Regal 2850 or Chris Craft 248?

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Narcosis

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My sports cruiser search continues, and it's not easy!
Just another query. Which would make the better buy, 2000 Regal 2850 with 5.7 Volvo (230 hrs) or Chris Craft 248 5.0 Volvo with similar hours. The Regal is in Northern Ireland (as am I) so was wondering would making the journey to England to view the Chris Craft be worth while? Are they a similar build of a boat?
 
I have never owned either Chris Craft or regal, but they both have a good reputation for build quality. Chris Craft is more of a "halo" brand, famous for stylish sports boats and launches. Regal brand is more for sports cruisers. We would need to know more about each boat to advise on the best buy, as condition and maintenance are so critical. Engine hours are very low, so if maintained properly should be fine.
 
Agreed.

Regal (recent) get very high scores in US consumer reviews. Obviously would start with this one if nearby(ish).

Are these models equal in design and layout? Any with EFI fuel system? Similar sterndrives?
Seemingly one is 28' and the other 25'. That may mean a lot more to room inside than the figures suggest..

Photos or links to ads?
 
http://www.chriscraft248.co.uk
http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/feature.phtml?id=329441

The Chris Craft apparently needs a polish and a service. The broker says that the boat has been in the water for a year, should I be overly concerned about this? Apparently it's had little use but I suspect it'll need anti-fouled and anodes replaced at a minimum. I like the look of the Chris Craft, and I assume that as it's 3ft shorter and has a smaller Volvo unit it'll be slightly easier on the juice??
 
Can't comment on layout or design - none of these tick many of my boxes. Personal preference, hopefully will meet your requirements.

The Regal claims 5.7 GSI which, if true, is an EFI engine. Better mgp, cold start and idle, less worries as long as all OK. If it fails, it will take a specialist and £££ to fix. Experience with these is pretty good.
Of the two I like the Regal design better. It even has the patented Regal Fastrac hull (commercial below)

Looking at the boats I wonder who/how to go up on deck? The Chris Craft shape helps room inside but would be problem to walk on. imo.


 
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To my eyes the regal looks much nicer than that chris craft.

We owned a 28 foot regal back in the late 90's , it was a great boat, and it absolutely flew with twin 4.3 v6's.
 
In the ad it indicates the Chris Craft is 5.25mt; if it's true, a 5.0 V8 Gi (throttle body injection) petrol would make it woefully underpowered. I suspect its weight is a lot lower than indicated.

The 5.7 GSi ( 280 hp) is also throttle body injected, reputedly not as efficient/ economical as the later 5.7 Gi/ GXi EFi ( 280/ 320 hp) versions, but to be honest I had a 22 ft cuddy with the GSi and a 24 ft cuddy with the GXi and there was little difference in fuel burn.
 
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Narcosis said:
My sports cruiser search continues, and it's not easy!
Just another query. Which would make the better buy, 2000 Regal 2850 with 5.7 Volvo (230 hrs) or Chris Craft 248 5.0 Volvo with similar hours. The Regal is in Northern Ireland (as am I) so was wondering would making the journey to England to view the Chris Craft be worth while? Are they a similar build of a boat?
Click to expand...



I like the look of the Regal, but you may want to look at the covers / bimini. On our old Bayliner the standard cover looks like the Regal which basically truncated the rear seat of the boat if you wanted to make a passage with it up, the Chris Craft looks to be more squarer and would enable you to use the rear seat on a passage.

Nothing is insurmountable though and for a £1000 we had a rear canopy made that squared off the rear of the boat and made the area under cover much brighter and roomier. Depending on how you use her that may be a cost you want to factor in ?

Gillingham Marina is 4 miles from me, so if you want me to take a look to see how she has fared in the recent storms, PM me and I'll see if I can get down just to give you a visual report before making a decision to travel. That said, I have had dealings with Clarke and Carter before and found them pretty good....
 
Thanks for the responses guys. GrahamHR the boat is actually 2300 kg so the 5.0 should be fit for the job. I appreciate the offer Andy Bav but I've already booked the flights for tomorrrow. Glad to hear Clarke and Carter aren't cowboys, I've met some complete idiots in the last six weeks that have nearly put me off the entire idea!
If I do go for the Chris Craft all I have to do is figure out how to transport it home - I'm not spending £4k on a trailer that won't get used!
 
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