bellas@ttidcb.UUCP (Pete Bellas) (05/28/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH A 48 FOOT FORMULA ***
I wish to thank all the people who sent me their views, reviews and
post mortems on power boats. I am posting a summary of all the advice
and preferances I recieved. Many of the letters where of the form
"I have a XXXX but when/if I buy another one I will get a YYYY", so
that advise is also taken into account here.
Here goes.
How big?
The boats netters owned ranged from 15' up to 21'. Most of the owners
of the smaller (15 & 16) boats said they would get bigger ones next
time.
*Consensus 18-19 feet
Hull design.
This was almost unanimous for the deep V. One netter had a shalow V
which was good on smaller calmer lakes. Almost as popular was the
"bow-rider" design (there were two votes for "center console") as it
allowed more room to move around.
*Consensus Deep V - Bowrider
Engine.
Here there was no agreement at all. It split about 50/50 between
inboard and outboard. The inboards ranged in size from 4 bangers to
400 cid+ V8's and the outboards ranged from 40hp to 175hp. There
were good arguments for each. Inboards are easier to work on yourself
(as most are modified automotive engines as opposed to outboards which
one netter compared to a huge chainsaw) but take up valuable space
inside the boat (very important on a 15 footer).
*Concensus None
Drive.
Most recomended the in-and-out drive for inboards. Points made were
V-drives are very efficient straight line but don't manuver well,
jets are great for low water clearence but use a lot of gas.
*Consensus In-and-Out Drive
Brand.
Pick one. No two people had the same brand. Most cautioned that
some brands were very expensive because of the "name".
Notes:
Some people said their choices were dictated by what they had to tow
with (not a problem for my 454). A small aluminum boat with an
outboard was a good choice if you need to tow with a small car.
If you intend to use the boat in the ocean it was recommended
that you stick to the larger ones with a heavy-duty hull as the
ocean deals out quite a pounding.
Any info you care to send me will still be greatly appreciated.
-Thanks- -Pete-
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