Who owns them (Baja, Fountain, Donzi, etc)? Are they fun and worth the time and effort? I am looking at buying a used Baja 232. Thanks!
My brother in law has a 42 fountain race boat and a 48 fountain express cruiser. His world revolves around them. They are fun but are the biggest money pits ever. Then you must buy the gold medallions and bracelets that the powerboat guys wear! Just kidding, but Baja does make a nice boat.
It would be good to have a lot of experience with this type of boat, wouldn't it, before someone buys one? Of course you could just hire a driver
Ceratinly have to agree that they are moneypits but there is great fun to be had. Not much use on a coast that is heavily logged (here) as the surprises waiting in the water can really screw up your day. I knew someone who went over a deadhead and pulled 2 out of 3 legs right out of the transom. He went from grinin' to swimin' in about 2 seconds...bought himself a very slow sturdy boat after that. I had many close calls in a 27' with twin 454's and the 4' around deadhead that I went by at 65mph and glimpsed out of the corner of my eye is burned in mind and almost required a diaper. These boats are great on a sunny coast going flat out and getting airborne over a swell...rev limiters and short exhaust pipes are a great combination. Go for it and don't forget the platinum gas card...
I own a Donzi 22 Classic w/ 502 and it is a great rig. Although I have always been for of larger power boats like Lightning, Apache, and Fountain ... the 22 Donzi does it for me. It rides very well, it is fairly fast, and had great looks ... but the best part is it doesn't break the bank in fuel, slip rental, and maintenance. I have a few friends with offshore boats and they are huge money to own and maintain, not to mention depreciation and insurance. As far as I am concerned, the biggest down to having a boat is how time consuming they are to keep up and use ... either they are your life or you rarely get to use them. I have not been able to find a middle ground.
I happen to own a 232. It is a great little boat. It will handle a lot of the things the bigger boats will, but it is not quite as smooth over really big water. The bigger twin engine boats will run away from you in the rough, but it is almost neck and neck over smooth water. Mine runs about 70 with one passenger, which is plenty fast for most places. Only word of advice, go for a big block. The added torque and HP makes the boat a heck of a lot more flexible. I have the 496, which makes the boat almost maintenance free. Just add gas and go. It will cruise all day at 45-50mph, but you can kick it and really go at the drop of a hat...plus, the sound of 8.1 liters through straight open exhaust is addicting.
Brigitte, Any Experiences youd like to share, with this type of Boat? Wondering/Inquiring minds would like to know Chuck
We spend our summers on Lake Travis in Austin on our 30 ft Sea Ray cabin cruiser. I almost bought a sport boat instead but decided I would get alot more use out of a Cabin Cruiser. I mean I love driving sport boats especially in the ocean but they only do one thing and that's go fast. We stayon our boat, cook on it and inevitably the girls from the sport boats end up on ours because there is more room to move around. I do like em alot though.
The 232 I am looking at is a 97 with a 454. Currently they are askin 19900 OBO. How do these boats do stayin in the water? I currently live on the water and have a boat slip, yet no tow vehicle to use to trailer the boat to storage areas. Will the boat get totally junked up in the water like that over time? It is on the carolina coast, so it is brackish water. Also, how bad will deprecation be on a used boat like this? It retails new for something like 50Gs, and it is now under 20Gs. If I kept it for three years, would I lose much in the value of the boat? Thanks
Your going to need one with closed loop cooling for the engine absolutely destroys everything. You have to keep all the stainless steel polished. Every other week at least. Wash everything down after every use. If your good about upkeep it can stay nice. I believe all of the new motors have closed loop cooling. The bigger ones anyway.
Last summer after a few month search I purchaced a 38' Cigarette Top Gun sport boat and put over 100 hrs on her in a few short months. Including a week last fall in Florida for the boat races ,the ocean is a blast, big air. For us in the Chesapeak Bay we needed a larger boat for the heavy and choppy waters. The best bet in my opinion would be to access the type of waters you will be in, lake , bay or ocean and then go from there as to what boat in your price range will best fit that situation ,that's what we did and it's a real blast. I sailed as a kid for years and know the waters quite well ,however I had to be taught by boating friends how to saftly handle my rig, it's alot of fun but in the wrong hands is quite dangerous. Check out offshoreonly.com 1000s of boaters and tons of info! Good luck ! Image Unavailable, Please Login
No drives or rides with this one. I have a 35ft centercockpit Coronado and a 30ft Cal and a military issue inflatable and some others, newly acquired so this year, it was a deal i could not pass up! I love to jet ski and water ski and the last ski boat for me was a mariah that my boyfriends mom has in Arizona in Havasu, which btw I did free jump Copper Canyon that's what about 45ft jump, i have a pic I'll try to scan later. I competed in havasu for the mariah calender girl contest but came in second because the girl before me won 'cause her top came undone. BFN, Brigitte
Darn the hard luck, B.............sorry to hear! 19' here........kinda small for the Gulf, but I went out to see Christopher Columbus' fleet (repro) come in to Galveston Bay. Smashed the windshield off but the bilge pump handled it...... Lil' Bull was only three, he doesn't remember it....maybe that's best..... Cigarette just came out with a smaller model, but I think a used 36' will do nicely.........and a new parasail, mine's worn out.....
<snicker snicker> oh well.....that's the way the cookie crumbels? She was also seen with one of the judges that night at a club by me and my friends, so it pissed me off a little. (yes the 'cat fight' feeling blew thru my mind for a few but then we all just laughed the whole thing off. This was all about 4 years ago. Now I know, to just be the judge if you want to win! hehehe
yep, owned a parasail for years, great fun...until one day, in east Texas. One less lake front pine tree, one less parasail. The guy in it spun around that tree like a giant tetherball game........shorter and shorter and shorter the lines went .......SNAP! It's a good fishing spot now.......crappie, a few bass.........
I have a ski-race boat in England (Lake Windermere) but I think I'll have to change the name: it is named after the Japanese words for "Harbour Wave" "Tsunami"
Heres some more + a really nice yacht Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
