Yeah, here we go again...

OK, I have a fast boat, but for what I use it for about 40-50% of the time it's becoming kind of impractical (Cigarette which I am keeping). Basically my close friends have kids and I want something a bit more user friendly for groups of people. Sooo.. what I ideally want is something smaller than what I have now lengthwise, but more "comfortable" like 35-37'

Works for waterskiing (Am I insane to tow skiers/tubers behind something this big?)
It'll spend at least some time in the summers in NJ and at Lake Cumberland and maybe LOTO.
Fall-Spring it'll be in South Florida, ideally it's comfortable cruising around 40-45 knots for runs to bimini and the West end with enough fuel capacity to at least go 150 nm at those cruise speeds.
Air Conditioned
Comfortably can sleep 4-6 people
Head with a shower
Generator

I saw a thread on here recently about a Cobalt 343 and that looked intriguing but maybe something a little bigger with a bit more room outside.

I plan to go used, budget under $200, ideally under 150K.

Am I out of my mind?

Comfortably sleep 4-6 and plenty of room for seating outside is tough to get in a 35'-37' boat, but maybe an Intrepid WA could be the right compromise? These ones look to be a well-cared for examples. Quality and performance are of first class in Intrepid boats, so resale values for well kept examples are high due to serious desirability and new examples out of budget for many buyers.
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https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...round-3670799/

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...round-3130518/

that second one looks like it has spent sometime underwater, look at the interior pics.

why is that wood discolored and the cushions stained like that?

Look at a CC. Lots of usable space and some have some nice ac cabins in console.

Fountain 38 express cruiser.

Do a few searches, always a small number on the market. Most had 496's, a few with blue motors and a very few with diesels. Happy shopping.

RR

P.S. Most of these are the same boats advertised on different websites but worth reading.

https://www.boattrader.com/boats/mak...press-cruiser/

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats-for...press-cruiser/

https://www.boats.com/boats-for-sale...xpress-cruiser

Good friend of ours has a Formula 350 CBR. It’s 10’ wide, and runs 55 with 502’s. Tons of room for a lot of people and the extended swim platform makes it great for coving.

Fit and finish is great, has a cuddly area that two could overnight in. plenty of amenities.

Interesting observation. I have the same boat (a few years newer), and my interior cabinets had started to de-laminate. We bought the boat in the Boston area. The surveyor thought is was from having the shrink wrap on too long with no venitlation. He found no signs of any moisture in the hull, etc. Wonder if it is an Intrepid issue. We looked at quite a few in Florida, but they all looked fine.

We were lucky and found a 30' center console at the right price but we too wanted friends/kids on board, coving out, tubing etc. my top choice before finding our boat was a Cobalt R7 WSS I picked it because they are just under 8' 6" and I didn't need a wide load permit to pull them around. My lake is LOTO and on the weekends I'l be hanging below the 26MM, I see Tritoons on the weekend going anywhere I have to believe a 30" Cobalt WSS would do fine. I shied away from the deck boats but you can also find some much bigger Cobalts 34' and above for sale, there is one in Boat Trader in Antioch, IL. with a trailer that looks nice has twin 496's.

https://www.boattrader.com/boat/2015...7-wss-7268318/
https://www.boattrader.com/boat/2008...t-302-7449911/

Lots of nice bigger ones also but hard to find one with trailer.

When i had the Cigarette and Formula 400SS i pretty much had the best of both worlds

Thank you for pointing out that the 377's condition was not up to par. I had no intent trying to pick out good specific boats on my cell phone thousands of miles away, rather a boat model that would tick off most boxes of preferred needs. The linked 377 boat was not even the right one among the 4 on Yachtworld for sale, so I also would like to apologize due to the fact that the link I truly wanted to post, as a great example, was actually this one below. Most boats could naturally look fabulous in a display of photos and favorable description by a sales-driven advertiser. No substitute for a thorough survey and sea trial.

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...round-3687845/

I do agree that shrink-wrapping a boat in a wrong manner, and even the right manner in the wrong conditions will certainly cause damage to the interior. I still maintain my sincere opinion that Intrepid Boats are of the highest quality, and has been for more than 30 years. I bring one last benefit up with regards to most Intrepid models, they do perform in a sporty manner and would be appreciated by most folks that normally love their high-performance powerboats.

A video by an ex. owner that shows the practical layout of the 377 model: