Opinions on 27-28' boats???

[paradigm shift]

You stated where you would boat but not what type of boating. Cruise from here to there or do you over night. Biggest suggestion I would have is to be sure and test drive or try an dfind some rides in a boat like it before you buy. There are several other choices out there beside those 3 I think. Those are good though.

[Mike.M]

Hey - thanks to everyone for their input so far! Let me provide some further information: my wife and I would be using the boat for a variety of purposes - but mostly day / pleasure use. Skiing/wakeboarding would be the least important activity, while cruising around would be the most - along with going to some destinations. The ocean use is mainly in protected areas rather than open ocean. Having a decent cabin is nice, however I don't foresee a lot of overnighting, although maybe sometimes. Also, we want it to be reasonably easy to deal with on a trailer. Speed is important to some extent, but so is comfort. One criteria is to have a full windshield. We recently demo'ed a 27 Fountain w/496HO in Tacoma, WA and liked it. It was a nice day, but cool, so the widshield was appreciated. Thanks for the tips re. offshoreonly.com - great site!

[playdeep]

Just my 02..
Good friend of mine has a 27ft. Fountain,the actual room is comparable to a 24-25 ft boat...
A 27 w/ a 496 is gonna be a slug.
Another friend (Jim Nichols/EBA vice pres.)has a 27 Warlock with a blown 509.Amazing rough water boat boat,narrow beam,small but stable.
Hard to go wrong with a Shockwave,DCB,Eliminator,try them all you are gonna be the final judge,you will know when you've found the right one...good luck.
Keep us posted.

[spectras only]

Mike, I see you're from my neck of woods, so I'll put my .02 cdn in for you. I have a 24 spectra [not for sale] that has a good size cabin and you can put a windshield on if you choose to do so .There's a 32 spectra for sale in the seattle area with triple axel trailer. That boat has even more room with 2X454's ,B/W tranny and TRS legs.It may have sold already [the asking price was 27K us only] since it was all original and in good condition.If I didn't have the 24 already I would have bought it .I can show you the construction of my spectra to measure other boats against it.Spectras are very heavy compared to newer boats,but I prefer the bullettproof trait of them around here with floating debris in the waterways.You can e-mail me if you want to see my boat at california marine in richmond.

[Havasu Cig]

You can have wind deflectors put on most boats as well. Our Cig has a race fairing, but has wind deflectors that can be raised and they work fairly well. Just a thought if you find a boat you like but it does not have a windshield.

[Charley]

MM dave@DCB is tooling a canopy deck for his 28 extreme as we speak....

[Phat_Kat]

Charley:
MM dave@DCB is tooling a canopy deck for his 28 extreme as we speak.... So there's gonna be like a F-28extreme or something?

[hpron]

Charley:
MM dave@DCB is tooling a canopy deck for his 28 extreme as we speak.... Charley.....will it be full enclosed or just 1/2.I had talked with him late last year about building one for Factory 1 to race in the APBA,it would be bitchin if he came up with a SVL to run against the Extreme's and Phantom's

[26 QUEST]

TAKE A LOOK AT A POWERQUEST 26. I HAVE A 496 IN MINE AND I GET 63 OUT OF IT SO IF YOU WERE TO PUT IN A HO YOU SHOULD GET UPPER 60S.YOU WOULD ALSO HAVE SOME MONEY LEFT OVER TO SPEND ON A TOW RIG. 10 GRAND LESS THAN 27 FEVER.

[OGShocker]

Hey Mike,
My wife and I just bought a 27' Dana Performance OffShore. The boat is being built for us from the ground up. Here is a shot taken day before yesterday!http://www.theoldgeezers.org/boatfront.jpg
The folks at Dana are great to work with. For more information contact Tom the owner @ Dana