"FINISHLINE" BOAT FOR SALE

[Armed & Dangerous]

I have a beautiful 1996 V-drive, open bow, ski boat for sale! 20'2", 548 ci blower motor, 1100 +/- H.P. Seats 5 without anyone in the bow. New: Turbo 400, 3 speed trans., 21% gears & 3 blade steel prop by Tom Bentley. Custom made for this motor - "water jacketed" headers by Paul Bassett. Adjustable cavitation plates, all the gauges including $400 Gaffrig GPS. Custom billet swim step on transom. Much, much more. Asking $52,500. Email me for additional information at: sierawst@sbcglobal.net
(Everybody's) boat goes 100 mph so I'm not even going there! Thanks to all for looking! 1/21/06
Mike

[Highlimit9000]

I have a beautiful 1996 V-drive, open bow, ski boat for sale! 20'2", 548 ci blower motor, 1100 +/- H.P. Seats 5 without anyone in the bow. New: Turbo 400, 3 speed trans., 21% gears & 3 blade steel prop by Tom Bentley. Custom made for this motor - "water jacketed" headers by Paul Bassett. Adjustable cavitation plates, all the gauges including $400 Gaffrig GPS. Custom billet swim step on transom. Much, much more. Asking $59,500. Email me for additional information at: sierawst@sbcglobal.net
(Everybody's) boat goes 100 mph so I'm not even going there! Thanks to all for looking! 1/21/06
Mike
:rollside: That boat was at Needles last year or the year before wasnt it??? I have a cool pic, I will post it... :rollside:
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199Finishline.JPG

[Armed & Dangerous]

Thanks for the great picture!! We had a great time at Needles with everyone!!
Regards,
Mike

[superdave013]

what am I looking at here? does that swim step move with the cav plates?

[SGettmann]

what am I looking at here? does that swim step move with the cav plates?
Thats funny Superdave. Load the skier, then hit the override pedal to dump the skier. :)
Nice looking boat. Combination of performance and kiddy safe. I may have to someday do that. Then again, kids - keep you're feet out of the bildge, - don't be touch'in the prob shaft. Oh, and keep your limbs and body off the headers, they leave really nice cherries. Heck, I grew up around race boats and learned quickly not to touch the headers. My dad had lots of burns on his legs from reading plugs after hard runs. listening to him through the experience, I figured out real quick that it wasn't fun.

[superdave013]

well it looks like it has turn buckels going from the plates to the swim step to me. I'm not knocking it, just asking.
But yeah, hit the down and it drops the swim step. Maybe it was so Ol' George could go for a swim and be able to get back in the boat. :D

[Rexone]

My guess is the step is mounted very close to the top of the pillow blocks if not on them. You can see the end of the shaft under the step.

[Riverkid]

Where did they build?

[SGettmann]

Just looked at the rudder box on the trailer. That looks like a really tight fit. Any problems with dinging the prop when walking it on the trailer and have chop coming in and bouncing the boat on the trailer?
This happened to me this past summer just after having Gibbs rework my prop. A tiny knick, but what a pisser, considering that Gibbs had done some nice work on my Menkens.
Actually, that reminds me, I have three Menkens sitting on my book shelf that I need to send to him and have x-rayed and worked on. When I get my new motor back, it's time to test props with various pitches. :boxed:

[Highlimit9000]

what am I looking at here? does that swim step move with the cav plates?
Dave, I had the same set-up on the Continental. This is how it works. The pillow blocks are also a Swim Step Bracket with bearings in them. one unit.. See Pic Below...
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199Exhaust.JPG

[superdave013]

that's not the same set up I'm seeing. I've seen them like yours before. But I think I see 4 rods going from the cav plate up to the far edge of the swim step. Look at the outside plates. I see what looks like 5 turnbuckles on each plate. 3 look to be going to the control rod like normal. But what's up with the other 2? Am I the only one seeing this? Or to put it another way, am I freaking seeing things??

[weekendwarrior]

I have a beautiful 1996 V-drive, open bow, ski boat for sale! 20'2", 548 ci blower motor, 1100 +/- H.P. Seats 5 without anyone in the bow. New: Turbo 400, 3 speed trans., 21% gears & 3 blade steel prop by Tom Bentley. Custom made for this motor - "water jacketed" headers by Paul Bassett. Adjustable cavitation plates, all the gauges including $400 Gaffrig GPS. Custom billet swim step on transom. Much, much more. Asking $59,500. Email me for additional information at: sierawst@sbcglobal.net
(Everybody's) boat goes 100 mph so I'm not even going there! Thanks to all for looking! 1/21/06
Mike
$59,500 seems a little steep for that thing. I mean don't get me wrong it looks like a nice boat but what's a Finishline? Looks like it has a nice motor though.

[Armed & Dangerous]

SuperDave: The brackets are mounted to the control rod, no holes in the transom. The swimstep moves with the plate. When I trailer the boat, I bury the trailer to the top of the fenders & drive her on... almost self centering. George Shilala (Finishline Engineering) built the hull & rigged this boat in Lake Havasu. The motor was built by B&B Performance in Redding, CA. It dyno'd the first time at 1013 H.P. & with the second build we believe that we added somewhere between 80 & 130 H.P.. I take absolutely no credit for building any part of this boat, I just gathered the right group of guys who, unlike me, know what they are doing. The hull has a built-in ski locker, XM satellite radio w/CD player - I think around 750 watts with 12" Bandpass woofer - can't hear it anyway when the boat is running! The boat idles very nicely & runs on pump gas. I have taught a 3 & 5 year old how to ski behind this boat & a few wakeboarders. The boat is totally turn key & dialed in. It is set up to pull the family & friends around with 5 people in the boat. I had disc brakes put on the trailer with a new brake-away tongue. As I undertsand it, the hull had only been in the water a few times before I purchased it in late Oct. 2002. We put my motor in it before I took delivery. I have the dyno sheet, build sheet, & cam card along with lots of receipts. I am hoping that someone will like the "utility" that the boat has to offer along with the performance! Yeah, it's expensive... what isn't? You get what you pay for?? Thanks again for the questions & comments.

[weekendwarrior]

SuperDave: The brackets are mounted to the control rod, no holes in the transom. The swimstep moves with the plate. When I trailer the boat, I bury the trailer to the top of the fenders & drive her on... almost self centering. George Shilala (Finishline Engineering) built the hull & rigged this boat in Lake Havasu. The motor was built by B&B Performance in Redding, CA. It dyno'd the first time at 1013 H.P. & with the second build we believe that we added somewhere between 80 & 130 H.P.. I take absolutely no credit for building any part of this boat, I just gathered the right group of guys who, unlike me, know what they are doing. The hull has a built-in ski locker, XM satellite radio w/CD player - I think around 750 watts with 12" Bandpass woofer - can't hear it anyway when the boat is running! The boat idles very nicely & runs on pump gas. I have taught a 3 & 5 year old how to ski behind this boat & a few wakeboarders. The boat is totally turn key & dialed in. It is set up to pull the family & friends around with 5 people in the boat. I had disc brakes put on the trailer with a new brake-away tongue. As I undertsand it, the hull had only been in the water a few times before I purchased it in late Oct. 2002. We put my motor in it before I took delivery. I have the dyno sheet, build sheet, & cam card along with lots of receipts. I am hoping that someone will like the "utility" that the boat has to offer along with the performance! Yeah, it's expensive... what isn't? You get what you pay for?? Thanks again for the questions & comments.
Good luck, it just seems like a hard sell for that much when you have some really nice Shiada 21's in the boat trader for the same price. By the way, why are you selling it?

[Rattle Can Lou]

I have driven this boat and will verfy this thing is fast and comfortable. The install and equipment is top notch and there is nothing to apologize for. I can also tell you that the owner is anal about his stuff. "Polish this, and rub on that" this guy will drive you to drink. Is the price high??? Yeah the price is high. But you will be hard pressed to find anything this nice for a lower price. Just my two cents...RCL

[weekendwarrior]

I have driven this boat and will verfy this thing is fast and comfortable. The install and equipment is top notch and there is nothing to apologize for. I can also tell you that the owner is anal about his stuff. "Polish this, and rub on that" this guy will drive you to drink. Is the price high??? Yeah the price is high. But you will be hard pressed to find anything this nice for a lower price. Just my two cents...RCL
What hardware does it have? Does it have an inch and an eight propshaft? What safety features does it have. I mean who cares what he polishes and what he rubs on it. What does the boat have other than the engine. It doesn't look like it has nice cosmetic bling like a plastic shifter and a ten dollar foot throttle. Come on I'm trying to help you out here. Any body that will buy a used 60,000 dollar v-drive is going to care about that stuff. Oh ya, put some damn mufflers on that thing. That's a fat ticket waiting to happen.

[lucky]

Where did they build?
George builds them out of havi

[lucky]

$59,500 seems a little steep for that thing. I mean don't get me wrong it looks like a nice boat but what's a Finishline? Looks like it has a nice motor though.
Well that boat is set up !!!!! We all got to watch the build on v-drive .com George is a very knowlegable guy -- Mike said he was very impressed with the quality and craftmenship -- Hey mike -- did they ever finish that Miller ??? lmao (blown budget )

[Armed & Dangerous]

Lou: First, I would like to say thanks for the kind words! I think that anybody who knows George Shilala would agree that he is a very talented guy & builds a very respectable hull. I am 53 & have been boating since I was 5. I have owned a few boats in my time & this Finishline boat is as good (or better) as any I have owned. I'm not out to "dis" anybody's ride or say that mine is better than somebody else's. There are a lot of great manufacturer's out there & I think that there's room for everyone. I'm trying to sell my boat, not get into a pissing contest with anybody. My boat isn't the fastest on the lake but I can keep up with (most) of the other "ski boats" like the Malibu's & Ski Nautique's!
Weekend Warrior: It is very clear that you like Schiada boats, "bling", & you think my boat is overpriced. It also seems to me that my boat could have a diamond studded steering wheel (bling) & you still wouldn't care. That's okay too, I don't take it personally. You're entitled to your opinion just like everybody else. But, I do think that there is an ass for every seat, that is why there are so many different cars & boats. What works for me may not work for somebody else... one man's junk is another man's treasure! I have spent all the money I could afford to get what I have... Sorry, but I haven't had time to replace the $10 foot throttle. I was busy spending $10 Grand, totally rebuilding the motor & trans... the right way. Maybe you could throw a few bucks my way & help me out?? The headers exit deep in the water. So far, it hasn't been a problem & I have run pretty close to Johnny Law on more than one occasion. When the boat is idling & at low RPM's, you can talk to one another. Until I am told otherwise, or a ticket is issued there will be no mufflers... "loud boats save lives". The boat has 4 stringers, 8' motor rails, & a driveshaft safety cover. If somebody is truly interested, I will provide ALL the details as I specified in previous comments. The market will dictate what the boat is worth. If it is priced too high, then I will make the appropriate adjustment when the time is right. I'm just trying to recoup some of my hard earned dollars the same way anybody else would.
Blown Budget: As far as I know, Jim Miller never finished the hull he started for me. It's probably still buried in cobwebs, just as I last saw it... what a waste of time that was! I'm selling because my County job doesn't pay what it takes to own a boat of this caliber. I let the credit cards get out of hand & I need to get back on track. I do however, own this boat outright. So, I'm not going to "fire sale" it. If I can't get what I feel is a (reasonable) price for it... I'll keep it! There ya have it!!!

[monkey rage frank]

Armed and Danger I am a good friend of George's. I will have to say that he does awesome work and I wish I had the money or I would buy your boat. I wish you luck on selling your boat. If anyone is even thinking about buying this boat, you should go for it. I'm sure you would'nt be unhappy. :)

[Armed & Dangerous]

I lied (a little) about why I'm selling... the credit cards is one reason, a divorce is the other. Pressure is now being applied & that is why I have changed the asking price to $52,500. I'm in another $10 Grand over that but that doesn't have anything to do with market value. We all know how that works...
Once again, thanks for the kind words.
Mike

[bigkatboat]

"Dave" the swim step rides on the cross shaft and the extra turnbuckles. It's that way so IF you remove the step, there are NO EXTRA HOLES in the boat! To answer the question of "who's hardware?", The hardware and rigging was done by Finish Line at Finish Line. If you have ever seen any of our cavitation parts or controls, motor rails, mounts, struts, and rigging, you know who we are. If you don't??? You may not have heard of our "Finish Line Boats", we build 'only to customer order', and often I try to build a boat for myself and someone buys it before I get to try it. If you look us up in NADA bluebook for boats, you will notice that our listing begins in 1982. We were building boats before then, but were not asked to list with them until 1982. We build very few boats per year and each one is 'handcrafted by boaters', not 'woodscrewed together by "piecework" workers'. We are one of the first to use ALL STAINLESS FASTENERS (1969) and always thru bolted, with nylock nuts. In our past, we sold custom hardware and/or did custom rigging for many "big name" west coast builders, many of those boats are still being sold at 'high dollar prices', so many of you have purchased our work and didn't know it. If you have the time look up our resale values, you will notice that ours are as high as anyone in the book, in otherwords our boats are a great value for each dollar spent. In closing, I will say that on his first trip out with this boat to Needles 2004, Mike and Stanley Drake both drove it over 100 MPH. Those who saw it beat a number of other boats there will concur. How many of you drove over 100MPH in a cruiser 'right out of the box'? This boat, like all the boats we build, runs good before it leaves the shop. From the motor rail installation to the socket head screws that mount the fuel caps, it's how YOU would do your own boat, that's the only way we know. Thanks for reading!

[bigkatboat]

Mike, your pictures don't show the pearl fade in the gelcoat. I also think you need to show all of the motor rail install, polished trans, driveline cover, polished Casale, strut braces, rudder braces, steering. This boat won the "best in show" at Al Alcorn's Big River Party a few years ago. It's nice enough for 'the experts' to judge it "best". Mike show what the boat has hidden under the floors/ covers.