Thinking of Buying a 175 Sport

W

WildWilly

New Member
Jul 16, 2007
1
Hi Guys,

I have never owned a power boat before and we are considering a 2006 175 sport with the 3.0L Merc. We have 3 small kids and just want to have fun tubing and fooling around. Eventually we will get into skiing. Does anyone have an comments to offer? Are there things I should look into on a used Sea Ray? What is the warranty? Is it transferrable?

Thanks.....
 
Welcome to the board. :grin:

The 175/176 is a good starter boat. It is a small boat with limited storage space and takes a little planning to put things on board for extended trips. :grin:

The 3.0L motor is pretty much bullet proof but has some cold natured bugs that you need to learn about. If you can find a clean used 175/176 and learn on it then move up later on once you gain experiance will be a good move. :grin:
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I used to own a 1995 175BR and I loved the boat. I bought it in 2002 for $6,000 and the person I bought it from took great care of her. I only sold it because we need a bigger boat, went from 18'10" to 23'10." When I went to sell the boat the major selling factor was the engine. It was a 4 banger and a 3.0Ltr. Go with a bigger engine.
I would always buy a used boat over new. Let the first buyer take the hit. If you do buy used please use a boat surveyor and and engine surveyor. I am telling you this from experience.
You will love any boat you buy. It is a great family experience.
 
based on your post i don't know where you are so I don't know where you plan to boat ( this can make a big diference on how secure you will feel in your 175), but I do see you have 3 small kids.

my personnal opinion would be to look at a slight used boat a couple of feet bigger. with you, wife/girlfriend and 3 kids the 175 may get cramped quickly.

if you go a couple of years older you may find a sundeck 200 or 220 which will give much more room for the same amount of money.
 
tphinney said:
based on your post i don't know where you are so I don't know where you plan to boat ( this can make a big diference on how secure you will feel in your 175), but I do see you have 3 small kids.

my personnal opinion would be to look at a slight used boat a couple of feet bigger. with you, wife/girlfriend and 3 kids the 175 may get cramped quickly.

if you go a couple of years older you may find a sundeck 200 or 220 which will give much more room for the same amount of money.
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I would tend to agree with this. You should try to get them all down to where the boat is and get everyone on it and then try to get to one of the storage areas and see how it is and picture the boat possible rocking a bit while everyone is standing moving around. Also consider how low you will be to the water and how short the side walls are. Even in our 240SD with some chop I could see a small kid not holding on get bounced out of the front of our boat so I'm sure it can happen in a 175.

Also think about storage room for your skies, tubes, ropes, wakeboards, etc.

AND PLEASE PUT YOUR KIDS IN LIFE JACKETS AT ALL TIMES! (Just a reminder it's the law) No matter how much they hate it.
 
I owned a 175 for ten years and enjoyed it very much. The 3 liter was a breeze to work on and never gave me a problem. The water pump in the out drive lasted 8 years before it was replaced.

The 175 routinely took out 2 kids and 2 adults. With 4 people on board it was full. Storage and elbow room were in short supply but she ran fine. The boat would pull skiers loaded and would run about 40 mph. This boat is prop sensitive.

With 5 people on board you will have space and storage considerations. The 175 road fine on our lake but when it went to the coast it could pound you pretty well. I really liked the boat and had a blast with it. It is a great starter boat that is tough to harm.

Good Luck
 
I have to chime in on this. We bought our first boat 9 years ago when we had a newborn. We got the 185. It is perfect for a family of four, which I'm sure the 175 would be as well. However, you will definitely want more room in a few years. Our sons want to bring friends now, and we want to bring friends. Don't use the capacity plate to judge how many people your boat can carry. Ours is rated for 8, but it's very crowded with 4 adults and 2 kids, or other similar combinations. I would look at a 5-7 year old 220-230, as a matter of fact, I am! If you have the boat checked out you will be fine. Remember a six year old boat could be like new. It's not like buying a six year old car. Many are rarely used. Look on ebay and check the number of bids on these older Sea Rays... they are in high demand. Very few other brands get as many bids. To me that's an indication of value. Good luck and let us know what you end up getting!
 
I don't think anyone addressed your warranty question: Yes - It should be transferable. In fact, you may be able to purchase (or negotiate as part of the deal) an extended Mercruiser warranty as well. I believe this can be done directly with Merc regardless of whether you buy the boat from a dealer or an individual.

I bought a practically new 176BR 2 years ago. My first boat and I love it. I have 2 boys (5 & 6) who enjoy the boat almost as much as I do. In the interest of full disclosure, I am actually thinking about something a little bigger (and more fish-friendly) but that not my boat's fault. I may end up keeping her for 10 years. Who knows?

Some great things about a 175/176/180: Easy to clean, store, trailer, launch, drive, dock. Easy to pay for (maintenance, gas, price tag.) Good resale value. Not a lot of extras, but that also means there's less stuff to break. 3.0L engine is a good match for that boat and is virtually bulletproof. And, it’s a damn fine looking boat, if I do say so myself!

Not so great: Very limited storage. Limited passenger space. Bumpy ride in rough water, but better than many boats of a similar size. Don’t know if you have girls, but there’s no head and no privacy.

As others have mentioned, where & how you plan to do your boating might make a big difference in your decision. I live along the coast and have a relatively flexible schedule, so I can pick my weather & tides. If the water is rough or there's a chance of storms I simply don't go out. This is not a boat where you and your whole family will be able to spend 8 hours on the water, but if you want to cruise around for a few hours and enjoy time with your family, you may have found your answer.

My two cents: Great first boat, but see if you can find an '03, '04, or '05 in good shape. You might save a few bucks, still be under warranty, avoid getting killed by depreciation, and still have a nice boat. Since this is your first power boat, buy something with good resale value in case you decide this lifestyle really isn't for you. (This makes a used Sea Ray a great choice.) Also, you probably won't know what you really want/need out of a boat until you've spent some time on the water with your family. Practically no one buys the perfect boat for their situation the first time 'round, so assume that you'll be thinking about making a move in a couple years.

I’d be happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you have about a 175. Good luck!

John
 
Hi Willy!
Thought I would chime in here, since I think I am one of the few on the board with a relatively new 175 (2007 model). We upgraded from a smaller (if that was possible! :grin: ) 15 foot Sugar Sand Mirage jet boat, thinking that as our girls got bigger - now 11 and 13 - they would want to bring some friends along, and tow larger tubes. I also had the consideration of tandem towing the boat behind our fifth wheel camper, so I was trying to keep the length down.

I regret not buying something larger. We have already had 6 people on board (4 adults, 2 kids) and even though the 3 liter did fine (I have 3 props that I can change out for varying loads or altitudes being in Colorado) I wouldn't have been able to pull up a skier with that load. With just the family, we can pretty easily do over 40 mph, but drop to a 17 pitch prop to tow the tubes around.

I will probably keep this boat until spring of 09, and then give up the tandem towing in order to go to something larger - we are thinking about either the 220 or 240..... :thumbsup:

Mark
 
I have got 07' 185, the main reason was that it fit in my garage perfectly. I used to rent a 195 (v8) all the time, space wise the 185/195 and 175 are pretty close, but bare in mind that the 175 is pretty light and underpowered if you take it to a large busy lake. When I have a bigger garage or storage I might think of something bigger, but the 185 is more than enough for cruising as far as I am concerned. The max that I can take on the 185 is 6 persons.
 
manjo said:
I have got 07' 185, the main reason was that it fit in my garage perfectly. I used to rent a 195 (v8) all the time, space wise the 185/195 and 175 are pretty close, but bare in mind that the 175 is pretty light and underpowered if you take it to a large busy lake. When I have a bigger garage or storage I might think of something bigger, but the 185 is more than enough for cruising as far as I am concerned. The max that I can take on the 185 is 6 persons.
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well i have a 185 with the 3.0 runs good pulls 6 people no problem. limited storage room tho. but over all i bought mine new and new is allways a good thing.
 
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