1990 Bayliner Arriva - Will this make a good wake boat?

tjlowery · Newbie Joined: 06 May 2010 Posts: 8

I have come across a 1990 Arriva with a 454 engine, and wanted to know if this would make a good wake boat or not. I have only seen a few other arrivas with towers on them, but have not heard if they are decent for wake boarding or not.

Thanks

FlyZone CR · Posted: May 06, 2010 6:59 pm Post subject:

Will you be using the boat just for wakeboarding, and how much is it?
I don't know this specific hull/wake, but I'm sure it won't have one of the best wakes out there. However if you'll just be wakeboarding 10% of the time there's other factors involved. Also, if it's just a couple grand it might be a good wake for the money. If it's more than 5 or 6K and you want a wakeboat keep looking.

tjlowery · Newbie Joined: 06 May 2010 Posts: 8

We are getting a pretty good deal on it, so it's hard to pass up, I am looking to wakeboard more than 10% of the time, and figured that I could add some weight to the bow to help with that. We are still learning, and need to move up from the jetski to something with more of a wake. Will this work? Am I on the right track? Or should I keep looking. It's only gonna run me $2,000 for the boat, so that is playing into it a little bit.

Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated

FlyZone CR · Posted: May 07, 2010 6:20 am Post subject:

It's gonna be a huge improvement over the jetski, and for $2K you're not gonna find 'the perfect wake'. You might be able to find a <'82 Nautique for 3-4K. If it's in good shape, I'd say go for it and enjoy that Arriva!

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

tjlowery, sounds like it would work for you to start out with. The basics can be learned behind anything that will pull you. Eventually you will want a bigger and better shaped wake and more consistent pull. At that point you need to consider going to a towboat. It won't hurt to start out with this boat and yes you can even add some weight and it will give you a decent wake. The wake being small can actually help because it requires good technique to pull off certain tricks. Just keep in the back of your mind that this boat may be something you keep for a couple years until you can transition to the next stage.

tjlowery · Newbie Joined: 06 May 2010 Posts: 8

Well, I drive 4 hours to pick up the boat and when I got there the boat was far from the condition that was advertised, Shocked

so we ended up leaving empty handed. Evil or Very Mad

The good news to this story is that on the way back, I was checking Craigslist and ran across a 1989 Four Winns for the same price and this one is in much better condition than the last. Laughing

Now just need to get the tower an a sac for the front and hit the lake.

Alls well that ends well right?

LFwakeboardDiva · Outlaw Joined: 29 Jul 2008 Posts: 106

thats sounds like a similar story to mine. I was looking at a 1990 chris craft last year and it was right in my budget of between 2,000 and 3,000 and the interior condition looked nice. However, when my uncle looked at the engine he could tell signs of overheating so i ended up not buying it.

went back home and looked around at some more marinas and found my current boat, 1988 Sea Ray seville. Overall it was in much better condition and an even better price. I spent some of my money that was left in my budget to update the interior.

so it all works out for the best in the end.