I was looking through the threads and noticed it has been awhile since an entry level thread was started. I'm wondering what the newest consensus is? I have about 12k cash and would finance the rest. I noticed people suggest a bone stock twin screw between 25-30'. Is that really feasible with someone that hasn't had a boat longer than a BR 22'? I'll be doing all maintenance myself, and I'm only wanting to hit 70. Any suggestions? I've been looking at the Powerquest, they seem to be a pretty decent boat. Thanks for any direction.

David

I went with a 288 sunsation , remember if you do a lot of trailering look at the weights of the boats and the capability of your truck.I would say most twin engine boats start about 6500lbs and no trailer. I went with a single due to truck size and less maintaince on the boat. After owning a single the upsides I can see with a twin is the ride and always being able to get back to the ramp if something happens and don't let anyone fool you size matters when water gets rough. This is the first boat I ever owned


Forsale

Don't think you could go wrong with a stock 496 Mag HO in a Velocity, Baja Outlaw, Checkmate or the 28' Sunsation. Buy the biggest boat with the biggest reliable power you can haul. Your goal is very realistic with many good buys out there. It's a buyers market. Check out the rates at Americu Credit Union. You can get around a 4.75% rate on a used boat 10 years old or less.

Love my Velocity 260 w/496 mag. Runs 70+ when needed, cruises at 50 sipping fuel. Very low maintenance, and being a Mercruiser not Merc Racing Blue motor, they can run upwards of 800-1000 hrs without major maintenance. Mine is just breaking in at 415 hrs. Easy on drives, easy to trailer. The Velocity 260 handles big water like a much larger boat. But does take a bit of seat time to really get it to perform and handle. The pad bottom does take a bit of getting used to, but once you do..... It is a ton of fun to drive and turns heads, because they do have a somewhat unique look.

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I suggest a 25 foot Predator with single 300XS http://predatorpowerboats.com/c25%20catamaran.htm

with $12K down, your monthly is $496

total package turnkey with trailer is $69,000

finance amount (less $12K) is $57,000

that includes:

aluminum I-beam trailer
PPI interior
300XS Merc Racing outboard
Dual Ram external steering


Check out this pic. This is a big 25 footer.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]504971[/ATTACH]

I'm not really looking into getting a new boat, only hoping to finance up to about 15k. I have a tuned and deleted f350 6.4, so size isn't really a problem. We don't have a whole lot of go fast boats, mostly bajas, scarabs, and a few formulas and powerquests.

I saw this http://killeen.craigslist.org/boa/3952246212.html and that is what got me looking. I did have another question, if I waited until the offseason would I get a much better deal with more choices?

69k for a 25 single outboard boat wouldn't be my first choice.

I too have a 280 velocity and can't say enough positive about it. We went to a run in Biloxi this weekend and it did awesome in the sloppy water in the gulf on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Coming back everyone was going slower due to the weather kicking up a bit. My velocity seems to smooth out the faster you run. Coming back we passed a 31 contender with twin 250's like he wasn't even moving. I know my boats faster, but I'm referring to the sea condition. He slowed down as I maintained 55-65 mph the whole 14 miles back to shore and seeing I just finished my boat and was being easy on the drive, I don't feel I was running the boat hard at all!


I love my velocity!!

For the money your looking to spend you can gets nice boat. Enjoy the hunt as its part of the fun to me.

Velocity, fountain, sunsation along with others are in your budget and are all nice boats!!

i would recommend a single for your first performance boat . 24 or 25 outlaw , 25 AT , 26 sonic , 25 or 28 sunny , anything like that .

There are a ton of nice boats that fit your bill in the classifieds on this site. If you know how to work on things dont be scared of an older boat that is In better condition than a newer ragged on one.

Now is a good time to start looking. Up North we are at mid to late mid season and prices will start to reflect that. Buying a boat at the twilight of the season has some great advantages for sea trial, price negotiation, etc.