Looking ahead to a newer boat.

[TravisL]

I currently have an old (98’) Larson 206 LXI 5.0 merc. It runs well, but it’s showing it’s age and I’d rather not spend money on an old boat when I’d rather buy a newer one.

I live in central Iowa and only run on lakes. We are a family of 5(kids are ages 10/10/12). We often take a few people with us so the rating of 8 on the 190 series(Larson is somehow 11) is a cause for concern. I think in terms of reliability I’d rather not have a supercharged engine(am I wrong?). We don’t really do much for water sports as we didn’t grow up with them and can’t teach what we don’t know. We enjoy tubing though and maybe the kids will be up for trying knee boarding or what have you.

The 212x seems like a good choice, and I’m sure any of the twins can also work for our simple needs. I wouldn’t have to go with a Yamaha (or jet) but I spent some time on my friends 05’ AR230 HO and it was a blast. A little less/easier maintenance and the fun factor are selling points. I’d love to buy brand new but it’s not in my budget. I won’t be buying this season but I’ll probably put my Larson up for sale in a couple weeks to help build my savings to find one next year. I’ll keep trying to study up and find the models and years to try and cherry pick and what to look for when expecting one. Still trying to figure out what hours to try and stay around or how to value them as well.
We’ve had our Larson for 3 seasons as our first boat and I look forward to something a little more luxurious and modern. This forum is obviously a great place with some great people and I look forward to my research here.

I wish I has a more direct question, but hopefully you guys can help guide me a bit on what years/models are best to stick with. I don’t want to over invest as we don’t get to use one enough to spend 60k(or have the disposable income). But hopefully we can get something in the $20-30k range that fits the bill.

 

[WREKS]

An honest and knowledgeable seller is very important. Preferably, the boat has never changed hands. I think a long test ride on open water will help you in making a decision. I would treat the new boat just like the Larson, as far as going in shallow water.

 

[TravisL]

If I’m lucky I’ll get one from a reputable member but that’s a tall ask. They are hard to find here it’d seem. There isn’t a dealer in the state. As far as shallow water, yeah I don’t like to be in less than 6-8 feet and prefer 10 or more if I’m really on the move. Can’t say I’ve got sound reasoning on my depths but it seems to have worked so far.

It would be great to look at a few and water test them but it may not be overly possible.

 

[mark_m]

I currently have an old (98’) Larson 206 LXI 5.0 merc. It runs well, but it’s showing it’s age and I’d rather not spend money on an old boat when I’d rather buy a newer one.

I live in central Iowa and only run on lakes. We are a family of 5(kids are ages 10/10/12). We often take a few people with us so the rating of 8 on the 190 series(Larson is somehow 11) is a cause for concern. I think in terms of reliability I’d rather not have a supercharged engine(am I wrong?). We don’t really do much for water sports as we didn’t grow up with them and can’t teach what we don’t know. We enjoy tubing though and maybe the kids will be up for trying knee boarding or what have you.

The 212x seems like a good choice, and I’m sure any of the twins can also work for our simple needs. I wouldn’t have to go with a Yamaha (or jet) but I spent some time on my friends 05’ AR230 HO and it was a blast. A little less/easier maintenance and the fun factor are selling points. I’d love to buy brand new but it’s not in my budget. I won’t be buying this season but I’ll probably put my Larson up for sale in a couple weeks to help build my savings to find one next year. I’ll keep trying to study up and find the models and years to try and cherry pick and what to look for when expecting one. Still trying to figure out what hours to try and stay around or how to value them as well.
We’ve had our Larson for 3 seasons as our first boat and I look forward to something a little more luxurious and modern. This forum is obviously a great place with some great people and I look forward to my research here.

I wish I has a more direct question, but hopefully you guys can help guide me a bit on what years/models are best to stick with. I don’t want to over invest as we don’t get to use one enough to spend 60k(or have the disposable income). But hopefully we can get something in the $20-30k range that fits the bill.

Look for AR-230 or SX230 2007 - 2009 an older one would fall in line at the bottom of your budget. Keep an eye on the classifieds here to get an idea of fair pricing.

Good luck with your search! Be thankful you have a boat now to enjoy, it is a sellers market with Covid it seems. I suspect that we will have a lot of barely used boats for sale when newbies figure out they really aren’t into boating after we get past this Covid mess.

 

[TravisL]

@mark_m that’s kind of what I’m banking on lol. Sell mine high before the season is out and come up with enough to pay half down or so on a newer one. I’d imagine an 07-09 230 would work just fine. Did you point that era out for my modest budget or for other reasons?

 

[mark_m]

@mark_m that’s kind of what I’m banking on lol. Sell mine high before the season is out and come up with enough to pay half down or so on a newer one. I’d imagine an 07-09 230 would work just fine. Did you point that era out for my modest budget or for other reasons?

I called it out coz I have a 2007 SX-230 and I love it. It is also a little more roomy than the ‘06 you called out in your post that you liked.