Hi all... im a die hard baja fan but like the rage. Im looking for a 25 foot boat and thinging either 252 islander or the open bow rage. Id love to hear your opinions. Ive seen some decent pricing on rages ... in the 40's. thnx sj

These boats are really an apples to oranges comparison. The 252 is big runabout, quite a bit larger and heavier than the Rage. The Rage is fast and nimble. You need to drive both and then make a decision as to what you are looking for in a boat.

bobl is right. It will depend on what you want from your boat. I have a Rage with the closed bow. I've looked at Baja's also but i haven't driven one so I couldn't give you my impressions. I really like my Rage after nearly 5 years of ownership. My only real complaint is that I wish the windscreen would block the wind. I found some sun glasses that work real well, but the bugs in my teeth get old.

Pat

I think I would prefer if the rage were a full open bow , i understand they may start making them that way. I want a big roomy open bow for all the usual family boat stuff and the odd rip across the lake.

www.windaway.com

I love my Rage, I went from a 20' to my 05 Rage and love it. It handles the ruff water and gets up and moves when you need it to.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Then maybe thr Rage isn't what you're looking for. Depending on how much room you need, and how you'll be boating, have you looked at the Sprint or the Rush or even the Lightning? Look at them all and you may find something you didn't think was what you wanted is really what fits your needs.

I have a Rage, mid cabin. Love the layout -- the mid cabin actually works very well and the kids love being able to get out of the sun occassionally and still interact with people in the bow or cockpit. I have a bow filler which gives you space for the kids to spread out. Fit/Finish and gel work will be better than the Baja (use to sell Baja's, so know them well). It handles wonderful, the windshield is useless. All that said, I'd buy the Baja/Checkmate (East boats) or the Lavey, Howard, Shockwave (West boats) in a heartbeat. My issue is that Nordic doesn't stand behind their product. If you are really considering a Nordic, email me at [email protected] and I'll send you pics of my 24 month old Nordic along with the repair bills. I can also put you in contact with the shop that repaired the boat and they'll be happy to give you their opinion of what they found and their own conversations/dealings with Nordic. Since this is a "pro" Nordic board for the most part, I'll stop there. Good luck in your search, but I would recommend you keep looking.

have you talked directly to Nordic since the new ownership/management has taken place?

It is a new regime there and they DO stand behind their product. Much better than the old days, with the old...old owner.

I just sold a 2001 28' open bow and it had ZERO problems and was a great boat. It was my second Nordic and my first was a 1996 22'. It was also flawless.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

This all transpired over the past 2-3 months, so new Mgt has not fixed things. My Rage developed stress cracks in the hull under the right motor mount. The total cost of the repair was $800, so it didn't alter my lifestyle, but the 3 year hull warranty is worthless as Nordic said they were "my fault". I had covers ordered for the boat and they messed those up, which I again, had to correct myself. My previous boat was a Scarab (owned it for 16 yrs) and Wellcraft stood behind that boat. I had to contact them on several occasions over the years on issues, and they always were very helpful and if it was something they felt should not have happened, they sent me to part for free.

Nordic makes a nice boat, unfortunately, it is when problems occur and how you handle them, which separates the quality builders from the rest. Given my experience todate, I'd not recommend them as there are way too many qualify organizations out there building quality boats and standing behind their product. I learned a bit too late :-)