What kind of boat to buy?

A friend of mine has a 23 Penn Yan with all the goodies, ready to fish, if interested PM me, hes asking $8500 with all the equipment, but thats negotiable, dependant upon what you want

I would like fiberglass, just trying to see some of the benefits of aluminum. Also would like some input about different brands pros and cons. 

Bayliner is known for being poory made with inferier components.
Some say the new ones are getting better???????

http://www.boattraderonline.com/?CMP=KNC-GoogleHBXWords&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=GoogleHBXWords

http://www.boattraderonline.com/?CMP=KNC-GoogleHBXWords&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=GoogleHBXWords

Boat price guide:http://www.boats.com/nada/nada.jsp

Personally, I like heavy fiberglass for the ride compared to aluminum.  If you are going to dock it or keep it on a trailer in a lot close to the launch, then towing shouldn't be a major issue.  I also like hard tops for the protection from the elements.  Try to get a hard top that is high enough to stand under.  Make sure they have side windows and hopefully smaller windows under the main windshield than can open up for ventilation on those hot, still August days.  Get as wide a beam as you can find.  Even though not legal, you can most likely get away with towing a 9' or 9'-6" beam boat and not get hassled by the cops without a permit.  If you are looking for something in the 23'-25' range, a 5.0 liter engine would be on the low end but a good choice for low trolling speeds (without plates or bags) and fuel economy.  You won't break any speed records but how often can you run WOT on the lake anyway.  A 5.7 liter is a decent all around engine for an I/O on this size boat but you may not be able to troll down to slow speeds under 2.0 mph without the help of a plate or trolling bags.  That all depends on the specific boat.  A little cabin is nice for storage, a nap and a porta potty.
 
I'd like a 23' or 25' Baha Cruisers with an 8'-6" or 9'+ beam personally.  Our old boat was a 1972 25' Skiff Craft wooden hard top with a 307 Chevy.  We could cruise in the upper 20's, low 30's depending on the load, could troll two full days on one tank (tank was only 36 gallons) and it sliced through the Erie chop.  Only drawbacks are wood boat maintenance sucks and that is why the boat is currently in disrepair and the hard top was a low profile one but other than, I miss it a lot.  Another nice style would be a walkaround cuddy with a hard top and spray curtains.  If you really want some class, get a 26' Tiara but even for an old one, you will pay out the nose.

Penn Yan, Baha Cruisers, Trophy, Thompson, Sport-Craft....lots of em seen on the water...cause they are all basically a budget boat and pretty much Junk from production....In fact many of these companies (with the exception to Baha) have gone out of business multiple times....They may look nice, but once you get past the gel coat theres not much there....All chop gunned fiberglass, mass produced, with poorly encapsulated wood stringer grids.  Made as cheaply as possible to keep the price down...

If you look at any other quality boat in the 21-25' class you will notice a significant difference in price...This is the difference between a well engineered hull with hand laid fiberglass and quality components vs budget boat construction...

Now, I dont have much room to talk owning a trophy, and in fact the boat has served me well over the past 8 years, however its construction is satisfactory at best...Cheap construction with Cheap components...in my opinion it is far better to search for a used quality boat, than to look at a cheap new boat.....if you want new, bite the bullet and spend the extra cash and get a boat that is going to serve you well for many many years with no structural problems...Basically what i am saying is in marine construction the price of the vessel speaks for its quality...

The problem 90% of the time with a boat is the owner.  The guys who always say the best day is when you buy and sell a boat are the ones who do nothing....An oil filter wrench confuses them....and after running their boat for 10 years and finally blowing a water pump wonder why.

Maintaining a boat is fairly critical to the life you are going to get not only out of the engine, but the hull itsself.  Little things like changing water pump impellers, replacing oil in the motor and drive, spark plugs, or putting a quick coat of wax on your boat not only keep it looking and running good, but prolong its life.

Here is a list of my current Favorites (search em out on yahoo)
Steiger Craft
Parker Boats
Judge Yachts
Albemarle
MayCraft

Steiger Craft is my number one at this moment...No frills, NO BS, built like a tank, lifetime hull warrenty, and you can call their company and talk to those who build their boats.  Friend of mine has an 2003 23 Miami with a green hull (you may have seen it at walnut) very very very impressive boat. 

ALSO:
In response to martys post about bayliner/trophy (both built by Brunswick) the early 80s trophy boats were the ones who had the problems with bad stringers and transoms.  Since then Brunswick has bought bayliner (they also own such brands as albemarle, boston whaler, lund, ect)  Trophy is now a seperate boat company and is no way affiliated with Bayliner (aside from being owned by the same large corporation) Trophy boats have come a LONG LONG way since that time. They now build with quality and brass and stainless components.  MUCH MUCH different boat than the ones from the early 80s...I would own a Trophy over a Sport-Craft anyday of the week.

ORIGINAL: CUZZZZZZZZZZ

what about Lunds? I love mine.

 
I think Hookin' up is looking for a semi-serious offshore boat, not a multi-purpose boat.  Not taking anything away from Lund, they are quality built boats, but for a serious offshore boat, you either want an enclosed bow or a C.C./Walk Around with a self bailing cockpit that has scuppers the size of bathtubs!  :-)  When you take a few waves over the bow and on Erie it is not a question of if, but when, you want the most protection you can get from swamping and no matter how big or how many bilge pumps you got, they aren't going to keep with 3 big sisters crashing over your bow.  It doesn't mean that you can't fish Erie in a 16' or bigger open bow boat, it just means you need to pick and choose your days more carefully (ice cream conditions).  Me, if I had a boat again for Erie and Ontario specifically, I would want one that can handle 2-4's and 3-5's, occassionally 4-6's no problem so I don't have to turn around when I get to the launch and see the weather is less than ideal.

No mention of Boston Whaler or Grady Whites?  My favorite being a Grady...I'll own one some day.  But without question two among the best.

For now, I like my Trophy!

Well I've owned and driven alot of boats and my choice would be a hardtop to start with. I like the Thompson 240's if your looking for an older boat. If you have the $$$$ to spend I would say a nice Baha 25' or Sportcraft would be a great choice for the great lakes! Watch the width of the beam your only allowed to tow 8'6" (102") beam in PA and most other states. If you could find a boat with twin screws that would be the cats *** of boats to buy. You cant beat the way twins handle the rough seas and top out on flat water. If you get a 25' boat I/O 200 H.P. or better is plenty for 6 men, tackle, equipment to plane easily and run around 30-33 mph top end. As for engine size it really doesn't make a difference on trolling RPM's are the same weather you have 100 HP or 600 HP. The difference would be what pitch prop and what type prop you run for trolling. I prefer to use a bag out each side while trolling it seems to work better and I can troll at 1.2 and up. You should just look at a good name boat I would stay away from the Bayliner line. Find the boat that fits you and check for rot if you buy glass. Doesn't matter how new the boat is if it has wood between the glass check it. There are 2 Aluminum boats that are excellent Lund Genmar 24 Hardtop and Crestliner Sabre 24 Hardtop or no hardtop. I prefer the all welded out of the two which would be the Crestliner. As far as glass being better than aluminum I DONT THINK SO! I have always owned glass boats and like the way they look BUT that Crestliner Sabre 240 G/L is a **** nice boat that rides smooth in rough water and with a 4.3 V-6 runs about 33 mph with 4 big guys in it with all equipment. No problem planing neither! I fished Saturday morning left Walnut at 5:30 am in my Thompson Hardtop and stayed dry with a fair ride 6 miles out in 4-6 foot waves YOU CANT BEAT A HARDTOP! Good luck hope you find a great deal on a great boat. Good Fishin!

Look at any aluminum boat that has spent a few years on Erie, the hull will definitely show a beating on the bow section, ever wonder why there a **** few aluminum charter boats, because they SUCK, That being said, if you need to tow,aluminum does offer a definite benefit, you just dont get the ride of a glass boat, but you dont need a 1 ton truck to tow it either, my boat weighs about 7000 lbs and weight definitely improves handling and ride quality, but on a typical day Ill burn $125- $175 in gas. The 1 thing you will find out is there is no such thing as a perfect boat, just get the one that fits most of your needs, and change the things you dont like over time

grady is waaaaaaay over priced....you can get a boat of similar quality and fit and finish for 75% of the cost of grady...

Brad1 Grady White is a very very very well made boat.  But they do cost a pretty penny.
 
As far as boats go...there are many out there with similar construction they do come close to grady...but dont exactly dot all the I's and cross all the T's like grady white does.
 
There are many smaller independant builders out there that build quality rides without that sticker like grady...
 
I listed above some of my favorites...

The steiger 255dv is going to be my next boat (probaly in 2 years).....As far as warrenty goes...ive been on steigers boats...i cannot see what could go wrong that i could not tackle aside from a major motor issue.  Suzuk has a 6 year warrenty though and there are many dealers in a 100mile radius who service suzuki outboards.
 
Carolina classic is a heavy boat with a big deadrise...They rock and roll a little too much for me and have too much forward cabin...but man do they blast waves....if i were going to buy a Carolina boat it would be Albemarle.  The 265 is very very high on my list, but i dont need a dinette, microwave, stove, or fridge...pointless for a great lakes boat.
 
Never a fan of mako....I think i saw your grady on Sunday...did you launch a little later in the morning...i think i may have seen you when i was leaving.  Around 10am?  Do you have a 225 yam on it?  if so you were right next to me.

a lot of people mentioned some pretty good boats.  The easiest way to give you some suggestions is determine what price range you are looking and go from there.  As you probably know a 21-24 foot boat can go from 5000 to over 150,000$. 

Boys at steiger told me that in 32 years of production they have NEVER had a transom fail.  They encapsulate 3 layers so that even if water would get to one layer...it still would not effect the transom's integrity.  They build em right and are very proud of thier boats.....The look and the ride is even more impressive than the build.
 
Im fairly sold on them at this time....
 
 

Brad...Im on there too...lol