Best Mower

[Denr]

Inasmuch as it is politically incorrect to express ones views and opinions about sailboats on this BB I thought I would solicit your opinions on the best lawn mower. Should I buy a LawnBoy, John Deere, Toro, Honda or Yardking?

We are a family of four and will use it primarily during the week (leaving weekends for sailing) it should be green blade capable although most of our mowing will be coastal, that is to say in sight of sidewalks and driveways. We would like a deck stepped mulcher with a fixed "three blade" blade with a foldable handle so that we can comfortably sleep 8 on the mower deck. We''re going to be mowing the grass quite shallow so we should probably consider a winged wheel version. By the way, my wife will be doing most of the mowing (singlehanding) so it should be of light weight construction but stand up in a stiff wind without the fear of rounding up and loosing control. I need your help!

[SailorMitch]

Denr,

Stay away from the DeeTorHonKings. That''s my best advice. Having said that, a mower with a nice wide ass is highly recommended. But forget the teak trim and the lead keel. Besides, your wife will pick out the one that looks the cutest, so why bother with all this analysis?

[Quida123]

Good information is not political incorrect. Your attempt at humor is lacking though.

[tarmand]

Denr-
In my expert analysis, I have determined that you actually don''t want a lawn mower but you want a patio funrniture set. So just give up on your dream of having a lawn mower on go to K Mart. They have a wonderful collection of Martha Stewart patio furniture that is well made and quite affordable.

[DuaneIsing]

If you bought a lawn mower, would that put your sheep out of work? :-D

[Don Foley]

There really isn''t a "best" mower, as people have many different needs. By and large, however, most people think the mower they bought is the best, and the rest of the world are idiots for buying anything else (even if those people are really happy with their mower).

Most people these days buy the latest, fanciest gear with the actual desired result being to impress their neighbors. I say buy a mower that YOU like. Take it out for a spin and if feels good, don''t worry about what other people think, buy it. After all, you''re going to be the one using it, who cares what they think.

That said, modern mowers look nice, but they really don''t do a good job. You need a traditional REEL mower to do it right, either powered or push. If you look at what the pros use on golf courses, you''ll see $3,000 powered reel models that give the BEST, cleanest cut around. You can pick up a push version at ACE hardware for $69 (mine came with a free blade sharpening kit!).

Modern mowers are all nice and fine with their fancy gadgets and cup-holders, but to REALLY experience mowing, you need a traditional push reel mower.

Don

ps. they come in 18" or 22" widths, I personally like the wide ones.

[tomcostin]

I agree with Don unequivocally. If you''re not using a reel mower, then you''re not really CUTTING your grass, you''re tearing it. You can spend a thousand dollars on the top of the line Honda, and even though it still will lower the height of your grass, it''s not really mowing it, just tearing. You might as well do your whole lawn with a shrimp trawler, ...um I mean string trimmer. And If your significant other doesn''t want to push a manual reel mower, then anyone with anyone who is a real "yardsman" will buy a professional quality gasoline reel mower, or you can always tell them to take a hike, and just mow alone.

[Don Foley]

And don''t forget resell value! Your standard single-piston four stroke blade push mower costs about $200 new, but five years later you''d be lucky if you can get $20 for it at a garage sale (90% devaluation).

A quality powered reel mower that sells for $3,000 can be sold five years later for around $1,500 (50% devaluation).

Of course, nobody buys lawnmowers as investments, but you can use these stats to help talk your spouse into buying the state-of-the-art reel mower.

[sailorman_10]

LOL!! great stuff guys.

Randy

[Denr]

Thank you one and all for your keen insight. Did I mentioning that we don''t have much grass to cut in the trailer park so we''ll probably go for the 18" reel. I am in debt to all of you!