Boat on a Budget
 

So I'm in the market for a boat, but only have about $10,000 to spend. I'm not at a point where I am looking to progress my riding much (too many injuries) but more to get out on the water and do some easy riding. That being said, I still want to be able to have a semi-decent wake, but nothing huge.

I'm looking into this:

http://orlando.craigslist.org/bod/4989089086.html

I would obviously prefer a conventional wakeboard boat, but from what I'm seeing, prices go way down for I/O boats. And this boat is a lot newer and in better shape than an older natique with 1000 hours for the same price.

The only thing is, I don't have much experience riding behind an I/O. Can anyone give me a guess on how the wake will be/if this is a good idea or bad idea? I'm planning on test driving it before I buy, but the dealer says they would like a firm commitment before a test ride.

Thanks.

you're gonna lose your shirt on that boat. won't be worth **** in 3 years. will have a mushy wake to deal with until you decide to sell it..

BUT it will get you out on the water and enjoying the summer.

Older D-drive will put out a much better wake, you can add weight to it so that as you improve so can your wake. A boat with 1000 hours is like a car with 50,000 miles. Plenty of life left. and majority of depreciation is gone by the time an inboard is in this price range. you could literally beat the **** out and get your money out of it a few years later when/if you decide to upgrade.

Don't go I/O.

You should be able to get an older Supra, Sport Nautique, 205 DD for $10k.... that will be leaps and bounds better than almost any IO

Take a peak at this - http://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/4978216370.html

If it is/was salt free... this is the ticket. Enough money left over for an engine rebuilt if needed too.

Speaking from the experience of owning two of these and selling both of them you won't lose a dime on a Sea Ray 175 or 185 with the 4.3 in it. The 185 back then wasn't even a $20,000 in 1999 and they fetch $9 to 10K all day long in the Midwest. Its a good riding rough water boat, but from experience wakeboarding behind it don't expect much. Wake is mush, and pretty wide as well so If you are going to try to progress it won't allow for much and you will ultimately just be looking for a replacement sooner than later anyway. If you are coming off of injuries surfing is the logical next step and this boat won't do that or do it safely either. As mentioned there are some decent DD's that would work the Nautique 2001 being one of them. Or if you could find a few more dollars search for a Sanger V210 and its a great bang/buck v-drive that can be had at about $16 to $20k late 90's early 2000's.

Perfect. That boat should run great for another thousand hours.

Thanks for the quick input everyone. good info for sure.

good thing is that boats of this age is you may find one that has had some updating. Newish interior and carpet, sound system etc

The nautique linked above would be a great boat to start with

Firm commitment before a test ride? seems odd. With that said, wake of an I/O will not compare to inboard DD or V-dive.

I started with a I/O and a year later had it for sale so I could get something I could tweak to my liking. We ended up with a direct drive MB and it served us really well for two years till we could upgrade again. If I had it to do over I would have skipped the I/o stage.

Skip the IO stage. I did it and wasted a year of good riding.

id take the nautique every day of the week!

David, do not go I/O!

Deals are out there, you just gotta be ready to act fast and pull the trigger when you find them. Got this Supra for $10k

My boat had custom plumbed ballast, tower, stereo, fresh stringers/floor for that price. I spent another $1000 and put in Hydrophase ridesteady.

Oh, and definitely echo everyone else. DO NOT buy an I/O. Aside from the fact that most of them cannot produce a decent wake (I say most, I know there are a few proven exceptions that guys have posted pics on this site), the biggest drawback IMO is they are very hard to drive and maintain a consistent speed. They constantly want to come on and off plane and you have that extra variable of trimming the outdrive to manage.

I would buy any inboard over an I/O. Many boats in that budget range you gave will make a great wake. Look for Mastercraft ProStar 205s and Nautique sport hulls, and Malibu Sunsetter hulls. These were the predecessor hulls to some of the great classic wake boats. There is definitely more of a limit to what the direct drive versions will make in wake size (due to low freeboard and general space to put ballast) they will make a solid, well shaped wake, which IMO is more important than the size. It is generally very hard to get this in an I/O.

While my Supra is deeper and can more comfortably handle loads of ballast without swamping over (and I am able to hide a good bulk of it in storage and in the bilge), I will concede that there are better wake shapes out there such as the three I mentioned. Although I am very happy with my wake for what I spent, I just have to ride a shorter line that I'm used to (78ft) behind by buddies' big Tiges.

But like you, I was just looking for water time more than anything. I'd be happier skating or really any other activity behind a true inboard than trying to wakeboard behind an I/O. My family had a 19ft Crownline growing up, and I learned all the basic inverts and spins to 3s on that boat. Just super frustrating lack of constancy in wake and pull.

Get an early dd supra launch!!! Best wake for the money! It only gets bigger with more weight! Also 3500lbs of ballast and the surf wake is money!

Older Supra FTW! I went the I/O route thinking it would be a good all around boat, that lasted about 2 months and then I wanted an inboard. I picked up a 91 Supra Sunsport and have had it for 7+ years now and still love it!

$10k is plenty to get an inboard. SN2001 are about half that. Older Supra in the $5k-$10k range depending on model and open/closed bow. Occasionally SNOB or Sport Nautique pop up around $10k. Various other 19' closed bow ski boats that would be better than an I/O. The nice thing is most of the 80s through mid 90s inboards are pretty stable in price in that they've depreciated about as much as they're going to, so if you sell it in a few years to get something else it shouldn't cost you much. Check stringers if wood and consider cost to add perfect pass and a tower, but you can always do those later.

I just bought a 96 fuel injected inboard (DD) open bow for under 10k and it only had 243 hours on. They are out there....

No affiliation or knowledge of this boat and it really sounds too good to be true....composite floor/stringer '95 Sunsport for only $6k
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/5000452981.html

That Supra is nice. Agree don't waste your $ on an IO if you want to ride. You can get a nice DD boat with a tower for under $10k pretty easily.
And if you do get an IO, find one with at least a 305. A V6 will be a dog.

Something fishy about that SunSport. Composite boats are usually in the $10k-$13k range, maybe a bit less but $6k is very cheap. Maybe a scam. Maybe some damage not disclosed. If it has freeze damage and just needs a new engine it's still a bargain.

that sunsport seems to be a real deal. the guy got back to me and had an Action Water Sports signature. says it's pretty scratched up/faded which you can see from the pics, but i'm sure it's not anything that won't buff out. i bet they took it on a trade and just didn't want to put the money into it, and are unloading cheap because it's not listed on their site.