Advice please

[KTom]

Hi
We are new to the world of boats and just about to buy our first family boat, currently have 2 options: 1. A Sea Ray 240 Sundancer, which is 19 years old, has a 5l engine and is very nice other than what seems to be a leaking window 2. A Cobrey 260 SC 4.3l engine which although is more money (which is doable - just) is only 10 years old and a higher technical specification... but I can't find anything out online about these boats other than the official website - has anyone owned one or seen one or have any thoughts on either option? Is it better to stick with an older well known make or go for a newer lesser known option?! Thanks in advance.

 

[superheat6k]

Your first boat will either confirm you are staying with us or leaving and likely in very short order, so what ever you buy make sure it is the sort of boat you can sell on. A Searay is heard of and therefore more sellable than the Cobrey no one has heard of.

Both the models mentioned have petrol engines. Petrol is ~ 1.3 x forecourt prices at Marina fuel berths and petrol engines are more juicy than equivalent power diesels. This makes selling on petrols much more difficult.

So my advice would be book a weekend out on a decent charter powerboat and gain some proper experience with all aboard for the fun as this will definitely educate you as to your likely preferences. Indeed two weekends with a professional charter skipper could give you the same experience as half a season on your own boat and possibly for far less cost and very much fun, and training experience for all at the same time.

 

[KTom]

Thanks for advice, will definitely look into it. We have lived on the south coast Poole/Southampton for the last 20 years, now settled and looking to keep boat off Poole Harbour, and have in that time spent a fair bit of time with friends who own boats, and spent reasonable amounts of time out on the water with them, so have a fair idea that we want something that we can be comfortable on but also have a bit of fun on as we have two boys who are full of energy! Also with the option to camp out on overnight and possibly explore a little further afield once we are more confident and knowledgable. Planning on doing the level 2 powerboat course ASAP, so we are safer. Just so many options and we have to start somewhere, the resale potential if we do end up hating it (which I don’t think we will) is definitely a strong consideration. Thanks, again.

 

[CLB]

You won't get a consensus here. I would go for the Cobrey. It's a bigger boat and considerably newer. I know the brand so that would not put me off. They are Polish built, which in my experience means better than US built. I would stick a cheeky offer in and let it be known that you are eyeing up a SeaRay if not.

 

[gjgm]

Stick with a known brand and popular model, but a 20 year old petrol engine and outdrives sportsboat is potentially a high risk of big repair bills, so get a professional to assess those before you start getting too keen.Yes, it costs money, but might save you making a 5 to 10k mistake.
In your budget do allow for some repairs and as said elsewhere, spend money on training..it will make things alot less worrying and alot more enjoyable.

 

[superheat6k]

Thanks for advice, will definitely look into it. We have lived on the south coast Poole/Southampton for the last 20 years, now settled and looking to keep boat off Poole Harbour, and have in that time spent a fair bit of time with friends who own boats, and spent reasonable amounts of time out on the water with them, so have a fair idea that we want something that we can be comfortable on but also have a bit of fun on as we have two boys who are full of energy! Also with the option to camp out on overnight and possibly explore a little further afield once we are more confident and knowledgable. Planning on doing the level 2 powerboat course ASAP, so we are safer. Just so many options and we have to start somewhere, the resale potential if we do end up hating it (which I don’t think we will) is definitely a strong consideration. Thanks, again.

I would clarify my comment that if staying or leaving you will still want to sell because even if you are not leaving you will likely want to move up to say 30' - even 40' in short order. This is why the ability to move on should not be restricted by a boat that won't go.

No one ever wants to become a two boat family, a very very unenviable place to be - all running costs double and would be buyers will soon know this and will kick you the very hardest at sale time !

 

[mlines]

Diesel engines are typically more to service each year than a petrol and based in Poole a petrol engined boat is perfectly useable. The previous owners will have taken the devaluation due to it being a petrol boat so as long as you do not over-pay it will be just fine.

The only diesel/petrol question for me is "Do you want to cruise?". With cruising the fuel consumption becomes an issue and the availability of fuel, this drives you to a diesel boat. If it is hooning around Poole, Swanage and Bournemouth then petrol is just fine (we have petrol V8)

As stated the Searay is a more popular "name"

 

[[2068]]

The Cobrey 260 looks smart, although it's not a name I had heard of before: they are built in Poland.

One point is that the seating / cockpit area is a bit more "enclosed" on the Sea Ray 240.
The seating arrangement on the Cobrey has that reversible cushion at the rear, which is great for sunbathing, possibly not so great for losing objects or small children out of the back.

https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/cobrey/260-sc/rb242448

 

[Dazzajohm]

I agree with some of the guys on here who have said stick with the better known boat. That way you can get lots of info online and on the forum from people who have had them plus of course the resell price. It’s quite likely once you get the taste of your own boat you will want to get something bigger in the bot too distant future - I’ve been in to boating for around 5 years and have gone from a 23ft river cruiser to a 28ft princess and a few months ago changed again to to 33ft fairline.

You will always get two sides regarding the fuel and it’s something I did quite a bit of research in to when I got in to boating and I chose diesel. I read reports of reliability issues with petrol and they can play up in damp conditions plus as someone else on here said if you want to go cruising petrol can be difficult to come across.

 

[KTom]

Thanks all for advice, viewed both this weekend, for various reasons the Sea Ray seemed like tooo big a project for newbies like us to take on, the Cobray was beautiful though and just what we are looking for... so fingers crossed we will soon be out on the water....