Does anyone know much about the Mako series bay boats?

They are not the Mako of old. Just run your hands on the inside of the box's, be carefull, not to get cut. Caulk everywhere, poor fit/finish, just a list, on and on. www.Thehulltruth.com all the info you will need..do a serch, plug in Mako, make your own assumptions. There are other brands for the same money with better support, resale, and most of all fit and finish. Good Luck Jeff

Look at Shearwater and Lake & Bay .

also ....

Spectre's 24 is real nice , but it's more of a mini-offshore / party boat then a fisher .

For the money I would buy a couple year old better built boat...what do you want to do with it?

the mako bay boats used to be kennar boats mako took over the line a few years ago.

Follow Jassman's advice! This message board will not give you the info you need. Check out thehulltruth.com and the Florida Sportsmans boating message board

I agreee with most of what has been posted. The mako line has been through alot of trouble over the years. When Tracker aka bass pro shops bought mako about 10 years ago the company had 6 owners in 5 years this was in the late 90's and the quality was horrible. Then Tracker marine bought them they spent the next 2 years building the same poor quality boats. This is when they closed the so. Fla plant down and moved to North Carolina and started to rebuild the line. They have turned the line around and are building a good quality boat now. They are not building a Regulator quality boat but you are not paying Regulator money.

Now on the Mako boat line the bay boats are not built by Mako they build the 17 through 28 offshore boats. Bay boats are built at the Kenner Factory also owned by the Tracker marine company aka Bass Pro shops.

Let me know if this helps

Josh

I did the bayboat shopping thing last winter. After looking at virtually every manufacturer I chose a 22 Shearwater and couldn't be happier. The 22 Pathfinder would have been the distant second choice. I also gave Ranger and Skeeter a glance. Nobody else really factored in the running. Lake and Bay's bayboat had yet to be introduced.

Cost no object also look at a Yellowfin or a Young.

I own a dealership that sells Sea Pro, Sea Hunt, and Lake & Bay bay boats. We also sell used / trade-in Mako's. I would be happy to discuss the pro's and con's of these or any of the other brands mentioned.

All of them will keep your feet dry and the motor above the water line. In a 20-22 foot bay boat it is difficult to incorporate many differentiating features. They all have about the same number of livewells, storage compartments, rod holders, etc. However, the fit & finish, the quality of the components (i.e. stainless vs plastic hinges), what's included in the base price versus what's an option make for a very different picture.

Let me know what you are looking for and I would be happy to provide some guidance.

T