Fairline sprint or equivilant.... and dieselvs petrol

[symondo]

With the adventures we have had learning and working on my families Fairline 32

It is now for sale My mrs has agreed she would also like to continue boating once its sold.

We are looking at trying to save up over a few years to buy a larger boat of our own so naturally ive been looking about to ideas of cost and whats about

We had looked at something like the Fairline Sprint due to size, ability to sleep 4 and the fact it can be put onto a trailer is a big plus point to us.

So my query really is - what other brands of boat would equate to roughly the same size and class of boat?

I know fine it maybe a different landscape some the time we could even look to buy but it'd be nice to be able to know what models of other brands would give me a similar end result.

Also - i have noticed a lot of these boats are petrol.

I had this lengthy debate with my old man at the time of him buying his boat about fuel and i understand Diesel is generally better for marine use and some of the reasons for that.

But is petrol at sea really that bad? Are there any other downsides to petrol than diesel other than, fume build up, consumption and the dislike of it getting diliuted with water?

We hadnt really decided if we would want it in land on fresh water or coastal.

 

[neale]

There are plenty of Sealine models that would suits. 215, 218, 220, 230, 240 S23, S24, S25 are all four berth and trailerable.

Then there are the Yank Boats, Searay, Bayliner etc. Cruisers 224 is a nice boat.

Fairline also had the Weekend.

Nearly all of them were petrol from the factory, apart from some of the newer Sealines.

There may be re-engined examples with diesel, but make sure its a good engine and installation.

Much will depend on your budget.

I sold an 80's Bayliner 2455 in 2011 that I had had professionally re-engined with a Volvo Diesel in 2006. Sold for circa £15k. That was a good buy. For similar money you could easily end up with a dog. Might be better to spend circa £10k on a really nice petrol boat and spend the £5k saved on fuel. It will go along way.

 

[symondo]

There are plenty of Sealine models that would suits. 215, 218, 220, 230, 240 S23, S24, S25 are all four berth and trailerable.

Then there are the Yank Boats, Searay, Bayliner etc. Cruisers 224 is a nice boat.

Fairline also had the Weekend.

Nearly all of them were petrol from the factory, apart from some of the newer Sealines.

There may be re-engined examples with diesel, but make sure its a good engine and installation.

Much will depend on your budget.

I sold an 80's Bayliner 2455 in 2011 that I had had professionally re-engined with a Volvo Diesel in 2006. Sold for circa £15k. That was a good buy. For similar money you could easily end up with a dog. Might be better to spend circa £10k on a really nice petrol boat and spend the £5k saved on fuel. It will go along way.

Cheers for that! i imagine budget will be dictating a lot if we can actually put a sum together. but i had been looking between 10-15k ish. I just didnt really know where to start looking when investigating other brands

 

[Divemaster1]

Where you live ... petrol may be an issue to fill up when out cruising (not many waterside places where you can fill from ... but some garages within walking distance...). If trailering and you only have short trips, then no problem as you can fill up as you're topping up car.... Be a bit more cautious if petrol engine and boat has been used in salt water ... most of these have raw water cooling end exhaust elbows have a tendency of getting clogged up / rotting away (not all admittedly). Some good re-engines out there ... others not so good, so find a boat you like and focus your search on that type.... then filter out the good engines from the not so good ones...

Others have mentioned the US makes, as well as the Sealines ... of course there is the early Fairlines (from Sunfury upwards), then there are some Scandinavian ones such as Fjord 21 and 24 weekender and Draco 21 and 24 ...

 

[symondo]

Where you live ... petrol may be an issue to fill up when out cruising (not many waterside places where you can fill from ... but some garages within walking distance...). If trailering and you only have short trips, then no problem as you can fill up as you're topping up car.... Be a bit more cautious if petrol engine and boat has been used in salt water ... most of these have raw water cooling end exhaust elbows have a tendency of getting clogged up / rotting away (not all admittedly). Some good re-engines out there ... others not so good, so find a boat you like and focus your search on that type.... then filter out the good engines from the not so good ones...

Others have mentioned the US makes, as well as the Sealines ... of course there is the early Fairlines (from Sunfury upwards), then there are some Scandinavian ones such as Fjord 21 and 24 weekender and Draco 21 and 24 ...

Ive been looking mostly at the fairline models as i spent ages researching them for my dad so i have a better understanding of them compared to others and what im looking at.

But keeping an open mind on the matter, that said by the time ive saved up enough this whole point of learning may be irrelevant, depends how quick i save up i spose!! Can you buy 2nd hand boats on finance like cars?

 

[neale]

The other thing to think about is regular towing. A 21 footer will be much easier to trail than a 25 footer. A 25 footer will also need a proper 4x4, whereas a 21 footer could probably be towed behind a mid range 4x4, or SUV. Petrol availability can be a big issue, depending on where you will be boating.

 

[symondo]

The other thing to think about is regular towing. A 21 footer will be much easier to trail than a 25 footer. A 25 footer will also need a proper 4x4, whereas a 21 footer could probably be towed behind a mid range 4x4, or SUV. Petrol availability can be a big issue, depending on where you will be boating.

ive got a lwb shogun - size wise i thought 23ft would be my limit but 21foot looks a good length to accomodate our requests and move about and get to grips with.

 

[landlockedpirate]

At the money you want to spend and the type of boats you are looking at, petrol is the way to go. (Unless you find a nice, well engineered and repowered diesel).

The Fairlines are really good solid boats and hold value well, but design has moved on a lot since they were concieved in the late 70's. To accomodate 4 people you need a decent sized boat, the Sealines are good but they are all based on the same 21ft hull and with the side decks interior space is small as is the cockpit. The Sealine however is still seen as the class boat in this size range.

A move to a 24ft American sportscruiser will give you a lot more room and they are all within reach of your budget. Have a look at:

Bayliner 2355/2455
Maxum 2400SCR
Regal 2460
Chaparral 240
Glastron GS249
Searay 240
Rinker 240/242
Four Winns 238
Wellcraft 240

You need to watch towing weights, not sure which Shogun you have but they usually tow between 3300 and 3500kg, so you need a boat with a max dry weight of 2400kg to be legal.Dont forget to factor the trailer into your budget, a new 3500kg trailer will be £4k and used ones are like hens teeth and will still set you back £2k

But wether you go for 21 or 24ft, they all look big on your drive

 

[lynall]

Sprint is a tough little boat, Ive ran one for 2 years, only reason we bought it was the engine and drive was new in 2009 and has been mechanically excellent.
Avoid ones that say engine rebuilt, theres always one for sale with the 4.3 v6 engine which is a tough little lump, you want the injection version if possible 225bhp as opposed to 190bhp on carb
Worth getting neutra salt kit fitted to protect the manifolds.
Loads for under 10k and some a lot less

 

[rafiki_]

There are also the Flippers from Scandinavia. Well made little boats, and good value in my opinion.

 

[enterprise]

You really can have it all if you try, this is the first one after a google search, very similar to the sprint in many ways, style, size and accomodation, probably the closest you would get, this looks a good example and within budget (with a little haggle), no trailer however but with a first rate engine package.

Falcon 23 spc, Kad32 diesel, Bow thruster etc etc £16K !!!
http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Cabin-cruiser-for-sale/falcon-23-spc-diesel/34630


Great boat for the money, suspect it won't be around for too long;

 

[superheat6k]

I would expect the biggest concern I would have for buying a petrol boat would be selling it on, especially if you are in a remote location. Also be careful of just how much / how far you will actually tow the boat. Towed boats probably spend more time not being used than those on moorings because of the hassle of getting to the water when you want to use it.

Hauling a large boat even with a big car / pick up is tiring and if you are on windy / hilly roads could be a real turn off after just a few trips out.

Yes you save mooring fees parking it on your own drive, but still not much use if you only get round to launching a couple of times a year, which for most trailer boat owners is probably the average by season 2 or 3.

 

[symondo]

I would expect the biggest concern I would have for buying a petrol boat would be selling it on, especially if you are in a remote location. Also be careful of just how much / how far you will actually tow the boat. Towed boats probably spend more time not being used than those on moorings because of the hassle of getting to the water when you want to use it.

Hauling a large boat even with a big car / pick up is tiring and if you are on windy / hilly roads could be a real turn off after just a few trips out.

Yes you save mooring fees parking it on your own drive, but still not much use if you only get round to launching a couple of times a year, which for most trailer boat owners is probably the average by season 2 or 3.

my thoughts on towing really - we have our slip/launch area about 8 miles from the house, id be keen to leave it in on a mooring and just haul it out at winter to store at the house to do maintenence etc... without having to rack up charges of leaving it at a marina


i believe my shogun - mk4 3.2 its max braked tow weight is 3300kgs