Here's my advice, based on several decades of boating.

Stay away from Bayliners. They're attractively styled and low priced,
but don't get suckered in. They tend to be cheaply built, as is
evidenced in little details like joints and fasteners. BOATING
magazine did a review of a Bayliner Trophy, which is advertised as a
rugged, offshore blue water fishing boat, and described the
construction as "flimsy." Sport Fishing magazine said they were "good
for inshore and protected waters."

I know major boat dealers all up and down the Texas coast, and almost
all of them refuse to take Bayliners as tradeins. They make their lot
look cheap (ever see used Yugos sitting on a Mercedes lot?), and later
when they fall apart their owners get ****ed off and bring them back,
etc.

I live and boat at a large (30,000 acres) recreational lake in central
Texas. Many times I've watched a Bayliner pull up to a gas dock, and
the gas boys would just sit there talking and ignore it, although
they'd jump to their feet if anything else pulled up. Really. I'm not
making this up.

Once I was looking at a 21' Trophy cuddy in a Bayliner showroom. The
piece of crap came with a 175HP Force. It'd probably do 20mph. I
pressed on the side of the hull with the tip of my finger, and the
outer layer of fiberglass "popped" in and out slightly with the
pressure. I thumped it with the heel of my hand, and it was like
thumping a shoebox. What a piece of crap. Try thumping the hull on my
12 year old Robalo sometime. It feels like concrete slab. Literally.

Well, I could go on. If K-Mart sold boats, they'd be Bayliners.

There are quite a few good boats out there these days, with modern
manufacturing technology. Look for little features and details, like
storage, seating, instrument protection, etc. as well as seaworthiness.


One boat I can recommend in your category that's been around for years
is an old standard, the Wellcraft Coastal. It's a proven veteran,
rugged and seaworthy, and is well known for making clever, efficient
use of space. Here's a link:

http://www.wellcraft.com/Boats/Boats....asp?c=1&b=220

Another one is this 26' Robalo, if you're REALLY serious:

http://www.robalo.com/265.htm

Good luck. I envy you, going shopping for a new 26 footer. Not
something you do every day!

Ron M.