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OT: Bowrider Boat Buying Advice

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Chin Diesel

Chin Diesel

I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going
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What the heck. It's almost spring and it's time for an upgrade for a boat.

I'm down to a Monterey 224fsx or Chapparal H2O 21'.

They're comparably priced and equipped. Both have wakeboard towers, seating for 8-9 and similar features. Biggest difference is the Monterey has a 5.0L 300HP engine and the Chapparal comes standard with a 4.3L 220HP engine but I'll probably get the optional 4.5L 260 HP.

Boat gets used in marine environments and is mostly a weekend fun runabout. Lots of wakeboarding, water skiing and other activities.

I currently own an 18' Monterey and we've outgrown it. Any opinions on these boats?
 
All you really need to know about motorboating....
 
A guy at my previous marina bought a new Chap from A&S. He was pretty constant in his complaining about it. I do not remember specifics other than one day the auto bilge pumped engine oil that had somehow escaped the motor into the marina. Wasn't the auto bilge fault, but something catastrophic happened for the engine to drain the oil.
 
I've been out of boating but was very invested in it until 3 years ago. Chapparal has had it's issues over the years but always made a good looking product. 3 years ago, I'd have suggested the Monterey but now, I don't know. If you have a Monterey now, how has it held up? If you're happy with it, you'll probably be happy with a new one. All the current power plants are rock solid so just make sure you've got adequate power to meet your needs.

More important than anything is the dealer. A lousy dealer can make the purchase of even the finest boat a nightmare so make sure you are satisfied that the dealer is top notch. Invariably, new boat issues are caused by shoddy make ready. Most dealers don't come close to doing it properly.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely getting a boat with the most stainless steel cupholders.

Anyone ever use deck boats for water sports? I'm looking a Chaparral 234 Sunesta deck with a 350 Mag and a Bravo 2 prop.
 
Deck boats tend to be pretty pricy.

I had a Cobalt bow-rider some years ago and liked it quite a bit. It was wickedly overbuilt and a heck of a boat.

But, if you're tired of screwing around and believe that you need to step up to something bigger, say 37', please know that I have just the boat for you.

It has so many cupholders.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely getting a boat with the most stainless steel cupholders.

Anyone ever use deck boats for water sports? I'm looking a Chaparral 234 Sunesta deck with a 350 Mag and a Bravo 2 prop.
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That 350 Mag and Bravo prop will pull you up real fast, but the deck-boat hull is going to give you a wide wake. Even so, you should still be able to have an awesome time. Also try and look for a boat with a perfect pass system, once you've used it, you'll never want to ski/board without it.
 
StingLykOllie said:
That 350 Mag and Bravo prop will pull you up real fast, but the deck-boat hull is going to give you a wide wake. Even so, you should still be able to have an awesome time. Also try and look for a boat with a perfect pass system, once you've used it, you'll never want to ski/board without it.
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Thanks. I tested a couple of boats with various speed controls and I'm not a big fan. I actually enjoy having to adjust throttles, steering, etc (Plus it gives me an excuse to ignore anyone else in the boat while I'm "concentrating" at being a better helmsman).
 
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Fishy said:
Deck boats tend to be pretty pricy.

I had a Cobalt bow-rider some years ago and liked it quite a bit. It was wickedly overbuilt and a heck of a boat.

But, if you're tired of screwing around and believe that you need to step up to something bigger, say 37', please know that I have just the boat for you.

It has so many cupholders.
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They can get pricey but I've found a one-owner used boat that looks spotless. I love living near the salt water, love the beaches and the open seas, but when it comes to buying, selling and maintaining a boat, I envy fresh water boaters.
 
I live in Cincinnati and used boat prices here are outrageous. I've always toyed with the idea of bringing salt water boats here to sell them.
 
Uconnrick said:
I live in Cincinnati and used boat prices here are outrageous. I've always toyed with the idea of bringing salt water boats here to sell them.
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Here in the panhandle of Florida there's are tons of used boats that come down from Georgia where they were used on rivers, lakes and reservoirs. If you are selling a boat and you can show one owner and it being titled in an inland area, you can add about 10% on to the price. To me it's worth it. Salt water kills upholstery, metal and everything else on a boat.
 
About 5 years ago I was wandering a river marina in Ohio and came across an 84 Well craft Nova XL. A duplicate to one I bought new for 18,000. They were asking 17,500 and the salesman was ure they would get close to the number for it. Just insane.
 
Chin Diesel said:
What the heck. It's almost spring and it's time for an upgrade for a boat.

I'm down to a Monterey 224fsx or Chapparal H2O 21'.

They're comparably priced and equipped. Both have wakeboard towers, seating for 8-9 and similar features. Biggest difference is the Monterey has a 5.0L 300HP engine and the Chapparal comes standard with a 4.3L 220HP engine but I'll probably get the optional 4.5L 260 HP.

Boat gets used in marine environments and is mostly a weekend fun runabout. Lots of wakeboarding, water skiing and other activities.

I currently own an 18' Monterey and we've outgrown it. Any opinions on these boats?
Expand ...
Get the biggest boat you can afford. We went from a 17 to a 21 and now have a 24 foot Four Winn's. The bigger boat is so much more, performance, comfort and usability. Bigger is better.
 
Drumguy said:
Get the biggest boat you can afford. We went from a 17 to a 21 and now have a 24 foot Four Winn's. The bigger boat is so much more, performance, comfort and usability. Bigger is better.
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Agree. Looking like it's going to be the Chaparral 234 Sunesta. I'll strip it down for wate sports with the kids now. It has the wakeboard tower on it. Once they move out, the dining table and snap-in moves back in.
 
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Reading Temery's thread about car buying got me thinking it was time to close out this thread. I ended up getting a Chaparral 236ssi with a Volvo 5.7 Penta duoprop.

It's a 2005 which is way older than I thought I would take ( I was thinking 2009-21012) but it was in perfect condition in terms of mechanical and upholstery.

Going this route saved me $15k-$20K. I realize I'll have some maintenance costs sooner than later, but I'll still end up ahead. A fiberglass hull doesn't deteriorate.

To mitigate the older boat I ended up getting a new MagicTilt aluminum trailer with surge brakes and had a new wakeboard tower installed on it.

I'm having some graphics made up for the boat's name: "Livin' Life".

I had the bimini top taken off and the wakeboard tower installed with a bimini that fits underneath the attachment and light.

Boat Picture 3.jpg
 
Nice boat with a great engine! In boat years, 10 years isn't all that old. If you have reasonably good luck I don't think you will be running into any major repairs if the original owners took good care of it as you indicated they did. That would be the perfect boat for Tahoe!!! Ive been thinking of upgrading from the 20ft Four Winns Horizon I bought back in 1998 but it's still in awesome shape and meets all of my needs, other than being a little smaller than i would like.

How many hours on the engine?
 
CAHUSKY said:
Nice boat with a great engine! In boat years, 10 years isn't all that old. If you have reasonably good luck I don't think you will be running into any major repairs if the original owners took good care of it as you indicated they did. That would be the perfect boat for Tahoe!!! Ive been thinking of upgrading from the 20ft Four Winns Horizon I bought back in 1998 but it's still in awesome shape and meets all of my needs, other than being a little smaller than i would like.

How many hours on the engine?
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Engine has 312 hours so I know I'm a year or two away from a $2K+ bill for manifold risers and other upkeep. That was the trade off of saving money on the initial buy.

Tahoe would be great. I was doing a bit over 50 mph in an inland bay during the sea trial. Even fully loaded with people and gear it'll go between 45-50 mph.
 
I had a great Regal 2565 that one of you should of bought last winter before I dropped the price to offload it.
 
Get a pontoon and let all the girls know at the local strip joint you're throwing a party on it and take pictures for the BY. Got it Chin?
 
id suggest a boat show ..they are entertaining and probably the best way to get the right boat.
 
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mauconnfan said:
Get a pontoon and let all the girls know at the local strip joint you're throwing a party on it and take pictures for the BY. Got it Chin?
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I don't need a pontoon to pull that off.
 
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