Decisions, decisions...

[Dan65]

Hi folks. My name is Dan and I'm new here.
Just to introduce myself... I live on Canada's west coast, about 60 miles north of Vancouver BC.
I've been around boats on & off, for most of my life. I commercial fished my own 30' troller, starting at age 16. Sold that boat at 20 & went on to other things.
I spent 30 years as an aircraft maint. engineer & 8 years as a contract mechanic for a major boat charter company.
I have owned a few boats along the way, but never a small runabout. The charter boats I worked on were mostly sail with a few diesel powerboats 30 to 60'.
Now I'm retired & wanting a little runabout to fish & drag the grandkids around on kneeboards, wakeboards etc. (it's my 65th birthday next week & the boat is my retirement present to myself)
After months of checking the used market (money IS an object) I've winnowed my preferences down to a few.
My current favourites are two 18' bow riders- the Maxum SR 1800 and the 18' Glastron. A few different models.
My budget restricts me to an older boat. Late 90's to early 2000's.
Right now I'm looking at a 2000 18' Glastron with a Johnson (Suzuki) 115 4 stroke outboard. 200 hours since new. The other boat is a 2002 Maxum SR 1800 with a new 4.3 l mercruiser. Hours on leg are unknown, but not a high timer.
I know I'm talking to a crowd that may be biased, but I'm looking for help with my choices.
I haven't been able to find out if the Maxum has wood in the floor, stringers or transom.
The Glastron may or may not be a VEC model. There are conflicting reports on when Glastron stopped using wood in this model.
Both boats look really nice in the photos, but both are a long drive from home. More info would be most helpful in deciding which one to look at first.
So... Any advice or clear info on the construction standards (or any known recurring defects) of these boats would be greatly appreciated!
Sorry for the long winded post...
Thanks, in advance, for any help you can offer.
Cheers. Dan

[bman440440]

I have a 1997 1900 sr with a 4.3 and love it.. like you I do both fish and ski/tube... I do think if you are going to be doing a fair amount of tubing/skiing you will want the maxum... the 4.3's are a fairly bullet proof motor with normal maintenance... I had close to 3000 hours on mine before I rebuilt it due to manifold failure letting some water into engine(my mistake for not changing them out)... with that Johnson/zuke motor when it is time for rebuilding it will be more $ to do... some might say that fuel burn will be higher with the 4.3 but I have floscan on my boat and even with 35 gallons of fuel, 32 gallon bait tank and 3 people onboard with fishing gear at WOT I still get 3.25 MPG and normal cruse 4.5-5 MPG... now for the boat side... it rides good and has plenty of room(the 1800 is very close to the same boat) I have had it 35+ miles off the coast of San Diego fishing for tuna fishing... getting on the water at 4 AM and off the water at 6 PM(90+ miles on the water) and the only complaint I have is it can get a little bumpy if you don't keep it trimmed a little bow down... but with boats as light as these that is the norm.... now I cant say on the glastron boats on how they are on the water so like you have said I'm a little biased so you can take my opinion for what its worth... 2c

[Dan65]

Thanks bman... That's worth WAY more than 2cents!
I haven't been able to get any info on how the Maxums handle a bit of rough water. Great to hear you've had a good experience with yours.
I'll be either on a lake, or on the inside waters of Georgia Strait. It can get pretty snotty out there but you are never far from a place to hole up if you need to.
I'm much closer to a decision now.
Cheers. Dan

[bman440440]

my pleasure!! let me know if you have any more ?'s

[shrew]

Welcome Aboard "Dan65"!!!