Help with a 27 to 29 boat
 

Hi I,m new to the boards and would like to get a little advice from some of you guy,s . I am from North NJ and boat on Lake George , we have a 1988 245 Chris Craft limited and like to cruise along in the 45 to 55 range, we are not speed demons , but would like to have a newer boat . We are looking at Formulas 271 ,Donzi 26zx or a fountain 27 I want to be able to sit up in the cabin W/O bending my neck, I trailer everywhere I go , any thoughts or ideas on power 496HO ?? also I hear reports of used prices going way down IE: Fountain any likes or dislikes or other boats I should consider

Thanks:confused:

All the boats you mentioned are great boats. The Formula and Donzi are probably the larger(heavier) out of the three, while the Fountain should be the fastest.

If you're looking for reliability, no-worries, hassle-free operation the 496HO would be perfect and it makes great power for a stock engine. You'll cruise in your indicated range all day long. :cool:

Where do you stay up here? Where is Harmony, NJ? There are a lot of good boats out there in that size range, try them all. You cannot really make an intelligent decision without trying them all before you buy. You are starting with the best names in the business. Good luck.

Shane we stay at SCOTTIES on the South end for the past 10 years , we like to hang at log bay and we go to "LOG BAY DAY"

We have a 245 Chris Craft Limited is that a skater I see???

I have a '99 Formula 271 Fastech, love it (bought it new). I have the HP500EFI and run in the lower 70's. With a 502Mag or a 496HO the boat runs in the mid to upper 60's. The ride's great, with a big cockpit area, but as a result the cabin is not as big as some 27 ftrs. The boat will cruise all day at 40mph and acutally gets pretty good fuel mileage for what it is. I have over nighted a few times in this boat, the vee berth is comfrontable with good ventilation. I also have the full canvas setup so I can leave the cabin door open to increase air flow.

The Fountain will be a couple of MPH faster, but is has substantially less cockpit and cabin room (the beak custs a couple of usable feet off of it).

For what you describe as your needs, either the Formula or the Donzi would be good fits, it all comes down to personnal tastes.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to OSO. I have one and would strongly suggest a 28 Active Thunder. It is as big a 28 you will find. Mine has a 496ho and is far from fast but it will run 63-65 all day long in any water you throw at it. Just my .02. Feel to call John or Pat at Active Thunder at 1-954-782-1111

Re: Help with a 27 to 29 boat
 

I had a 27 fountain and it was a great boat, but the cabin is not large. I am 5'10 and I could sit upright in the cabin with out hitting my head. I have a 28 Pantera now and I would say there is an additional foot of headroom in the cabin. It's also quite a bit bigger overall boat. The fountain has a beak and a intigrated platform so the cockpit is smaller and so is the length of the cabin. My Fountain ran 67 on GPS with a 454mag MPI and 435 hours on it so I am sure it was a bit tired. There will be a lot more 27 fountains to choose from than anything else. I enjoyed the boat a great deal for the 2 years I had it. It's a good and fast boat for it's size but it is kind of looking at a vet, not a whole lot of room.

28 Donzi ZX
 

Here's a 2000 28ZX for 65k.

Rod

A 26' to 28' Sonic will be exactly what you need. They are not making 28s anymore, so the price may have gone down on them. They were available with twins or a single. The 26' Sonic is a phenominal boat.

www.sonicusaboats.com for specs on both of them.
www.offshore-performance.com for new and used boats in stock in your area.

Re: 28 Donzi ZX
 

Rod - is that a poker hand graphic sticker in front of the "Donzi"? Where'd you get it?

The 28 Dponzi is nice where can I get more info Power?drive??? on the trailer? does it have a windshield?

26 Sonic
 

surfacetension,

I sent you a PM.

Mark Is your boat a prowler??/ if it is I,m interested, I was on sonic website except for a windshield it may work

If you are looking for room, go with the Sonic. I have a 27 Fountain, great boat but the cabin is small, but its fast:D

Will

26-28
 

I agree with Sydwayz. The 26' Sonic is a great boat. I was in one down in Maryland. There's a heck of a lot of cabin headroom, the quality is there, and they look cool. They're even priced reasonably. Good luck.

I have a 27 Fountain Fever II. Great boat, but a small cabin and 60 gallon fuel tank. These were not big issues for us living on a lake. Donzi and Formula are excellent, but also look at Sunsation. Very impressed with the boat and the factory folks. Nice quality and excellent cabin. Try Premier Motorsports. Very honest, family run dealership and they know how to deal. Gun Lake Michigan 616-792-8080. Ryan or Tony Gruver. They carry Checkmate boats too. Look at Convincer 270, ZT 260 or ZT 280 models. Cabins are roomey, but more sparse compared to all the other boats mentioned. 496 HO or HP500 are the engines to choose.

ScottR

sydwayz summed it up !! me and sonic99 have used our 26 sonic prowlers on lake gearge and its not a problem , we also boat on the hudson river and very rarely have any problems , we also have gone to nj and long island without much of a hassel. do a search on oso for others that have asked or own a 26 prowler you will be very suprised . i am 6'3 and can sit up in the cabin and the drivers seat is the perfect position.

"I want to be able to sit up in the cabin W/O bending my neck, I trailer everywhere I go , any thoughts or ideas on power 496HO"

Check out the 25 Outlaw, 272 or the 29 Outlaw By Baja.

Take a look at the 280 velocity the boat has a lot of room in the cabin, and the part that I like is the amount of space in the cockpit. The boat is offered with a tall windshield or a short one. Get it with a 500efi and it will run in the upper 70's. Great boat for the money, and a lot more room than a 27 fountain.
Just my opinion.

Mark

Thanks for all the info, this site is great, I guess I,m going to have to do some homework. I already ruled out Velocity back seat is VERY low and they are a little pricey. I got some good leads on some used boats. One is a dealer in GA. who has a 2000 leftover 26zx on a trailer for 63K.
Also I want to check out Sonic at this point I,m leaning to a used/new boat 1999 to 2002. Fountain dropped thier prices about 20%, this should impact the used market as you can now get a 27 fever for about 62K.

What do you think this economic downturn will do ???/ to the used market/? On one side I,m a buyer but on the other I still have to sell/trade my old boat/ should I just wait until the NY boat show??

Thanks a ton for the info

Surfacetension,

If you are seriously considering the Donzi and would like to research the model further, be sure to check out the message board at http://www.donzi.net/cgi-bin/Ultimatebb.cgi Tons of good info there.

Ranman I have been on that site quite a bit, are you talking about "Blisterboy"???????? I do have some CONCERN about the quality of all the new boats , But I think that site is mostley die hard Donzi guy,s. I don,t know how much unbiased info I will get
What do you think

Shane and Sonic, Iam ashamed at both of you knowing that my boat is for sale right on LAKE GEORGE ang you didnt pass on the info to this fine gentleman. Go ahead, tell um how nice it is even though it is a BAJA.

Bob

Surfacetension,

YUP it is a Skater. You are welcome to a ride this summer when you come up if you would like. I would look at OTIS311's BAJA. It is really nice and rides incredibly well. The boat has been well maintained and not abused cuz he, well, he, let's just say is a bit skeeered!;)

Shane, thanks for the offer of the ride and don,t think I won,t look you up and TAKE it !!! I have a 10 year old son who LOVES cats especially skaters, we come up a couple of times a year for a week or so I have some friends on the lake Bryan Goewey ( 29 foot Baja) or Chris Mackey, Formula 271. Otis311 I trailer Every where let me guess 311 is 31foot might be a bit big foe me , whats the deal. let me know

That kid reminds me of my self 5 years ago!!

Surface, the boat is a 2001 29 outlaw sst not a 311 (old boat) cALL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME INFO 518 644-9115

Bob