no way in hell would a family of 4 enjoy a flatbottom.  they're small, theres a lot of rigging involved that you'd have to climb over, nowhere to put anything such as chairs, ice chests, etc. 

day cruisers are a great hull for a family, especially with kids since most of them have some type of hatch, either a full hatch with a bench seat or a "doghouse" where just the motor is covered and theres 2 small seats on each side.  you can increase seating capacity by finding an open bow.  but daycruisers and mini days are 19-24 footers. 

im in the same boat with garage space.  20' standard garage only fits so much.  i have a 18 footer and my trailer BARELY fits inside with maybe 1" or so of room.  however most 18 foot trailers are like mine, if you look at the front where the tongue is, there isnt any room for a "swing away" receiver at all...



try looking for an open bow 18 footer.

You could gain some space by backing your new jet boat into your garage real hard the first time and build a box around your jet in the room behind your garage.

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lol some guy cut a hole thru the wall to fit his jet pump, it like went into his living room inside of a cabinet. 

That's awesome.  Thanks for the ideas, this is a big help already.  I was looking at the garage wall to see if something like that was possible, but the hot water heater is right there. 

I'd love to see more examples of what can fit in the garage.  I guess I need to keep my tape measure handy as I look, but I'm thinking I can save myself a heck of a lot of time and just not look at boats that won't fit anyway. 

where will you be taking the boat? river or lakes? reason why i ask is these type of boats  are not meant for your family  to be on all day with out getting out of the boat.. basically what i mean is you can fit 5 people in a flat bottom to get to point A to B in style, fast, and  ski behind but dont plan on keeping all your belongings on the boat.. (A)being launch ramp and (B) being the beach where you set up camp. for an example: i just bought an eliminator 19 foot formula with a 454 and dominator pump. back in 94 my dad was the orginal owner. he took my two brothers and my self which i was 13 then.... yes i know im young. but he took 5 people in our boat, we set up camp on a beach at a lake, some places on the river... and man we had a blast. all 5 of us would load up in the boat from the beach, ( all ice chests yadda yadda on the beach) and go out and ski and haul ass around the lake. really it was fun becasue we were doing it in a jet boat.  i had soooo much fun that i bought the boat back and plan on doing the same thing when i have kids. my eliminator has a dual axle trailer sitting sideways in a 20 foot wall to wall garage as well. if you have more than 5 people you plan on taking, get an open bow. and if that still isnt enough. just to mulitiple trips!!!    jet boats are bad ass... get one oh i also picked up my eliminator with 90 orginal hours, clean paint, and bought it for 4 grand  .. yes it was a steal in my opinion.  conclusion.... your kids are young enough to fit in the boat with you  and have cheap fun. ... cheap in the boating world anyways. sorry for rambleing on very very slow at work

i absolutely love the spectra 19's.  the deck shape is awesome, its sleek looking and its versatile.  hatch for the kids and room to toss a bunch of stuff into.  bench seat in the back, lots of room under the deck, built like a TANK.  the 21 daycruiser is more rounded in the front whereas the 19 is more pointy and the deck doesnt have that typical "cruiser texture" gelcoat on it, usually no bowrail.



http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/3146569760.html

I have a 21 foot team Hawaiian, and my trailer has a swing away tounge for extra clearance and it fits in my standard 18x20 garage. I love this boat, it's roomy and is great for family and friends to come along. It does sit kitty corner in the garage and takes up all the space but if it wasn't there, the wifey would have it full of crap anyway
Btw with it in the garage kitty corner the swim steps touch before the jet Evers comes close to the back corner
Hope this helps

My 21' daycruiser measures 22'6" bow to reverse bucket, and the tongue is another 48"
As far as weight- Mines only a guess 3800-4200 lbs (2011 21' eliminator bowrider, 350 bravo= 2800 lbs, per eliminator, and trailer ~1000 lbs competitive trailers)
18' saguaro measures 19'2", and another 30" of tongue, prolly weighs 2500 lbs total
An old school jet or v-drive flatty make an excellent family boat...IMHO

Daniel

Here you go SOCAL DAD
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/boa/3148967722.html

Thanks!!  I called and left him a message.  The mustard color is a bit marginal and the Olds power is not my first choice.  But heck, it can't hurt to discuss it and check it out.  They aren't deal killers if the thing is in great shape otherwise! 

I also left a message on this one.  Haven't heard back yet.  I like it even better...

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/boa/3143046987.html

if he didnt include the ghetto blaster that would be a deal breaker for me...

I was thinkin more like throw in the lonely blonde

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she would probably just drink all the beer.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/boa/3147817869.html

if all checks out, this could be a BAD ASS float.