First boat suitable for tubing etc

[1airfix5]

I would be grateful for suggestions for a first family boat, (second hand) preferably with a cuddy cabin, which would be suitable for kids watersports, tubing, skiing etc The budget would be about 10k
It would be for lake use only.

Any boat recommendations for this type of activity on a lake?

What should I look for and what should I avoid. I believe some boat manufacturers have gone out of business, how would this affect re-sale, getting parts etc.

Also, what engine size would be required, and what type engine would be best option?.

Thanks for any help

 

[colingr]

Can't do better than a lovely Larson 180 SEi if you could find one.

Ooh look there's one for sale, some bloke called Jokerboat is flogging one.

 

[oGaryo]

I would be grateful for suggestions for a first family boat, (second hand) preferably with a cuddy cabin, which would be suitable for kids watersports, tubing, skiing etc The budget would be about 10k
It would be for lake use only.

Any boat recommendations for this type of activity on a lake?

What should I look for and what should I avoid. I believe some boat manufacturers have gone out of business, how would this affect re-sale, getting parts etc.

Also, what engine size would be required, and what type engine would be best option?.

Thanks for any help

Not that I have much experience in these things but it strikes me that it'd help further if you could advise how many are likely to be on board when you say family (2 adults + 2 kids?) bearing in mind there should be two adults on board for watersports.. also, how big is the lake you're thinking of? welcome to the forum btw

 

[colingr]

I can't think why you'd need a cuddy on a lake. It is additional weight and takes up sitting space.

A bowrider, 18 ft or so, petrol by preference. There is no advantage of deisel over petrol for lake use as you will be paying full pump prices for both and diesels are heavier and more expensive. (and in that size of boat pretty rare).

For lake use a 3ltr mercruiser would be more than enough unless you're intending to get serious about wakeboarding with more that one being towed.

Make wise it's really about what you like the look of and how the seating is arranged. The fact that a manufacturer if out of business shouldn't make too much difference. At that end of the market most have Mercuiser engines so servicing and parts is no problem. The hull etc should not be any problem.

Look for obvious damage along the keel where it may have taken knochs or been run up gravel / stoney beaches.

Don't go for anything toobig as you'll find it too much of a handful.

Small agile and nippy is what you want.

 

[gjgm]

go with something with a deeper V/deadrise. Although wizzing along in a straight line in a ringo is amusing for 3 seconds, you really need a bit of wake to swing them over.Something like a Regal at just about its planing speed with chuck out a nice entertaining wake for you.Just remember the person in the ringo has no control.. you have to be responsible here, or someone is going to get some nasty neck injuries.
I wouldnt go for a cuddy. If its friends and family on a smaller boat, there isnt much point in 40pct of it being unusable if its good weather, good seas, a few hours messing about you are after.

 

[jhr]

I'm inclined to agree that you don't need a cuddy from what you've told us so far. However, if you have your heart set on it, a Fletcher 19 would suit Sir nicely. It has a deeper Vee than many (Gavin's point above) and will likely have a Mercruiser 3 litre under the engine hatch. Nice little boat, and a fair few around to choose from.

 

[Nick_H]

Assuming it's a small lake, and not Loch Lomond, then I agree with others that a cuddy isn't really needed. I'm not sure deep V boats make bigger wakes, most professional wakeboard boats have fairly shallow V. There are lots of American boats, usually fitted with outboards or Mercruiser inboard petrol engines, that fit the bill, like Jokerboat's Larson, or some UK builders like Fletcher, usually (always?) with outboards.

If you want to do almost exclusively watersports then an old competition ski boat is a good bet, they are on shafts so hold the water better in turns. Look for names like Mastercraft, Ski Nautique, Malibu, Supra

 

[Ripster]

Monterey or Fletcher - both good boats for what you are looking for - also agree with others, perhaps a bowrider may suit your activities better.

 

[gjgm]

re wakes..they do, Nick,at lower speeds, I m sure. Once on the plane, I agree, no.
But a ringo works best when you slalom it about a good sized wake, and the flat bottomed boats dont kick up anything.
Look out the back of the Khamsin at about 14 knots! The horizon isnt in view !

 

[jimboooo]

hi mate , ill give my two peneth , find one with a fourstroke outboard !!!! , more reliable , less agro and loads quieter ....... downside is trying to find one !!!!! cuddy cabin is handy if you plan on sleeping on her now and again otherwise go for one without it . it will be cheaper to buy and easier to find , having now had inboard and outboard engines i would go outboard everytime on that size boat and if you talk to any marine engineers they will say the same !!!! well all the ones i have talked to have .

 

[stelican]

I would be grateful for suggestions for a first family boat, (second hand) preferably with a cuddy cabin, which would be suitable for kids watersports, tubing, skiing etc The budget would be about 10k
It would be for lake use only.

Any boat recommendations for this type of activity on a lake?

What should I look for and what should I avoid. I believe some boat manufacturers have gone out of business, how would this affect re-sale, getting parts etc.

Also, what engine size would be required, and what type engine would be best option?.

Thanks for any help

Look for a Regal 1800 this would be ideal as the boat has a hull designed to lift onto the plane at 15 knots and is also unbeatable for its size coastal and also resale. Been there dunnit!

 

[Nick_H]

re wakes..they do, Nick,at lower speeds, I m sure. Once on the plane, I agree, no.
But a ringo works best when you slalom it about a good sized wake, and the flat bottomed boats dont kick up anything.
Look out the back of the Khamsin at about 14 knots! The horizon isnt in view !

OK, see your point, but it would be pretty unpleasant for the driver having to cruise round just off the plane all day with the bow pointing at the sky and no visibility of where he's going! Maybe that's the reason that the competition wakeboard boats have flatish hulls, so they can stay on the plane at lower speeds, and they use boat weight to create big wakes, by having ballast tanks on board that fill with water. I certainly wouldn't want a deep V boat for the purposes the OP outlined, in fact the more I think about it, the more I think he should look for a ski boat.

 

[gjgm]

OK, see your point, but it would be pretty unpleasant for the driver having to cruise round just off the plane all day with the bow pointing at the sky and no visibility of where he's going! Maybe that's the reason that the competition wakeboard boats have flatish hulls, so they can stay on the plane at lower speeds, and they use boat weight to create big wakes, by having ballast tanks on board that fill with water. I certainly wouldn't want a deep V boat for the purposes the OP outlined, in fact the more I think about it, the more I think he should look for a ski boat.

Yea, but the comp boats are supposed to be out of the picture, arent they.. its just the skier.. the boat should have no influence.. hence the ballast tanks, and electronic speed controls etc. Every run is then the same for the skier.
The Regal is a good boat for it,(ringo/wake) as its 24 degrees, and on a smaller boat its not hard to find a balance between wake and speed.
I guess my point is that while you do see peoeple doing 30 knots with some poor sod on the back, its much more fun in the ringo when you are at the bottom of a trough and trying to climb out and over a wake thats feet above your head! You dont need much speed for that. just some sunshine

 

[Nick_H]

I'm not quite following you. I agree that you want big wakes to make the ringo more fun, and I agree that you want to drive relatively slowly, but I think a deep V boat would be unpleasant to drive at those speeds as it would be not quite planing, so v difficult to hold a constant speed, and no visibility out the front because the bow would be trying to climb over the bow wave. At 30 kts it would be fine, but as you say, you don't want to tow ringos at those speeds. The competition wakeboard boats are designed to make big clean wakes, but they achieve it by adding weight to a ski boat hull, and with flat hulls they still plane at lower speeds, so are comfortable to drive at the speeds that wakeboarders want, typically around 20 kts. I had a ski boat for 3 years, and we added two Fat Sacs (bags that hold water, almost a tonne in total), and the wake was huge, but the boat still ran level at slower speeds. That sounds the ideal to me.

There's really nothing to do on a small lake other than ski/wakeboard/ringo, you can't cruise anywhere, so I think a proper ski boat, designed for the job would be better.

 

[lovezoo]

Just a reminder that the OP is asking for "suggestions for a first family boat, (second hand) preferably with a cuddy cabin, which would be suitable for kids watersports, tubing, skiing etc The budget would be about 10k". He wants to do kids watersports and skiing, not out and out full-on watersports.

A few people on here (including me) have Fletcher 19GTS, which do everything the OP wants within his budget and which will be easy enough to sell on when he is ready to move on. We have ringoed, kneeboarded and skied behind ours, as well as fished off it, swam off it and generally lazed about.

IMHO a boat with a cuddy will always be more versatile than a bowrider. There is plenty of room to store things, somewhere to go to get changed and as a bonus mum and dad have somewhere to go for a nice lie down when the kids aren't around.

 

[DavidJ]

Like all things, nomatter what size boat you buy it's a compromise. If you want a family boat ie. something you can sleep in, do a bit of cooking in and go to the loo in and drag a tube behind for a bit of fun then our first boat, the Sealine 195 Attache fitted the bill for us.
If you are a bit more into watersports then the posters above have more experience than I.
Just picked one out at random on a google search for you to see:


http://www.boatbid.com/sealine_195_attache-boat-53534.html

hope this helps

 

[colingr]

But our kids love the bowrider layout. They sit right up the front and look forward to getting wet and having the feeling of speed that they get by sticking their heads over the bow.

I would prefer a cuddy for all the practical reasons so we're having a bit of a battle at the moment.

I suppose they could always hang over the front of the cuddy but the efnssafety brigade would probably tell me off!

 

[lovezoo]

Yeah, I kind of see a bowrider as a fun boat to go out, have a blast around with and come back in. A cuddy is more practical, but if you have easily bored kids you aren't going to be staying out all day on it. I have seen round here mum and dad dropping the kids off on the beach and then sunbathing on the boat all afternoon, along with a bit of ringoing. I suppose its boating after a fashion.

 

[colingr]

Its all about what you want out of boating. I suspect the OP would be happy with a small agile and speedy bowrider. Others want a tank of a 40+ footer to hold parties on. It's all boating and all fun for a given value of fun.

Personally I'd be happy with a mid 20 to 30 footer that's still small enough to explore the creeks and backwaters but also has the range to cruise the coast with the ability to overnight. I don't want a full kitchen, en-suite shower with gold taps etc. I can see the attraction though and love looking at such beasties. Apart from anything else I couldn't afford the fuel!

I can see me getting a bigger boat later on when the kids have moved on vut even then I can't see me going much bigger than 30 foot or so.

We had a nose over a lovely Trader 80 footer just before Christmas. Now that's lovely but I wouldn't want to own it.

Some people even like sailing I hear, but it might just be a rumour

 

[Nick_H]

Just a reminder that the OP is asking for "suggestions for a first family boat, (second hand) preferably with a cuddy cabin, which would be suitable for kids watersports, tubing, skiing etc The budget would be about 10k". He wants to do kids watersports and skiing, not out and out full-on watersports.

A comp ski boat isn't limited to professionals, it's the best option for any kind of towing, be it ringo, ski or wakeboard, of whatever standard. They have big open cockpits with lots of seating for the family, plane easily at a wide range of speeds, big bathing platforms to get in and out of the water, and low sides with excellent visibility, so safer for skiers when being picked up. As I said, what else can you do on a small lake but tow stuff? If you just whizz round in the boat you'd be bored in 15 minutes, and it's not like there's different places to visit. Why buy a boat designed for handling the conditions on large lakes or the sea, with all the compromises that entails, when you don't need any of those capabilties?

Lots of suitable boats here, for instance:

http://www.local.thesun.co.uk/vehicle/boat/-/make_correct_craft/