Best boat for water sports and weekend overnights

snowman · 08-01-2016, 06:35 PM

Looking for recommendations for a boat that is agile enough for tubing and skiing, and to fit a family of 4 for an overnight stay.

thinkxingu · 08-01-2016, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowman

Looking for recommendations for a boat that is agile enough for tubing and skiing, and to fit a family of 4 for an overnight stay.

You end up ever buying a deck boat?

Lakeboater · 08-01-2016, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowman

Looking for recommendations for a boat that is agile enough for tubing and skiing, and to fit a family of 4 for an overnight stay.

Formula has some that would work. Paugus Bay Marina is the local dealer. Nice boats but not cheap. Check out the joystick controls!!

snowman · 08-02-2016, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

You end up ever buying a deck boat?

I did. Love the boat. Just invested in a slip at a Yacht club, so would like something that I can spend weekends on, and at the same time be able to enjoy water sports with my young kids

Rich · 08-02-2016, 07:43 AM

We overnight every weekend.

You want something with some room. Also, give the kids room to grow, so don't just think that "they can fit in this" today, but in a year or two it will be very cramped.

Could be anything from about a 27 ft on up. There is just two of us, and we started with a 27 ft "Sport Cruiser" which was TIGHT for us two, and now we have a 38 ft which is just enough room and we love it. Two can sleep in the back and two in the bow with some privacy and room to move around.

I'd suggest that you visit other boaters that spend weekends on their boat and see what they like and dislike about their boat for overnighting. Look at their boat and see if the same issues would bother or work for you.

It's expensive to buy a boat that won't work for you as then you won't like it and it will cost a lot to change things (new boat, aka 2 foot-itis).

Almost any boat can pull a tube, I'm not sure if you need anything special for skiing as some boats will through a big wake, but maybe people can get behind it for skiing (we don't ski so I'm not the one to know about this).

If you're in our area, you're welcome to stop by and see how we do things.

SAMIAM · 08-02-2016, 07:54 AM

Any boat that's big enough to sleep 4 people in comfort is going to cost $50 to $100 per hour to run at tubing and skiing speeds.
Even a single Mercury 300HP burns 29 G/P/H at WOT and about half of that at cruising speeds.
But.....life is short.Have some fun.

Rich · 08-02-2016, 07:58 AM

He didn't say anything about operating costs.

Remember, after all it's a B.O.A.T.!

Chaos · 08-02-2016, 01:09 PM

The one and only time I let my kids tube with our 280 Sundancer I used 50 gallons of gas in 2 hours

and that was when gas was over $4 a gallon. Next year I bought a used 4 stroke Sea Doo. They can only use 18 gallons at a time on that

08-01-2016, 06:35 PM	#1
snowman Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Best boat for water sports and weekend overnights Looking for recommendations for a boat that is agile enough for tubing and skiing, and to fit a family of 4 for an overnight stay.

08-02-2016, 07:43 AM	#5
Rich Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Derry / Gilford Posts: 1,244 Thanks: 72 Thanked 344 Times in 234 Posts	We overnight every weekend. You want something with some room. Also, give the kids room to grow, so don't just think that "they can fit in this" today, but in a year or two it will be very cramped. Could be anything from about a 27 ft on up. There is just two of us, and we started with a 27 ft "Sport Cruiser" which was TIGHT for us two, and now we have a 38 ft which is just enough room and we love it. Two can sleep in the back and two in the bow with some privacy and room to move around. I'd suggest that you visit other boaters that spend weekends on their boat and see what they like and dislike about their boat for overnighting. Look at their boat and see if the same issues would bother or work for you. It's expensive to buy a boat that won't work for you as then you won't like it and it will cost a lot to change things (new boat, aka 2 foot-itis). Almost any boat can pull a tube, I'm not sure if you need anything special for skiing as some boats will through a big wake, but maybe people can get behind it for skiing (we don't ski so I'm not the one to know about this). If you're in our area, you're welcome to stop by and see how we do things. __________________ Don't listen to me, obviously I don't understand what I'm talking about! Let's help each other save time and money: WinniGas.com

08-02-2016, 07:58 AM	#7
Rich Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Derry / Gilford Posts: 1,244 Thanks: 72 Thanked 344 Times in 234 Posts	He didn't say anything about operating costs. Remember, after all it's a B.O.A.T.! __________________ Don't listen to me, obviously I don't understand what I'm talking about! Let's help each other save time and money: WinniGas.com

08-02-2016, 01:09 PM	#8
Chaos Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Danville, NH and West Alton Marina Posts: 134 Thanks: 111 Thanked 32 Times in 20 Posts	Boat for comfort, jetski for sports... The one and only time I let my kids tube with our 280 Sundancer I used 50 gallons of gas in 2 hours and that was when gas was over $4 a gallon. Next year I bought a used 4 stroke Sea Doo. They can only use 18 gallons at a time on that

The Following User Says Thank You to snowman For This Useful Post:
thinkxingu (08-02-2016)

08-02-2016, 07:54 AM	#6
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,891 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,673 Times in 584 Posts	Any boat that's big enough to sleep 4 people in comfort is going to cost $50 to $100 per hour to run at tubing and skiing speeds. Even a single Mercury 300HP burns 29 G/P/H at WOT and about half of that at cruising speeds. But.....life is short.Have some fun.