best runabout boat manuf? (loaded question, i know...)

my friend and i are going to the anaheim boat show this weekend, loan pre-approval in hand, ready to wheel-and-deal ourselves into a new boat, but first i was hoping to get some opinions on who to check out, and who to steer clear of. we've had two boats now, a sixties-something glastron, and an 89 bayliner capri, and neither was a plesant experience. the glastron was just old, and the bayliner was a piece of junk. but from what i read/hear, that was a lowpoint for bayliner and things are better now, so we're planning on checking them out. we were also planning on checking out crownline because of their top J&D power rating from last year, and just to see what a significantly more expensive boat will get us. these two seem to represent the two price extremes and we plan on checking out the major players in between, but i'd love to hear any opinions on which manuf. we shouldn't miss, and which ones we should shoot evil glares to as we run away. oh, and we're looking for a bowrider in the 17' to 18'. thanks so much, i've learned tons browsing this forum-

 

mastercraft are good little boats.they are available in bow rider.you dont have to get all of the ski crap on them if you dont want it.

 

Maybe get a C-Dory if you want a hardtop w/cuddy and a fair amount of deck space. Skip bowriders cause they can swamp easily (I would think.). Get a small cuddy like a Bayliner 192 or something of that nature (like a small sea ray!) Maybe even go for a 17' RIB, because they are very fast and comfortable in rough seas.

 

I wouldn't put too much stock in your experience with 20 and 30 year old boats! The brand names remain but the boats themselves change a lot from year to year in overall quality and spec.

Case in point -- we had a similar Bayliner 1950 a few years older than yours. It was a great boat for its intended use. It was as reliable as a Toyota, and the 4cyl Volvo 2.1 I/O was unbeliveably efficient. But the next year they switched to a similar OMC which by all accounts was a piece of crap. They cheaped out the windscreens and some other stuff, and the boats fell apart. Our boat was so good I'd be tempted to seek out a used one (20 years old) than buy new, even if cost were no object.

I guess the thing to do is ask people around local marinas about their boats, what they like and don't like, etc. One thing with boats though -- going from pretty good to excellent can cost 2-3 times as much.