In the process of starting to look for a new to us boat. There's a compromise that has to be met between the wife and I. I need a sporty boat that will do 60+ and the wife wants an open bow run a bout for the room for the kids. Been looking at stingrays, carravelle interceptors, crownline lpx, and somewhat the islander. I'm looking in the 22-23' range. Tell me about your islanders. Likes, dislikes, speeds with what motors. So on and so forth. Thanks guys

I had a 252 and loved it. Could fit 7 people comfortably, but would still do 62 all day with 4 ppl. Mine had a mildly built 454 with a labbed 23 Mirage. It handled rough water great, and you could still ski or tube. Surprisingly, it wasn't even that thirsty pulling two tubers. You can still pull it with a 1/2 ton truck no problem.

yeah thats def what i need is something that you can pull tubers and such with

I love my Islander 252 as well. Plenty of room and power and still easy on fuel.

Stay away from the Carravells they are not good boats. I never had any of the bigger islanders but I did have a 190 open bow. Plenty of room in that boat for 6 people. I would think that any of the 23 or 24' with a 454 will get the speeds you want.

Good to know about the caravelles. Thanks. How bout stingrays. Just another option but the 22' lx open bow looks like a nice boat with nice lines.

Pound for pound the 252 is one of the best all around family boats out there. I would find one with a 454 Mag or 496 if you want to get near 60 (I have a 7.4L) They have deep interiors, plenty of storage on both sides mid-cabin, with drop down bolsters, and a nice dash lay out.

I think you would be happy with an Islander as well.... I love my 232, perfect size and very sporty. I have a 496HO that puts my top speed a little over 70MPH gps. with a 28P prop. Baja's are going to handle rough water a lot better than most other boats this size.

We've got a 252 and love it. It seems that we are all big fans as no one here is saying the typical "I'll sell you mine as I'm moving up". It is undoubtedly the best all around boat I've ever been in. Speed, rough water, roomy, economical, trailerable, good cruise, comfortable. Just tough to say anything bad about it. Lots of boats will do any one of these things better, but few do them all as good as the 232, 252, 272 Islanders do. Good luck in your search.

Dan

As someone who has owned both a Stingray and a Baja there are a lot of differences to consider. I had a Stingray 220LX with a heavily built 350 and Stingray's hull is much faster than Baja's. I could clear 70 mph BUT the boat was not comfortable in rough water and had serious chine walk at high speed. A Baja of similar size will be heavier and has a traditional deep-vee design, while the Stingray has a Z-plane hull that is essentially riding on a pad at the stern. The Baja will burn more fuel, be a little slower with the same power, but will ride much better, especially in rough water, handle better, and in general be much more comfortable. Both are good choices and if you're only going to be on a fairly smooth lake then the Stingray may be a better bet but any time you're in rough water you'll regret the Stingray (as I did when I took it out on Erie to Put-in-Bay and the wind picked up).