Try and convince me why I SHOULDN'T buy a Sealine F33

Thepipdoc

Thepipdoc

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Why shouldn't I buy a Sealine F33?

Our first boat, which we still have, is a Sea Ray 270 Sundancer. We bought her last July and apart from going to the boat show last September we have spent every weekend on her and of course many weekdays as well. We've clocked up about 160 engine hours in 12 months.
We love it - so much so we want to move bigger still. We've looked at a few different sports boats as well as the Sealine F33 and this is the model that we seem to be hovering towards.
We will be berthed on the River Dart and we intend to use the boat about 50/50% on the river and at sea.
My question is - are there any obvious reasons why we shouldn't buy a flybridge boat?
Are there any serious handling issues that would perhaps make us regret ever buying a boat of this sort? I should add the boat we are seriously considering has a bow thruster and the bigger AD41 engines (200hp).
We don’t have too many visitors aboard- our son and daughter aren’t that interested but we expect that might change when they can stay aboard in their own cabin.
Any comments appreciated – for and against!
 
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sounds a sensible move - well suited boat for the environment, and opportunities

you have certainly had a huge learning experience with the ancillaries on your existing boat (from what you have posted) and that will all help on the next one.
 
We made a similar move - US sports cruiser to Euro Flybridge - best thing we ever did. We love it. We looked at the F33 - great boat but it had one thing (imho) we did not want - outdrives - two of them. Just one on the previous boat had caused loads of agro and cost loads of money. Others will argue that outdrives are fine and have advantages - but do add this into your considerations. If you like Sealine the F37 has shafts.

Have fun choosing.
 
I like the F33 and was going to buy one of those, but my wife insisted on the S37 instead.

Her reasoning was the S37 has an island double whereas the F33 has an offset one, and the S37 has a separate shower. And who was I to argue?

But......

I've never seatrialed an F33 and I have heard bad reports about their sea kindliness. My old boat was a baby flybridge, a bayliner 2858. I had her cross channel many times and twice had her out in a F8 - and I'm sure the F33 would have been an upgrade from the bayliner whatever the knockers say.

Even so, sea trial one for yourself. I think accommodation is great so the size of boat so if there is a downside it's how she handles. Which may be absolutely fine.
 
There's a lot of windage on a boat that size/shape with outdrives, so marina handling can be interesting until you get used to it. The bow thruster will help. Helming from upstairs is different: try it!

On the other hand, AD41's are a good match for it, and outdrives won't break the bank when it comes to fuel consumption (but they will if they haven't been properly maintained by the previous owner). Ensure you get a good survey, and ideally someone (else?) that knows about volvomort engines and outdrives to have a look.
 
Maybe at that size you should consider another Sports cruiser - there a lot in that size range - Sealine S34 and 37 - Fairline Targa 34 etc. Don't get me wrong - I have a flybridge boat now but had targas when I was in the 30 feet bracket - I would be concerned in my case of all my weight that high up!
 
Any comments appreciated – for and against!

Purely boils down to buy the boat which will give you the best enjoyment return on your money for the sort of boating you intend to undertake.
Something which may change is the sort of boating you do,with the larger boat your trips will probably be longer in terms of time and distance and the length of the season you can sensibly boat in.
A flybridge is far more suitable for this purpose in all aspects,despite what the sports boats owners say(well they would wouldnt they). Spending a wet weekend with your kids sitting under a tent watching a deserted marina via plastic windows as the water seeps through the zips or retreating to a hobbit hole downstairs is def. only for masochists.:)
 
It's a nice looking boat and has a well laid out accomodation, but do try one.

The outdrives are the killer and make handling at low speeds interesting and more so with slightly iffy weight distribution (fine on a sports boat, but on a more wallowy flybridge?) when at speed.
In addition, it is a fairly narrow boat which will make for constant adjustments on the trim tabs when underway and for a slightly wobbly picnic when at anchor in anything other than mirror calm.

In my very biased opinion, it is a pretty boat that looks like the perfect first flybridge, but I believe this is the model that gave Sealine the nickname of "Eileen".
When I say biased, I was a Jeanneau salesman for a long time and I completely agree that the Prestige 32 doesn't look quite as pretty and is possibly fractionally less well laid out in the living quarters (cabins are far better, galley area is worse), but, whilst the F33 looks nice in the marina the Prestige 32 will absolutely whoop its transom when it comes to handling and sea keeping. That said, do get trim tabs on a Prestige 32, at a foot wider than the F33 a head sea can be a bit of a slog unless you use the tabs to drop the nose.

All opinion, but the reality does check out.
 
Coincedentally, we made the move many years ago you are considering now. We changed from a Searay 268 Sundancer to a Sealine 305 Statesman. The 305 was the forerunner of the F33 and the basic layout hasn't changed much, if at all, over the years. On the plus side, the F33 offers a lot of accomodation for its length and price which is probably why you are keen on it. However Sealine only managed to shoe horn that much accomodation by using sterndrive propulsion as opposed to shafdtdrive and therein lies it's problem. I can only speak as I found and I found the 305 tricky to handle at marina speeds. It carries a lot of windage for its waterline length and the bow can be very easily blown off due to the sterndrive location so a powerful bowthruster is a must. I also found the boat to need constant trimming at sea. A side wind or crew shifting position would cause the boat to lean so trim tabs are a must. The 305 also slammed a bit in a head sea but I think the F33 may have a slightly deeper V forward. My boat also exhibited a peculiar 'porpoising' motion in some sea conditions but I believe later models dont exhibit this.
If you like the F33, I strongly recommend that you take one for an extended test drive preferably on a gusty day; if you can get on with the handling, then otherwise, they're good boats. For myself, I dont believe that flybridges and sterndrives mix. I would rather sacrifice the extra accomodation for conventional shaftdrive but thats an entirely personal opinion
 
Frankly I recently faced the question as to whether to buy twin screw on shaft or twin stern drives, and chose the former mainly because of "third hand bad reports" Having landed next door to a Princess 32 with sterndrives, the owner was servicing them and had owned the boat for 6 years. He was quite happy to strip them down and replace bellows etc, during the course of a fairly long day. He gave me the impression that Stern drives were only a big deal if your had to pay both for neglected servicing or indeed for someone else to do the work. Perhaps if I had met him before buying the boat I may have had a different boat!
 
Deleted User said:
For myself, I dont believe that flybridges and sterndrives mix. I would rather sacrifice the extra accomodation for conventional shaftdrive but thats an entirely personal opinion
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Seconded. I'd rather ran than walk away from a f/b boat on outdrives.
And - counterintuitive as it might sound - even more so with a small f/b.
It's bound to spin the props in the air most of the time, in any serious sea.
 
MapisM said:
Seconded. I'd rather ran than walk away from a f/b boat on outdrives.
And - counterintuitive as it might sound - even more so with a small f/b.
It's bound to spin the props in the air most of the time, in any serious sea.
Click to expand...


my baby bayliner was an outdrive single engine flybridge with no bow thruster.

Yes the handling on a windy day in a marina took some practice, and at sea I took her out in "serious seas" quite a few times. She could cope with more than I'd ever like to be out in.

The handling is very different to shafts but I wouldn't dismiss it. As has been said, take an extended test and see if you like it.
 
Our first boat was a F33 and I would agree with a lot of what has been said, things to be aware of:

Potential Downsides

• Out drives are not the best, but I was taught to steer with the drives, keep the wheel to amidships and steer with the drives, other than a bad experience in Hythe I never had an accident helming this way.
• A bow thruster is a MUST
• Lots of windage and for its size the F33 is a very light boat, so if a seagull farts you will be blown all over the place
• As you will have drives there is loads of storage in the engine room and the accessibility to the engines is fantastic, but having drives on a boat this size is a miss match
• Helming from the F/B is the one and only place I could get used to, no real visibility from the lower helm.
• At sea the viability for a 5ft 7” shorty was not good; I had 2 cushions to sit on to see over the nose.
• The F33 did tend to chine walk, once following Chris B4’s S37 I had the guard rails in the Solent, good fun but no sex that weekend.
• F33 does tend to slam in anything over a F5, but we did get caught in a F8 coming back from Brighton and IMHO she handled the swells well, but does tend to thrown all over the place as there is no weight in the boat

Upsides

• Loads of space and storage
• Good fuel economy
• Good resale
• The 2nd cabin is very large if you can get over the head room issue (our daughter loved it)
• Great steps for getting to the flybridge
• Good flybridge space
• Sociable dinette and kitchen
• Sealine have lots of good features that we ;loved, like the storage of the cockpit dining table (down side was the legs are too tall, if I could use a hacksaw I would have cut the down 6”)
• As above engine bay space is excellent, good place to store blow up dingy, outboard etc

I am sure there are more upsides than this,. But we did love our F33 as our first ever boat, we did over 250 hours in her before we replaced her, and would recommend it a good social boat with lots of entertaining space.
 
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SteveE said:
Our first boat was a F33 and I would agree with a lot of what has been said, things to be aware of:

Potential Downsides

• Out drives are not the best, but I was taught to steer with the drives, keep the wheel to amidships and steer with the drives, other than a bad experience in Hythe I never had an accident helming this way.
• A bow thruster is a MUST
• Lots of windage and for its size the F33 is a very light boat, so if a seagull farts you will be blown all over the place
• As you will have drives there is loads of storage in the engine room and the accessibility to the engines is fantastic, but having drives on a boat this size is a miss match
• Helming from the F/B is the one and only place I could get used to, no real visibility from the lower helm.
• At sea the viability for a 5ft 7” shorty was not good; I had 2 cushions to sit on to see over the nose.
• The F33 did tend to chine walk, once following Chris B4’s S37 I had the guard rails in the Solent, good fun but no sex that weekend.
• F33 does tend to slam in anything over a F5, but we did get caught in a F8 coming back from Brighton and IMHO she handled the swells well, but does tend to thrown all over the place as there is no weight in the boat

Upsides

• Loads of space and storage
• Good fuel economy
• Good resale
• The 2nd cabin is very large if you can get over the head room issue (our daughter loved it)
• Great steps for getting to the flybridge
• Good flybridge space
• Sociable dinette and kitchen
• Sealine have lots of good features that we ;loved, like the storage of the cockpit dining table (down side was the legs are too tall, if I could use a hacksaw I would have cut the down 6”)
• As above engine bay space is excellent, good place to store blow up dingy, outboard etc

I am sure there are more upsides than this,. But we did love our F33 as our first ever boat, we did over 250 hours in her before we replaced her, and would recommend it a good social boat with lots of entertaining space.
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Great reply Steve, just sums the boat up right.

IMHO a lot of boat for little money and very easy to look after.

By the way I know where there is an earlier 330 with new kad 32s 55 hours on the clock if anyones after one.
 
hi

Thepipdoc said:
Our first boat, which we still have, is a Sea Ray 270 Sundancer. We bought her last July and apart from going to the boat show last September we have spent every weekend on her and of course many weekdays as well. We've clocked up about 160 engine hours in 12 months.
We love it - so much so we want to move bigger still. We've looked at a few different sports boats as well as the Sealine F33 and this is the model that we seem to be hovering towards.
We will be berthed on the River Dart and we intend to use the boat about 50/50% on the river and at sea.
My question is - are there any obvious reasons why we shouldn't buy a flybridge boat?
Are there any serious handling issues that would perhaps make us regret ever buying a boat of this sort? I should add the boat we are seriously considering has a bow thruster and the bigger AD41 engines (200hp).
We don’t have too many visitors aboard- our son and daughter aren’t that interested but we expect that might change when they can stay aboard in their own cabin.
Any comments appreciated – for and against!
Click to expand...

They take a bit of getting used to, but once mastered, there great little boats, the trick with them is to trim the leg OUT............., to 1 ,2 or even 3 , when cruising then they then settle in the water very well. I use the helm to help manoeuvre them but rarely full lock, they are like a whippet if you do.
 
All first class responses I have to say.
Some of you have excelled yourselves in the detail you've included in your posts - thanks a lot.
It would appear to me that the only common theme ( I say ONLY but it's obviously a big ONLY) is the outdrives that the F33 has.
I've taken on board all the points re the drives but to justify why I believe I don't feel that out-drives will be so much of an issue for me is because I've never known anything other than out drives. Now I accept that shaft drives would be a better option but this choice isn't one we have the luxury of making, simply because of our budget and the flybridge options that are open to us (Jeanneau 32 Prestige accepted).

On a slightly different note- is the lower helmsman’s position really that bad that cushions are needed to see over the end of the pointy bit?
 
Hi,
We've had one for 10 years (since new). Been a fantastic boat for local and cross channel jaunts. Tend to be fair weather boaters (if it ain't fun for SWMBO it ain't worth going out).
We have a 5KVA genset in the cabin underfloor space - tends to plant her very well. Top speed is at -2 on the drives.
Outdrives can be cleared of crab pot line and net a lot easier than props!
We tow 'toys', so KAD32s are ideal - superchargers grunt pulls 2 x 2 person toys at 25 knots.
Feel very cozy up the Dart in the cabin with the heater on in the winter.
Parking at Darthavens and Brixham marina has been no issue once you get used to windage - as said earlier you need a bowthruster.
I've done my own annual servicing since year 2, and find all aspects straightforward (but there are a lot of helpers up at Dartside, Darthavens and Brixham if you need them).
 
Be aware of the problems but buy what you want. ?

" simply because of our budget "

For 99% of boaters this is the single most important matter when buying and a boat with outdrives means you usually get a newer/larger boat for less money,it may well cost you more in the long run,but a least you have a decent boat now and finding money for maintaince is a problem that can be sorted over time when start up costs have gone away.
Walking away is no option at all when it means no boat and mastering the quirks of any boat is part of adding to your knowledge pile..!
When delivering a shaft Fairline a little while ago for a friend it took 30 secs to get the hang of the thing,like to see a shaft owner going the other way,bunch of sissys IMHO :)
 
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