170CC vs 190 Bay

[BAYCOASTAL]

Is the 170 CC enough boat for a family of 5?--

75% of my use will be using the boat myself or one other for fishing the bays near the gulf of mexiao--the other 25% will be cruising with the family-tubing etc.

Alos--I am looking at a 2006 with a swim platform, bimini top, and a 60HP etec all for $16,900. I love etecs--not sure if 60 HP is enough power???

I can purchase a 2005 190 Bay with a t top for $4k more.

[fridaysoff]

BAYCOASTAL,
I have a 2004 170CC with a 60hp Yamaha 4 stroke. I love my setup.It is perfect for my use. It's just my wife and myself that uses the boat or a fishing buddy and myself. The 25% of the time you are trying to stuff your family of five on the 170 you would be wishing you were on the 190 bay with tons of storage and the bigger motor. I would at least get the maximum HP for the 170 if you purchase it. (75HP). If I could afford the extra cost with a family of five to please I would get the 190 bay with the largest 4 stroke I could afford. I would leave the T- top off and put the money on the motor. Just my 2 cents. You'll probably get several opinions. Good luck with your decision. You'll love these plastic boats!!!
John D.

[JBAMFORD]

Hi,
I just read your post, and I too have been dealing with the same dilemma.
Instead of purchasing a new 170, I opted to buy a 2004 190Bay. After searching for about a month... I found one in great shape with a Yamaha 115 four strke for 15,000! I see now that the 190 has alot more than just the length. It has great storage, and alot more room to lay around. Just my 2 cents.
Joe

by the way... Mine didnot have a T top, but I figure I can add one later and still save some$$$

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by BAYCOASTAL

Is the 170 CC enough boat for a family of 5?--

Baycoastal,
I have the 170CC with a 60hp 2 stroke. I use the boat primarily for fishing in freshwater rivers with either my wife along or by myself...a perfect setup. I also have two teenage boys and have taken up to six people tubing (2 adults, 4 kids) and had plenty of power for it. However, if I were to use it for more cruising/tubing than fishing I would opt for the larger boat and more HP. The four of us can fish out of my boat O.K. but we need to be careful not to sling a hook into someone when casting. Getting back to the question of if the 170CC is big enough, the answer is...it depends. If you are sticking to calm bays and inland lakes/rivers you could get by. Eventually, though, you are going to run into a situation that you will be wanting a larger boat. Whether it's rough water or more people or just more storage, it will come. I would recommend going with the 190...I don't know of many people that eventually want a smaller boat. I hope this helps.

Baycoastal,

I'm awaiting delivery on a 170 with a 60 yammi (should be ready this week) and 90% of the time I'll be fishing alone or with one other person but occasionally I'll use it for tubing/skiing and I still wonder if I should have gotten the 190 with a 115. The main reasons I ended up going with the 170 was I felt it would be a whole lot easier launching it by myself as opposed to launching the 190 and the amount of fuel the 190 burns (approximately 10 gallons per hour at cruising speed vs. approximately 4 ghp at cruising speed for the 170).

You didn't say how old the kids are but they will grow if they aren't big already. For the difference in the price I would lean toward the 190 but regardless of which boat you end up purchasing get the swim platfrom.

Regardless of which boat you end up getting, enjoy it and the time spent on it with family and friends because it passes too quickly.

[boatfever]

I also had some of the same thoughts about getting the bigger boat. In the end i decided that for most of my use I only needed the 170.
As far as the motor goes... I would seriously look at the 75 etec. My understaning is that it is pushing more like 90 hp. It's better to have the HP and not need it than vice versa. I love mine so far and am glad I didn't opt for less power.

[boatfever]

good article on e-tecs at www.oceanskiffjournal.com

[Deltaviller]

I just took delivery of a 170 CC with a Yamaha 60 four-stroke and gave it a sea trial the other day. Its so quiet at idle its hard to tell if its running. Ultra low emissions too so theres not a hint of blue smoke. And this 170 package is lighter, easier to load and haul on a trailer, and over 3 feet shorter on a trailer if youre thinking of storing it in a garage. My wife and I can launch and load the 170 easily (she supervises and remembers the little details like screwing in the drain plugs etc.

If weight, trailerability and garage limitiations arent big factors, nor $$$ either, the 190 with a 115 Yamaha four stroke--also a great motor--would be the way to go imo. The 170 with 60 hp isnt going to be a rocket, thats for sure, in terms of pulling a skier. I wish you could legally install a Nissan 90 direct fuel injection on a 170 CC. It weighs only about 310 lbs as I recall. Nissan is the only brand that might be a little more bulletproof than Yamaha--good thing too, since Nissan mechanics can be hard to find.

One other advantage of a 170CC over the 190 bay: significantly shallower draft, which is important if you fish in close to shoals.

[special K]

As an owner of a 170cc, I would recomend going w/the 190. Don't get me wrong I love my little boat but room and storage space is a big issue. Even with only myself and one fishing buddy it can get cramped after a full day on the water. The reason my family bought the 170 was because of the deal we got on it(dealer leftover), even with the space problem I still would not trade it for any other boat, except maybe a 190bay.
Brian

[woodNfish]

Well, I've never been in a 190 Bay, or even seen one. But, if I was looking to boat a family of 5 I'd look at a Tahoe Q7i or 196. You can see them in the Bass Pro Shops catalog. Yeah, I know it's not a Triumph and I own a 17 bass, but I'd want the power, seating and storage the Tahoe's offer and I'd put up with the maintenance. Besides, they would still be great fishing boats. Ah, such blasphemy!

woodNfish