I always thought the Hustler was the best looking hull.Like anything it’s all on what you buy and want to do. Same as a racecar vs street car.
If you wanted to get into it in that size range (38-42) you can get something with mild power and a good bottom so it’s efficient. Preferably stick with stock Mercury power for reliability.
I’d always recommend twins over trips, really no need for trips with today’s HP/technology.
Here’s some experience I’ve been through.
We had a 344 cheetah with stock Mercury 525efi’s. Boat was a turn key run every day 90mph boat. Roughly 2’ish mpg maybe little better just cruising. Maintenance was oil, drive fluid, filters. A top end service around 250hours. Which was locks, springs, retainers, rocker arms. About a weekends job. View attachment 1834401
Current one is another animal (similar to what that OL would require).
The 388 is a level up, should be in the high 1 teens mph when it’s dialed. Bought the boat used with fresh power 1000hp a side, same weekend after 5 hours of use it split a crank in half at 3000rpm. Yanked both motors, complete tear down and rebuild on both. Blocks and bare heads salvageable.
Got it back ran into electrical issues. This has caused years of mischief between blown intercooler, fouled plugs, broken pulley studs etc.
To sum it up, it’s a racecar on water, it requires a shit ton of attention, adjustment, and monitoring. Of course $$$.
It’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever experienced. A lot of work on my end, but aren’t all these hobbies.
View attachment 1834402View attachment 1834403View attachment 1834404
Cliffnotes:
-You can boat for much less cost if you’re fine with mild power and less paint/graphics.
-Price and maintenance goes up drastically with mph.
If anyone’s serious about looking into offshore boats please feel free to reach out. I don’t know it all but can surely help a novice in the offshore game.
Now I'm a small lake guy and would love a 27 Hallett but I'd have to quit cars first my old man still has his 25 Mirage but it just sits. He's old and crazy, you can tell him I said that (spectrasonly from Riverdaves place)