Newbie looking for a boat

[kinger]

Hey guys,

I'm a newbie on power boats. I got the itch when I was 14 and I dug a 15' GW invader out of the weeds and fixed it up and worked all winter long to pay for a 90hp merc tower of power, hot foot throttle, gauges, etc and I loved the boat but had to sell when I went to college......


Fast forward 14 years I have a wife, 2 large dogs, and a baby coming and I would like to find a brand, model, etc of a boat that can be a 70+ mph boat when I want to have fun or on guys night out but alternatively have one that has lots of room for say 8 people kids, dogs, friends, and just doing some light cruising and having a few cocktails. We live on a small but rough lake about 5-6 miles long and it sits high in elevation compared to the rest of the terrain so the wind just blows all the time and creates 1-3' waves all the time, its rarely smooth like the lake I grew up on so that boat would need to be able to handle those ok on 30-40mph plain.

I have thought about triple pontoons but I got a nasty itch to get something faster, I used to run with a guy who had a 20' laser I think it was called and it would around 90 mph and it was such a rush! I am a speed freak by nature no vehical, snowmobile, etc has ever NOT been modified to be faster.

So that leads me to my question does a boat that I am looking for exist? I have been reading on here for weeks and found that stoker boats have a nice seating arrangement for 6 and one 22' look liked it had a lot of room between the back seat and front back to back ones. Are there any performance open bows that offer more seating? Also any that ride a little higher out of the water? I do not want a 'cigarette' type boat they are too big for this lake and would look stupid, plus I would need a larger boat lift. Looking for something easy to trailer, tow, and lift say less then 3500 lbs.

Thanks for the help and advice!

[Gladhe8er]

You're probably looking for something like a 21' Checkmate Pulsare Bowrider. Should run about 70 with a 225-250 and hold 7 people comfortably. I wouldn't run 70 with people in the bow though. We had a 21 Pulsare closed bow with a 225 Merc and it ran low 70's. Used it in Long Island Sound which gets pretty snotty. It worked OK, but got bounced around pretty good in 3 footers, but then again all 21 foot outboards are going to get bounced in 3's.

[kinger]

Cool thanks for the help, still debating on a boat or modifying a tritoon Thanks!!

[GTO GEORGE]

What's your budget? A pontoon with twin big ones will run 70 and you can put 8 people on it, easy. Those boats previously mentioned will seat(maybe) eight people, but no one is comfortable. It's hard to have the cake and eat it, too.

[Jay R.]

getting everything your asking for won't be easy, I think the already mentioned Checkmate bow rider is gonna be your best bet. They handle chop well, and run strong!

[Li'l Toy]

Check with Randy Corson--Wildman on these boards. He is a Checkmate dealer, has beautiful boats. That boat was my first thought too. Won't have the space of a pontoon, but waaaayyy cooler.