So I have been boat shopping over the winter and looking at 23 foot open bow boats. My boating is typically on inland lakes and several long weekends each year on the Mississippi. I narrowed my search to either a Baja 232 Islander or a Crownline 225 LPX. My biggest demand is pretty simple – the boat must go 60+ mph, so I am looking at big block boats (454 or 496 in Baja’s or 496 in the Crownline) from the 2000 to 2004 era. Baja’s are extremely hard to find in good shape and when you do find one they are way high priced. There are more Crownlines around and less money. The hulls are very different between the boats, with a 16 degree on the Crownline and a 23 degree on the Baja. So I understand in rough water the Baja will be more comfortable. Does anyone have experience out here that could offer positive or negative feedback on either boat?
I had a 22ft Stingray with a Mag350 and it would do bottom end 60 and the 23's they had with the 496 would be close to 70. But just a word to the wise be careful with those speeds on a 23ftr especially on the Miss. I can personally say I have been scared a few times (both driving and as a passenger on 22s/23s) on the Miss and St.Croix with having the entire boat out of the water and what seemed to be a small roller which turn out to be a WIDE small roller that dropped of on the backside. Other than that I hope you enjoy the boat!!!!
I had a 22ft Stingray with a Mag350 and it would do bottom end 60 and the 23's they had with the 496 would be close to 70. But just a word to the wise be careful with those speeds on a 23ftr especially on the Miss. I can personally say I have been scared a few times (both driving and as a passenger on 22s/23s) on the Miss and St.Croix with having the entire boat out of the water and what seemed to be a small roller which turn out to be a WIDE small roller that dropped of on the backside. Other than that I hope you enjoy the boat!!!!
out of the watter is all part of the fun.prob 16yrs ago I sank my checkmate mx13 with a heavy mod merc 90 on it jumping house boat wake.that boat was crazzzzzy at least 1 time per outing you would be flying accrose the watter hit a sm wave and catch a gust and it would lift and catch air at a 45% or better then drop back in prop first and usualy wheely out.the jet ski killed the mini boat.that boat would allways get guys walking over at the landing to talk about it
out of the watter is all part of the fun.prob 16yrs ago I sank my checkmate mx13 with a heavy mod merc 90 on it jumping house boat wake.that boat was crazzzzzy at least 1 time per outing you would be flying accrose the watter hit a sm wave and catch a gust and it would lift and catch air at a 45% or better then drop back in prop first and usualy wheely out.the jet ski killed the mini boat.that boat would allways get guys walking over at the landing to talk about it
Oh don't me wrong I had fun out of the water, but I have to admit it was scary a few times. The one time on St.Croix my fellow Rays were behind me and said the whole boat was completely out by a couple feet and they could read the logo on hatch on the front deck which normally you can not see unless you are looking down to the top of the boat, so it had to be 45 degrees or more. I was very lucky I back down enough at the right time before lift-off and came down softly on the downward side of the wave vs the bottom or casing the top of the next. I ended up slowing down the boat a bit going with a 4-blade as the 3-blade Mirage was great for top speed but a little to much for the 350Mag and would blowout often. The 4-blade was awesome, I could do donuts w/o blowing out, plus it was great for holeshots and lower speeds.
Thanks for the feedback. I currently have a 19 foot Starcraft with a 200 hp outboard that runs 60ish, so I’m used to the speed and occasional full air. I get a chyna walk a bit at 60 and have to back out sometimes. We boat predominantly on Lake Wisconsin, with some weekend trips to bigger water. We are planning 2 long weekends to the Mississippi, one to Door County to hit Chambers Island. So, the Baja has appeal for those. The Crownline has more interior space than the Baja and is more social. The Crownline is Ski Doo yellow, which we also like! Decisions, decisions…..
I had a Crownline 240br. Not a bad thing to say. Lot of boating on the Mississippi. Wasn't as fast as I expected, but I think it only had a 350. Would buy one again.
18ft Baja with 200 hp Merc, set back tansom jack, etc.
Runs in the high 70's and can get hairy if hitting waves or wind gusts when trimed out.
I've had boats all my life and like this one the best.
All though, I always wanted a Hydrostream, Vegas or Venus,but could never find one in excellent shape.
Wandered around the marina today and made note of Baja and Crownline boats. A 35' Baja Outlaw is not even in the same comparision group as say a 35' Crown line cruiser. Both have different purposes. What models are we comparing? I would take the Crownline for livability. Sea Ray for quality. Tiara is out of my range. http://www.bajamarine.com/models.htmhttp://www.crownline.com/2011/models/cuddy-cabins okay, duh. it says right there in post #1.
Last edited by polarisrider1; 05-09-2011 at 06:41 PM.
Reason: did not follow instructions. lol
Both are open bow boats as for the type of boating I do I am not ready to go to the Baja type cuddy's. I am seriously leaning toward giving the Crownline a try and looked at a very clean one last week.
Kris, I saw on some forums, there are some Crownlines with Volvo powered 502's, 8.2L! With the right speed prop you have to be able to push past 60mph in that boat. example:http://littlerock.craigslist.org/boa/2319717978.html
Last edited by techsledder; 05-10-2011 at 10:58 AM.
Not to throw a wrench in your decision making but, we looked at a 2002 Donzi Z22 with a 454 silent choice exhaust. It had the open bow option. It was a bad azz boat and may be a good cross between the Crownline and Baja. We ended up with a Supra Santera but the Donzi was NICE!
Go here http://crowniehq.net/ I am 1/2 owner of this site ....Approx 65% of the Members are crownline owners there are some Baja owners 10 Nordic owners which i have ...Mine is a 28 foot Nordic with a 525 Blue engine in it ...We even have a Boats for sale section ...I know A guy (brian Ritchie) in Central Arkansas who has a 225 Crown with an 8.1 in it for sale ......Anyways anybody that are into Boating come on over to the HQ there is no charge to become a Member although we do have a Donate button......
Go here http://crowniehq.net/ I am 1/2 owner of this site ....Approx 65% of the Members are crownline owners there are some Baja owners 10 Nordic owners which i have ...Mine is a 28 foot Nordic with a 525 Blue engine in it ...We even have a Boats for sale section ...I know A guy (brian Ritchie) in Central Arkansas who has a 225 Crown with an 8.1 in it for sale ......Anyways anybody that are into Boating come on over to the HQ there is no charge to become a Member although we do have a Donate button......
Below is my Nordic
Thanks for the link. I joined up and have been getting some good feedback there. Nice Nordic, but a little big for an inland lake. I'll bet that's fun on some bigger water though.
Go here http://crowniehq.net/ I am 1/2 owner of this site ....Approx 65% of the Members are crownline owners there are some Baja owners 10 Nordic owners which i have ...Mine is a 28 foot Nordic with a 525 Blue engine in it ...We even have a Boats for sale section ...I know A guy (brian Ritchie) in Central Arkansas who has a 225 Crown with an 8.1 in it for sale ......Anyways anybody that are into Boating come on over to the HQ there is no charge to become a Member although we do have a Donate button......
Baja or Crownline?
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Originally Posted by Dave_B
With the right speed prop you have to be able to push past 60mph in that boat. example: