What boat did you have before?

[beachbum]

Before my SX190 all I had was a dream of owning a boat..

Hey... I got the blue 2013 SX190 ... what did you get?...

Longest winter in my LIFE !!!

 

[Zeus2013]

Hey... I got the blue 2013 SX190 ... what did you get?...

Longest winter in my LIFE !!!

Same thing, blue...Did not like the black...

 

[Evil Sports]

Gone but not forgotten....2003 180Freedom fish and ski 4.3gxi. Great durable boat, just out grew it.

Still in use my PFC, personal fishing craft... Fast flawless operation and so stable 2 people can fish off it. thats my rod holder on the back

 

[duanepillar]

Maxim 2000SR3. It was a really good and fun boat. Just not as fun as my Tammy!!!

 

[Craig]

Last boat was a Hydra-Sport 196 with 225 evinrude outboard, was a great fishing boat but not good for much else other than going fast.

 

[Tranio]

I started with two Kawasaki 550sx's, then a SeaDoo SPX. But our first boat was a SeaDoo Sportster 1800. To say it was a fixer upper when we bought it would be an understatement.View attachment 1298 View attachment 1300

This is the same boat I had.

 

[BoaterGuy]

Gone but not forgotten....2003 180Freedom fish and ski 4.3gxi. Great durable boat, just out grew it.

Still in use my PFC, personal fishing craft... Fast flawless operation and so stable 2 people can fish off it. thats my rod holder on the back

For those of you with Four Winns boats, did you have tons of deck hardware issues? Mine was an 06 and for the last 3 or 4 years of ownership I had screws that broke loose from their heads and various nuts and bolts lying around. I was the only owner as I bought it new. Also, my dash gauges were acting up as well. The RPM needle would bounce around (Smacking the dash would fix it sometimes) and my engine temp and trim indicator would work intermittently.

75% of the stainless screws that fastened my floor in the cockpit had broken (screw head separated) and I had to drill most of them out. A couple of windshield screws ripped out of the wood under the dash. One time, I found one of two engine mount nuts lying in the bilge! (Sounded like an aluminum can was flying around inside the engine bay)

I would say that the 3.0 Merc was fairly reliable, meaning it never left me stranded and always started up, but started to get pricey on maintenance and leaky stuff as well as outdrive issues. I got rid of it just in time.

My favorite part about my I/O was when barnacles built up on the impeller intake (the dealer "painted" drive apparently) after leaving it in salt water for 2 months. It was a short trip out and long trip home when the engine overheated and started smoking. That was definitely a B.O.A.T moment.

 

[robert erickson]

hi everyone, my 1st post since coming over. I've been blessed to live on a lake all my live so here is my list;
1954 Chris Craft runabout - it blew up with me in it when I was 10
1962 Penn Yan w/ a 35 Merc
1972 Columbian w/ a 85 Evinrude
1975 MacGregor catamaran - i still have it
1988 Four Winns 160 Freedom
2000 SmokerCraft 186 Alante - my favorite...until...
2013 Yamaha SX192



i do still miss her.....

 

[beachbum]

Robert... Reflecting on this particular photo of your smokercraft, how well do u think the Yammy would do at a mooring with this kind of sustained chop? We moor the boat in front of our cottage. I am concerned about the strength of the bow eye and how well the hull will take the beating...

 

[robert erickson]

 

[beachbum]

Robert, thank you for your quick reply. I have been most anxious to know that my new boat will sit pretty at anchor in our bay in Lake Erie... The chop in our bay would not be any worse than the wave pictured in your post. In fact, because Lake Erie is so shallow, we don't get the deep and regular waves you might expect from a body of water so large. This is great news for me as I prepare and prepare for my first launch. Here's to spring and a great LONG boating summer.

 

[robert erickson]

Beachbum, enjoy your boat! also still waiting for Spring...10deg this morning and 20" of ice on the lake. I like to launch around mid April. Don't know if that will happen this year. I will see if I have a pic of the Yammy from last year moored and post it.

 

[robbo3]

'98 Four Winns Horizon RX.

This was a great starter boat and treated us well. No hardware issues here, this boat was built like a tank.

 

[jaybro72]

 

[Sotally Tober]

2004 18ft Maxum

 

[Sotally Tober]

2007 Yamaha AR210

 

[0627Devildog]

Sea Ray 225 Weekender

 

[0627Devildog]

2000 Sea-Doo Sportster LE

 

[RLG2]

2007 AR 230 HO

 

[Boat Crazy]

(1st) paid $1500 for a four seater 16 footer outboard.
(2nd) new 2002 18 foot Searay I/O.
(3rd) used 2001 19 foot Searay I/O. (Went looking for a bimini for my 2002 and bought a boat that already had one.
(4th and last) Yamaha AR240.

Lessons learned: Buy the biggest boat you can afford the first time! Buy your last boat first!