What to buy

Hi All, Our family is just getting into boating and are looking for kind of an "all-purpose" boat that would get the kids out of the water quickly as they learn to ski and that would be good for hanging around in too. Everyone we know - including many who have never owned a boat - has an opinion. I'm hearing deck boat from some and pontoon from others. At the boat show they were really pushing the jet boats rather than the traditional prop boat. I like the safety issue there. I'm also interested in opinions on the hull shape. Any advice? Recommended manufacturrs? Thanks.

 

You are not the first...

We had an informative chat called "Bayliner 175 versus Glastron MX 175" on a forum that covered this topic pretty well--entry level boats, which I define as 10-15k (see the last link). There are several makes to choose from, this article rates 4 or 5 different manufacturers.

http://www.boatingmag.com/article.a...&article_id=219


http://forums.boatdesign.net/printthread.php?t=2819

 

Looking higher than entry level

Thanks for resommending the sites. The second article was helpful, but we are looking at, I think, a higher end boat. I'm hearing Larson, Chaparral, Crown Line and Ess Tide. Any opinions? Thanks, Karen