A little bit confused post Boat Show

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woodenman

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Well, the missus and I got ourselves down to the boat show to check out some potential vessels for our first proper purchase. Took the advice of many here and left the cheque book behind, that was hard. Agreed that having a boat over the winter is probably a waste of time and money.

However it was all a little daunting and confusing. I'm after a small cuddy cruiser, that could be trailered very occasionally and looked at Sea Ray, Bayliner, Monterey, Crownline, Fletcher and a couple of others.

Of all that lot, it appeared Crownline had the best to offer in terms of quality, layout, price, and useability. I must say the fit and finish on all but the Sea Ray and Crownline was awful. The bayliner was fantastically cheap, but I couldn't help but conclude the fit and finsihed answered why.
Am I right in concluding that Bayliner can have quite variable quality and is not up with Sea Ray (same company I know) and Crownline? They seem a lot lot lighter too for the similar size and engine spec. Is that due to the hull construction? All the other dealers were quick to slate to them, but is there any truth in the horror stories.

I think I have settled on a Crownline 230 CCR. I'm hoping that is occasionally trailerable behind a Discovery....

The layout in the cuddy seemed slightly better too. We will almost never use it to sleep, but it seemed the only one to use the space for seating and eating. All the others were more towards being a bed that will never be used.

And as for economy....! What a bunch of liars those sales people are. Or someone is anyway. The economy levels quoted for a 250-300HP range at cruising speed ranged from 4 gallons and hour to 'about 8'. I thought at cruising speed an engine that size would burn c12-15 gallons an hour. Am I being unfair?

They also tell you that you can easily trailer a 3.4ton boat behind a Disco. That sounds like bunkum. I would have thought that is a nightmare!
Think they saw me coming with big 'THIS IS MY FIRST BOAT AND MY MONEY IS BURNING A HOLE IN MY POCKET' sticker on my head.

Anyway, if anyone has any experience of boats of this size (c20-23ft, less than 2.8 tons on trailer, cuddy/sports etc) and specifically Crownline, would be very grateful.

Of course the missus wants a Princess v50. And the staff were great too. Unlike Fairline. Maybe next year.
Thanks in advance
 
Presume you will be using her on the Sea - if so be sure to get one with a good Sea Hull. Larson, Regal and Monterey always come out well. Many of the US boats are Lake oriented - not all, but a lot are. See the MBM tests too.
 
It will be in the sea yes. I was 'told' the Crownline (why didn't they change the name??) was pretty good in the sea. Thanks for the links.
PS. Not being intentionally rude to Bayliner owners. I'm just trying to qualify what people who know more than I do are telling me.
 
FWIW, I like Ripster's comment. Granted, Crownlines have great eye appeal, even up close. But for a cuddy pleasure boat (distinct from fishing) in this size my shopping list would be headed up with Four Winns and Monterey.

Kelly
 
Probably telling you to suck eggs but trailerable limit on a Disco is 3,500kgs. Bear in mind this has to include the weight of the trailer, fuel and water in the boat, auxillary engine (if you have one), and all the other paraphernalia and detritus which finds it's way into boats.

Have fun shopping.
 
The fuel burn (petrol) for 300 HP - MPI, in that size boat for cruise - 3500 rpm is going to be around 6.5 - 7 GPH or 30 litres/PH in good conditions.

Towing large outfits is not for everybody, but modern towing aids greatly assist the pain.

Other dealers will always slate the opposition, especially when they have the sales figures of Bayliner.
 
This months MBM says that Crownline (the factory in US NOT the UK Dealer) is in financial difficulties.

Don't let this stop you - many US factories are in difficulties - and most boats are just a collection of bought in items anyway such as engines, cleats hatches etc etc... but it's worth finding out the truth and find out what the implications are for the warranty??

Also don't forget to consider both new and secondhand - your first boat is unlikely to be spot on and you'll change it soon enough - better to let someone else take that initial hit of depreciation as you'll almost certainly sell within 2 years.

Anything over 2.5ton boat weight is getting to the top end of towing - yes it can be done but by golly you'll know it's on the back no matter what you're towing it with!

The max you can tow is 3500KG - the trailer will be around 600-700kg (the trailer co can tell you which) so that means boat mustn't be more than 2800kg, some fuel in the tank will add 50-100kg, the general clobber will be another 100-200kg depending on how light you run so already you are down to a dry weight of the boat of 2600kg.... Just be careful - if the boat is 3400kg dry you will NOT be legal towing it.
 
Hi Woodenman,

I was in your position 3 years ago, looking a very similar makes but at the 26 to 30 foot area. Again I was also not interested in a Bayliner as I had heard all the stories, but once me and the wife had looked at them all, I just couldn't ignore the amount of boat we could get for our money!! Yes I know the fit is more caravan than high gloss, but with (at the time) a 2 month old and 3 year old.....maybe that wasn't such a bad thing!! So we found a nearly new 285, bargained very very hard, and to be honest got her for a very good price!!

So, fast forward 3 years and I have no regrets at all. The boat has been simply brilliant, It has always looked after us, admitedly we don't hammer her or go out in silly conditions, but nothing with the boat has ever broken, leaked or failed, the problems that have happened have been with engine parts or other systems, but never with the hull structure itself. We use her all year round and she takes what the kids can throw at her.....and trust me that is a hell off a lot!!! Yes I would dearly love a Princess V, but even if I won the lottery I'd question if we could have any more fun as a family with another boat??

As for fuel, I find our Mag 350 burns 2.3 lts per mile or 2 miles to the gallon approx @ 4000 or 27 knots.......Hope that helps??

Regards Paul.
 
Did you get a chance to checkout the Scandinavian Options? Bella, Flipper, Aquador, Yamarin... worth mentioning. Fuel our 150hp O/B 4st yamaha is 20lt per hour cruising at 18-10kn coastal 56 lph wide open at 46 kn on a 7m cabin cruiser sports boat (Scandinavian :-))
 
woodenman said:
And as for economy....! What a bunch of liars those sales people are. Or someone is anyway. The economy levels quoted for a 250-300HP range at cruising speed ranged from 4 gallons and hour to 'about 8'. I thought at cruising speed an engine that size would burn c12-15 gallons an hour. Am I being unfair?
Click to expand...

I ran a 22ft cuddy cabin sportsboat with a 220hp 4.3MPI Mercruiser for a couple of years recently and kept a close record of hours/fuel used. Over the season it averaged out overall at 3.6GPH. I'd suggest that at fast cruise it was maybe using about 5GPH. I also ran a Princess 266 Riviera (huge by comparison) with twin Volvo AQ431/dp 205hp V6 petrol engines. I reckoned on about 12GPH in total for that.

So yes to your question, and not "a bunch of liars" in my opinion.
 
Be carefull about the towing, the max weight for some heavy 4x4s is 3.5tons including the trailer which obviously must be double axil and braked, and a disco is not rated for 3.5tons as far as I can remember. The range rover sport is ok for 3.5tons inc trailer. PM Goboatingnow who has just trailered his four winns to france and back. See http://www.powerboat.ie/forums/coastal-offshore-motor-cruising/4586-bringing-boat-france-road.html

He knows the numbers inside out inc max permitted road height width, length inc car and trailer, etc. Quite important for insurance as well as the police, especially in the unlikely event of a roadside mishap.
 
I was having a wander about the show and came across the " spot the boat make that fooled everbody" Bryant.T hey do a 233 Cudy which could fit the bill.I know it is an unknown in the UK but I had a run in one in Spain and I liked it alot.Very high build quality in mho and a bit different.Might be worth a look
 
Oh you can drive a Bayliner fairly hard, especially the 285 - it has a great hull.

Time for my favourite piccie again methinks. This one never gets old....

whitelighter_launched2.jpg
 
I have a 2000 model 230 ccr which is a different layout to the new ones,but there is a ton of useable walk around space on board.Has to be the greatest floor area of its class i'd say.
Love the boat, the looks,space,style and build quality.The thing is built like a tank.I've had Bayliner and Rinker cuddies in the past and they dont compare in terms of quality,but overall,nothing really wrong with them either.Good hull design on Bayliner 2052 and rinker 212.
Info on the new 230 ccr should be on boattest.com.Will weigh in dry around 1900kg plus 5-600kg for a trailer.
I agree with others.Fuel consumption at around 2500rpm will be around 6-7gals ph.
It is a shame Crownline are suffering as they make stunning looking boats in my opinion,and i'm not being biased,would love a 270 ccr :-) but all manufacturers are suffering.
 
We have owned a 230ccr since January 09. We also looked around and listened to all the stories but I would advise you try both a Crownline and a Sea Ray. We fell in love with ours staright away. It handles great on the sea and we use about 20 litres for about 2 1/2 hours cruising. If you want speed then this boat flys along with the 350 mag 5.7 litre V8. We also sleep on ours most weekends. It was a bit mad at first but we have got used to it and it's great. It has only been towed once by a Volks Transporter and this was 200kg short of its limit and the whole rig towed like a dream. We are looking at selling ours as we have the bug and want something bigger. I don't know of a second hand one for sale anywhere in the uk so if you are looking for a bargin at some point let us know. All the best with what ever you go for.
 
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