I've owned probably way more Baja's than you have and never had an isssue. All of mine were 2001 up to 2009 and no issues ever. Most of them are still within a few hundred mles of me and have no issues to this day. Sorry but my boat is composite floor, stringers and transom so no experiments to do here. Sorry you've had poor luck on you boats, but there are thousands who have had no issues ever.

I doubt you have owned more than me, but whatever. I have probably taken more to the dump than you have owned. My side hustle is buying/selling or parting boats. You are comparing apples to oranges now. Composit vs wood.... You call it bad luck, I call it making money, all but 1 of my bajas I purchased knowing what I was getting. I obviously hit a nerve with you, my bad. I am just stating real world experiences. Have a fantastic day, sir.

No worries here and I myself have made a side hustle on buying an selling boats. Thank you for clearing up that you are looking for wet Baja's, in which respect if I were to pick another company and look for wet boats of theirs I'm sure I would have the same results as you. It's the same in Cigs, Fountains and so forth. Thank you for saving some of them you buy for others to enjoy down the road. I wasn't comparing composite to wood by the way, If it hadn't been for us wanting to go faster, then I would probably still have one of the many 30 Outlaws we have owned.

I definitely am not looking for wet boats, bajas have great resale which is why we buy so many of them. We buy all brands, it just happens to be that almost every baja we get has at minimum a bad transom. The question was asked, why the hate, I explained it and you don't like the answer.

There is a guy at my marina that has a 33 outlaw, very nice boat. I gave him a heads up on the issues, he got upset with me the same way you are and wouldn't talk to me the rest of the season. Said it was 100% dry. Last summer he was parked next to me on the sand bar and his boat was dumping water every 5 minutes. Long story short, he learned. Bad transom letting water in.

I've cut more Formulas and Fountains apart than Bajas, but they are a get what you pay for boat. They don't hold up well to any sort of abuse or neglect. That said they do offer a lot of value and if you can find one that's been taken care of you'll probably be fine. They get a bad rap because there are a lot of them and guess who often buys a Baja... First time boat owners. And they leave the drain plug in the boat all the time because they heard a story about someone almost sinking.. Or they think it's normal that the wife is crying when your out there in 3' waves trying to run 50 mph to get home before dark.

So I’m not a fan of Baja for completely different reason
in the 90s I bought a west coast jet boat built by Commander
it was cheaper than a lot of the competitors so had to expect stuff not being as well built
little did I know how poorly the boat was actually built
on one trip we started smelling gas
open the hatch and the entire engine compartment was full of fuel
my 6 mo old daughter was in the boat
I don’t dare start the motor
we wave down a jet skier and hand him my daughter
every one else swims to shore
by The time we get the boat on the trailer the whole interior is full of gas
when we leave the river we take it directly back to commander
I could not figure out where the leak was coming from
the tech there said yeah we know the problem
the gas tanks are secured with wood screws not thru bolted like they do now
the screws back out
fall down behind the tanks and wear holes in the tanks
I asked well why not fix it sense I bring the boat in every year for service
owner said yeah it doesn’t happen to everybody
plus it just got nasty trying to get it fixed

well when I went to buy a new boat I was more concerned with build quality than anything so from talking to people Baja was not high on the list
gettng a Cigarette was the best decision I think I have ever made

WHY THE HATE???? how about finding your motor mounts loose at the stringer and removing the lag screws and finding plastic wire loom in the holes to take up the space from stripping the holes out. OR.... the cabin walls that were nothing more than 1/2 plywood covered with fabric held in place by six #8 screws. first wave, deck flexes, walls fall down

Just for fun, why don't you look at a couple of the "high end" performance boats and see how their interiors are put together? I Think you are going to be surprised as to how less costly materials are used along with Velcro. But they certainly are faster.....

Rather than go down the rabbit hole of cheapness, I would like to add a reason why Baja's are so popular: They handle the rough water very well. Say what you want, but I never had people crying in my boat (in my 33 or 40) due to being scared they were going to die in the rough. And for EVERY poker run, we always had dignitaries and media ride with us. I would like to take credit for my awesome driving, but it was because the boat when driven properly was one of the most comfortable/stable rides on the water compared to those around us. Sure we got passed in the smooth, but when it got rougher, the stable hull held it's own.

Hate all you want, If I could figure out how to get Iconic to release a couple of the molds (30,35 and especially the 40) and had the financial backing to build them, I would be first in line to bring them back with vigor.

Understanding the Baja buyer is what ALL the haters are missing. Bang for the buck and great look. One can hate, but knowing where they stand makes the difference.

My 2000 model Baja is built better than my 1992 was, but even the '92 was built really well. Wire runs were clamped every couple of feet, labels on the wires, very clean installation. My 2000 is better in that they did away with most of the wood issues that plagued earlier model boats that weren't taken care of, e.g. left out uncovered and poorly maintained. While I am sure there were some pooly built Baja boats, there are/were poorly built 'higher end' boats as well. Haters will hate, people with bad experiences will not get over them...much like cars/trucks. I despise RAM trucks for probably many of the same reasons people dislike Baja boats...and frankly most if not all of my dislike of RAM trucks and Mopar products in general is not based on actual experience, but rather anecdotal evidence from others.
I say we all just go boat and have some fun!

Solution to that is get the wife to drive it!!!