Thinking of buying Family Cruiser....

[Tspringer]

New user, first post.

I am giving serious consideration to buying a boat. I live 1 mile from Lake Lanier in Georgia. I grew up on the lake and we owned a 19' SeaRay ski boat.

I have two kids, 2 and 6. We are about 10 minutes from several nice marinas where I would rent a covered slip with water and power to keep the boat.

We want a good family cruiser. Its going to have to be used.... money is limited. I really need to stay under $50K. We want a boat that can sleep 4+ in comfort, has a generator, A/C, fridge, stove, stereo, full head, lots of room and would be a great family boat.

I am considering a 1991 Chris Craft 302 Crowne. It has about 450 hours on the engines and seems to be in good shape. I would have a full survey done before any purchase, asking price is $39K.

With that many hours, would you expect the engines to be tired? Should such a boat be reliable and relatively trouble free? What kind of annual maintenance costs would be typical?

I have also given though to possibly a mid 1990s SeaRay Sundancer 290 or a Maxum 2800 SCR.

Any ideas or suggestions on these type boats? I do appreciate any and all help!


Terry

 

[powerskipper]

You do not say if they are petrol or diesel, the hours mentioned I know for a diesel engine are below average for its year in Britain, get an engine oil analysis done, this will show up any wear on the internals of the engine.
Compare the boats you have seen with others of the same kind , this will give you a good idea as to the value you are getting, if it is noticeably different try and find out the reason why.
Maintenance cost, ask the local engineers what they charge per hour and for servicing your chosen type of boat, then best to double or triple it just to be safe, Do get a test or demo of the boat on the water, this is by far the best way to find out about it, take an engineer with you if you can.

But most importantly, enjoy the whole experience, They do say the best days of boat owner ship are the day you buy and the day you sell them, but I like all the bits in the middle too.

 

[DavidJ]

Terry
Welcome to the forum
450 hrs is not a lot. On average this side of the pond and in the Med the useage per year would be 50-100 hrs. Chris Craft were extreemly popular in the Med 10-20 years ago and you still see lots of them around so I guess they must be good.
Worthwhile having the hull tested for osmosis
best of luck
David

 

[Roy]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.
I can answer some of your questions ... a bit anyway. Firstly, whatever you buy, ensure that you do get a good survey done on the boat and also, or another on the engines and legs. Look for service history log too.

I bought a Searay 21.5 Express in 2000 and it was an amazing little boat - my first ever and it went well, cornered like on rails and was cheap to run. Moved in 2001 to a new Maxum 2900scr with twin petrol 4.2l on bravo 2's and it was a real beauty with lots of style and good accomm for 4 to 6 people. A great sunshine boat with covers up and down quite easily. It was not as well built as the searay, although from the same U.S. stables, but a great boat. We chopped that in for a second hand Sealine F33 in 2004. The difference in every respect from the other two boats is huge. The Sealine is solidly built and has a far better finish, better electrics etc. etc. Suggest that you take a look at Sealines in general although they may not be so widely available in USA. Whichever you decide, do your homework first, and then enjoy your new baby. All the best. Roy