New Barnegat Bay Boater

[TommyB80]

Hello all, stumbled upon this site by Googling SeaRay forums and it seems to be awesome.

Wife and I will be in the market over the winter for a used SunDeck to use for pleasure cruising, tubing, hanging at Tices Shoal, visiting friends, whatever! Had my search narrowed down to a 240 Sundeck with the 5.0 Merc, Bravo 3 but after reading a thread on here I may need to find one a 240, 260 or 270 with a 5.7 or 6.2 to battle the bay and choppy water. We like a bow rider so I figure the SunDeck is a great slightly larger bowrider that the two of us and our 92lb dog will get to enjoy comfortably.

I'm not new to boating, have 8 years experience with my family's 2004 Hurricane FunDeck 218R with a 150hp Yamaha outboard, which was a great boat but man did you get beat up if the bay was rough.

Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Our budget is about $25k but can go up for the right boat. Thanks and I look forward to learning from you all!

 

[tony357]

you are going to want the 5.7 or larger. The hurricane is a light boat with shallow v reason for getting beat up. we are racing at barnegat public docks this weekend if your around. races start 12 noon.

 

[seasure1]

Just went through looking for a boat for the choppy Barnegat Bay. Liked the 240 sundeck but the 5.0 motor is too small. Long story short purchased a 2007 SeaRay 290 sundeck.
Wife loves it smooth ride she feels safe. Room for twelve. Something to look for later this year and over the winter.
Best of Luck

 

[Kelskat]

Take your time and make sure the boat you get is comfortable and suitable for your needs and for Barnegat Bay. You don't want to go too light where you end up not using it as often as you like due to sea conditions keeping you st the dock. Took me three years to find my last boat, but patience and research pays off. You want the Admiral to be happy and enjoy the boat. I'm sure from you mentioning getting beat up on the Bay that you could understand what I am saying.

 

[TommyB80]

Thank you for the replies. Luckily for us we're not in any rush for a boat this year so we'll start looking in the fall pretty serious. I think after reading this forum the 270 or even a 290 will be perfect for us. More boat, more power, and most importantly, happy wife!

 

[TommyB80]

you are going to want the 5.7 or larger. The hurricane is a light boat with shallow v reason for getting beat up. we are racing at barnegat public docks this weekend if your around. races start 12 noon.

Wish I was but have a wedding to go to up north. Thanks for the invite though!