1st Boat Ever - Advice?

If I were you I would go rent a few boats or run a used one for the season to get a feel for your wants and needs. Going new is awesome but dont wind up with I-wish-istis.

ps. If you wind up with an aluminum boat Shark Skin is a must. So happy we did it with our new Wooldridge 12 years ago and you can definitely see the few spots we missed... especially after a trip to the salt.
 
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Lol, you guys are a helpful and hilarious group 😆

We're gonna attempt to see if we can come to a deal on a new SS Challenger 18'6" HT. If the numbers work out with the options we've selected, then it's gonna go in the queue for a Spring 2025 delivery. Trying to work out the moorage options right now, but worst case scenario my wife's truck is a RAM Warlock, so we'll be good to go for towing if need be.

If the Challenger doesn't work out, I think we'll be happy and fine with a Carmanah HT.
 
i went to silverstreak and the guy who owns it was extremely rude and told me to get lost after i wanted some basic mods to make the boat more suitable. YMMV but i would never touch a silverstreak. consider a hewescraft or kingfisher 22 or 24 footer hard top which will be the same weight/price as the silverstreak and a more capable boat (more length=safer in bigger seas). the hewescrafts can also come with small cabins for overnighting. silverstreak uses a lot of aluminum which means their boats are tough but heavy. good if youre fishing but not great for family cruising. they are also focused on their government customers more than individual owners. SS are also extremely noisy boats and the aluminum floors are not great when wet. more industrial design, good for commercial use but the boat is rolly when sitting still at anchor. the open console bottom is also meh even if i understand why they did it.
 
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When you get over the sticker shock plus taxes on the Silver Streak,I would suggest you take your time to find a low hour fiberglass boat in the size range that works for you. It doesn't sound like your in a hurry to buy so you will be surprised to see what you can buy used that's "Like New".It takes time to find the right fit,but our area is full of used boats and people that sell for all kinds of reasons.I think you could easily buy a near new fiberglass a lot bigger and finished better,at a lot less money.Aluminum boats have their place and Silver Streaks are one of the best built,but not my idea of a comfortable family boat.
 
I’d have to agree with Rayvon, I absolutely love my 21’ Silver Streak but it’s a lot of money for your first boat. A custom 18’ Silver Streak HT could easily run over $100k by the time you get that boat home.

I’ve told my friends the most bang for your buck would be a 17’ Double Eagle or Tyee. Both my dad and I both owned Tyees.
 
I’ve had a silver streak gambier 18.6 (same hull, but self bailing with cabin) for nearly five years now. I use it to run from reed point to south Thormanby island multiple times a year. It is very well built, and has been quite economical on fuel with a Mercury 150 for power. I would gladly recommend silver streak to a friend, but as mentioned previously, they are fairly expensive relative to a fibreglass runabout.

Having said all that, I’ll probably hang onto this boat for a very long time as it really does everything I need it to, except that elusive plush ride in a chop 🤣
 

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InterMechanico said:
I’ve had a silver streak gambier 18.6 (same hull, but self bailing with cabin) for nearly five years now. I use it to run from reed point to south Thormanby island multiple times a year. It is very well built, and has been quite economical on fuel with a Mercury 150 for power. I would gladly recommend silver streak to a friend, but as mentioned previously, they are fairly expensive relative to a fibreglass runabout.

Having said all that, I’ll probably hang onto this boat for a very long time as it really does everything I need it to, except that elusive plush ride in a chop 🤣
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Nice! We looked at the Gambier too, but with the 4 of us, the cabin felt a bit tight. If we go the cabin route in the future, we'll probably move into the Bowen 21... what worries me is all of our car payments will be done in a few years... hopefully I can contain myself and not go nuts on a boat upgrade then lol.
 
well a 40 foot performance catamaran is a good upgrade from a 18 footer. just sayin'....
and you can overnight for months.
 
HKSR said:
Nice! We looked at the Gambier too, but with the 4 of us, the cabin felt a bit tight. If we go the cabin route in the future, we'll probably move into the Bowen 21... what worries me is all of our car payments will be done in a few years... hopefully I can contain myself and not go nuts on a boat upgrade then lol.
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I understand completely! We needed an all weather boat that would be warm and dry in the fall, winter and rainy spring season. We also moor year round so a self-bailing cockpit was a priority. For what it’s worth, for the most part we haven’t really felt cramped on 4 person trips, except perhaps when it’s raining cats and dogs lol. The closed cabin is also very quiet under way, which is nice for longer trips.

My wife’s favourite option is the diesel fired heater, if that’s helpful lol
 
InterMechanico said:
I understand completely! We needed an all weather boat that would be warm and dry in the fall, winter and rainy spring season. We also moor year round so a self-bailing cockpit was a priority. For what it’s worth, for the most part we haven’t really felt cramped on 4 person trips, except perhaps when it’s raining cats and dogs lol. The closed cabin is also very quiet under way, which is nice for longer trips.

My wife’s favourite option is the diesel fired heater, if that’s helpful lol
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Definitely helpful! We're not planning to use it during rainy, cold, and wet seasons. Maybe sparingly anyways. We're also mooring it, so yeah, self bailing is important to us as well. This is gonna be very much a weeknight/weekend pleasure craft for us. We love fishing, so that's the primary focus, and then just being out on the water as a family is what we're looking forward to.
 
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