I purchased a new Bayliner 195 Capri just over a year ago. I was looking
into a used "starter" boat at the time without success. After some pressure
from the homefront, I gave in and ran out and bought the Bayliner. While I
did get a good deal on price in comparison to other manufacturers (with a
5.0L V8), with so much negative said about Bayliner I with that I had gone
ahead and done more research with regards to quality, price, etc. The
Bayliner has performed well for my purposes (recreational skiing,
wakeboarding, fishing, cruising), though it did leave me almost stranded on
one outing. The remote would not shift into gear. Luckily, I was near the
dock and was able to pull the boat by hand and rope down the shoreline to
the ramp and load. I called the dealer from the lake, returned the boat,
and had a new remote installed. This may verify that Bayliner could be
using lesser quality accessories. Everything else has worked fine (fingers
crossed). Many people knock Bayliner, maybe rightfully so in so many cases,
I can't say. I write this only to give a perspective from a somewhat
satisfied Bayliner owner. If I were to be in the market again, I might look
harder elsewhere, further from home, at as many different manufacturers as
possible, certainly more that I was able to look at in my area. Good luck
with your search.

DJ

"alincoln" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

I have been researching and planning a boat purchase for some months
now. I have been reading as much literature as possible and walking
the marinas in my area for the last month. Basically in the market
for a bowrider, 18-19'. I've considered the following...Chaparrel,
Four Winns, Bayliner, Tahoe and most recently, Cobalt. My budget is
top end $18,000.00 so the Cobalt is off the table...Not to mention
this will be a starter boat. I want to trailer the boat, so I can
travel to different lakes. The boat will be primarily Freshwater in
the NH Lakes Region...maybe a trip or two in Portsmouth Harbor.

But I read some interesting posts about boat construction and
materials, specifically about certain manufacturers using
wood/plastic/fiberglass. My question is how does one educate
themselves on this? I suppose I could keep reading this news-group,
but I'm guessing there must be some book/web-site/etc... where you can
go and get a summary of the different boat manufacturers and the
materials they use...

tia,

adym

Bayliner is the installer of the remote that you speak of, Mercruiser is the
manufacturer. It would be the manufacturer fault for the failure (unless the
installer completly hacked the job)

"Don Johnson" wrote in message
...
I purchased a new Bayliner 195 Capri just over a year ago. I was looking
into a used "starter" boat at the time without success. After some
pressure
from the homefront, I gave in and ran out and bought the Bayliner. While
I
did get a good deal on price in comparison to other manufacturers (with a
5.0L V8), with so much negative said about Bayliner I with that I had gone
ahead and done more research with regards to quality, price, etc. The
Bayliner has performed well for my purposes (recreational skiing,
wakeboarding, fishing, cruising), though it did leave me almost stranded
on
one outing. The remote would not shift into gear. Luckily, I was near
the
dock and was able to pull the boat by hand and rope down the shoreline to
the ramp and load. I called the dealer from the lake, returned the boat,
and had a new remote installed. This may verify that Bayliner could be
using lesser quality accessories. Everything else has worked fine
(fingers
crossed). Many people knock Bayliner, maybe rightfully so in so many
cases,
I can't say. I write this only to give a perspective from a somewhat
satisfied Bayliner owner. If I were to be in the market again, I might
look
harder elsewhere, further from home, at as many different manufacturers as
possible, certainly more that I was able to look at in my area. Good luck
with your search.

DJ

"alincoln" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

I have been researching and planning a boat purchase for some months
now. I have been reading as much literature as possible and walking
the marinas in my area for the last month. Basically in the market
for a bowrider, 18-19'. I've considered the following...Chaparrel,
Four Winns, Bayliner, Tahoe and most recently, Cobalt. My budget is
top end $18,000.00 so the Cobalt is off the table...Not to mention
this will be a starter boat. I want to trailer the boat, so I can
travel to different lakes. The boat will be primarily Freshwater in
the NH Lakes Region...maybe a trip or two in Portsmouth Harbor.

But I read some interesting posts about boat construction and
materials, specifically about certain manufacturers using
wood/plastic/fiberglass. My question is how does one educate
themselves on this? I suppose I could keep reading this news-group,
but I'm guessing there must be some book/web-site/etc... where you can
go and get a summary of the different boat manufacturers and the
materials they use...

tia,

adym