Seeking advice on power boat purchase (Glastron, Four Winns)

External Since: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 5

I just purchased a new cottage and will be buying my first powerboat. I
have my eye on a couple of boats and wanted to get some opinions from the
group (all prices are in Canadian dollars).

1) 1996 Four Winns 170 Horizon bowrider with 135 Evinrude O/B. This boat is
kept trailered year-round and the seller claims only a few weeks use a year.
I haven't seen it yet but the seller claims it's in excellent shape with a
small ding in the bow from a docking mishap. The price seems pretty fair at
$10,500CDN. My worry though is that he does not have service records. He
claims to have serviced the boat himself.

Would you run from this deal or would a competent mechanical survey and sea
test alleviate any concerns about powertrain damage?

2) 1998 Glastron CSX 18 foot bowrider with 125 Mercury O/B. Absolutely mint
shape with all records but a little pricey at $15,900.

I'm familiar with the Glastron name from watching James Bond, etc. but I'm
wondering, are the Glastrons still high quality boats or are they living on
past reputation?

3) Brand new Glastron MX 175 for $15,995. I never heard of this particular
model until I hit the Glastron site. It appears to be a new budget line.
I'm a little surprised by the low price. What have they left out of this
boat to make it such a good deal? Has anyone driven one? I can't find any
reviews or any other info on this boat.

Thanks,

Henry

External Since: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 290

I would vote for the 1996 Four Winns for several reasons.
1. Price
2. Power to weight ratio better than any other boat you mention.
3. Outboard does not require winterization in the sense that an I/O does.
You can run the boat a lot more weekends in Canada.

Recommend a good checkup by a reputable mechanic after you test drive the
boat. Not the wide open rpms and speed w/ a gps if you have access to one.
If it checks out, don't worry about the records. Only maintenance required
on an outboard is a water pump, spark plugs, lower unit oil change, and run
good gas and oil. The mechanic should change the water pump, change the
lower unit oil and verify no water or metal, verify compression is good and
ignition is good.

--
Tony
my boats at <a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com" target="_blank">http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com</a>

"skategoat25" wrote in message

> I just purchased a new cottage and will be buying my first powerboat. I
> have my eye on a couple of boats and wanted to get some opinions from the
> group (all prices are in Canadian dollars).
>
> 1) 1996 Four Winns 170 Horizon bowrider with 135 Evinrude O/B. This boat
is
> kept trailered year-round and the seller claims only a few weeks use a
year.
> I haven't seen it yet but the seller claims it's in excellent shape with a
> small ding in the bow from a docking mishap. The price seems pretty fair
at
> $10,500CDN. My worry though is that he does not have service records. He
> claims to have serviced the boat himself.
>
> Would you run from this deal or would a competent mechanical survey and
sea
> test alleviate any concerns about powertrain damage?
>
> 2) 1998 Glastron CSX 18 foot bowrider with 125 Mercury O/B. Absolutely
mint
> shape with all records but a little pricey at $15,900.
>
> I'm familiar with the Glastron name from watching James Bond, etc. but I'm
> wondering, are the Glastrons still high quality boats or are they living
on
> past reputation?
>
> 3) Brand new Glastron MX 175 for $15,995. I never heard of this
particular
> model until I hit the Glastron site. It appears to be a new budget line.
> I'm a little surprised by the low price. What have they left out of this
> boat to make it such a good deal? Has anyone driven one? I can't find
any
> reviews or any other info on this boat.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Henry
>
>
>
>