I’m interested in buying a boat to be used for wakeboarding, pulling tubes, and just generally having fun in, although I’m on a pretty strict budget. Both in terms of price of the boat, as well as the cost I’ll need to pay in fuel. I’d be looking for an older boat, perhaps like a 1990. I’d hopefully want to spend 8K or less (much less if possible)
Is there any type of boat that you can commonly find used for a good price, that performs well while still being somewhat gas efficient?
And with that boat, about how many gallons would the average person probably go through in say a 5 hour day of part riding, part relaxing?
Thanks.
My family bought a four winns boat about 3 years ago that is a 1998 for only $7,800. It is an outboard but we have had no problems with it. We broke the prop on a rock while docking and replaced with a much higher quality one for only $200.
It performs great for skiing, kneeboarding, and tubing, and we have not yet bought a wakeboard. It has a 130 hp evinrude motor and can go about 50 miles an hour.
The most gas we have gone through is about 10 gallons in 5 hours. Typically in a full day at the lake we will only go through about four gallons. Make sure you buy "clear" gas without any ethanol in it, as it can ruin your carburetor and will cause fiberglass tanks to begin rotting.