I still don't have one yet, but I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger and getting one. A blog is an interesting thing, because it serves as a history of what you said when... for example, I have a good recollection now of exactly the last time I posted about boats.

My criteria for a boat have changed since then, but one thing remains - I don't know how to close on the purchase. I can't find any good source of unbiased data on quality, performance, and features of boats. Almost every boat review I read says "this boat is great, you should buy it!".

The top boats on my list right now; SeaRay Sundancer 260, Four Winns 258, and Maxum 2600 SE... or the 24' version of each. I'm concerned that the SeaRay is overpriced for a perception of quality, or that the Maxim is too low of quality?

My goals for the boat is to big enough to "camp" on with Megan and up to two kids, or potentially another couple. It should be trailerable, however we will moor it on Lake Washington, so it doesn't need to be super trailerable. It should be able to take 8 people out for a day cruise comfortably. It doesn't need to be great at water skiing or wakeboarding, however tubing should be doable. Swimming is a must.

There are a bunch of other brands that I need to investigate, Cobalt (however their boats seem to be small for a given length), Regal, Chaparral, and Crowline. Any others I should look at?

The big question I want to figure out - how do you judge quality? I hear lots of "Bayliners suck so don't buy a Maxum" type comments... but I wonder if that is like people complaining about a Ford or Chevy. Is there really a substantial build quality difference between a Maxum vs. Four Winns vs. SeaRay? obviously the resale value of a SeaRay is better than Maxum, but is that a good indication of quality? (i think so)