a popular brand name that is the latest model with the lowest hours that suits your budget.

Donzi has a great reputation and the one you have linked looks pretty nice and well maintained. A great entry into performance boating, relatively simple with stock power and a boat you could re-sell in a year or two if you want to move up to something bigger.

All boats will cost you money in the long run but a standard late model boat will generally cost you less than most.

Good luck, hope you find the boat that suits you best.

RR

^That's pretty much what I was thinking. Why spend 10-15k on a teal/purple mid 90's boat that's 20yrs old. When I can spend 3-5k more and get a later model boat that looks a heck of a lot better and will probably serve me better and be cheaper in repairs and maintenance. I am in love the 26ZX. Perfect size. 1x engine. 454. EFI. White/RED. Bolsters. 2001 model. It does need some TLC and cleaning up, but i'm ok with that. Spend a weekend or two scrubbing it down inside and out. Right now I have my BMW up for sale (Ebay, CL & Autotrader) so once it's gone I can go start kicking tires. I've learned more about boats in the past month than I ever knew. Even when I had a bow rider and jon boat... didn't know half this stuff. But the dons is EXACTLY what I want. It has a re-man engine. I would need to figure out if they have papers on the rebuild and who did it. How many hours are on the boat itself etc. But first the bimmer must go!