I'M considering moving up from my 26 foot checkmate enforcer to a 32 foot Sunny. It will have to be a older , i believe pre 2005 model to meet my budget. The one that has 10 inches less free board than the ones they built now.

My questions is has anyone ran the older style hull at the LOTO. How will it handle the 5-6 foot cruiser wakes. I know it is a top notch boat , but when i measured the free board on a 2005 i looked at it seemed like it was about 5 feet from the bottom of the hull to gunwhale. I think my 26 foot enforcer is deeper.

I live in a condo and my slip is 30 feet , the association will allow the boat to only extend up to 3 feet past the end of the dock.
I would not even consider a 32 foot boat if i had other options.

When i look at the 31 foot sonic the hull looks deeper and i know the boat is heavier. Even though the hull is less efficient and the boat is slower , i wonder if at the end the day if it is a better choice for the Saturday afternoon mad house chop?

Any input would be appreciated.

I'd go with the Sonic for Loto waters personally unless I was able to shell out the coin for the NEWER Dominator hull.
The Sonic is a much heavier, bigger boat then the old Dominator hull and a better choice if your concerned with ride over speed.

At LOTO when it's rough it's rough. Even a 38 Top Gun is a bumpy ride when the washing machine is going strong.

How about a 32 Active Thunder. Darn good all around boat with a fairly deep cockpit, useable cabin and built well. I'd take it over the 2 already mentioned.

With any of them you won't be running 80 at the intersection the the GG arm and main channel on saturday of July 4th.

I put 450 hours on a 2000 32 dominator between 2000-2005, all at LOTO. Never had an issue. Never broke anything, and never developed a stress crack. The boat runs exceptionally well for its size in rough water. The Active Thunder would also be a great choice.

It only beat you to death when I drove it bow down.



There are boats in the 30' - 33' range that are heavier, have more freeboard, and will take the Satuday afternoon slop better than the Sunny. But if you don't mind "driving" a boat, the Sunny in the right hands will do surprisingly well. Mental and I rode in a friend's 1996 Formula 303 SR-1 in the Support The Troops Poker Run a couple weeks ago. Running next to us was another friend's 2005 32 Sunsation. The Formula is heavier and has more freeboard. The Formula is also a 5 MPH faster boat than the Sunny due to 465 HP 454's vs. stock 6.2's in Sunny. We took off at the back of the Class B boats and soon were dealing with the cross-slop of the lead boats. The Sunny walked away from the Formula. Our buddy asked at Bear Bottom, "How did Matt run away from us when my boat is faster?" Mental and I laughed and replied, "Because he knows how to drive a boat on LOTO."

I still own one of the last pre SS models made and operate primarily on the southern Chesapeake (unpredictable washing machine) Bay and Atlantic ocean, and I can assure you LOTO can't hold a candle on it's worst day. All I can say is if I don't find it comfortable or doable, then nobody else with bigger more reputable boats is out doin it either. That's not an exageration. That's a fact.
Remember, it's all how you drive the platform. The platform is only as good as the driver. All else is BS. With that said the caveat in a discussion like this is go out and try, then buyu what YOU like. Good luck and happy boating.

i currently own a 2004 sunsastion mid cabin open bow. ran it every weekend on LOTO before i got a 33 ft eliminator and never had any issues.

Unless you go over 40' it's not going to make that much diff, there's just days and times that are rougher than crap and those are the days you go up to the big numbers and get away from the washtub.
But it's all fun, see ya out on the water, my friend has a 32' dom and he's just fine.

Two 32 Active Thunders for sale in classifieds. I have the 99 for sale. Took it to loto support troops poker run. Wasnt real rough that weekend but rough enough to know the boat handles awesome in waves.