I`m a Baja owner and I would recommend one to anyone looking for a good-looking, quality boat at a very fair price. They seem to hold their value well and I have heard that trying to sell a used one is a piece of cake.
Just compare any Baja to a competitor`s boat, dollar for dollar you get way more with a Baja.
Sure, I have heard stories of poor build quality. I think ALL manufacturers get that from time to time. You`re probably going to hear it more about a Baja because they represent a full 1/3 of the performance boat market.

Good responce BD but I thought Baja uses primarily knit vs woven.

Had our 1997 272 since new and I cant say enough good things about the boat, Baja, or Grand Sport our dealer,,,, all 3 have always been there for us.

P.S. It's for sale,,, got my eye on a 342 !!!!!!!

My bad, I was too hasty to look it up. But basically, woven is interlacing of warp and weft and knit is intermeshing. Properties can be catered to both. :cool: Thanks!

Baja's have more problems because they have more boats, they are what they are and thats fine, no question there are better built boats out there. In this economy do yourself a favor and go to the miami boat show, most builders will be there, you might be suprised at what they will do! If your thinking Baja also ck out Pantera, Sonic, Sunsation, PowerQuest and more. Baja's may be the best looking boat out there and the are big but get in all of them crawl around there is a boat for everybody, good luck!!

Powerquest also uses the same method to bond hull and deck and Formula even chemically bonds the stringers to the hull vs. glassing them.

Baja's
 

Ron,

Shop around and you'll find that the general public thinks very highly of Baja's. I bought my Baja 2 1/2 years ago and think that it's a pretty good product. If you're interested, we could pull mine out of the caves sometime and you could get a first hand look. Mine's '92 model, but much like many of the people responding on this thread, it's been well taken care of and it shows. Minimal stress cracks in the gel and the original interior is in good shape.
I'll find out later this spring how fast Baja's can sell. I'm looking on moving up.

Re: Baja's
 

Why wait until spring? I just sold my 252 Islander and the buyer did not even want to hear it run. It was like new, runs like new, well taken care of. I sold it December 22, 2002. A lot of people buy boats in the winter. Especially ones that are in great shape. I have received a lot of calls on it this winter prior to selling it.

Banker Ron & Boatless Cowgirl,

Talk to Gordo. Do you have his phone number?

You guy's need to talk to Jason in Topeka, Gordo has his # He's got a 24 Outlaw for sale.

Re: Baja boats
 

There is a clean 25 Outlaw outside of Lee Summit on the way to the Ozarks. It has been for sale at least 6 months.

Jason's boat in topeka

Hey I love my boat even though it was neglected
For the money, cant be beat
also for the size they make the biggest ones around
most people ask me if my boat is 33 or so feet
nope 28 Plus 2 ft swim platform
it looks MUCH MUCH bigger and it handles much bigger than most at same size
Going to prop test this year but Im guessing about 75 or so max GPS
The newer ones though are built real tough
Hell the 29 outlaw has an option with twin 575 sc's
No other manufacturer would put that much HP in that size from a mass produced company
(you go to specialized companies yeah)
and remember the 29 outlaw is actually about 27 ft with swimplatform)
that is belief in their construction that the thing is going to hold up under TREMENDOUS punishment
in this sport or hobby you will find most people start out with baja it has to be the most popular brand out there by far
Jason

I'm on my 3rd Baja as well. Think I've finally settled on our '33 Outlaw. Like others, I've had some problems, none of them major. My dealer (and Baja) have always taken care of everything to my satisfaction.

Jay,
the 29 outlaw length overall is
28'9" without swim platform,
swim platforms are optional.

Maybe you were thinking of the
old 290, that was a 29' LOA, including
molded in swim platform, that was
a 27' boat.
jt

We have a very, very clean rack stored on our site. $43,900

www.awesomepowerboats.net (used boats)

donman, after you spend 30k on a 23 foot boat (remember it's 1989) and you cannot get a reply to over 20 phone calls, you tend to use whatever method you can to get somebodies attention.

majority of the problems with the boat were that it was built to the standards of a 16 foot bowrider that does 40 mph and not a boat that does 70mph.

maybe the newer ones are better built i have no idea, but the ones built in the late 80's and early 90's definitely had some problems.

My first boat was a 87 240 sport. What a pile, I spent more time screwing everything back together than actually using the thing. I think they have improved dramatically since then. I dont know if they still do but Ive seen a mid 90's 38 special with the motor mounts lagged in and not thru bolted.:confused:

http://www.boattest.com/general-info.asp?ID=296

http://www.boattest.com/general-info.asp?ID=3

http://www.boattest.com/general-info.asp?ID=297

If you bought the boat new, and it was definately warranty items during the warranty period, I would understand. But, if you were the second or third owner I would not expect any manufacturer of a boat 13 years old stand up to issues such as you describe.

My '92 has held up beautifully. No complaints here.

Baja Daze

It's warp & woof...and some people have probably wondered about where we came up with our boat's documented name.:)

BTW here's a cool Baja picture I found on the web.

I'll try again...

No, not ALL of them!:rolleyes:

I see the post of the ones not so impressed with the Baja....all are in the 80's and if I am not mistaken, that is not the same Baja company that makes them today. Not sure of the date and year but there was a change of ownership back in that area of time.

Funny that headliners were mentioned. My friend has a 97 38 Special that he bought used in 2000. The headliner was completely fallen when he purchased it. Baja will not fix it.

yea kinda like the Blackhawk thread in the Tech section

i bought this boat new in 1989 from keenan marine.

this boat was built with some of the poorest quality workmanship and materials i have seen.some of the parts were so poorly constructed they might as well used duct tape. i wore out two screwdrivers trying to keep it in one piece.

if you like your boat great, i'll just tell you that my experiences are not unique and have heard others with the same problems.

some of the problems included parts that were completely inadequate to do their job, cuddy walls that were held up with 6 tiny #8 wood screws that let the entire wall fall down with 2 hours on the boat.

lag bolts holding a 365 horse motor down, totally unacceptable in a boat that could run 70 mph, especially when used with the high tech piece of plastic conduit jamed in the hole to take up the slack of the stripped out bolt.

i could go on and on , but at some point it just seams like piling on. :mad:

my three bajas were all mid-90's , 95 208, 94 Shooter, 96 302.

Might want to stick there...

Warp and Woof,

I've heard it both ways. We use "weft" in daily conversation here at the plant. Most of our suppliers refer to it as weft also. Both are acceptible. Here's one for example:
http://www.sglcarbon.com/sgl_t/indus...ata/broad.html

:cool: :)

Yep,

It does seem like lots of folks are complaining about boats made in the 80's. That doesn't mean much now. Afterall, Ford once made a car called the Pinto and Chevy once made one called the Vega.

easy, my first car was a pinto wagon.

dad runs a 1989 220 sport baja with a warmed over 502. He has reamed the **** outta that boat for 3 yrs now and we have not had a problem with the boat. I prefer the looks of the late 80's baja's.



But the bad thing is... I still goes by me :mad: but maybe I can change that this summer :D

The corvette of powerboats best boat for the money perfect lake boat but not the quality of a cig or outerlimits. It all depends on what you plan to do with the boat ie offshore or lake I have had my boat offshore and I don't know if it would hold up day after day in that environment. Have had 2 with no trouble. Also not as fast a stepped hull.

I have owned three Baja`s, They were all purchased new.

I was very pleased with all of them. My 1987 Sport 210 with a 350 Mag ran flawlessly, never needed any warranty whatsoever.I had bought it at the right time (dealer was low on cash) and I had sold it for 4k more than what I had paid!!!

In 1988, I had ordered a new Sport 220 with a 454 Mag. We had logged well over 300 totally trouble free hours. Nice boat, just a little too small for us, sold it after 3 seasons. Paid 25k in 1988, sold it for 20k!:D

In Dec. 1990 I had bought a new, left over '89 Sport 280 with twin 330`s/Bravo`s. We logged 750+ hrs on her. This was the most reliable toy I have ever owned! This boat always ran incredible and held up very well. The new owner has been enjoying the same luck. When it sold, she went for 15k less than I paid new!!!!:D

So, you could call me a very satisfied Baja owner. Sure they are not the quality of a Cig, but they three Baja`s that I had owned held up incredibly well!! and were very cheap to maintain. also in 16 seasons, there was not one weekend that any of these boats were down!!!!!!!!!!!Who can say that!

The bottom line......:D I have enjoyed 16 trouble free seasons, behind the wheel of Baja Boats and it has only cost me 16k in depreciation:eek: :D ;)How`s that??? I`m not so sure I`ll have the same success with my Cig;)

A very satisfied former Baja owner,

Kurt.:D

Holding up and staying together and holding up on LAKE ERIE are two different things! Many boats will show wear and tear if ridden hard on lake erie for any length of time.

I am on my 3rd boat in as many years...

My first was a 25 outlaw and was quite happy with it. Very solid boat .... and I drove it hard all summer in the Poker Run circut. The next year was a 33 outlaw and now a 40. I don't care that they are not as fast as the stepped hull's ... a true "V" is a much better ride!

....

Photo of the new 40

www.willpowerracing.com

Did anyone notice that was Billy Gibbon's boat in the picture above?

Haw...Haw...Haw:cool:

Baja Daze

I wasn't trying to correct you...thanks for the info. I learn something new every day:)

So will you be racing?