O.K. PANTERA IS OUT.... WELL ANYTHING THAT'S NEWER (in those sizes) IS SCRATCHED OFF MY LIST.

God what do you people do for a living?!?

I should have bought the boat first, then the house.

J/K my mortgage is very comfortable right now, it's the second mortgage I'm stating to worry about!!!

Mark in Philly has a very attractive 1997 253 blown Convincor for sale that seems to be a good compromising size to start.

Ms P.Y. I hear what your saying but for now in my climate with my budget I'm going to take a few small steps instead of such a big one.
That'll also give me the opportunity to master driving, docking etc. in smaller steps rather than going from a 21' single engine to a 30'+ twin

[B]hmm.............offshore boats with efficient hulls.

When you figure that one out let us all know.

Length X Width = $$$$urface area



ofshore I'm a Hotboat reader and those guys on the west coast have me convinced those stepped hulls are the latest and greatest.
My question is what's better or which is more efficient to save some pennies at the pump?

Newbies.... what to do

Yep you got that right, there's lakes and then there's LAKES.................are you going to be in Grand Haven?

Your probably right stepped hulls are said to be a little more efficient but weather it would be enough to really see it at the pump I don't know. There was a thread in the technical forum that talked about weather one large motor or two smaller ones were more efficient and i think someone said the single motor was slightly more efficient but not enough to really make a difference. Your best bet would probably be to decide what you want and ask who has one and approximately what kind of fuel mileage they get.

..is an efficient hull...good speed from less Hp

25 AT, Solid Performer!!!

Is that a Velocity?

I'm looking at the Checkmates right now and they have a few different 25' models.

Can anyone tell me the diff between the 251 - 253 - 259?

25 AT = 25 foot, Active Thunder

Checkmates 251 was an older design with a narrower beam. I believe it was the most efficient of the hulls. More speed with the same power.

Are you looking for a west coast custom boat? There are some in the 25-30' range that are well built and do well in rough water, but they proably are not very well known on the right coast....

Bullet, I love what I'm hearing about it, I also really like some of the Ultra's and the Nordic Rage 25'.

Alot of the west coast customs look very efficent when it comes down the hull design.

I don't want to run to MI from WI, I really want a Lake Rocket that I can dabble in the big puddles on occasion.