Since we have had so many of these type of threads flying around I figured why not one more. I am hoping to upgrade in the next year or so and am open to some suggestions. For starters I currently have a 19' 7" Checkmate with a warmed over small block and Alpha SS, that has a run a best of 72.6 GPS with a 3 blade and right at 70 GPS with a REV 4. I love the looks of this boat and they way it runs but just can not deal with getting beat up every time we go out. The wife and step kids hate how rough it is and the wife has been thrown out (slid out) of her seat more than once. Most of my boating is done on Lake Travis which is an inland lake but we have way too much money down here and consequently way too many BIG boats. There are times on weekends when the lake looks more like a black diamond ski slope with moguls the size of VW bugs. Between the cruiser wakes of 4+ feet and the wake board (and now wake surfing) boats that are half sunk with all their ballast running around in circles, it is hard to get anywhere with my boat on the weekends so I am going to have to UPSIZE. What I know I want is a open bow mid-cabin boat that has room for at least 8-10 passengers, will not loose any speed over my current ride, is reliable, and can handle any rough stuff my lake can throw at me and maybe even be able to tackle a little bigger water if the need arises. The big catch is I will most likely need that to come in a package under 50K. I think I want a single (though a couple small blocks would be a possibility) in the 25-32 range (will be trailered), and most likely a v-bottom style though I would not rule out the possibility of a cat if there are any in that price range (no o/b's). So what would you guys suggest?

Call Performance Boat Brokerage in Camdenton, Missouri. Lake of the Ozarks can be one of the roughest inland bodies of water, so there are many Envisions, Sunsations, Mach 1's, amongst others that may very well fit the bill. Be sure to call, as there is always a bunch of stuff that they know about that is not on the. If you do a search, you will not find any disappointed customers that have done business with them. Some think that they deal in only the "high end", but they also sell a ton of boats in the more "affordable" price range. Brett is the guy to talk to.

With the Shootout next week, it would sure be a good excuse to come to the lake boat shopping!

Envision. Get a 32 if you want to be around $50k. I don't know if you will get 70 MPH with stock power, highly unlikely, but they are amazing rough water mid cabins with lots of room. You can run 40-45 MPH in almost any water. I have owned a 32' w/single 500 EFI and 36' with twin small blocks. The 36' crushes the 32' but is higher than your price point & harder to find. The 32' is a great handling mid ca
bin boat that will easily accommodate 8-12 with U shaped cockpit seating. You might PM 32Envision as I think he wanted to sell from a recent post. There are lots of them on LOTO b/c they ride well in rough. Good luck.

There's a 30 Concept CC for sale I'm classifieds twin eggbeaters. Under 50k.

Definitely contact Brett. I bet he could find one for you. Great guy. I'll sell you my 36 but would be a lot more than $50k & I don't have a trailer. However, You'd never have to worry about rough water again!

Mine is a 32 with a single 502 and the U shaped seating in the back. It is not anywhere close to the fastest boat in the world (upper 40's), but it does very, very well in thr rough stuff. Like I say, come up to LOTO next week and you will have some of the finest rough water demo'ing that you could possibly have! You can get one for well under 50k, even if you need to add a trailer. i don't think that they put twin small blocks in them, but I could be wrong.

+ 1. No coring, solid glass boats with a lot of deadrise. Just have a fat wallet for the fuel bill!

There is a late model low hour Lavey Craft 2750 Mid Cabin on boattrader.com. It has a Teague installed Whipple on a Merc 525. I have a carbon copy with a BBC 4.0 Whipple. The boat is 28' 6", 24 degree deadrise and handles rough water extremely well. This is the hull that Lavey raced so successfully. It might be worth taking a look. Good luck Quent

The last few model years Envision offered twin small blocks with U-Shaped seating. The singles were way more common though. It is tough to get speed and a really good ride in this size of boat, but on a rough weekend the Envision will go faster than many others because of the weight and the hull design. Lots of freeboard too - especially up front.

My 29' would do just over 60 mph with a 496 HO. My 32' needed 625 Hp X 2 to go 85 mph.

You aren't kidding about Lake Travis being rough on smaller boats, my 21 gets its ass kicked hard when it's busy out.

I met a friend with a 28 Nordic Heat on AustinBoatForums.com and he let me drive it a few months back. It handled the big chop really well on Lake Travis. It was amazing gliding over waves that would hand my boat its ass.