One thing I haven't seen mentioned is resale. When your friend is ready to trade up from entry level (everybody does and we all know it) he should consider what his boat will be worth.
My experience says stay away from Bayliner, Tahoe, and other cheapies. Research your area for what seems to be the popular models with available, reliable service outlets.
I presently own an '05 Chaparral and '00 Monterey. Both east coast boats that are popular here in GA.
Chaparral, Cobalt, Four Winns, Sea Ray, and Crownline all hold good value and high levels of fit/finish.
I personally recommend a new boater to buy used. Get an experienced boater to help research and find a clean, maintained entry level boat to start with. Buying new means you will often lose big money if selling within first couple years. Used offers a chance to get the feel and see what type boat is best for you and when it's time to sell, you can recover the most from a financial point.
A point to stress to your friend, "It doesn't matter how much you pay initially if you don't spend the money to maintain your purchase. Clean used boats don't happen on their own." Make sure he realizes the cost of ownership.
When the Bass Pro Shop opened in Vegas of course we had to go. We were checking out the boats. Buddy of mine was interested in the deck boats. Real attractive price. Well we go to to looking and were pretty shocked at what we found. The hull to deck joint in the front of the boat had a gap of about 1 1/2 inches. Was all filled in with silicone and the screws were pulling loose. I can understand entry level, but come on. That was an accident waiting to happen.
2 Years ago I bought a Tahoe. I had looked at every boat out there but I had to stay at a certain price. Tahoe Dealers sell every boat at the same cost or pretty close. Where you get a break is by making them throw in things like the cover and hour guage. Tahoe is the cheapest deck boat out there. The fit and finish does show. And yes you have to take out the seat pads to travel, they have nothing to hold them in. I've added pop in connectors from RV cupboard doors to all my seats. The sales guy at Cowboys RV in Havasu was great and easy to work with. The service guys are not so good. But the dealer made things better when they delivered it back to Riverside because the service took longer the it should. They did say that Tahoe manufacturing is tought o get parts from so make sure the boat is complete before taking delivery. It took 5 months to get the bow filler I ordered with the boat.
Now with all that said. It was all I could afford and I love the storage, the seating is just what I wanted. I have had it up to 62mph on the GPS and have pulled 2 wakeboarders up (200+ lbs each) with 8 others in the boat. They put them on a great trailer (retractable safety cables, reverse brake cut-off, I added LED lights). So if you don't mind dooing a little work to the fit and finish its not a bad boat.
I hope to upgrade it in the next couple years to a 28' cat. First I have to find one with a large open bow. I usually have 4-5 up in the front of mine now.
Tahoe 204, 5.7 liter, PhatBuddy Tower with custom Kneeboard Racks on top, Every option (-deep well) $30,500 cash
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...ersideview.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...C00076-med.JPG
The only thing worse about the boat was the customer service at anglers marine..who sold the boat...
Yep......I agree.
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