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Bossnass · 02-28-2006, 01:46 PM

I used to own a boat rental company on a small lake in Alberta. I've owned a few ski boats; I'm a pretty avid skier, wakeboarder, and I try to get barefooting a few times a season. If asked nicely, I'll even pull my wife's cousins in tubes.

Three main types of sporting boats. Outboard, Inboard/Outboard, and true Inboard. They go up in price in that order as well, as long as you are talking about small runabouts that someone would fish/ski behind. A 30' searay would be a little above the class I think you're looking at or which I'm talking about.

Outboards are just what they sound like. A basic boat with an outboard engine stuck on the back, with cables/hydraulics running up to a steering wheel that turns the entire engine. Cheapest, easiest to maintain for the most part. Arguable performance and handling.

Inboard/Outboards have the engine within a compartment onboard. They used to be more special because you could have a 4-stroke engine (quieter, cheaper to fuel) inboard, but now that new outboards are mostly 4stroke too, it isn't that special. The prop and skag (the sticking down part) are still shaped mostly like an outboard and are located at the very back of the boat. In general, IOs have a better seating layout in the back quarter section. In my opion, IOs are terrible; they are more expensive but without suffcient reason. You have increased engine cost and decreased performance, the props are more difficult to change (and you will need to change a prop if you're boating on unfamiliar lake waters).

Common names for outboards and IOs are Campion (great Canadian company), Glastron, Fourwinns, and Larson. I've loved every Campion I've owned (two outboard Allantes, one IO allante, and one small explorer). I had a larson too that was nice, but underpowered and heavy. I wouldn't go shorter thatn 17, 17.5', and I wouldn't go longer than 22'. Horsepower rating depends on the weight of the boat and if you are going to be barefooting or slaloming. I wouldn't go smaller than 130HP. You can get an ok used one for under 10K. Get an open bow to help balance and for extra seating.

The boats that I like are true inboards, or tournament boats. I wish I could afford to own, insure, and fuel one. Fortunatly, my wife's family has a nice one, as do a few lake-friends of mine. They are performance boats, with large 'real' engines in them. Usually located balanced in the middle, sometimes in the stern. Where IOs have 'Mercruiser' or 'Volvo Penta" boat engines, these boats have peformance engines that are more comparable to car engines. The boat I've skied behind the most is a Ski Nautique, (long the best tournament boat) with a bored and polished 351. These boats usually have the engine weight balanced, the propeller and rudder are optimally located about 1/4 of the way from the stern. They have incredible pull, accelleration, and handling.

They are also rediculously expensive. A friend of mine sold his '91 Ski Nautique last summer for $20k Canadian and bought a brand new Campion Allante. A new one runs about 65k (CAN). Big names include Nautique, Mastercraft, Malibu, Supra, Tige, etc (could be a long list). Nautiques are still the best slalom boat, but Malibu has become the leader recently in family-crossed sport performance boats. Mastercraft currently puts out the best wakeboarding boat.

Feel free to post or PM with questions, I should be able to field most basic questions.

02-28-2006, 01:46 PM	#9 (permalink)
Bossnass Détente Location: AWOL in Edmonton	I used to own a boat rental company on a small lake in Alberta. I've owned a few ski boats; I'm a pretty avid skier, wakeboarder, and I try to get barefooting a few times a season. If asked nicely, I'll even pull my wife's cousins in tubes. Three main types of sporting boats. Outboard, Inboard/Outboard, and true Inboard. They go up in price in that order as well, as long as you are talking about small runabouts that someone would fish/ski behind. A 30' searay would be a little above the class I think you're looking at or which I'm talking about. Outboards are just what they sound like. A basic boat with an outboard engine stuck on the back, with cables/hydraulics running up to a steering wheel that turns the entire engine. Cheapest, easiest to maintain for the most part. Arguable performance and handling. Inboard/Outboards have the engine within a compartment onboard. They used to be more special because you could have a 4-stroke engine (quieter, cheaper to fuel) inboard, but now that new outboards are mostly 4stroke too, it isn't that special. The prop and skag (the sticking down part) are still shaped mostly like an outboard and are located at the very back of the boat. In general, IOs have a better seating layout in the back quarter section. In my opion, IOs are terrible; they are more expensive but without suffcient reason. You have increased engine cost and decreased performance, the props are more difficult to change (and you will need to change a prop if you're boating on unfamiliar lake waters). Common names for outboards and IOs are Campion (great Canadian company), Glastron, Fourwinns, and Larson. I've loved every Campion I've owned (two outboard Allantes, one IO allante, and one small explorer). I had a larson too that was nice, but underpowered and heavy. I wouldn't go shorter thatn 17, 17.5', and I wouldn't go longer than 22'. Horsepower rating depends on the weight of the boat and if you are going to be barefooting or slaloming. I wouldn't go smaller than 130HP. You can get an ok used one for under 10K. Get an open bow to help balance and for extra seating. The boats that I like are true inboards, or tournament boats. I wish I could afford to own, insure, and fuel one. Fortunatly, my wife's family has a nice one, as do a few lake-friends of mine. They are performance boats, with large 'real' engines in them. Usually located balanced in the middle, sometimes in the stern. Where IOs have 'Mercruiser' or 'Volvo Penta" boat engines, these boats have peformance engines that are more comparable to car engines. The boat I've skied behind the most is a Ski Nautique, (long the best tournament boat) with a bored and polished 351. These boats usually have the engine weight balanced, the propeller and rudder are optimally located about 1/4 of the way from the stern. They have incredible pull, accelleration, and handling. They are also rediculously expensive. A friend of mine sold his '91 Ski Nautique last summer for $20k Canadian and bought a brand new Campion Allante. A new one runs about 65k (CAN). Big names include Nautique, Mastercraft, Malibu, Supra, Tige, etc (could be a long list). Nautiques are still the best slalom boat, but Malibu has become the leader recently in family-crossed sport performance boats. Mastercraft currently puts out the best wakeboarding boat. Feel free to post or PM with questions, I should be able to field most basic questions.