Bayliner Capri

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 12:02 am Post subject: Bayliner Capri

Hi guys,

Some of you may know that Skwake and I are currently rideless, I was thinking of picking up this bayliner (http://boatpoint.ninemsn.com.au/marketplace/UsedBoatDetail.asp?BoatID=233864) to ride behind while we save for the Wakesetter. What do you guys think? I have to fly interstate to pick it up if I decide to go with it, so it's a big decision. How are the wake off these things?

Thanks for any help you guys give me, I know you'll come through...

(By the way, the $15,000 price tag is in Australian dollars)

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

15g's AUS is about $7500 US???

I wouldn't go for a Bayliner. They are kind of at the lower end of things and for that much you might be able to find a late 80's Nauti or Malibu.

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 12:37 am Post subject:

Nor: Thanks for the reply.

I know that in the US I could get a much better boat for $7500, but in Australia Nauti's, malibus and the like are very hard to come by and very expensive, mainly because it was only recently that they started being built here and the cost of importing them was prohibitive. I doubt there are very many 80's model's around.

This is a 1990 model, a bowrider.

All opinions are welcome! Is this boat complete crap or what? Very Happy

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

I'd just stay away from Bayliners. My neighbor had one that looked just like that and it was a POS.

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 1:15 am Post subject:

Thanks for the heads up. What were the specific problems? Low quality build? Engine problems? Or just all over shoddyness?

riverside · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 1:35 am Post subject:

cm i had 2 bayliners both 2050 models.a 91 and 97 both 6 4.3ltr
you will need a high five prop and even then it,s hard to maintain speed.
i had a flyhigh wakeboardpod pole it worked but it took alot of space.
the wake is ok,if you put enough weight inside but it wholeshot s**ks
you can,t ride 65ft and longer because the wake is all white back there
Quality..?well thats a intresting Q.
there are many Bayliners from 87and up still running,and most skiboats thats age have their floors and stringers completely rotted out.

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 1:45 am Post subject:

Hmmm..... Thanks riverside. It's not looking too good is it....

Any Aussies out there who can suggest a good boat for around the $15k mark?

seven20 · Posted: Mar 07, 2003 8:04 am Post subject:

If I could find another boat, I wouldn't get a bayliner. I see the things all the time that are in terrible shape (I work at a shop restoring boat upholstery and interiors). Floors rotted, stringers rotted. My parents have owned two of them ,and they aren't the best of all boats. If you can't afford a inboard, I would try to find a better quality sterndrive. Trust me, you won't regrett spending a little more for something else. Good luck saving for the wakesetter!!

OttoNP · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 848 City: MI

We ride on a 1991 bayliner and its great, check my webpage for more pictures. The only problem I can think is that if it is only 120 HP I'd bet it is the 3.0 liter and not the 4.3 liter. The other thing is that they have a capri and something else, one has a swim platform and the other does not. We ride on the one with the platform. I'll post some more info after lunch...

Nick
________
Fifth-generation ford mustang

tribal · Outlaw Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 177 City: pemberton,bc

There's a kiwi on this board that has a bayliner that throws an awsome wake.He runs a 4 blade prop and 2000lbs and says it works great.He's posted some pics in the past.In Canada inboards are way overpriced as well.I have a 22' i/o and it works great for me.

OttoNP · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 848 City: MI

Here's a picture of the wake. It looks like it is the classic that you don't want, they don't have a swim platform, just a little square thing and a ladder. I own a wellcraft, which is supposed to be better than a Bayliner, but there really isn't that much of a difference. Nearly all I/O have Mercury engines and sterndrives, most use the same steering system as well. The bottom line with boats is how well the previous owner took care of it.

Nick
________
VOLCANO CLASSIC

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 08, 2003 4:19 am Post subject:

Thanks guys...

Nick: If you saw what we are riding at the moment, you would realise how great that wake looks to me! - Thanks for your input, 100% informative as always.

I believe it is the 3.0 litre, meaning it may struggle out of the hole when loaded (as riverside said). I would love to get a old Nauti of Malibu, but they just DON'T EXIST in Australia. Sad

Surely there are some Aussies on here who can tell me what I can expect for $15k?

Ralph · Posted: Mar 08, 2003 6:40 pm Post subject:

CM we have a 1950 Classic, we run 2K ballast with a 15inch pitch prop it pulls up ok and holds speed pretty well, if I was to buy a i/o again it would def be a V8, you can get a heavy duty leg for them and the overall performance is much better and perfect pass will work really well to fix any speed control issues. The classic has a better hull for a clean wake than the capri & has more room inside. The 1950 only comes with the 3l Motor. A 2050 Classic would be better cause they come with the V8. Having no platform on the back is actually better than a molded in one cause you can build your own like a comp boats and make it much bigger than the molded in one which is quite small.

Overall we are really happy with the boat, the build quality is good, nothing on the boat has broken (apart from the mercruiser leg) and it is 10 years old now, we have put 500 hrs on it over the last 2 years so it gets used a lot. I think most people who run down bayliners do not have personal experience with them or are comparing them to comp boats which are totally in another class. Unfortuanately we don't have access to late 80's nauti's so the I/o's are a good choice for people like us.

Ralph · Posted: Mar 08, 2003 6:52 pm Post subject:

Oh, I forgot to say we ride on a 65 foot line + Handle and the wake is clean at least another 10 feet back, you can see in the photo just how clean the wake is. One thing it lacks compared to a VLX I have riden behind is hardness, I/O wakes are normally considerable softer than comp boats.

grady · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 547 City: d-block

bayliner makes great lookin boats...we had a sea ray before we got our supra...which is pretty much exactly like a bayliner...it had the same 3.0 w/ 120 hp and it pulled me outta the water fine but we didnt have n e ballast. we normally rode w/ about 5 ppl. we gave the boat hell but it did pretty good...2 ppl have skiied behind it at once...we went tubin and wakeboardin behind it. so unless u weighted the boat down rite much, it should do just fine.

as far as quality, i personally havent heard n e thing bad from bayliners. yet i havent ridden in ne. a 91 for 7500 sounds a little pricey...i would look for sum i/o's maybe a few years newer if u can find n e.

George · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 552 City: Chattanooga

we had a 87 and it sucked from the day we got it. Engine hardly ever started and when we got it to run good it through a rod. Got a new block and then the transmission went out. We Have a Mob V now but if all possible try to find a sea-ray, caperal(sp), 4 winns, bryant, or anything else but a bayliner.

WRRide · Posted: Mar 10, 2003 7:32 am Post subject:

We had a 1990 Bayliner for about 5 years. Never had a problem. It was also very well taken care of. The way it sounds to me is it is just the luck of the draw. Sometimes you get a good one sometimes you don't.

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 10, 2003 1:42 pm Post subject:

Sounds a bit hit and miss doesn't it...

Thats not a bad looking wake there Ralph, thanks....

I got a fax from the owner today with all the specs and service history, looks like he hardly used it and it appears to be in top condition.... Some of your storys are off putting but I gotta admit, I'm getting tempted....

$15,000 isn't really that much for this type of thing, I have checked it out and it seems about standard for the model and year. Considering what Skwake got for his old boat when he sold it, its a bargin Very Happy

seven20 · Posted: Mar 11, 2003 10:12 am Post subject:

The Sea Ray is NOT!! any where close to the build of a bayliner. Everyone talks about engine components, which are nearly universal now. Everyone uses volvo or mercruiser. The difference is in materials. Sea Ray boats(and many others for that matter) bolt the hull and deck, where bayliner rivets them. The wood in bayliner's is exterior grade, and rots easily. Most of the others don't have this problem(except chapparel and sunbird). The vinyls are thicker in most other boats, and the carpet is better. The Gel Coat is better quality on most other boats, the fiberglass is thicker on other boats, the list could go on. I thought at one point that bayliners were good boats because so many of them are around. After I started taking boats apart everyday and saw construction as compared to many, many other boats, they are the second to worse I have seen(sunbird is by far the worst boat built) There are a few others that aren't great, but the rot in the floor makes bayliner famous among my profession, and that is the most expensive thing to fix.

OttoNP · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 848 City: MI

Checking Bayliner's web page, they us XL Composite panels, have a lifetime guarantee agains rot in hull, deck, and upholstery components. Also, both Sea Ray and Bayliner use vinylester.

Also, Sea Ray, Maxum, Baja, and Bayliner are owned by the same parent company, Brunswick. Brunswick is also the parent company of Mercury, who gets nearly all their engine blocks from GM.

The separate boat companies do have differences in quality, but not that extreme. Rot is not really a major problem in modern boats, I can't think of a company that doesn't have a lifetime gurantee against it. It does appear to be somewhat special though that Bayliner also cover's rot in its upholstery components, but I haven't fully researched this.

Note though that this lifetime gurantee is for boats made today, I don't think they had that back in 1990.

Finally, I think one of the reasons the Bayliners you see aren't in as good condition is because their owners don't take as good of care of them. They retail for less, so poorer people will buy them. Since they have less money for the boat, it is less likely they will have money to maintain them, store them, etc...

http://www.brunswick.com/

Nick
________
Cheap Glass Pipes

Wakeboy551 · Posted: Mar 12, 2003 6:32 pm Post subject:

I gotta Maxum that looks just like that Bayliner, I know they are comparable. The wake is inconsistant, but sometimes its not too bad. Mind you, i've never ridden behind anything else, so I dont know about how it compares to other wakes or how truely horrible it is. Weight it down and it should be sort of decent.

JER

Kai · Soul Rider Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 287

i think you should save your bills, just hitch some rides. i gotta bayliner and its not worth it. yea it gets the job done but i wouldnt ever buy one. youll just be 15000$ closer to your wakesetter

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 12, 2003 9:28 pm Post subject:

Well it looks as though it won't be happening anyway, I can't afford to get it shipped to me anyway.... so I will be looking closer to home now.... not sure if this is a good thing or not..... Neutral

pjdave · Posted: Mar 12, 2003 10:07 pm Post subject:

what was your shipping price? We just sent our boat to melbourne the cheapest to there was $850, the same to sydney. funny its only around $500 to get it home.

criminally_minded · Posted: Mar 13, 2003 12:36 am Post subject:

PJ - The cheapest I could find was... wait for it... $2,800. Its gotta go on the Spirit of Tasmania, to cross Bass Straight, and it a hell of a long way from Brissie to Tasmania! Sad

I was going to drive it, but my 4wd wouldn't make the trip (about 5000km's), and nobody will rent out cars with tow bars.

eeven73 · Posted: Mar 13, 2003 7:12 am Post subject:

I have know at least 4 Bayliner owners of Mid 90's
model boats that had stringer dry rot.
Be very careful with used Bayliners IMO

prplehze40 · Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Posts: 3 City: Kenosha, WI

I currently own a 1999 Bayliner capri. The wake is quite small, but you can weight the boat down, and the new bayliners are lighter than the old ones. It is an okay boat. the craftsmanship is allright. The only problem is that the seam on the driver's seat is ripped. I am hoping to weight it down, but as of now I have no $.

Porterwake · Posted: Mar 16, 2003 4:31 pm Post subject:

I ride behind a 91 Capri, and I'd say, even without the weight it works great, we have no trouble with it, very reliable and used a ton. I'm sure a bayliner would be great if you just put some weight on it. I/O can pump out nice wakes.

seven20 · Posted: Mar 16, 2003 7:27 pm Post subject:

bayliner may have a descent boat now, but they didn't fix that till like 98 or 99. the older one CM was looking at would have this problem. Sea Ray and bayliner were not owned by the same company till 2001 or 2002. Bayliner was owned by us marine, and that is when they weren't good boats. Even the new sea rays are nicer boats. It all comes down to what you like, and what you want in a boat.

hundel · Criminal Joined: 25 Apr 2003 Posts: 93

OttoNP, I too own a Wellcraft and I think there's a big difference between the WellCraft, SeaRay, ChrisCraft category and the Bayliner category.

If you compare my model with the comparable Bayliner of its day, the Bayliner sticker price was about half what the Wellcraft was - this is mostly accounted for by the cost of materials used in constructing the hull. Next, the WellCraft weighs half again as much as the comparable Bayliner. That's an important difference in wakeboarding. Finally, with I/O in general, keep in mind that before 1990 the big argument was that an I/O couldn't ever be a good slalom ski boat because it produced too big of a wake when it porpoised, and that you needed the flat profile and low wake of an inboard to make your slalom cuts. Of course, this argument applies only to old-school Nautiques, etc. that are designed specifically for soft, low slalom wakes. Essentially, Bayliners are fine if they're well maintained, but in the 80's and 90's there's no doubt they were lighter, low cost, lower HP boats that met the huge demand for cross-purpose family boats.

I'll make it a point to get some photos of folks doing inverts behind my WellCraft unweighted. The wake can't compete with newer inboards, but it's workable if you have good technique.