New to Boating need advice
 

Hello all,

What a great site. I have spent the last few days reading many of the posts and they have been a wealth of information, thank you all!

While my family and I have never owned a boat we have been considering it for several years now. I grew up around boats and my uncle has had boats for nearly 60 years. With 5 kids it gets hard to find things to do as a family.

We have been looking at Mariah boats as we know they are awesome. Having a large family and friends that will want to go with us we are thinking of a deck boat for seating and my kids love to fish so it works well for that too.

We have found a 1999 Z244 with a 5.7 Merc, Bravo III outdrive & stainless Steel duo-prop. Has a bit more hours on the engine than I would like (275) but looks to be clean. I have not seen it in person yet as it is a 12 hour drive away. It comes with a trailer and he is asking $18,000. I have seen 2 other sell for $15,500 and $16,000 so he is on the high side and NADA buts its value between $14,000 - $16,000.

My only real concern is the ride. I have been on deck boats before and because of the hull shape they tend to get fairly rough as waves get bigger. I did not see any info about this boat on the site so I would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks again

Jason:yes_grin:

Welcome! There are a few Jubilee owners on the board who will hopefully chime in. I have been on/ driven a 24 ft Sea Ray deck boat in pretty big swells and it handled just fine. Take if for a test run if you get a chance, that should be the deciding factor. As far as the hour are concerned I don't think 275 is too excessive. That a look at the "how many hours on your Mariah" thread to get an idea as to what is common for a boat that is almost 10 years old.

Welcome to the board Jason! We do have a few Jubilee owners on here, and they seem to love their boats! I agree that a test drive might be the only way to tell.

However, I will say for your purpose, a Jubilee sounds like it'd be perfect. Especially with 5 children and family. The open layout would allow for fishing, skiing, lounging, and just about anything you'd want to do. I believe the 244 even has a porta-potty "closet" so that makes things even more convenient.

275 hours isn't bad on a boat of that age, and the price seems fairly reasonable!

Where would you be using the boat? is rough water a big concern?

I don't think you'd regret your decision, and it'd be worth the 12hr drive! :wink_thumbup:

Thanks guys,

It does have the porta potty. And this layout works very well for the family. Rough water is not a big concern but I have some aging family members that like to take a ride or two and my wife hates to be beat while in a boat. I was talking to my uncle and he said at his place in the lake of the Ozarks many people are selling their deck boats because of this. I also know some Deck boats have a lesser V to them and more flat surface areas than others. It looks like the Jubilee has a decent V shape to it, correct me if I am wrong.

It sounds like you guys think $18,000 is fair is that correct?

Thanks