Thinking of buying a boat?

[TylerDurden]

Went to a boat show this weekend and saw some bow riders that the wife and I are interested in. we both like to wakeboard, and we also would like a boat thats just fun to cruise around in and dock at the local beach restruants every once and a while. I talked with a stingray salesmen for quite a while, asking random questions as I have never owned a boat before. The ones he showed us were cool and prices seemed reasonable enough. I looked online and found a couple reviews of stingrays including the 195LS that we were looking at and it appears they are a great buy...

anyone here own a stingray or have any more insight?

We also looked at wakeboarding boats, but they are $$$

 

[TurboJunky]

I can't give you any insight into Stingrays specifically sorry. But I've owned a boat for 6-7 years now and love it. I'd encourage you to check out all of the better brands before making a decision. Go to a dealer that has a wide selection of different brands of boats. If you're looking for an all around pleasure boat I'd recommend 18-19' open bow I/O with a fuel injected V-6. No need for a V-8 unless you plan on pulling 4-6 people at a time skiing. Personally I own a 4 Winns Horizon 180 and has been an EXCELLENT boat. Sea Ray, Four Winns, Wellcraft, Crownline, Donzi are all very good boats with the Donzi and Crownline on the higher end of the $ range.

Good luck!

 

[RICHIE HIGH PSI]

B--Break
O--Out
A--Another
T--Thousand$

I would only buy new with warranty!!

Parts are expensive.

 

[TurboJunky]

Originally posted by RICHIE HIGH PSI
B--Break
O--Out
A--Another
T--Thousand$

I would only buy new with warranty!!

Parts are expensive.

I can't say I've experienced this whatsoever. I bought my boat used in 1997 I beileve. It's a 1988 model, starts and runs like the day it was built and I use it a lot every summer. Granted I've had to tighten a screw here and there but that's no biggie. Put some 5% limo tint on all the windows last year and it's looking badass.

 

[azgn]

I have owned my share of "holes in the water into which one pours money", but do not buy new!

Most of the depreciation on boats happens in the first year or two and then they go down very slowly in value (if you take care of them)

Buy a quality 2-3 year old boat and you'll sell it a few years later for what you paid......

short of 1000's of hours on the engine, they last a very long time

 

[turbot2112]

boats are just like these buicks that were all here talking about. always dumping money into them. you got to really enjoy it. a lot of people that buy brand new boats, after a season or 2 dont barely use them. as far as stigrays go, they are descent boats. if your into ski boats like i am,{kneeboarding wakeboarding} supra is the top of the line and your gonna pay as im sure you already know. you could always look into a good low hour used 1. lots of them out there and there aint to much your gonna break on them . plus if you break the motor its a hell of a lot cheaper to repair, replace than a outboard motor,jmho.

 

[BobbyBuick]

I Agree I bought a 50K boat NEW for 15 K .Its 10 years old but only 290 hrs on it.Id go with a Cobalt,Crownline, or Searay in that order .Check out I just sold my searay on EBAY.It is a bunch of Family memories and you and the wife can Have alot of fun also.I added Captains call and some other things over the winter .cant wait to get out and spend the nite on it

 

[TurboJunky]

I guess I'm at a loss for all these problems people report. What are the problems you guys have run into? Like I said, I've had mine around 7 years now, use it regularly every summer and have had 0 problems. All the years I've owned it I can recall replacing the horn ($15), bought a few new props (not the boats fault), fixed some loose screws on the bow anchor cover and now I'm in the middle of sanding/re-striping it. Good'ole fibreglass is fading and chalking but not bad.

 

[Buick From Hell]

Tyler, check out http://www.boatingabc.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

it's a GREAT boating board, lots of friendly's, NO flame wars whatsoever, everyone's willing to help & shoot the sheet!

Just a random opinion--I'm on my 7th boat, 1988 SunRunner Ultra 252, this will be our 3rd season coming up with this boat...we paid $13,200 for it, and it's still worth about the same money! If you've never bought a boat before, I HIGHLY recommend picking up something used first. You'll figure out your actual needs, you won't have nearly the depreciation, allowing you to move up easily!

 

[RICHIE HIGH PSI]

Salt air/water kill everything.
I cant tell you how many people walk into the auto store every day looking for "cheaper" boat parts.
Maybe that is just in florida cause the boats are used all year around.

 

[gn85]

Originally posted by RICHIE HIGH PSI
Salt air/water kill everything.
I cant tell you how many people walk into the auto store every day looking for "cheaper" boat parts.
Maybe that is just in florida cause the boats are used all year around.

LOL... Yah, can I get a bilge pump for a 87 Buick Regal??

 

[turbobuickman]

Tyler,
Last year I went to a boatshow and bought a 190 LS. I looked at all the other brands and I must say I could not be happier with my choice. The only complaints I have are the lack of cleats on the sides of the boat and the lack of a back pad at the very front of the bow. The stingray boats are very very well made (everything else seemed very cheap) look much sleeker than any other boats, and are very comfortable. Look up some specs comparing different brands and the stingrays will always be 5-10 mph faster (61mph with the prop i have on it) than any similar sized boat with the same drivetrain AND get better gas mileage due to the "z-plane" hull. It also handles like its on a rail. Ive seen in magazines also that the 195 is basically an updated version of the 190 and has gotten rave reviews. I would strongly suggest the 4.3 mpi and 38 gallon tank. That V6 in that hull is faster than 90 percent of other brand V8s. It has plenty of power to pull two two-hundred pound slolum skiiers out of deep water at the same time with 4 other people in the boat!! Can't go wrong with stingray. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Kyle

 

[TurboJunky]

Anyone ever drop in a 3.8L Turbo V-6 into a boat? I wonder how that'd work???