Opinions ....let's hear them.

[Bobcat]

Windshields are a tough decision. If you live somewhere it rains a lot...they are handy with a convertible top...but they are also subject to "sneezing" (both ways) And are hard to keep clean. They can also be a sauna at low speeds. I like the look of the race fairing, or even the older Fountain mini windshield with the "lip on it.

[Buoy]

I prefer a flat deck with a fairing, or a small windshield (the useless, 6" tall type).
It just looks better.

[poncho]

Had a boat with convertible top and it snapped onto the windshield. It was nice when it rained because I could still use the boat. Current Donzi Classic has a windshield and think it adds to the styling. Its a 22. On the 18 Classic I prefer them without.

[Ratickle]

Windshields are nice, but they need to be un-intrusive. Some look like crap, some add to the boats overall appeal. I'll try to dig up some of my favorites.....

[Ratickle]

The older Hustler 32 and the Velocity 28 both had sweet looking windscreens that blended in with the boat lines.

[Hellbent]

Staying with old school usable cabin boat look in a 28 ............or should we modernize it a bit by sleeking back the windshield and blending it into the deck line ...........or even just a flat deck like the old Cary outboard raceboat has here.

What does the next generation of buyers want for a timeless look?

I still drool over old Saber's, Pantera's, and Scarab's. I think a small fairing that can easily be converted to a windshield or have deflectors added to it is the best bet. But....

I have additional thoughts here because I'm the guy the industry claims they're trying to appeal to. I'm middle aged, upper middle class income, 1.6 kids, etc. I need at least 28' to support my style of boating (friends, kids, a couple coolers, over-nights, etc.). If I can't buy a brand new 'performance' boat that fits my needs for around $125k then it's not happening. Getting financed is not as easy as it once was (many lenders have dropped boats all together), insurance costs are much higher thanks to all the fraud over the past 20 years, and fuel prices are 3x what they were 20 years ago. These are all factors that I have to consider when I'm buying a 'toy' like this. The demographic of customers who were spending $125k+ 20 years ago on a brand new 28' barely exists anymore. Those were the days of a booming economy that was ripe for the picking for even the dumbest of entrepreneurs. It's not like that anymore. Throw on top of all that the fact that I can buy a 20 year old boat that performs nearly as good as a new one (and looks just as good) for a fraction of the cost right now and it's pretty hard to justify buying new.

I guess what I'm saying here is.....there isn't enough market to support more than a handful of 28' manufacturers if the price is $200k+. That's the elephant in the room that none of the manufacturers seem to be addressing. Until they find a way to sell one for less, the numbers will continue to decline. There will be some shift in sales due to people stepping down from bigger boats (because they can't afford to buy a brand new 40' anymore) but manufacturers aren't going to attract many 'new' performance boaters at $200k. For proof all you have to do is look at how many of those manufacturers are gone now and the higher age of the average performance boater. Just sayin'.....

[cdail28590]

The laid back windshield or one like the Velocity has look much better. What would be a price point for a 28' with everything included but a motor and drive and all wiring back to the motor completed?

[Ratickle]

Some of the things I seem to notice when it comes to performance powerboats (and has influenced our choices over time).

Most ladies want comfort.
Fast is fun but only for a reasonably short time. Rough rides are not fun at all for most. As my wife has said in the 24', #It was a pretty good ride, I don't think I broke any ribs this time and only had the wind knocked out of me a couple times." A place to lay out and sun. A potty to take a pee. Room for a nap, cooler, and a place to change are all important. So is a place out of the wind, (sometimes you're heading somewhere that "Bad Hair" is something to cause arrival issues......

The boat must look cool
It seems to be a status thing. I'm fine in a ratrod version of a boat with good performance capabilities. My wife, not so much.

The days of multiple boats to fit the need at the time are almost over. They are starting to cost too much. It's not just the purchase, but the insurance is also getting up there.

So, the 28' seems to fit the bill. They are big enough to have a decent sunpad. With a slightly raised deck they have the room for a potty and a place to nap or change. With the right lines, classics rock, they meet the "cool" requirement. The deep Vee's ride decent in rough water. There is not much a decent driver can't go through in somewhat comfort in a well designed 28. And nice for us guys, they can perform very well in most conditions with a large single or with twins. But wive's/girlfriend's are becoming very involved when the final decision is made.

I think the main question is what is the best value. Boats are expensive when new. Over $200,000 for a 28' is a large chunk of change. How much does the cost change per foot average now? How much more is a 28 than a 24? What about a 32 vs a 28? The obvious cost of a twin versus a single seems huge when the average engine/drive package is over $40,000, but the cost of twins in a 28 versus the same package in a 32 seems like it should be minuscule when it comes to total cost. Wrong?

Personally I think the 28 with a huge single is a great option.

[fund razor]

The older Hustler 32 and the Velocity 28 both had sweet looking windscreens that blended in with the boat lines.

My old 26 Chris had a windshield that blended with the lines very well.

[Ratickle]

And I've had this discussion with several people in person and on the phone since this thread was started. The importance of steps. I say it is no longer just speed, although that is important. But the pad bottom on Velocity has similar speed capabilities as a well designed step bottom. The more important part of bottom design after safety in all water conditions is efficiency. Boats will need to get better and better mileage, the step bottom boats do that. And, so far, the Chief bottom seems to be the best of both worlds. Would it perform the same when scaled down?

[Ratickle]

My old 26 Chris had a windshield that blended with the lines very well.

Also had great headroom for it's size and kept nice performance lines. Did the 26' include the platform on those?

[fund razor]

Also had great headroom for it's size and kept nice performance lines. Did the 26' include the platform on those?

If I recall correctly, it was 26 without the bolt-on platform.

[Ratickle]

One thing I'm curious about on potential boat design and configurations. I talked with a friend who has a sweet Scarab 30 center console with twin 225 Mercs. I told him he should stick on a couple new 300 Verados, but he said that had been tried with a 30 and it was too heavy in the stern for the boat.

Will the design of the 28 Banana, and similar size boats, handle a twin 300 to 350 setup of the new outboards? (A single 557 would be interesting too).

[Top Banana]

Okay........here is something that we have been working on for a bit now.

This is a 28 foot boat.

It was designed as a race boat with a single big block sterndrive.

Cabin room is plenty big..... from the deck line to the bottom of the vee. Same as the 24footer, 9 feet end to end.

This would be a bolster boat with the fuel tank under the floor of the cockpit.

It is shown with race hatches in the drawing, but this could be changed to a back seat and a sun pad for the ladies.

Plenty of room for a vee berth and a porta potti and storage under there.

This race version could be purchased for someone who is just looking for a fun boat that can be used for a few hours and quickly washed down and put away.

Hull and deck with 100 gallon fuel tank and trim tabs and all electronics installed. Steering options installed also.

You tell us what engine and drive you will be using and we cut the transom for the drive and exhaust pipes.

We think we have captured the timeless look also.........

What do you think??

[Top Banana]

One thing I'm curious about on potential boat design and configurations. I talked with a friend who has a sweet Scarab 30 center console with twin 225 Mercs. I told him he should stick on a couple new 300 Verados, but he said that had been tried with a 30 and it was too heavy in the stern for the boat.

Will the design of the 28 Banana, and similar size boats, handle a twin 300 to 350 setup of the new outboards? (A single 557 would be interesting too).

I would not like to think of someone putting twin 300HP or 350HP on a 28 foot boat. I think for a raceboat that would be fine, but for the average joe out for a weekend with his family, he really doesn't need that much speed or power.

If he wants more speed we would suggest a bigger sized boat.

[Ratickle]

How much power did you have on your twin outboard boats?

[h2oMag]

I'm chiming in late on this but selling blank hulls is what put Jim Klem [Lancer, Aero, Predator & Awesome marine] on the boat builder map. In 1974 I bought his very first offshore 24' blank hull from him, from that sale he sold at least 20+ blank hulls to my friends & there friends in the next year. The hulls that were rigged by the blank hull buyers had good boats , unlike the ones he rigged & sold., they sucked!!!! Jim's greed got to him, & with the more boats he built the more the greed grew. We all know that's what lead to his down fall. My point if you could build & sell blank 26' to 28' hulls they could be a success if the price were fair. After talking with Harold @ Magnum Marine when I went there last fall there still talking about bringing back the 27' sport. The rumor mill on a base boat with a single is 200 K+, I don't think that price will sell many boats. Donzi is back building 18' classics with a base price around 80K, but I believe that's to much for that boat. I don't know the current cost of the materials needed to build a 26' to 28' boat but if it could be built for less than 18' Donzi you might have a hit.. Here is a pic of one of Jim's loosely copied 27' Magnum boats, had a nice cabin & ran well with a single. The only bad thing was that Jim was involved... Mark

[jetcruzr]

Okay........here is something that we have been working on for a bit now.

This is a 28 foot boat.

It was designed as a race boat with a single big block sterndrive.

Cabin room is plenty big..... from the deck line to the bottom of the vee. Same as the 24footer, 9 feet end to end.

This would be a bolster boat with the fuel tank under the floor of the cockpit.

It is shown with race hatches in the drawing, but this could be changed to a back seat and a sun pad for the ladies.

Plenty of room for a vee berth and a porta potti and storage under there.

This race version could be purchased for someone who is just looking for a fun boat that can be used for a few hours and quickly washed down and put away.

Hull and deck with 100 gallon fuel tank and trim tabs and all electronics installed. Steering options installed also.

You tell us what engine and drive you will be using and we cut the transom for the drive and exhaust pipes.

We think we have captured the timeless look also.........

What do you think??

I really like the looks of the rendering. If I was going to build or own a 28 footer, that is exactly what I would want it to look like. The race option is a great idea too!

[old377guy]

Okay........here is something that we have been working on for a bit now.

This is a 28 foot boat.

It was designed as a race boat with a single big block sterndrive.

Cabin room is plenty big..... from the deck line to the bottom of the vee. Same as the 24footer, 9 feet end to end.

This would be a bolster boat with the fuel tank under the floor of the cockpit.

It is shown with race hatches in the drawing, but this could be changed to a back seat and a sun pad for the ladies.

Plenty of room for a vee berth and a porta potti and storage under there.

This race version could be purchased for someone who is just looking for a fun boat that can be used for a few hours and quickly washed down and put away.

Hull and deck with 100 gallon fuel tank and trim tabs and all electronics installed. Steering options installed also.

You tell us what engine and drive you will be using and we cut the transom for the drive and exhaust pipes.

We think we have captured the timeless look also.........

What do you think??

Yup, that is the right look, Charlie.

[Hellbent]

Okay........here is something that we have been working on for a bit now.

This is a 28 foot boat.

It was designed as a race boat with a single big block sterndrive.

Cabin room is plenty big..... from the deck line to the bottom of the vee. Same as the 24footer, 9 feet end to end.

This would be a bolster boat with the fuel tank under the floor of the cockpit.

It is shown with race hatches in the drawing, but this could be changed to a back seat and a sun pad for the ladies.

Plenty of room for a vee berth and a porta potti and storage under there.

This race version could be purchased for someone who is just looking for a fun boat that can be used for a few hours and quickly washed down and put away.

Hull and deck with 100 gallon fuel tank and trim tabs and all electronics installed. Steering options installed also.

You tell us what engine and drive you will be using and we cut the transom for the drive and exhaust pipes.

We think we have captured the timeless look also.........

What do you think??

What sort of price range are you targeting?