# Blue Wave boat quality, benefits, problems? I'm buying and considering this brand?



## Harold Ray (May 28, 2006)

I was looking and planning to buy either a Majek or Shallow Sport, but over the weekend I noticed that a bay/flatsboat appeared suddenly at a nearby boat dealership. Nearby is about a mile from my business. I stopped by today and saw it is a Blue Wave 1900 STL Mod V. Its a great looking boat. I also saw the 2200 Pure Bay, but that is larger and more dollars than I want to spend.

This dealership, Yowell's Boatyard in Waco, has just taken them on, and there was a dealer rep in-house at the time I was looking, so the new dealer and I got a great tour of the boat. It seems to have many nice features and a lot going for it.

For those of you who own Blue Waves, I would like to know your experiences with the brand as far as boat quality, service, problems, etc. I am a new boat owner if I buy any brand. I know quite a bit about kayaks and nothing about powerboats.

The rep said the Blue Wave brand sells very well on the Texas coast. Actually he said it was the best selling brand, but I suspected some of that was hype. What do you say?

Thanks!! I had thought I would have to drive to the coast to buy, but if I can buy a great bay and decent flats boat a mile from my business, I'd rather do that.

I also forgot to mention. The boat comes with a 115 hp Suzuki. I asked about upgrading to a 140 or 150, but the rep said at least 90% of that model solf with the 115 because of better gas milages, economy, and the fact that with that size, the boat did better on the flats. The 115 is the recommended motor HP for that size of their boats. What say you?

Ray


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## bubbas kenner (Sep 4, 2010)

Ride in it I have heard nothing but good things about blue wave .I own a 2008 19ft vision tunnel by kenner it is powered by a 115 etec.I pleased with a 115 on performance and mileage.You should get mostly good reviews on blue wave.But for sure ride in it in choppy water and you will know if thats what you want be safe.


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## Harold Ray (May 28, 2006)

I'm going out with the dealer on Lake Waco as soon as they get a trailer to go with the boat. They are so new as a dealer for this brand the trailer for this particular boat hasn't arrived. They have it sitting on a raised pad out front.


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## C.Hern5972 (Jul 17, 2009)

I have owned my BW for 2 yrs now and i cant say anything negative about it. I love the thing. It runs where i want it to and have not had any issues with it at all. I do take the advice from a buddy of mine who is the VP of a dealer. I bought the 2200 Pure Bay with a 150. I questioned him that it was not enough power for the boat. He told me it was set up like that from blue wave and propped right it would pull the numbers. My 150 four stroke will run 48-50 wot with 3 adults and fully loaded. The fuel economy is great in the boat. I have run all day with barely burning any fuel at all. I have my eye on a 2200 STL but ill probably keep the pure bay for now. That 19 stl will run skinny. I have a bud that has one and he loves it. I kow it has run the back bays here and shallows where we fish. Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.. 

Chris H


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## SpoonFedRed (Mar 30, 2010)

I've had my 189 Classic going on four years now....have not had one lick of trouble with it at all. I've had it everywhere from San Antonio Bay to Port Mansfield and it has done everything I need it to do. Takes chop extremely well....taken her through some hairy stuff in Aransas Bay....pull the plug back at the ramp and she's bone dry. Mine is set up with a 115 Johnson which has been plenty of power for me and also very economical....have run all day around Rockport on 10 gallons of gas. Very pleased with mine!


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## dukhunter (Aug 30, 2007)

I sold Blue Waves for 5the years and by far was one of the better boats on the market! The 19' boat you refer to does well with the 115. I can't remember ever selling one with anything more or less than a 115. What the rep told you about the boat selling well was true; in fact it was the #1 selling boat in Texas for 10 years. The Parks Family takes great pride building those boats.


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## Harold Ray (May 28, 2006)

> in fact it was the #1 selling boat in Texas for 10 years. The Parks Family takes great pride building those boats.


This is nearly word for word what the company rep said.


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## Flat's Hunter (Oct 18, 2007)

bluewave has a solid reputation. not sure I would go with suzuki? They are good motors but have a poor dealer network for warranty work. make sure you have a good authorized warranty mechanic in your area. I have a used one and did alot of searching on them and that was the only bad thing I could really find. To me yamaha seems to be the way to go, but thats a personal opinion. a 115 should be ok on a 19footer. a 90 will work but will be a dog most likely. a 135 or 150 might help but it is more weight and more gas and the benefit just might not make up for the losses.


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## Flat's Hunter (Oct 18, 2007)

But I remember right a 115 and 140 Suzuki are the same block - so they are the same wt I believe- they will use some more gas but how much? Will cost more but whether it's worth it will be up to you on how it handles vs the negatives. Most will say go with the max hp rating


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## Kenner21 (Aug 25, 2005)

My only issue with Blue Wave after 3 months of ownership is how they warranty parts. If your boat has something that breaks and the part is replaced under warranty Blue Wave sends the part to the dealer instead of paying them for it. So if they happen to not have that part on hand to swap out you have to wait however long for the part to arrive before you get your boat back. That could be 4 days or 4 weeks depending on what Blue Wave has on hand.


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## ReelWork (May 21, 2004)

Great company building quality boats. Any warranty issues I've had like Kenner21 mentioned typically have been as a result of some part Blue Wave uses and not an actual manufacturing, construction or quality issue Blue Wave has direct control of. 

Just went to the Blue Wave owners tourney and the Parks are super people.


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## Harold Ray (May 28, 2006)

Tim, the Blue Wave rep, told me there were around 800 people at that, if that was the one on the Texas coast (Aransas Pass or Port Aransas I believe?). I think that's what he said, 800 people, happy and satisfied Blue Wave boat owners; I was surprised. That's a lot'a folks!! 

I really hadn't heard of Blue Wave before, except for a few mentions here, but I've never owned a boat either, so I haven't been in the loop. Once I began asking about the Blue Wave boat brand and their products after Yowell's became a new dealer for them and Tim told me Blue Wave had been the Number 1 boat for 10 years on the Texas Gulf Coast in sales, I haven't gotten a single negative report and lots of very positive praise for the owners and their boat models.

That is very impressive!!!!!!!

Ray


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## shallowgal (Jun 11, 2004)

Blue Wave is a good first boat purchase. The Pure Bays' are nice. For your application, mostly running on lakes, I think it is a good option to consider. I do think Shallow Sport is a superior product (and I am highly biased) but SS isnt always going to be the best option. Having a dealer in your area is a big plus too.


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## ReelWork (May 21, 2004)

Harold, you were probably talking with Tim Long. He's the regional rep and a super guy - answered a lot of questions when I was building up my 2400 with the F300. 

There were definitely quite a lot of boats and people there at Port A for the owner tourney. Think there were around 125 boats and somewhere around 500 people. Good family fun and the panoramic photo of all the Blue Wave owners' boats should be pretty cool.


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## large animal (May 23, 2010)

I've had a 19' blue wave for about 6 years now. Not a single problem with it. Not the fastest, shiniest, or shallowest but all-around good boat. I have a 150 2 stroke Yamaha and i would suggest the 115. My range is limited with that engine and a 24 gallon fuel tank. Of course, the 4 stroke will be more fuel efficient. I would definately buy another Blue Wave. Good luck.


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## ROCKPORTFISHERMAN (Feb 14, 2009)

I've owned my 22 Super Tunnel with a 150 Yammie TRP for 6 years. The boat runs absolutely as shallow as they come. One of my best friends is a guide at one of the most prominent lodges on the mid coast and has borrowed mine when his goes in for work, he has also run the boat all over POC/Seadrift and takes it everywhere he normally fishes. Great boat, family loves it, I would sure like you to consider a Yamaha motor. Wish you all the best.


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## C.Hern5972 (Jul 17, 2009)

ROCKPORTFISHERMAN said:


> I've owned my 22 Super Tunnel with a 150 Yammie TRP for 6 years. The boat runs absolutely as shallow as they come. One of my best friends is a guide at one of the most prominent lodges on the mid coast and has borrowed mine when his goes in for work, he has also run the boat all over POC/Seadrift and takes it everywhere he normally fishes. Great boat, family loves it, I would sure like you to consider a Yamaha motor. Wish you all the best.


thats my next one there


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## Blue02 (Jul 1, 2009)

I've owned my BW for 3 years now and it's been awesome. I have the 220 Classic with a 150 Yamie and Bob's low water pirck up unit. It runs plenty shallow for not being a tunnel hull boat. I'm a huge wade fisherman so it fits my needs perfectly. It's a great boat and built very well. It's amazing how many old BW's you see on the water also, that says alot. The Park's family are great and have always been super nice and helpful everytime I've spoken with them. I'm always looking to try and do something new to it. It may not be the fastest or the skinniest but it gets both of the jobs done well and doesn't break the bank. They seem to always get beat up about being a "first boat to own" or not being the fastest, skinniest, driest, etc. It's a bunch of bunk in my opinion. My best advice to you is go ride in it and decide yourself. Go ride in the other ones also, you may like them better due to how you fish and what you are wanting to use the boat for. Looking back I would purchase it all over again. The new STL is pretty sweet also. Long story short they make a great boat and so do the others. Enjoy the process and even more enjoy the water when you are out on it!


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## Harold Ray (May 28, 2006)

> Long story short they make a great boat and so do the others.


I thought this was true; the big names make quality boats. I was on Shallow Sport and Majek, but when I got a long time Waco boatyard just a mile down the street from me that took on Blue Wave as their new line, that changed my mind. With the others, I'm at least 100 miles and traffic from the dealer; now with Blue Wave, I'm a mile and maybe 5 minutes to where I can get my boat and motor serviced.


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## Dgeddings (Sep 16, 2010)

I see A LOT of blue waves here in Oklahoma being that I'm less than an hour from the manufacturing campus, I know several hybrid guides that all use them and have nothing bad to say about them except their not as roomy as their old predators were but their a far better ride and way better build quality


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