Another newbie seeking advice !

steve930

steve930

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Weymouth/Dorchester
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Hi guys, firstly my compliments on an excellent forum, I've often used it as a helpful resource over the last 7yrs & finally decided to join

I'm based in Weymouth & started out with a bayliner Capri & currently own a searay 220 da (currently for sale)

I'm now looking to upgrade to a larger cruiser, 27-30ft with diesel power. I am considering a Bavaria 270 sport fitted with Volvo kad44.

My question is: coming from mercruiser powered boats, I know very little on what to look out for with Volvo drives & engines (from a wear & tear point of view) so any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I've currently had an initial viewing of the boat and plan to have 1 more viewing before proceeding with sea trials etc

Many thanks in advance, Steve
 
Welcome email to the forum best of luck on your hunt for a new boat. Bavaria are a good for money boat and is something that I would definitely consider as my next boat. I currently have a rinker 270 which is just over 30 ft including the swim platform. Its powered by a diesel but a yanmar it all depends what your budget is and how new a boat you are after. Best of luck on your hunt for a new boat
 
Hi Steve,

The KAD series of VP engines are pretty solid, and the drives would be a DPE/DPS leg I think. The big thing with the KAD44 and 300 engines is the tappit service which has to be done every 200 Hours. People with more tech knowledge than me will be along shortly to confirm and flesh out the details

As for the boat, is it a BMB270 (year would be around 2000-2002) or a later Bavaria? While I am generally a fan of bavaria boats from that period (I owned a 330 Sport for a couple of years) the 270 was known to have some issues. I never got to the absolute bottom of the problem but I believe it was an issue with chine walking on the hull and some flex around the forward galley attachment point.

I wouldnt rule it out but Id definitely have a survey done and go for a thorough sea trial as a condition of the sale.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far.

Yes the Bavaria is a 2000 model with the dpe drive. There is a crack in the cabin floor ahead of the galley units, I'm not sure if it's stress related as I think this area of floor is a separate moulding to the hull & I can't see any other cracks in the vicinity of elsewhere for that matter, BUT it goes without saying that I'm going to get a survey done for this reason.

I've got a budget of 30-35k , but there's not a huge amount of boats on the market in that range and most of the American offerings in this size still seem to be petrol powered
 
With it being over 5 years since I last dealt with a broker I can't remember, is it possible to have a basic structure survey carried out before submitting a deposit/offer ? The boat is currently standing on the hard
 
steve930 said:
With it being over 5 years since I last dealt with a broker I can't remember, is it possible to have a basic structure survey carried out before submitting a deposit/offer ? The boat is currently standing on the hard
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I know this boat and have driven it on a number of occasions. Given the engine it packs a fair old wallop in terms of get up and go. I have driven it at full chat and never found a problem with "chine walking". It is a nice boat and has been owned by the current owner for about 8 years. The owner is actually a past chairman of the Pathfinder Powrboat Club.
 
Thanks for the information solitaire it's very encouraging.

I can see that she's generally in very good order given her age but there are several areas that need tlc. Aside from doing a systems check my only concern is the cracking in the cabin floor, hence wanting to get a structure survey carried out
 
Hi Steve,
You don't sound like the usual 'newbie' as you have had a boat or two now and followed the usual route of Bayliner and Searay as they give very good value to new boaters. Like others on here, I am sure you will remember them fondly.

Like Whitelighter, I owned a Bav 330, but with Mercruiser engines and legs not Volvo. They are very similar but a bit harsher sounding, running costs almost the same. I found the boat to be very good all round and enjoyed owning her. Was a good choice for us at the time.:o

These boats are mass produced by germans to give value for money and maximum accommodation for length like Sealine used to be and Jeanneau for that matter. The negs will be fairly flat bottom (deadrise) and more likely to be a bit slammy in a head sea. Nothing to worry about if you slow down but this will be a reason for hull damage if the boat has been driven hard into choppy seas.

These boats/hulls were laid up into their mould from the keel line up and were cured in a warm oven / autoclave if I remember correctly. The idea being to get thorough and consistent curing. The inner decks are moulded apart and applied later. I am sure they would not have been made to the same spec. as the hull. The cracking you are concerned about will probably be cosmetic and not structural.

This of course is by NO means any guarantee but any experienced surveyor will be able to confirm this for you.

Within your budget, I would also suggest looking at the29 or 32, you never know you might find a motivated seller. :encouragement:

Good luck.

RR
 
Hi Roger

Thanks for the kind words. Having an older brother who is an engineer & fiddling with all things mechanical/electrical from about 13 yrs old myself i'm lucky enough to have a reasonable knowledge about boats cars etc

Thank you for the information regarding bavaria's assembly process, like you i'm fairly certain the cracking mentioned is on a inner moulding separate from the hull. I have my suspicions it may have been caused from something not stowed away crashing into it, as there are several chips/marks in the gelcoat in the surrounding area, but i think £500.00 or so would be wisely invested to gain the opinion of a surveyor.

Due to taking SWMBO with me on the first viewing of the boat i couldn't spend too much time inspecting every aspect of the boat in detail ( once i've sold my sea ray ) i'll go back for a detailed viewing/trial.
Do you know if volvo use any form of electrical galvanic isolation on their legs ( similar to mercruiser's mercathode system) ? I noticed a fair amount of corrosion in the leg casings

I'm still considering anything that comes on the market that is 27-30ft with diesel engine around 15 years old either european or american. I don't want to go over 30ft due to the increase in mooring fee's from my current 24 footer!!. As i'm sure you're aware apart from the bavaria's and sealine s28 there's nothing much else european out there i can think of and it seems the majority of the american offerings on the market at present are still petrol powered so i dont have a wide choice available to me. There is a single engined sealine s28 on the market ( in budget ) but its got a VM engine installed but i'm not sure if its an early or late version of that engine!

regards steve
 
Whitelighter said:
I would avoid the single engine S28 - its almost certainly a re-power and even factory single engine boats are hard work to shift on.
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i do agree about the lack of desirability regarding resale time ( within s28 circles ) hence i haven't viewed it
yes its been repowered, with not the greatest engine in the world! but the price does kind of reflect that compared to the typical twin vovlo'd s28's out there
 
Whitelighter said:
I would avoid the single engine S28 - its almost certainly a re-power and even factory single engine boats are hard work to shift on.
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I think a single engine s28 could make a good buy for the right person and at the right price. Will be very economical and come with half the servicing costs. Would want a bow thruster though.
For the op's budget I would expect to be able to get a twin s28 with ad31. It will be a 1997 boat but, in my opinion, would be a better buy than the Bav.
 
Lovely looking boat lulla-belle, but too big, to expensive, too soon.!

I've got an immaculate lotus Esprit V8 quietly appreciating away in the garage, so maybe in a few years time :)
 
steve930 said:
Lovely looking boat lulla-belle, but too big, to expensive, too soon.!

I've got an immaculate lotus Esprit V8 quietly appreciating away in the garage, so maybe in a few years time :)
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Good Luck Guys all I can say is go Volvo and Sealine are a quality craft with an amazing forum of there own!
 
steve930 said:
Due to taking SWMBO with me on the first viewing of the boat i couldn't spend too much time inspecting every aspect of the boat in detail ( once i've sold my sea ray ) i'll go back for a detailed viewing/trial.
Do you know if volvo use any form of electrical galvanic isolation on their legs ( similar to mercruiser's mercathode system) ? I noticed a fair amount of corrosion in the leg casings
Click to expand...


It was a great idea to take Swmbo on the first viewing. You will notice that she will look at all the items that you won't on first view. You need her to be as keen as you even if it means changing some curtains or rugs. As she's been on boats before she will also be looking at things like safety of walking round decks etc.

Sounds a bit chauvinistic, I know but this is generally the case. Most women aren't 'Powerskipper' around boats.

Galvanic isolation is almost certainly not present on these boats unless fitted as a retro. (straight forward and not too expensive for a techy like yourself) All manufacturers will have good anode protection though but this can go wrong when a previous owner doesn't bother to change them frequently enough!

Volvo went a bit silly tho later on the DPH drives and tried to make these drives 'corrosion' resistant. Big mistake as in some cases, they eat propellers instead.

I know what you mean about going over 30' and this makes sense. Bav' of this vintage is a good all rounder for me and less dated than Sealine. Nothing against S28s' though except it would be over budget for the right spec. :ambivalence:

RR
 
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