We are contemplating purchasing a Hydra Sports 230 WA. Can anyone give me
any information about the quality, ride, handling, etc of this boat. We are
also looking at a Key West 2300 WA, but the dealer does not have a 2300 in
stock. We looked at a 2300 WA that we found in a fenced area at a marina,
but it appears that the back area of the boat is very small. Anyone know
about the Key West. We also looked at a Pro Line, but that boat doesn't have
good rankings with J D Powers. What would you buy? Hydra Sports, Key West,
Pro Line, or Sea Pro??????

On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 03:38:26 GMT, "wojo" u32209@uwe wrote:

We are contemplating purchasing a Hydra Sports 230 WA. Can anyone give me
any information about the quality, ride, handling, etc of this boat. We are
also looking at a Key West 2300 WA, but the dealer does not have a 2300 in
stock. We looked at a 2300 WA that we found in a fenced area at a marina,
but it appears that the back area of the boat is very small. Anyone know
about the Key West. We also looked at a Pro Line, but that boat doesn't have
good rankings with J D Powers. What would you buy? Hydra Sports, Key West,
Pro Line, or Sea Pro??????

The Hydra Sports 230 is an excellent boat - they have been building
them for a long time. In fact, some of their molds have been used by
other manufacturers on a rebrand.

The simple truth is that any 23' walk around, while providing some
space for kids to nap, go potty, etc., there isn't a whole lot of
room in the cabin and if you have more than two or three people in the
cockpit for fishing, it gets cramped quickly.

With regard to the individual boats, they all perform about the same
as their hull designs are all the same. The one exception is the
Hydra Sports - I am not enthusiastic about bracket mounted engines on
this boat. I tested one for a dealer and one of the things I noticed
was the tendency to bury the engine up to the cowling on take off and
when backing down from a cruising or WOT run - that's not a "bad"
thing and it may have been specific to that particular year, it's just
something that I wasn't enthusiastic about. I haven't tested one
recently and I have heard that they have moved the bracket up to fix
that problem, but I can't say that for sure.

Depending on what you are looking to do, each boat has it's niche in
the market. The Hydra Sports Lightning series is a good, sound
all-around boat and will perform as such. The Key West WA has more of
the features to look for as a fishing platform. Pro Line I wouldn't
buy if you paid me. I just flat out don't like them - much to light,
under designed and very cramped for space. Others may have a
different opinion. Sea Pro is ok - I'm not impressed with their fit
and finish and that last one I looked at, if you looked down the side
of the boat, there wasn't a straight line anywhere.

If I had my druthers, I'd probably opt for the Key West. You will
have to make an engine choice and I would opt for 50 horses under the
max. If you can, which may not be possible, try and opt for Evinrude
E-TEC engines. If not, go for Merc Optimax or Yamaha HPDI series.
I'm not a fan of four stroke engines.

One option you may wish to consider is Polar. I have been impressed
since they first started making them.

http://www.godfreymarine.com/cf/feat...ader_polar.jpg

These are well thought out, the fit and finish is excellent and the
materials are the highest quality. When delivered,they are complete
and with all the little goodies that you have to add to the other
boats. They run great and while I'm not sure how they do it, the
boats are actually balanced while running - very quick on plane, they
track perfectly and handle a heavy chop in fine style. While it's not
apparent when looking at them, once aboard, they have a lot of room -
storage is hidden and there is plenty of it. These are probably the
best boats in this category.

Second best would be Sailfish.

http://www.sailfishboats.com/sailfis...l.aspx?boat=14

Very similar to Polar in terms of fit and finish. I have a friend who
is as particular as you can get when it comes to boats. He has the
2600 and swears it's the best boat of this class he's ever owned. He
didn't use factory power going with E-TECs and he's as happy as a pig
in a pen of slops which is saying something because he's very
particular.

Once you decide on the base boat and power, the only thing I would add
to a boat like this is canvas for the T-top and maybe a camper back
which would increase the interior space for overnights if you are
inclined towards that.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Thanks, Short Wave Sportfishing! This information helped a lot! We haven't
purchased a boat since 1983, so we've been out of touch with the lastest
happenings with boats. We both retired last year and we're looking for a
boat that will primarily be used for cruising and light sport fishing mainly
in the York River and the Chesapeake Bay, so we wanted something that would
easily accommodate both. Most of the time it will be just the two of us in
the boat, except when our older children come to visit, and we probably will
never spend the nights in it because we live on the river. You've been a
tremendous help. Thanks again,

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
We are contemplating purchasing a Hydra Sports 230 WA. Can anyone give me
any information about the quality, ride, handling, etc of this boat. We are
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
good rankings with J D Powers. What would you buy? Hydra Sports, Key West,
Pro Line, or Sea Pro??????

The Hydra Sports 230 is an excellent boat - they have been building
them for a long time. In fact, some of their molds have been used by
other manufacturers on a rebrand.

The simple truth is that any 23' walk around, while providing some
space for kids to nap, go potty, etc., there isn't a whole lot of
room in the cabin and if you have more than two or three people in the
cockpit for fishing, it gets cramped quickly.

With regard to the individual boats, they all perform about the same
as their hull designs are all the same. The one exception is the
Hydra Sports - I am not enthusiastic about bracket mounted engines on
this boat. I tested one for a dealer and one of the things I noticed
was the tendency to bury the engine up to the cowling on take off and
when backing down from a cruising or WOT run - that's not a "bad"
thing and it may have been specific to that particular year, it's just
something that I wasn't enthusiastic about. I haven't tested one
recently and I have heard that they have moved the bracket up to fix
that problem, but I can't say that for sure.

Depending on what you are looking to do, each boat has it's niche in
the market. The Hydra Sports Lightning series is a good, sound
all-around boat and will perform as such. The Key West WA has more of
the features to look for as a fishing platform. Pro Line I wouldn't
buy if you paid me. I just flat out don't like them - much to light,
under designed and very cramped for space. Others may have a
different opinion. Sea Pro is ok - I'm not impressed with their fit
and finish and that last one I looked at, if you looked down the side
of the boat, there wasn't a straight line anywhere.

If I had my druthers, I'd probably opt for the Key West. You will
have to make an engine choice and I would opt for 50 horses under the
max. If you can, which may not be possible, try and opt for Evinrude
E-TEC engines. If not, go for Merc Optimax or Yamaha HPDI series.
I'm not a fan of four stroke engines.

One option you may wish to consider is Polar. I have been impressed
since they first started making them.

http://www.godfreymarine.com/cf/feat...ader_polar.jpg

These are well thought out, the fit and finish is excellent and the
materials are the highest quality. When delivered,they are complete
and with all the little goodies that you have to add to the other
boats. They run great and while I'm not sure how they do it, the
boats are actually balanced while running - very quick on plane, they
track perfectly and handle a heavy chop in fine style. While it's not
apparent when looking at them, once aboard, they have a lot of room -
storage is hidden and there is plenty of it. These are probably the
best boats in this category.

Second best would be Sailfish.

http://www.sailfishboats.com/sailfis...l.aspx?boat=14

Very similar to Polar in terms of fit and finish. I have a friend who
is as particular as you can get when it comes to boats. He has the
2600 and swears it's the best boat of this class he's ever owned. He
didn't use factory power going with E-TECs and he's as happy as a pig
in a pen of slops which is saying something because he's very
particular.

Once you decide on the base boat and power, the only thing I would add
to a boat like this is canvas for the T-top and maybe a camper back
which would increase the interior space for overnights if you are
inclined towards that.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

--
Message posted via BoatKB.com
http://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/boats/200703/1

On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 22:42:41 GMT, "wojo via BoatKB.com" u32209@uwe
wrote:

Thanks, Short Wave Sportfishing! This information helped a lot! We haven't
purchased a boat since 1983, so we've been out of touch with the lastest
happenings with boats. We both retired last year and we're looking for a
boat that will primarily be used for cruising and light sport fishing mainly
in the York River and the Chesapeake Bay, so we wanted something that would
easily accommodate both. Most of the time it will be just the two of us in
the boat, except when our older children come to visit, and we probably will
never spend the nights in it because we live on the river. You've been a
tremendous help. Thanks again,

Well, take your time, look around and get comfortable with the boats.
Ask the dealers if they have one in the water than you can take a ride
on - pay for the gas or if they don't have a dealer boat in the water
but have a owner boat, give the owner a bottle of champagne and go for
a ride asking questions.

Boats and engine technology has changed a lot since '86 so you may
wish to become comfortable with all the choices which basically break
down to Direct Injection two stroke or four stroke. I'm firmly in the
two stroke camp, but four strokes have their good points as well. It's
what you are comfortable with.

Have fun looking and let us know what you purchase.

On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 03:38:26 GMT, "wojo" u32209@uwe wrote:

We are contemplating purchasing a Hydra Sports 230 WA. Can anyone give me
any information about the quality, ride, handling, etc of this boat. We are
also looking at a Key West 2300 WA, but the dealer does not have a 2300 in
stock. We looked at a 2300 WA that we found in a fenced area at a marina,
but it appears that the back area of the boat is very small. Anyone know
about the Key West. We also looked at a Pro Line, but that boat doesn't have
good rankings with J D Powers. What would you buy? Hydra Sports, Key West,
Pro Line, or Sea Pro??????

I've got a Pro Line and have had no problems with it. But, if I were to go
buy another boat now, I'd probably go with the Grady White Seafarer 228.
The fishing room is astonishing.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Mar 2, 7:38�pm, "wojo" u32209@uwe wrote:
We are contemplating purchasing a Hydra Sports 230 WA. *Can anyone give me
any information about the quality, ride, handling, etc of this boat. *We are
also looking at a Key West 2300 WA, but the dealer does not have a 2300 in
stock. *We looked at a 2300 WA that we found in a fenced area at a marina,
but it appears that the back area of the boat is very small. *Anyone know
about the Key West. *We also looked at a Pro Line, but that boat doesn't have
good rankings with J D Powers. *What would you buy? *Hydra Sports, Key West,
Pro Line, or Sea Pro??????

One of the boats we're featuring in the next issue of our magazine is
the Hydra Sports 2500 VX. I spent some time aboard one last week, (not
under way), and I thought the boat was pretty impressive.

One of the things I am pretty sensitive to is the way things "feel" on
a boat.
Nothing turns me off faster than stuff that is less than sturdy,
flexes when handled, is "get by" skinny, or moves with a lot of slop
and shimmy.

I'd compare the sense of solidity during a thorough examination with
some of the best boats in that class. Built like a brick outhouse.
Kevlar reinforced hull, ceramic (!) transom, integrated stringer grid,
steel reinforced hoses, you name it.

I could envision a couple of fishing buddies or a small family
overnighting in the cabin on the 2500 VX. Fully plumbed VacuFlush
marine head (no "porta pottie" to dump), hot and cold pressure water,
fridge/freezer, microwave oven,
.....nothing too elaborate but surely enough to be comfortable for a
couple of days or so.

The retail sticker on a well optioned boat with twin 150-HP ETECs and
a galvanized trailer was not too far north of $100k. Tests done by
another organization and offered as a handout by the Hydra Sports
dealer indicate tht top speed with those engines on this hull is about
45.5 MPH (32.34 GPH) and a more efficient cruise speed would be 28.2
MPH (12.82 GPH).

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Thanks, Short Wave Sportfishing! This information helped a lot! We haven't
purchased a boat since 1983, so we've been out of touch with the lastest
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
never spend the nights in it because we live on the river. You've been a
tremendous help. Thanks again,

Well, take your time, look around and get comfortable with the boats.
Ask the dealers if they have one in the water than you can take a ride
on - pay for the gas or if they don't have a dealer boat in the water
but have a owner boat, give the owner a bottle of champagne and go for
a ride asking questions.

Boats and engine technology has changed a lot since '86 so you may
wish to become comfortable with all the choices which basically break
down to Direct Injection two stroke or four stroke. I'm firmly in the
two stroke camp, but four strokes have their good points as well. It's
what you are comfortable with.

Have fun looking and let us know what you purchase.

We made a purchase--finally!!! We decided on the Hydro Sports 230WA with a
Yamaha 4-stroke 250 hp. One thing that sold us on this boat was the amount
of space in the back cockpit area compared to other boats we looked at in the
same price range. The fact that it's 8'11" wide made it even more attractive
to us. And it has a huge bow seat position low on the bow. We don't
anticipate spending overnights on the boat, but the cabin will come in handy
for late-fall fishing trips when the weather is rather cool. We ordered it
with the hard t-top and a full enclosure to make cool-weather fishing more
attractive. We hope to take delivery of our boat sometime next week. The
weather in the eastern part of Virginia is supposed to be in the 60's and
70's through Wednesday. What a treat for mid-March. Can't wait to see it
perched on our lift. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions you
provided.

--
Message posted via BoatKB.com
http://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/boats/200703/1

On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:25:40 GMT, "wojo via BoatKB.com" u32209@uwe
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Thanks, Short Wave Sportfishing! This information helped a lot! We haven't
purchased a boat since 1983, so we've been out of touch with the lastest
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
never spend the nights in it because we live on the river. You've been a
tremendous help. Thanks again,

Well, take your time, look around and get comfortable with the boats.
Ask the dealers if they have one in the water than you can take a ride
on - pay for the gas or if they don't have a dealer boat in the water
but have a owner boat, give the owner a bottle of champagne and go for
a ride asking questions.

Boats and engine technology has changed a lot since '86 so you may
wish to become comfortable with all the choices which basically break
down to Direct Injection two stroke or four stroke. I'm firmly in the
two stroke camp, but four strokes have their good points as well. It's
what you are comfortable with.

Have fun looking and let us know what you purchase.

We made a purchase--finally!!! We decided on the Hydro Sports 230WA with a
Yamaha 4-stroke 250 hp. One thing that sold us on this boat was the amount
of space in the back cockpit area compared to other boats we looked at in the
same price range. The fact that it's 8'11" wide made it even more attractive
to us. And it has a huge bow seat position low on the bow. We don't
anticipate spending overnights on the boat, but the cabin will come in handy
for late-fall fishing trips when the weather is rather cool. We ordered it
with the hard t-top and a full enclosure to make cool-weather fishing more
attractive. We hope to take delivery of our boat sometime next week. The
weather in the eastern part of Virginia is supposed to be in the 60's and
70's through Wednesday. What a treat for mid-March. Can't wait to see it
perched on our lift. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions you
provided.

Well, other than the fact that you bought the wrong engine... :)

Congratulations - enjoy it.

On Mar 10, 11:25�am, "wojo via BoatKB.com" u32209@uwe wrote:
Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Thanks, Short Wave Sportfishing! *This information helped a lot! *We haven't
purchased a boat since 1983, so we've been out of touch with the lastest
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
never spend the nights in it because we live on the river. *You've been a
tremendous help. *Thanks again,

Well, take your time, look around and get comfortable with the boats.
Ask the dealers if they have one in the water than you can take a ride
on - pay for the gas or if they don't have a dealer boat in the water
but have a owner boat, give the owner a bottle of champagne and go for
a ride asking questions.

Boats and engine technology has changed a lot since '86 so you may
wish to become comfortable with all the choices which basically break
down to Direct Injection two stroke or four stroke. *I'm firmly in the
two stroke camp, but four strokes have their good points as well. It's
what you are comfortable with.

Have fun looking and let us know what you purchase.

We made a purchase--finally!!! *We decided on the Hydro Sports 230WA with a
Yamaha 4-stroke 250 hp. *One thing that sold us on this boat was the amount
of space in the back cockpit area compared to other boats we looked at in the
same price range. *The fact that it's 8'11" wide made it even more attractive
to us. *And it has a huge bow seat position low on the bow. *We don't
anticipate spending overnights on the boat, but the cabin will come in handy
for late-fall fishing trips when the weather is rather cool. *We ordered it
with the hard t-top and a full enclosure to make cool-weather fishing more
attractive. *We hope to take delivery of our boat sometime next week. *The
weather in the eastern part of Virginia is supposed to be in the 60's and
70's through Wednesday. *What a treat for mid-March. *Can't wait to see it
perched on our lift. *Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions you
provided.

--
Message posted via BoatKB.comhttp://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/boats/200703/1- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Congratulations. Sounds like you chose the boat for a lot of right
reasons.
I think the hardtop makes a lot of sense in most climates, shade in
the summer and shelter in the fall and spring. Have a blast, stay
safe, and catch a few fish. :-)