My first boat!

[coombm]

Looking for a 25ft weekender. Been to LBS, Bham NEC and thought I'd narrowed it down but am confused about the sea worthy nature of US / Canadian 'lake' boats. I will be using the boat primarily in N Wales which can get a bit choppy! Any advice re suitability / differences between Doral 250, Wellcraft Martinique 2400, Chapparal 240, Maxum and Four Winns 248 greatly appreciated. Are any of these more suited to sea use rather than lake/ river or definitely not suited or is the difference in practice not that great? The Chapparal rep got quite worked up about it!

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[DavidJ]

Have a look at Sealine. The new one is the S23 but Sealine have been making the 230's and 240's (same boat) for over a decade so a well proven 'British' sturdy and practical seaworthy weekender (also trailorable witha decent 4x4).
David

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[Happy1]

And another thing, if you buy a Sealine, they guarantee to give you the purchase price, **Less the cost of any additional accessories you had put on**, within two years, as long as you upgrade to another Sealine.

So if you go for this option, watch what extra's you put on it /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

Nice boat though, I am looking to upgrade later, this is on my list.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[BarryH]

You haven't even got this one wet yet......how can you be thinking of upgrading already!!!!

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[martynwhiteley]

How about an Aquador 25 Cabin (tested in MBM a year or so ago).

Better suited to british weather with its hardtop, good build, diesel etc.



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Quick, grab the boat hook.....

 

[banus]

Look very seriously at a Jeannue 805 leader. Fantastic boat. Look up Depsol on this forum and he will tell you about it. As long as you don't mind getting wet. I just bought a Searay 240 sundancer but as it will never leave the med it,s for a different purpose

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[wakeup]

I bought a Maxum 2100sc 3 years ago to 'Learn' on.

I have since looked at all the North American 'Express Cruisers' and whilst I have been happy with my boat for size and performance it seems as soon as you move up the range then the differences really begin to tell between US and European boats.

Firstly all the NA boats seem to use the same 1 or 2 windscreen supplier. These are not desinged for UK weather they all leak, fine in a 22ft cuddy but when you've shelled out serious bucks for something bigger you don't expect them to get wet inside. Same goes for all weather gear, it is really only to keep the sun off them and not up to UK weather.

Secondly they nearly all compromise the deadrise significantly and are beamier than UK boats, this combination doesn't make them at all fun in a chop. The dead rise on my boat is 20 degrees and even that isn't enough to avoid a slamming in choppy weather. This wouldn't have bothered me before buying a boat, but now i've experienced it I wouldn't want to upgrade to something bigger that didn't cope better. When you get caught out in a chop, it is very unformtable even for just half an hour, and once you are out there then you have no choice but to endure it.
I have been on many sea trial of boats that size and they all with out exception over 25ft slam when running into a chop. These US baots are designed for maximum space and hence are very boxy in profile as they push out the sied of the hull so they are almost vertical, particularly the case with Maxum and Rinker. Becasue of the greeater space you think you're getting more for your money, infact your getting less capability. These boats are only really ever going to be comfortable on a Lake. One 26ft express cruiser even slammed crossing its own wake on a flat bay.

I would follow DJ's advice and look at a sealine or some other british/european boat. I bought my boat new cos I was afraid of dealer come back and didn't know what to look for. I would now wish I'd bought second hand, you get much more for your money and you will have a boat you can use when the weather turns.

One boat I in this range that did handle the chop well was the Maxum 2400SC and this baot unusually has a 22 degree deadrise. So check out the deadrise figures and question where they measure. If they don't measure at the stern then they are trying to hide the fact that the hul flatten out too much towards the rear.

I also noticed that several of the US boat dealers got anxious about this issue, mostly cos they didn't have credible answers.

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[wakeup]

I agree with Banus, one of the other boats I've tried that I was impressed with was the Jeanu Capcamarat 755, the hull was brilliant, I drove it all day in a 1m 2m swell and it handled brialiantly, I understand the 805 uses the same hull profile.

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[Happy1]

Because a lot of smart Alec's on here (my mentors) said, once I get this one I will be looking for another. Guessed while I had time now (as quote from forum mafia, I'm 'not allowed to get any more kit') I could start my plans for the next one, do a risk assessment and check, but only check cost of additional safety gear and equipment (Chart plooters, radar, navtex, tenders e.t.c.) for a longer boat. Will also have time to check camping shops. see I'm just not half as daft as I look /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

What is the point of having great experienced mentors and reading this most informative forum if you don't take any notice ? /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[Happy1]

I looked at that boat, if it is the one with the cooker under the drivers seat! It was a wonderful looking boat, I also noticed it was coded Cat B, whereas the Sealine is a Cat C. I think the one at the LBS had the KAD32 in it. Sun deck as well on top of the wheel house.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[terryw]

Doral do the same thing regarding 100% money back on upgrade.
I had the 250 last year and it can vouch on it's sea worthiness.

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[Happy1]

Did Fletcher do that offer? and where would people stand now if they did ? Just something to think about /forums/images/icons/wink.gif for those entering these type of agreements.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple> "You only see what you recognise, and you only recognise what you know" <font color=purple>

 

[longjohnsilver]

They would still have one of the best boats of its type, so not a problem. Bet they will be around second hand and in great condition far longer than most imported boats! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[byron]

<font color=blue>Right there John, you still see Fletchers from the late 60s and the 70s that are in superb nick. Rather like the Freemans, Fjords and Coronets, built to last.

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