Marine Forum

choosing right boat/motor for family fun

Anonymous user

24 May 2009 01:04:59

Joined: Unknown | Posts: Unknown

Hello everyone, first time poster...

We are looking to upgrade our 12' aluminum/8hp to more of a family fun boat boat and I have several questions as I start to look at used boats. I would appreciate anyone being able to direct me in the right direction for answers as well.

Seems to be several Bayliner boats in the 17-19 foot range, mostly inboards, 3-5 litre engines, V4-V8's. Probably have to go early 1990's for our price range.

1) What size engine is needed to handle water skiers on a ~18' boat? Pulling an adult with 2-3 onboard.

2)Is there a huge difference on fuel ecomony for these various engines or are they similar?

2)What are the advantages/disadvantages to an outboard versus inboard? Power? Maintenance costs? Reliability?

3)How many hours on a motor is considered high? Some boats for sale say 100hrs, others 300hrs?

3a) Are certain maintence jobs expected to be done after a certain number of hours? Which are the big ticket jobs and at approximately how many hours?

4)Alot of the boat photos don't show any raised ski bar in the back? Can a boat be retro-fit for these? Are they needed or can the rope simply come off the back of the boat?

5) Cooling systems - some ads say a closed system, are all inboard engines a closed system? Are all outboards using the water the boat is in to cool the engine? This boat will definitely see weekend saltwater use and I would want to minimize the effects of the saltwater on the engine and its components.

My apologies for the lengthy post, my learning curve is nearly straight up. Any advise is very much appreciated.

Ken