Suggestions for Saltwater Boat? Sea Ray?

I'm getting serious about getting a boat and need some input. I'm on the Atlantic coast and have a boat launch about 2 blocks from my house so I need a boat for saltwater. I'll be trailering it everytime we go out. I want a boat that throws a good wake, that can handle small ocean chop, and is under $40,000 (ideally way under).

We've been looking at Sea Rays 200 Sport and 200 Select with factory towers. Just test drove the select. Nice boat and handled the ocean well, but I wasn't blown away by the wake. The dealer told us the Sea Rays handle the salt well. He said most of the wakeboard boats don't, and is talking us out of them. He showed us a Tige (2 years old) that was rusting all over. The Select is around $39,000 with tower and lots of upgrades.

Any thoughts? Sea Ray? Maxum? Or should I go for an inboard despite the salt. I won't be able to handle a $40,000 boat rusting in 2 or 3 years.

I've got concerns with launching an inboard too. Forgive the ignorance but how deep does it have to be to not hit the prop? My launch seems pretty flat and it varies from 2.5 or 3 feet to maybe 4.5 feet deep depending on tide.

I have a 211 and we go in salt everytime, it really comes down to how much time you wanna spend taking care of it, if you do a good thorough job everytime then it should be fine, ours also has a closed cooling system(necesary on inboard wakeboard boat). We spend about 45 minutes cleaning it each time, its not that bad but its necesary.
I would still reccomend looking at ski and wakeboard boats, the dealers know about salt especially if theyre in your area. If your serious about wakeboarding you will regret getting a boat with a less than great wake. I know that my boat throws a sick wake, but i still try my best to improve it everyway i can.

(Message edited by tidalwake0504 on February 13, 2005)

Adam, I just traded in my 6 month old Sea Ray 220 Select (300 hp, wakeboard tower,etc)for a Mastercraft X-30. My experience was that the wake was minimal from the Select. Getting in and out of the water was a chore...the swim platform was at least 6-8 inches above the waterline. The Sea Ray didn't have any built-in ballast. The wake generated by an inboard is of a different shape and quality. The open cockpit design of most inboard ski/wakeboard boats lends itself nicely to the sport and having friends and family together. The manuverability of an inboard is awesome. Think twice, three times, four times, before purchasing an expensive I/O if you are into wakeboarding or other water sports. I purchased the X-30 due to its modified vee hull. The boat is large enough to handle any lake, intercoastal waterway, or calm ocean offshore day. Before I purchased the boat, I read other people bashing the wake quality of the boat, but my crew of friends and family have no complaints. You can find an inboard for the dollars you are willing to spend. I hope my two cents worth helps.}

How about a Yamaha Sportboat.

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products/categories/4/sbt/yamaha_boats.aspx

There is no prop to worry about. I'm not a expert wakeboarder so I don't need a $40k to $75k wakeboard boat. I can put it in the Gulf, lake or river with no problem. I have had it in the gulf most of the time. I have the AR210 it only weighes about 2200 pounds so I didn't have to buy a full size truck to pull it. My Nissan Frontier works just fine. Good luck with whatever you buy. I would at least look at yamaha. Yamaha is offering 3.9%fixed 15 years $0 down.

yamaha jetboater forum
http://yamahajetboaters.com/forum/index.php

good luck with your search

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm pretty much done with the Sea Ray idea, and i/o's all together. Now I just need to find a dealer for some real wakeboard boats around here to test.