pepeborja
New Member
Hello, new to boating here. My previous experience boils down to 2 old Jet Skis I got on Ebay for less than $1500 each and a trailer. Kept them for several years and did all the maintenance. myself. I also rented a pontoon boat twice. I am familiar a little bit on what the wheel and throttle stick does as well as operating a trailer and launching Jet Skis. I am comfortable towing a trailer with my Tundra 5.8L.
I am looking to get into boating and drawing form my pilot's experience on how to go about this. Take a look and tell me where I am going wrong or what I may be missing.
To start I am reading the books and getting my safety boating certificate. Good info to have.
My plan is to spend $10K on an 18~20 foot Sea Ray (is there any other?) boat and operate it on the Delaware river about 20 miles north of Philly (Neshaminy?).
The objective is to get familiar with boating procedures, launching, recovery, docking, cruising, navigation, safety, upkeep, maintenance, cleaning, and overall skippering.
Secondary objectives are to see just how I and the GF (Admiral you guys call them) take to the activity. Also to meet other boating folks and to reckon marinas and establish relationships for possible seasonal slip usage rather than trailering.
The crew would be me and the GF, Her 2 kids may join us too.
At the end of the season we would assess (or earlier if the proverbial hits the fan) our experiences and decide on the next step. We would either sell it or go to a bigger 24~28 foot Deck Boat with a head to be kept on the water during the season. We would like to have space to entertain bigger groups and share on the boating experience.
I am trying to stay within the 10K budget to ensure I do not buy anything more than what we need to try boating this year. If I have an epic fail I should be able to recover most of the money (provided the mechanicals are in good order) .
I am limiting my search to Sea Ray boats that have a service history, preferably with the same shop. No service records = no go. Better safe that sorry unless it is a private seller with demonstrable anal retentive maintenance skills.
The boat I picked is a 1998 Sea Ray 190 BR with the 5.0L. Has a good service history and I figured that's about right for this test.
I also have an aye on a newer 185 BR with the 3 litter engine and low hours.
Since I do not plan on doing any heavy sport activities the smaller boat with the 3.0 engine may be enough for a 1 year deal provided I can get it for a cheap price given how undesirable the 3 liters are.
Am I all wet or do I have a sound plan? Now is the time for some reality checks so all input is welcome.
I am looking to get into boating and drawing form my pilot's experience on how to go about this. Take a look and tell me where I am going wrong or what I may be missing.
To start I am reading the books and getting my safety boating certificate. Good info to have.
My plan is to spend $10K on an 18~20 foot Sea Ray (is there any other?) boat and operate it on the Delaware river about 20 miles north of Philly (Neshaminy?).
The objective is to get familiar with boating procedures, launching, recovery, docking, cruising, navigation, safety, upkeep, maintenance, cleaning, and overall skippering.
Secondary objectives are to see just how I and the GF (Admiral you guys call them) take to the activity. Also to meet other boating folks and to reckon marinas and establish relationships for possible seasonal slip usage rather than trailering.
The crew would be me and the GF, Her 2 kids may join us too.
At the end of the season we would assess (or earlier if the proverbial hits the fan) our experiences and decide on the next step. We would either sell it or go to a bigger 24~28 foot Deck Boat with a head to be kept on the water during the season. We would like to have space to entertain bigger groups and share on the boating experience.
I am trying to stay within the 10K budget to ensure I do not buy anything more than what we need to try boating this year. If I have an epic fail I should be able to recover most of the money (provided the mechanicals are in good order) .
I am limiting my search to Sea Ray boats that have a service history, preferably with the same shop. No service records = no go. Better safe that sorry unless it is a private seller with demonstrable anal retentive maintenance skills.
The boat I picked is a 1998 Sea Ray 190 BR with the 5.0L. Has a good service history and I figured that's about right for this test.
I also have an aye on a newer 185 BR with the 3 litter engine and low hours.
Since I do not plan on doing any heavy sport activities the smaller boat with the 3.0 engine may be enough for a 1 year deal provided I can get it for a cheap price given how undesirable the 3 liters are.
Am I all wet or do I have a sound plan? Now is the time for some reality checks so all input is welcome.