Montauk 170 or 190

[dminahan]

I plan to buy a 170 MONTAUK or a 190 MONTAUK for use by my family of four. The kids are teenagers--one is in college--and they are beginner power boaters. They did some sailing growing up. How often all four of us would go out on the boat is uncertain. We decided we wanted a canvas Bimini and not a T Top.

The local Boston Whaler dealer has a nice 170 MONTAUK with a Bimini top with lots of options and the 115-HP engine.

Their in-stock 190 MONTAUK boats have T Tops.

The dealer located a 190 MONTAUK with Bimini and most options, but the electronics would need to be installed. That 190 MONTAUK has the smaller engine, a 115-HP. Its cost would be $5,000 to $6,000 more [than some other option, which is left to the reader to infer what that was].

Life is a little crazy right now, DH [completely unclear reference, please do not use odd acronyms] does not think we should trade my 170 Super Sport to get a boat at this time, but the kids [more than ever] want to go out on the water, and we prefer a center console boat. (We previously had a 240 Dauntless with T-Top).

[Uncertainty about] if we and the kids will get to [use the] boat a lot lends itself to just getting the 170 MONTAUK.

I think the 170 MONTAUK boats tend to have good resale.

Q1: regarding the 190 MONTAUK (the one the dealer could locate with the smaller 115-HP engine), would the resale value be lower and harder to sell since it has the smaller engine?

I am asking in case this becomes an exercise of timing, that is, if now is no a great time in life for us to get out on the water and I decide to sell [the boat we are about to purchase].

Q2: would finding to a buyer for a 190 MONTAUK with the smaller engine size be harder [than selling some other boat that is left to the reader to infer]?

If I could find the perfect 190 MONTAUK I'd just get that. I think a 115HP engine on a 190 MONTAUK would be fine for us, but I worry about resale value.

ASIDE I like the 190 MONTAUK having scuppers [rather than] dealing with a [sump] pump and keeping the battery charged if we can't get out for a couple weeks. The dealer has some 210 MONTAUK boats in stock with a Bimini top, but I don't think the kids are ready for a larger boat.

I think we could make either [of two boats, again left to the reader to infer] work.

I am just curious if one [of the several boats mentioned above] would be harder to sell down the road [another one of the several boats mentioned above].

[Phil T]

Do not go with a current model with the minimum horsepower. It will not perform well with a full load and the resale will be really hard.

You can add a t-top after you purchase the boat. Would not put on a 170. Too small a hull.

Look at the used market. I am seeing more and more late model 2021,22,23 Montauk 170/190's on the market. Either moving up, down or just not wanting the payment.

I would stay away with "new" from a dealer. Prices are just stupid.

While the Montauk 170 II is a nice boat, I would go with the Montauk 190. You will outgrow the Montauk 170 in two seasons.

Q3: What state are you in?

I can do some searches and give you some worthy candidates.

[Jefecinco]

As a former 190 MONTAUK owner I recommend [the 190 MONTAUK]. My 190 MONTAUK had a VERADO 135-HP engine, which at the time was the maximum rated power permitted. The VERADO 135-HP engine was enough power, but with your load more power would be better. The 190 MONTAUK with a 115-HP engine would be a terrible option due to being very under-powered.

[dminahan]

Thanks everyone. [The possibility of poor resale] was my fear on [choosing that] 190 MONTAUK with bimini.

I'm located on the east cost, mid-Atlantic area.

[jimh]

Q1: regarding the 190 MONTAUK (the one the dealer could locate with the smaller 115-HP engine), would the resale value be lower and harder to sell since it has the smaller engine?

Typically boats on dealer's lots with the minimum engine power were ordered that way to keep the total boat price as low as possible. They get sold to buyers who have price as the dominant influence.

As for influence on a selling price as a used boat, the lower power engine is not going to be a positive influence on selling price, that is, you can't RAISE the selling price because of the engine power.

When and if you decide to sell, the selling price you will get will depend on many factors, with the engine power being some influence, but it certainly won't be the only influence.

Would a boat with the larger engine sell faster? It would depend on the asking price for the boat with a larger engine. Certainly if there were very similar boats on the used boat market with the larger engine at the same asking price as your boat with the smaller engine, to sell the boat with the smaller engine at that same price will be harder.

But don't forget, when you bought the boat new you paid less for it because it has the smaller engine. So your initial outlay was lower.

Q2: would finding to a buyer for a 190 MONTAUK with the smaller engine size be harder [than selling some other boat that is left to the reader to infer]?

The notion of something being "harder" requires a comparison to something else. What is the other boat to be compared to? Is it the same boat but with the larger engine?

Selling any boat is often related to price. A boat with a less powerful engine will typically always sell at a lower price than the same boat (in every way) that has a more powerful engine. The only time it becomes "harder" to sell the boat with the smaller engine is when the asking price of the two boats are the same. Any buyer would prefer the more powerful engine at the same selling price. Correspondingly, if someone has a similar boat with a larger engine, he may have difficulty selling it at a premium price of a similar boat with a smaller engine unless the buyer really values having the larger engine.

In the end, whether or not the smaller engine will be an enormous impediment to selling a used 190 MONTAUK will really depend on the buyer who is considering buying a 190 MONTAUK. If the guy wants the biggest engine, there may be no interest in your boat with a smaller engine at all. Your buyer will have to be someone who, like you when you bought the boat, was content with the boat having the smaller engine. Exactly what proportion of used boat buyers fall into which buying segment is speculative.

The notion that there is always big majority of buyers for used boats who are willing to pay extra because the boat has the biggest possible engine power is just hypothetical. There may be a sizable cadre of buyers who want to save money on the boat and will settle for the smaller engine

I am just curious if one [of the several boats mentioned above] would be harder to sell down the road [than another one of the several boats mentioned above].

The easiest boat to sell is a boat that is in great condition, has all the best options, is very attractively priced, is ready to use, and not far away, boating season has just started, interest-rates are low, and the government is sending you checks for no good reason. The biggest factor among those aspects is the price. If you want a used boat to sell fast, ask a low price low.

[jimh]

I have a general theory about buying a boat based on the "family" being the users. Going boating as a family is often seen as a wonderful activity, very outdoors, very bonding, very all-American. But the reality of owning a boat is that maybe in the first year or two of ownership the boat really is a family activity shared with every family member, but as children grow they often do not want to experience a lot of family-activity, they'd rather be off with their friends doing who-knows-what.

Maybe your family has been passing down the boating-gene for generations, and being on the water is in your family DNA. But even then, it might skip a generation once in a while.

On that basis, I often suggest that the adult boat buyer should get the boat they want, and not the boat that might best suit the spouse, the kids, the dog, the brother-in-law, etc.

Also, it is hard not to notice that almost all boat builder advertising now shows the boat being used by what is presumably a married couple. If the couple are younger than 50-year's old, then the advertisements shows the boat being used with children aboard, and everyone all smiles and excitement. The basis today for depicting family use is the very high cost of boating, which means a very significant diversion of financial resources into the boat, which then implies that the boat is for "the family" to use and enjoy, not just for one family member (like Dad) to get away by himself on the weekend. Also, studies show that expensive purchases tend to only be made when the spouse is completely positive about the object to be bought.

[dminahan]

We originally did boat together as a famiily and with my parents and took their neighbor out too. Illness for my parents sort of stopped that and we sold that 240 dauntless as we found we were not going out on the water due to the health problems and just wanted to spend the visits quietly and not focused on the water.

I want to get back out on the water and my kids have interest in learning to powerboat now that they are older. How much we will all go out together is unknown. Originally I wanted a 170 Montauk so I could feel comfortable handling it on my own to take out. With that advice in mind of will we all actually go out together, I decided to go for that model and see how often we use it, etc. Only down side is there are no slips in my community at the moment so it would not be right there and we will have to drive to it. I did feel the 190 would have been the better bet of we would not outgrow it but if just a couple of us are out then the 170 Montauk would be fine and I think that is a fine boat for my son or daughter to learn to take out and explore in. If we really take to it and want more space in a few years I could look to trade up.

Wish me luck on this!

[jimh]

We originally did boat together as a famiily and with my parents and took their neighbor out too.

With the further information that your family used to go boating with your parents and with the neighbors of your parents, I think that means about seven or eight people aboard. On the basis of having seven or eight people aboard when you go boating, I think you ought to aim for a boat that is larger than a 170 MONTAUK, larger than a 190 MONTAUK, and even larger than a 210 MONTAUK. You probably should move up to a REALM 350 if you will be out with eight aboard.

I browsed through the Boston Whaler website Gallery of images of the REALM 350 to see if I could find a view showing seven or eight aboard. The best I could find was seven aboard.


Fig. 1. A current model Boston Whaler boat with seven aboard, the REALM 350

[dminahan]

My parents have passed away and neighbor moved away but it was my parent's neighbor.

It is just my family now so I'm good with my 170 and puttering around different local rivers. If my kids take to it, they can use it solo. If they do not I will try to use it solo or with one of them. Most people aboard will be four. If we really take to it again and have all of us on board and want more space I'll most likely look to upgrade to larger-size Montauk.