Im looking at buying my 1st boat and I need some advise. I want to go fast but cant spend more than $20k. My friends got flat bottoms with big v-8s and I know those are the best bang for the buck. But im 6'9" and cant fit in those little boats. Im looking at a 1995 22' Wellcraft Scarab for $18k and a 1998 21' Baja Hammer for $19.5k. They both have 454. The Baja has hydraulic trim tabs. The scarab has 2oohrs and the Hammer has 70hrs. The boat will be used mostly for lake and river cruising. Any ideas would be appreciated. Any other boats under $20k I should consider?

Baja........that seems like a good value. Oh, and welcome to the board!!!!

I think you will find the Baja has more room in it for you large frame.

Be careful of the Hammer. They have a tendancy to chine walk
at WOT and it can get hairy.

, the hammer most likely has the 310 hp 454mpi engine, where as the scarab might have the bigger hp 454 in it??? the scarab is a nice boat, but has dated interior, the baja has a more modern interior in it, both boats would work for you, which one do you like? will they deal on the price are not? condition of trailer? something to think about,

Being that your friends have flat bottoms, I would guess you are on a lake or very calm river. If so and you want to go fast for cheap look into a 18-21 foot tunnel. Mirage river racer, Eliminator 19,21, lavey craft - the list goes on. You can get all of these boats for under 20k used of course. All capable of speeds in excess of 100mph. Those small v's want touch that boat in speed

Here's one........get them down in price and you have a hell of a boat. What are you towing with?

HERE

If you plan on running your boat on 2 footers or more, there is no decision. The Scarab will take the big water. One of my first boats was a 21 Scarab (1992), and we ran it on Lake Winnebago over 2 - 3 footers with the wife feeling secure. No offense to the Baja, but the Scarab hull has more glass in it. The 1994 and up hulls are a bit lighter, but still under the eyes of Larry Smith. Another thing to think about is your resale value. I don't think anyone reading this will disagree that the Scarab will bring you a higher resale value when the time comes. The time to upgrade will come sooner than you think. Good luck with your purchase!!

Thanks for your input, I will be towing with a 1996 ford explorer w/ 5.0 v-8. I do like the interior on the baja a lot better. But I hadn't thought about resale value! yes I will be mostly on lakes and rivers. What is chine walk?

You can see CHINE WALK on this video at about the 1 min, 15 second mark.......

HERE IS THE VIDEO