Experienced owners advice needed.

[tyrellgentry]

I am looking to buy my family our first boat. We are a family of 6 with kids ages 12 to 4 years old. I have a max budget of $25K. I have a two potential options

https://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/d...369000052.html

2003 Tige 20i has 330 hrs and is only an hour from my house. It is a direct drive and doesn't seem to have any options or "extras"

https://boise.craigslist.org/boa/d/b...389757357.html

2003 Tige 22v Riders Edition has 646 hrs and is about 7 hours from my house. It seems to have brand new upholstery and some options or "extras"

Does it seem worth it to drive 14 hours to get the 22v? It really seems like it may be despite it having twice as many hours.

[VinceRZX3]

Personally, I would go with the 22V for a few reasons. First, It's a bigger boat and with your family might be more enjoyable. Then, it's got better options and new interior which is great and it looks better overall even on the outside.
Also, the 20i has the central motor which I personally think takes away space and is inconvenient unless you want to do lots of water skiing.
Last thing, who knows if the hours on the 20i are the actual hours, seems low for a 15 year old boat.

I'm sure some members here can give you more details about the mechanical specs and also some other differences of the boat.

[freeheel4life]

That last boat in Boise is a boat I have worked on before. If I remember correctly it had some Trans issues. I would ask the seller if it ever got addressed. I'm sure it did. Owner should be named Sean Winston. Otherwise that boat was super clean. I think it had some gel damage around the ski tow pylon as well.

If you want a mechanic to look at it and give you a second opinion I know a couple good mechanics in Boise that would likely do a pre-sale inspection for you.

That was Sean's second boat and I think he learned some lessons with his first and would guess this ones been getting cared for.

[chpthril]

V-drive for sure. Mush better family-friendly seating compared to a DD, not to mention being bigger.

[freeheel4life]

I vote V drive if is as nice as ti looks in the pics. 14 hours is a good distance to drive (Been there) but water test it and if it good take it home.

It was super clean last time I saw it. Was owned by an armed forces recruiter (can't remember what branch) in Baker City OR. Then it went to Salt Lake briefly and got traded back in. Then current owner bought it.

[Markmay320]

22V all the way, because of what everyone has said. Your family will thank you for the extra room.

[BrentP]

We live in our 22ve (same hull basically) and regularly go out with 4 adults and 5 kids. You really don’t want the direct drive imho, not because it’s not an amazing boat, but because it’s not a family boat compared to the V drive. The kids want to walk around, people will bring 10 different bags and coolers and floats and all that junk. You will love the space compared to the mid engine.


Additionally, if Free says it was in good shape and told you what to check on, you can take that to the bank. That’s gold when buying a new boat


Good luck man!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[isaac]

I am original owner of my 03 22v with vortec engine, and have never regretted the purchase! We’ve had as many as 14 people in the boat (some kids) and it has served us very well. Had some initial teething pains, but has been quite reliable for the past 15 years.

it has the Lenco electric TAPS actuator, and I had to replace the actuator about 2 years ago.

The swim platform brackets wear, and I had them reworked at a machine shop last month.

I’ve replaced the bilge pump and blower in the past few years.

Other than batteries, any other work has been cosmetic. In all, not bad for a nearly 20 year old boat!

[tyrellgentry]

Thanks everyone for your very honest responses. I never really knew how difficult of a decision buying a boat could be. Haven't made a decision yet but hopefully soon

[MikeB313]

Another vote for 22V. I owned a 2002 for 10 years and loved that boat. You'll be glad you went with the V-drive.

[boatwakes]

Hello Tyrell and welcome! I too am on the 22V for all of the above AND because it has more hours. On a boat, more hours is generally better because it means the immediate maintenance and random or even large issues were addressed because they used the boat. I'm currently replacing the engine on a customer's 1997 with 206 hours. The engine failed because he literally didn't use it enough and let standard maintenance go by the wayside. The average boater in Southern California uses their boat less than 50 hours a year (such a tragedy!!!) which for a 2003 should be 900 hours total (be sure to have a DTC connected to the engine computer before purchase to verify correct hours!!! I recently ran a new customer's 1997 which showed 91 hours on the hour meter at 694 hours on the computer!!! However, it was not a detriment to the engine life, just an eye opener for the customer.). With 646 hours on the 22v thats 34/year and for that area, good by my assessment. Ask questions, take pictures, look at the freeze plugs to see if they're painted or not and if it's a Mercruiser engine, the original factory stamped serial will be on the engine block right where it bolts to the bell housing just above where the block mounted, not top mounted, starter is located (ENGINE starboard side, boat port side).