which 30 ft

derekh

derekh

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I am thinking of upgrading to a 30 ft. The 2 which I liked at at lbs were sealine sc29 and maxum 3100se. nothing else jumped out at me. obviously there are loads of sc29's but I know no one with a 3100 maxum. Can anyone out there with first hand experience share their thoughts on the maxum.
Just as an after thought some other sales people at the show were so disinterested I did not feel They wanted to sell boats. This is an annual complaint-when will they ever learn.
 
You obviously missed the Swordsman 30. What a fab boat. Single 370hp Yanmar on Hamilton jet drive. If I was looking for a 30 footer that would be it, and thanks to Anne Gill for spending so much time showing us over it. Totally different league to the Sealine in my opinion. And good looking.
 
Hmm, The Maxum 3100 very spacious though even at that length the mid berth still relys upon a curtain. I;ve owned a maxum and whilst great value they are simply terrible sea boats in any sort of chop as they simply don't have a deep enough v hull and you end up slamming as you motor along in anythin other than flat clam conditions. Very uncomfortable. They are very good lake boats but not great to take to sea, although plenty of people will tell you how they take them out to sea. I did for 6 years and couldn't wait a minute longer to change to something that coud handle the chop. Check out the maxum web site, it states the deadrise in degrees, anthing less that 20degrees should be avaoided, I think they only have two models above 20 degrees the 2100Sc and 2400SC. Also they are very high sided and 'light' boats so they get blown around very easilly when mooring so don't buy one without a bow thruster. Sealine has a much friendlier hull and definitely seaworthy but style isn't to everyone's taste although they sell a lot. You might like to consider the new Jeanneau Prestige 30s, proper mid berth and very good sea hull and available with a hard top or a BMB 30 although this new boat seems to have only a med cockpit layout and has come in for some criticism for the use of cockpit space. A better BMB layout is the 29sport which has much more cockpit space and you might even want to consider an older BMB 270 whcih has simmillar useful cockpit space (more than the BMB 30) and handles beautifully in a chop. A friend has one of these and it really does perform well in all conditions. Maxum is a good choice if you never leave your berth though.
 
Swordsman 30

I thought it was a fabbo boat too but surely it's in a different price range to the Sealine?
 
there was a review of 30ft in the mags a few months back.. Doral and Sessa were in there too. Actually, I was quite impressed with the sessa;headroom a tad low for me, but not bad at all. think you might get more accomodation than your present boat, but I wonder if you ll be impressed out on the water?
 
Re: Swordsman 30

Mike

I don't think so. Both around £135k. Hard to believe, I know. Swordsman simply streets ahead of the SC29, and so well finished. And with a draught of 1'8" and 30 odd knots on tap.................................. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
You might want to consider the Bayliner 305 if you're after a sun bridge cruiser. I drove one in 'interesting' open sea conditions and I'm sold. There is a company out there 'somewhere' which specialises in sourcing and shipping new Bayliners, etc, at very attractive prices on behalf of private importers in many parts of the world. I'm trying to contact them so if you have any ideas please advise.
 
Re: deadrise

Just a comment re deadrise - 20 degrees is quite a lot of deadrise!
Some boats have constant deadrise from approx midships aft to the transom, while others have a 'warped' bottom, where the deadrise gradually flattens out, quite often to 10 degrees or less.
(I am not going to mention steps and spray rails!)

The quoted deadrise angle is usually the deadrise aft. I think a more important criteria to consider is the deadrise forward, along with the hull shape. You want a very steep deadrise angle forward, coupled with a reasonably fine entry in order to lessen the effect of pounding.

Everything (and every motor boat) is a compromise. The most seaworthy hull form (in terms of slamming) could be a sharp metaphorical plank on edge (ie vertical, with 90 degrees of deadrise). It will cut through the head seas beautifully, but it will have poor stability (fall over) and no load carrying capacity.
The most efficient hull form (in terms of carrying capacity, power, and speed) could be a metaphorical plank on its side (ie horizontal with 0 degrees of deadrise). It will go very fast in flat water while carrying a load, but will pound its guts out at the first sign of any chop.
So an AWB hull form is usually a compromise somewhere in between!

Generally, the more deadrise you have, the more comfortable the motion should be. However then you need more power for the same speed, because you have less planing surface....... one reason why a former colleague of mine used to refer to high deadrise boats as 'blood and thunder' machines!

Remember the Bertram 31? Designed by Jim Wynne I think in the late '50's, it was (one of) the first high deadrise planing boats built on a production run - a very simple yet effective hull form, with constant deadrise ( I think it was at least 25 degrees ) and a formidable reputation - the orginal was the famous 'Moppie', winner of many offshore powerboat races.

(BTW, other B & T machines would be motor boats built with tunnels and / or bilge keels, both of which also effectively reduce planing surface area)
 
Re: Swordsman 30

Bloody hell, I've just checked that and you're right. The SC29 seems to be around the same price as the Swordsman 30. No contest then.
 
Re: Swordsman 30

I had a look around the Swordsman at SBS last September, and despite being a die hard raggie, fell in love with her totally - she is just simply gorgeous!
Definitely no contest with a Sealine 29 or any other standard AWB in that size, for that price.
 
Re: Swordsman 30

Careful all, have a good look at the Swordsman interior before buying. I don't believe that the joinery etc is up to scratch, and certainly isn't at a standard one would expect from the rest of the boat.

Beautiful on the outside though!
 
I really wanted to like the swordsman, but the accomodation doesnt come close and the finish for me was dissapointing. Cockpit is ok, nice flat area but quite exposed and havent seen one with a canopy.
sc29 and swordsman are totally different, you cant compare them. its a shame other brit builders have left the sub30ft market
 
Re: deadrise

63BC0971.jpg


Style never goes out of fashion - even though tastes change..........(and build quality may "vary" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

If I was selling 'em I would have taken the photos on a sunnier day mind you.........and not in front of the local gasworks /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Yes, MBM's October issue had a group test of Sealine SC29, Sessa C30, Bavaria 29 (now replaced by 30) and Doral Prestancia.

Copies available from boat report area of website.
 
Thanks a lot folks for your input. interesting thoughts on the maxum. It shows the value of the forum when someone can give advise which can totally swing your views on a particular boat. It looks like I have a lot of homework to do..
Thanks
Derek
 
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