macman
01-05-2008, 11:18 AM
Hi
The question has been asked many times but I have not found an exact match so I will ask.
I have a small family with 3 kids under 5 years old. We live near a lazy river which we want to explore by boat. I know that our needs may change as everyone gets bigger and as our experience grows. As much as possible, I want the boat we buy to satisfy all our current and future needs but the emphasis needs to be on current as it may not be possible to do everything. Our budget is about $5500 (I hear you groan).
We would like something that can get us around quietly. Therefore, it seems that a four stroke is necessary. As these are rare second hand, it may have to be new.
I would like the option of taking my family and another adult and child out. I think this would probably be possible with a 395 but nothing less. For this sort of boat, I imagine a 20HP would be the minimum. Could I go lower?
Also, I understand the tradeoff between flat and v bottom is stability in calm versus ability to cope with a bit of rough. The kids would like it better being stable but I think it would be better to learn to cope with the calm instability in favour of a more versatile boat.
We also will need the safety gear and would like a binimi. Given all of this, if we need to compromise, on what points should we compromise? eg smaller boat, older boat, smaller engine etc.
Thanks in advance for your help.
The question has been asked many times but I have not found an exact match so I will ask.
I have a small family with 3 kids under 5 years old. We live near a lazy river which we want to explore by boat. I know that our needs may change as everyone gets bigger and as our experience grows. As much as possible, I want the boat we buy to satisfy all our current and future needs but the emphasis needs to be on current as it may not be possible to do everything. Our budget is about $5500 (I hear you groan).
We would like something that can get us around quietly. Therefore, it seems that a four stroke is necessary. As these are rare second hand, it may have to be new.
I would like the option of taking my family and another adult and child out. I think this would probably be possible with a 395 but nothing less. For this sort of boat, I imagine a 20HP would be the minimum. Could I go lower?
Also, I understand the tradeoff between flat and v bottom is stability in calm versus ability to cope with a bit of rough. The kids would like it better being stable but I think it would be better to learn to cope with the calm instability in favour of a more versatile boat.
We also will need the safety gear and would like a binimi. Given all of this, if we need to compromise, on what points should we compromise? eg smaller boat, older boat, smaller engine etc.
Thanks in advance for your help.