What cruiser shall we buy?

[CX54WEK]

Also an avid Sealine fan here but i believe for what they need the US boats offer the better accomodation. If they went down the S28 route it would mean putting a bed up and down every night. On a 285 Bayliner there are two permanant double berths.

[rafiki_]

While plugging our own preferences, mine boat is a Sunline 31, 2003. She has twin (small) diesels, and will do 25 knots. Cruises at 22 knots using 30 litres per hour. Chuntering around rivers, she uses less than 5 l/hr.

2 fixed double berths plus a convertible dinette, good size galley, heads/shower. Large cockpit seating 8 in comfort. UK built so very robust and substantial. Would be £55-£60k ish, depending on spec and how well maintained.

Have not tried skiing or donutting, she is too large.

We used to have 25 ft US sports cruiser. 3 of us as well then. Very cramped below decks. Shower unusable, and galley the same. We enjoyed her as she was all we could afford at the time. But very unreliable. I had to tinker for an hour or so evereytime we took her out.

Suggestions above re Essex Boatyars is good, but also try Norfolk Yacht Agency at Brundle, not too far from you. You might want to spend a season or 2 based on the Norfolk Broads too. I think your wife/child would really enjoy this, as it is very safe, pretty and good learning.

[Lee Chambers]

Following all the advice I have received and after checking with North Fambridge Marina where I will store the boat on their fuel prices £0.89 litre diesel and £1.25 petrol I think I have decided on a diesel boat!

However I like the Bayliner 285 but they only seem to come with 300hp petrol engines, what boat will give me similar accommodation with a diesel lump for around £40,000, also not keen on a boat more than 5-6 years old. Further advices appreciated.

Learning fast. Lee

[Nautorius]

OK,

I think from what you have said, that you need one of the following:

the Searay 315 with a single Kad 300. Lots of space inside, cheap to run and still sprightly! Such as http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/...United-Kingdom

Chaparral 280 with twin diesels, http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/...United-Kingdom

Bayliner 285 with single petrol http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/...United-Kingdom

Bayliner 288 with single petrol http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/...United-Kingdom

Monterey 282, twin diesel http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2004/...United-Kingdom

Regal 3060 twin diesel http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/...United-Kingdom

Regal 2565 single petrol http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2008/...United-Kingdom

Doral 280SSe (Prestencia) twin diesel http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2006/...United-Kingdom

Sealine S28 Twin diesel http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2000/...United-Kingdom

Fairline targa 29/30 twin diesel http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/...United-Kingdom

What I would advise you is to go as large as you can. After a Caravan then a 25ft boat will feel small as they only have a beam of 8ft 2". If you go to a 28ft + the beam goes up by 2ft which makes a huge difference! Most make the mistake of starting too small and unlike cars, buying the wrong boat and having to change it can cost you £1000s! I have done it so no full well I should have gone straight to a 28ft boat instead of taking 5 boats to get there and 13 boats to get to 45ft!

Good luck

Paul

[Ianj68]

I was going to suggest a Searay 315 before suggesting the Bayliner 285. As you set your budget in the £50k's I didn't think you would find one for that sort of money, plus they are a fairly rare beast with not many for sale and they do tend to hold their value.

I have a 315, I've had it from new. If you look at the owner satisfaction websites you will see that Searay are pretty much top year in year out and I would support that based on my experience. My 315 has been fantastic.

I chose it over a Sealine S28 mainly because of the flexibility it gave in terms of accommodation both below and in the cockpit. It was the two berths and the dinette that sold it plus loads of storage so cruising with two kids was made easy without having to move stuff around all of the time. When I had my 24fter I hated having to collapse the v-berth in order to go to bed.

...And (this will set the cat amongst the pigeons) I think the finish on the Searay was better than the S28. My neighbour had one, which I spent a lot of time on. It just didn't feel quite as good.

I'm fairly sure it's one of Searay's longest running production models. They tried several times to replace it without much success simply because it's proved so popular stateside.

It's a big boat for a single diesel but I can mono ski behind mine, and can pull two doughnuts. Compared to a petrol boat the running costs are fantastic. A fast run (30kts) burns about 9gph, but a gentle cruise across the channel (22kts) returned 5.5 gph.

Good luck in your search, and make sure you enjoy it

[CX54WEK]

Following all the advice I have received and after checking with North Fambridge Marina where I will store the boat on their fuel prices £0.89 litre diesel and £1.25 petrol I think I have decided on a diesel boat!

However I like the Bayliner 285 but they only seem to come with 300hp petrol engines, what boat will give me similar accommodation with a diesel lump for around £40,000, also not keen on a boat more than 5-6 years old. Further advices appreciated.

Learning fast. Lee

You may struggle to find a diesel powered boat that is about 5 or 6 years old and will comfortably sleep the three of you. You would either have to raise your budget or lower your age range.

Boats are not like cars. A well maintained 10-15 year old boat could give you less reliability issues than a poorly maintained 3 or 4 year old boat.

Forgot to mention, a diesel boat wont make the best boat for water sports either. Our 25ft diesel Sealine wouldnt tow a skier. It is quick enough at 30 knots but it takes some time to get to 3o knots. The acceleration just isnt as quick as a petrol equivalent.

[SolentPhill]

Doral have gone bankrupt so I would expect this to have some impact on secondhand boat prices but with no particular dissadvantage on maintenance spares availablity.
Tough decision.
My path was
Sealine 195, Sealine 240, Sealine S37

The fact they went bankrupt is not going to effect second hand market, they are still going see below

"Doral International has been acquired by a longtime dealer in Quebec. Denis Poliseno acquired the Canadian builder out of bankruptcy protection on June 18 after a long period of negotiations.

Doral, which previously built sportboats at a facility in Ontario, will now build its line of cruisers and sportboats at its longstanding facility in Grand Mère, Quebec."

There are are many boat builders who have done this and I think Sealine are one of them.

I think most people who have bought a S28 dont keep it long, before you all tell me Im wrong there will be a few of you who have one for a while.

[PaulGooch]

Finding something that is a ski boat and a decent cruiser is going to be tough. There will need to be some serious compromises in one or both areas.

Something that makes a comfortable cruiser for a family of three is unlikely to be much good as a ski boat.

I see you've now dropped the budget by 10 grand to £40k, but state you've decided on diesel power (good move) and only want 5-6 years old. In answer to your question "am i deluded", erm...... you're getting that way

I think you need to do three things now.

1) Carefully consider your budget. Remembering that you might need to spend some money on important safety kit as well as the boat. Life jackets, etc. A few extra £££'s might mean a much better boat.

2) Carefully consider what you really want from the boat. IMO, expecting to be able to spend comfortable weekends and odd weeks away on the boat, AND having a ski boat just doesn't work. Especially when you want economy, speed, 5-6 years old and diesel. Now, if you wanted a comfortable and sensibly economical cruiser that you could fish from, well that would be a wholly different kettle of fish.

3) Take a trip to a dealer with a good range of boats and have a proper look around. Don't just glance at the pretty boats, get on them, all of you at the same time. See how much room there is for all of you to move around. Look at where you'll all sleep, eat, sit etc. Some of the small boats mentioned have sleeping accommodation akin to sleeping in a coffin.

It's worth noting that almost everyone buys the wrong boat first time. The expectations of what you will do with the boat seem to be different to how things actually work out. Buying something oddball (or petrol, IMO) wouldn't be a good move if you want to sell it after a year. IMO, you should buy a good cruiser or a good ski boat, not something that just about does but, but does neither well. If you buy a cruiser, buy the biggest y our budget will run to.

Last, and probably most important suggestion, don't rush. Take your time and at least try to get the right boat. Bet you change it in a year though

[CX54WEK]

Despite what some people say though. If you buy the right boat the first time around it is possible to own it for more than 12 months

Take your time choosing the right boat and you will benefit from choosing correctly. Spend as much time as possible on as many different boats as possible and have a good poke around them and think about how you would live with them. The right boat will stand out eventually.

[PaulGooch]

Despite what some people say though. If you buy the right boat the first time around it is possible to own it for more than 12 months

Take your time choosing the right boat and you will benefit from choosing correctly. Spend as much time as possible on as many different boats as possible and have a good poke around them and think about how you would live with them. The right boat will stand out eventually.

Only a woman could possibly pick the right boat first time. Us mere men always get it wrong