any beyond boat expert?

[dmtx]

Buddy of mine is considering a powerboat. A 2004 Bayliner 185. Both of us really know nothing about boats and he's bit pressed for time to decide.

Any expert or anyone here who can give some inputs regarding what to look at when buying a used boat?

Is there some sort of machanic or boat expert that we can contact to have a look at the boat?

He's also wondering if he has to send the boat for maintenance, or is that something that could be done like do-it-yourself change oil with your own car?

It's just we know nothing about boats and would really appreciate if any beyonder would be able to give some inputs for totally boat noobs.

Thanks in advance!

[Benny]

I'm not a huge help because our boat is out on the west coast where there's a billion other boats/boat shops, but there's definitely bound to be a marine mechanic somewhere who will take a look for you. Boat maintenance is a real piss off, so you should probably get someone else to do it for you. Definitely remember to get your boat properly winterized and stored through the cold months as this is Calgary and that shit needs to be done. Don't buy the boat without test driving it first if at all possible, there's only so much you can know about it without giving it a rip.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Bayliners used to be good boats and then they moved their production to mexico and now their boats are bare-bones and very average but the price is low. I am not sure what year they moved their production to mexico but I'm pretty sure it was before 2004. You can buy a brand new one now for well under $20,000 I believe. If all your friend cares about is having a boat, bayliners will do the trick.

Better brands of "run about" boats, in my opinion, are:

Maxum
Larson
Sea Ray
Blue Water
Crownline
Malibu
Four Winns

Also I don't know what your friends max budget it, but the "wakeboarding" style boats are a huge step up from "run about" boats and you should be able to find a good used one. They haven't changed THAT much. They handle like a seadoo, they plane out IMMEDIATELY after hitting the gas, they have huge HP, and they stay level when turning. Also, you can load a ton of people into them and there is loads of room. You can drive them in 2ft of water, you don't get the smell of exhaust as it's all underwater, and you can have a very uneven load in the boat and it is still level. The only thing they do not excell at is straight line speed. If possible I would really try get into one of these. Some of the cheaper brands of these boats are:

moomba
centurion
supreme

The better brands of these boats are:

mastercraft
malibu
tige
supra
nautique


We have a Malibu Wakesetter 23LSV and easily do all the non-warranty maitenence/winterization ourselves. We haven't had a single problem with it other than regular maitenence. When we were shopping, this was clearly the best offering from any of the manufactuers for our needs. Forums are your friend. Boats are actually quite simple despite what you pay for them.

What's the rush? Boating season is pretty much over.

[dmtx]

Thanks guys for the info

Mitsu3000gt, My friend is considering the 2004 185 bayliner with 160hp Mercruiser V6 engine. The asking price is $14,000. He's a bit in a hurry to decide because another person is also considering the same boat. Do you think the price is fair? or he can wait a bit more? Do you have some price in mind for that boat? We looked at it and it looks really mint (at least to my very limited knowledge with boat).

Which forums do you suggest to check too for powerboats?

[Mitsu3000gt]

I don't know enough about bayliners in specific to tell you to buy or not buy that boat, but that price seems to be reasonably close to what some other ones are selling for. That said, the MSRP in 2004 for that boat is only $11,995 USD, and that is likely with the base 135hp engine and such. Go on canada trader and look at boats and see what else is available for that price. Also a quick alberta based boat trader search shows four 2006 bayliner 175's (I know not the exact same boat) for sale all around $15,000. Call the bayliner dealer in the city and ask what they think? Ask the calgary dealer what that boat sold for new as well.

It's never good to make a decision this quickly if your friend knows nothing about boats. My advice is to take some time to research exactly what he wants and buy one before next summer as he can't use it until then anyways. Can his vehicle tow it?

I don't know the names of any general boat forums as we only frequent the malibu specific forums. I'm sure other ones aren't hard to find.

Here is a detailed review of the boat, although it came off of bayliner's website so take it for what it's worth: http://www.boattest.com/oem/detailed...54&from_gi=yes

Everything else I read is consistent with what I know about the company already - cheaply made, average boats made for a non-serious boating family looking for some occasional fun. This boat will provide you with that.

EDIT: Test drive the boat before you buy it. The boats we were looking at, anyways, were VERY different from each other and some much better than others. You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive and boats are no different.

[dr_jared88]

seems like a fairly average price. I wouldnt be in a huge rush to go out an buy it just to beat someone else to it. make sure he takes his time and makes sure its the boat he wants. Mechanically is important, but not just that but convenience. Such as storage. For example if he has a bunch of kids, then there will most likely be lots of towels and life jackets, so appropriate storage would be a thing he might want to make sure it has

[dmtx]

Thanks guys,

I can probably slow him down a bit. I was thinking of splitting up the bill with him but I guess we have to wait.

Anything else we need to look at getting the boat?

[snowboard]

dude you will like the boat for 2 weeks, and then hate it. bayliners and run abouts get lame super quick. v6 models are dissapointing. you wont notice there limitations at first, but you will fairly soon. get something direct drive or v-drive with a v-8, the extra cash is worth it in the long run for sure. plus those things are small. you cant fit that many friends on board.

plus the prop sticks out on inboard out boards, and that scares me personally hahaha...

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by snowboard
dude you will like the boat for 2 weeks, and then hate it. bayliners and run abouts get lame super quick. v6 models are dissapointing. you wont notice there limitations at first, but you will fairly soon. get something direct drive or v-drive with a v-8, the extra cash is worth it in the long run for sure. plus those things are small. you cant fit that many friends on board.

plus the prop sticks out on inboard out boards, and that scares me personally hahaha...

In a true inboard the prop is about 3/4 way down the underside of a boat and does not stick out. An outboard boat and an inboard/outboard boats prop sticks out beyond the back.

Also, if you've never owned a boat before (talking to the OP now) plan to replace a couple props as you will likely hit them on the lake bed if you are not used to the whole boating experience yet. Again, having a true inboard boat will help with this problem too as they can drive in such shallow water and are way easier to get on a trailer as you just drive them on.

V-drive is used on the wakeboard specific boats, and the motor is actually behind the prop, making for a way better interior layout, and more weight in the back for making a huge wake. The waterski specific boats of the same style have the engine in the middle of the boat and are designed to make almost no wake at all at waterskiing speeds. Those are the extremes, as there is plenty available inbetween as well.

[R-Audi]

Guys.. chances are if they are looking at a bayliner... a V-Drive or direct drive wont even be in question.

I worked and rode (wakeboard) for Mobius Marine for a number of Summers, and as most people here have said, get the boat checked out by the local dealer.. and get a test drive. Im sure the Bayliner is qute nice...but take your time and look around.

Most used boats will come up for sale in the Spring, and your options will be way better. Not to mention, who wants to buy a boat to have it sit around all winter?

You might also want to take a look at Chapperal (sp.) They are sold at Mobius and have great support and more then likely be able to tell you the boats history and sevice records.

[dmtx]

Okay, now I'm getting that the Bayliner is not even a good choice... Glad to have opened a thread first.

Being a total noob sucks because I don't even know what question to ask!

We are looking at a boat primarily because we spend a lot of our vacation somewhere near the lakes both AB and BC. Most of the use of the boat for now is going aroudn the lakes. Wakeboarding should be fun too so it would be nice to consider that part too. The limiter probably with this boat buying thing is the budget, $14000 give or take. I thought that people usually would sell their boats at a lower price at this time of the year rather than spring when more boat buyers are out. But like what
Mitsu3000gt had suggested, there are more options in spring than now too.....

[dmtx]

You might also want to take a look at Chapperal (sp.) They are sold at Mobius and have great support and more then likely be able to tell you the boats history and sevice records. [/B]

I will check with Mobious. Glad you mentioned them. I'm also looking for referrals etc as to which dealers in town are good to deal with.

[Mitsu3000gt]

We bought our boat from Wizard Lake Marine near Edmonton and have nothing but good to say about them.

If you could raise your budget to around $20,000 your option sure do open up. I was looking and there is a 2000 Moomba 20' wakeboard boat for $21,500. Even these "cheaper" wakeboard boats are a night and day difference than a run-about boat and about 5 times the boat that bayliner is. Brand new that boat was approximately $45-50k making it one of the more "value" wakeboard boats.

[krisopotamus]

Tell him to check out this boat: 1998 Four Winns Horizon 16.5ft w/ 190 hp volvo penta

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/boa/401337255.html

I have that exact same boat, we bought it used off our uncle. We have never really had a problem with it other than the thermostat getting jammed which was an easy find/fix.

We do all the maintenence ourselves and winterize it ourselves. Well my dad does, and he is by no means a mechanic.

Great boat, lots of power, sounds pretty nice too

[Mitsu3000gt]

16.5" is a pretty small boat for more than 4-5 people or so. If the OP is sharing the boat, and will have 2 families in it, that is probably a no-go. Very nice boat though, four winns makes excellent stuff.

[dmtx]

another question, so what's a good size for us? 18? 20?

[dmtx]

Originally posted by krisopotamus
Tell him to check out this boat: 1998 Four Winns Horizon 16.5ft w/ 190 hp volvo penta

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/boa/401337255.html

I have that exact same boat, we bought it used off our uncle. We have never really had a problem with it other than the thermostat getting jammed which was an easy find/fix.

We do all the maintenence ourselves and winterize it ourselves. Well my dad does, and he is by no means a mechanic.

Great boat, lots of power, sounds pretty nice too

woww, that's a nice looking boat... looks like it has a lot of stuff included... how many people or what's the capacity for it? BTW, is that your boat?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by dmtx
another question, so what's a good size for us? 18? 20?

How many people do you want to have with you and what are their ages/sizes? Towing adults vs. kids is a massive difference as well.

For 2 families a 16.5ft is way too small in my opinion. You don't just have to carry the people, but a cooler of food, towles, life jackets, all your stuff, etc. etc.

[dmtx]

I'd say around 6 adults and 3-4 kids..... would 18ft boat be a fair size?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by dmtx
I'd say around 6 adults and 3-4 kids..... would 18ft boat be a fair size?

I wouldn't even consider a boat any smaller than 18+ft or so with that many people. I don't know how big the kids are - if their all super young it won't be much of an issue but if their getting older then with 10 people I think you will find yourself needing to upgrade to a bigger boat again very shortly. Crowded boats are no fun either. Wakeboard boats, however, EASILY take 10 full adults. Also please note I always refer to that style of boat as a "wakeboard boat" however they also do EVERYTHING better than a regular run-about boat in all aspects except all out speed. Also when judging capacity, someone being towed behind the boat should also be counted.

What are you expecting to get out of this boat? How big are the kids? Do you want to pull 3 tubes at a time or is there going to only ever be a single 6yr old riding behind the boat all the time? What tow vehicle do you have? Are you willing to upgrade your tow vehicle if thats what it takes to get into an appropriate sized boat? Do you have a place for it all summer and a place to store it in the winter? It really comes down to what you want to get out of the boat. With some more specifics I can help you out some more.

Here are some crappy pics of our boat, it is 23' and you can get an idea of how nicely the seating arrangements cater to large amounts of people. It quite easily carries 10-12 adults + a cooler and all everyone's stuff. A 20-23ft boat like this will be very similar in size/capacity and easily meet your needs even as the families grow. This boat can easily tow 10 water skiiers or 8 tubers. A used boat like the moomba I suggested eariler for around 20,000 would be an excellent choice for what you are looking for and only a bit above your price range, but you get SO much more than a run-about boat.