Decisions, decisions, help me pick a boat

[haugy]

Alright, I've got two boat opportunities to pick from. A Sunsport, or a Saltare.

Both in about the same shape, some minor cosmetics, original floors on both, mechanically sound. All things I can work with. So now it comes down to price, and the boat.

Sunsport is at a very high premium, but it's red, my favorite. The Saltare can be had for a more reasonable price, but the owner thinks it's blue and from the pictures I've seen it sure as hell looks black.

Sunsport has a Monster tower that would be removed, and New Dimensions put on it. Stereo, and that's it. The Saltare has a plain jane stereo, that's it.

Now, going off of that, take a look at the two. Which would you choose, AND WHY?

I was considering a Sunsport because I keep reading about the heavy, slightly slower performance from the Saltare. And I'm doubting them wondering if I need the giant barge. But I also like the room aspect.

Take a look, please give me your honest thoughts. I'm planning to go and sea trial both of these this weekend, and will most likely pick one of them.

These are the listing pics. I have larger higher res ones. Tons of the red sunsport.

[Okie Boarder]

I think that is a tough decision. I know you also mentioned in the other thread that you would want to remove the snaps and fix all the holes. That is a bit more work than filling the holes after removing the Monster tower.

I know from what I've read that it takes quite a bit more weight in the Saltare to dial in the wake, so that is a good factor to consider.

I haven't personally been on a Saltare to see how different they are in size, but I feel like our Sunsport is plenty big for a family and some friends. We also have the wake doing very well without a whole lot of weight and can get it quite big with a medium amount of weight.

If it was totally up to me, I'd go for the red Sunsport. Two main reasons:

1. It is red, which is your favorite.
2. I'm not convinced the extra size of the Saltare is necessary.

[sybrmike]

I know you've been looking for a Salt, but between these two boats I'd lean towards the Sunsport.

Sounds like the Sun needs minimal work to make it like you want (replace tower, fill a few holes, etc.). It's red which you obviously prefer & still deep freeboard for weighting. Although slightly smaller than the Salt, the usable room is really about the same. The extra length in the Salt is mainly in the playpen, but the Sun's bow is still plenty big for most. Like your previous Mariah, the Salt has the funky rear corner seats & you can probably fit 3 across the Sun's rear bench easier - plus it's easier to hide a sack under the traditional bench.

The Salt ain't red - hopefully you'll have this one a long time, so be happy with the color (although I am partial to black Salts). I can tell you from experience that bringing that blue/black hull back to black is a lot of work. It's got a lot of snaps which you don't like - another compromise or more work for you. And the red/pink accent stripes definitely have to go - more work/$. It's a big boat with a big block - more room to store, weight & fuel to haul, fuel to run, etc. - manageable, but worth considering.

The Sun and Salt are both great boats, just slightly different. I'm sure seeing and driving these particular boats in person will make the decision between the two easier. It's a tough call for sure, but good luck & keep us posted.

[haugy]

Y'all all bring up good points. And I knew you would be helpful since there are owners of both. Thank you.

Storage is no problem for me. I've got plenty of room for either under cover. But I do love the red. I just hate that Damn tower. Plus the owner thinks it's gold plated. I liked the Salt because I thought the room would be advantageous. And it's bare bones, no tower, speakers, etc. Again not to sound arrogant, but if I'm going to upgrade a boat, it's not only about performance, but appearance. But if most of the room is in the bow, it may not be worth going that route.

As for wake, these days I surf more than anything as harding good water is getting tougher and tougher. So it's not on my big focus points. Coming from a Mariah, either will be better.

The price difference is $4,000 with the Sunsport as the higher boat. So it's a big difference. The other problem is one is 7 hours away. The other is 6 hours away. And each is 4 hours away. I'm thinking I may want to narrow it down to a preferred boat first, and if it's good, buy it without covering the entire united states.

I spent two months looking for one. Now found two, and I'm complaining. ha ha ha ha

[haugy]

I do have someone in the area, but he can't go look till this weekend. I've done that for people in Nashville as well. But I'm on a tough timetable. I will be having my first child in about two weeks. If I don't get one soon, I won't feel right leaving her alone for the first couple of weeks. Which means, there is a very good chance my opportunities may pass. I can only go boat hunting on the weekends too.

I have about 30 pictures of the Sunsport, all very large, high res pics. The Saltare I have a few, but not many.

And I'd be lying if I didn't say I don't want to advertise their locations publicly because someone may see it, and jump on it. It's fair game.

[wotan2525]

I'd buy the one with the good stringers. I'm skeptical that either are in great shape..... There haven't been many reports with good news on these boards.

[Salty87]

$4k more for the sunsport?...what for?....tower you don't like, stereo that usually needs to be upgraded anyway, original floors. is the vinyl new? always stored inside at least?

i'm partial to saltare's already but $4k does a good bit of rebuilding. i'm with wotan in thinking dry foam and good stringers are rare.

is there anyone around you with a saltare you can take a spin in? i've never driven a mariah but i'm guessing that even the sunsport might seem a little more tankish in comparison, probably not much though.

saltare's move a little slower but it's not much more different than comparing a chevy s-10 with a 3/4 ton truck. the smaller one can get some little jobs done and might get around corners or stop n go traffic more quickly. but, you want the bigger one when you have serious 'work' to do. sure it drinks more gas and takes up more space but you rarely hear anyone complain about having too much power or room.

if red is what you really want though...especially if you can't drive a saltare first.

[haugy]

Just got off the phone with the Sunsport owner. He wants $14,000 for it, and because he went to a Tige dealer and they told them that's what they should ask, he did. Not realizing that they just set him to fail so he'll come back to them thinking their offer of $10k for trade in is worth it. Oh, and he looked at a Saltare in the area for about the same price, and figured it was fair. Nevermind the Saltare has been for sale since last year, and it has REDONE FLOORS.

My god, why do all the good boats have moronic owners?

[haugy]

Yeah...about that, I apologize.

What year on the Sunsport? Big age difference between the two boats? Sunsport looks nice minus the huge eyesore.

1990 Sunsport
1991 Saltare

[Okie Boarder]

My god, why do all the good boats have moronic owners?

LOL! That's frustrating, huh?

$14K seems high with a lot of things being original and not much for add-ons. I can see paying that for one with re-done stringers, etc., tower, full sound system, but not the way that one sits.