Cap'n Morgan wrote:
While the "fishy" style DC's and CC's are more suited to big water. They are not the best ski boats or wakeboard boats . Far from it. I think there is a bit too much worry here about wakes and waves. A 20 foot bowrider will handle most conditions well. Not designed for offshore use, but I suspect there would be very little need for her to attempt skiing on the ocean.
Stick with a bowrider for her. Whatever brand and model you choose, it will be more suited to her needs than a DC or CC.
Captn the DCs and WAs are used as tow boats all the time around here...In fact I see as many of them used for tow boats as bowriders, and ski boats, well I think I've seen maybe 2 of them, they ride so bad here that no one really uses them except on the calmest days.
My concern about wakes and waves vs wakeboarding, is if the kid goes out, nice weather in the morning, then in the afternoon the weather changes, the wind picks up here in the afternoon, and conditions get real nasty...
That, in addition with the headaches of running an I/O in salt water, make my recommendation a reasonable choice.....
We don't know how well the nice new Cat Converter I/O manifolds will last in salt, but if they are as expensive as the one piece OEM manifolds on my OMC 4.3, then new I/O owners in salt may get an expensive surprise every 4-5 years...
Salt water is a different world maintenance wise.....
Keep in mind the original poster is talking about Chesapeake Bay, that's a coastal brackish/salt region, and is known for rough conditions, like LI Sound....not a nice calm lake.....