277 Baja Islander vs SR 250 SLX

[RedGST]

Ok, I need some of your assistance.

I realize that this is a SR forum, but I need an honest unbiased opinion.


We're looking at finally upgrading. Currently we have a 220 Select w/ 350 MAG.
Unfortunately, weve decided its just too small to boat with on Lake Michigan (we get beat up in any waves greater than 2 ft.)

So, after MUCH searching through many different boat models & brands... it looks like weve come down to 2 selections that are both in our price range, and have the style that we're interested in.

1. 2007 Sea Ray 250 SLX. 496 Mag, B3, fully loaded, 35 hours (used)
2. 2008 Baja 277 Islander. 496 HO, B3, fully loaded, 2 hours (new), 2 year warranty

Both seem to have amneties that were looking for. (Big engine, open bow, sun pad w/ walk through, head, etc) Both are actually the same price (even though the Baja is a year newer, bigger, and never used)

I've never had an issue (nothing major) with my Sea Ray, have a dealer close by.

Im a little worried now that Baja is out of business, granted, the Baja dealer (several hours away) did mention that Sea Ray honors the warranty on Baja (cause they used to own them) so my local dealer SHOULD honor any warranty work.

Each have their pros and cons.

SR 250SLX:
A) Is a Sea Ray!
B) Nicely loaded, very economical for what we do.
C) Wife does NOT like the driver / passenger seats
D) Its used / no warranty
E) Just slightly bigger than what we have now. (26.5 overall length) 21 deg dr

Baja:
A) I've 'heard' that the quality is inferior to Sea Ray
B) Lacking in the 'little things / creature comforts' that a SR has
C) Brand new & cheaper than a used SR.
D) Its an open bow, great color scheme, BIG, has the unique walk through sunpad
E) I think it would handle the 'chop' of Lake Michigan better than the 250 (29 overall length, 24 deg dr)



Im just wondering if any of you could give me an 'un biased' review / opinions on them.

Thanks!

 

[chuck1]

Im a little worried now that Baja is out of business, granted, the Baja dealer (several hours away) did mention that Sea Ray honors the warranty on Baja (cause they used to own them) so my local dealer SHOULD honor any warranty work.

IMHO - Get that in writing with proof. :wow: BS meeter going off. If he would lie about somthing like that what else would he lie about. Sea Ray never owned Baja.

 

[Lazy Daze]

We are/used to be a Baja dealer.

Yes, the Sea Ray will excel in the creature comfort department. Nothing wrong with the fit and finish on the Baja, though - it's quite nice. But the Sea Ray is certainly better. The Sea Ray has much more "usable" storage. However, the two boats are not really competitor's, either. Different markets.

You'll need to be the judge of the aesthetics.

The big question is how are you going to use the boat? Will water sports be a large part of what you do? If that's the case, you won't want the Baja. It will be noticeably slower out of the hole, but will be faster on the top end. The 250SLX will provide more wind protection behind the windshield.

Ride quality at cruising speeds will be similar.

Sea ray will retain a higher re-sale and be a more sought-after boat.

Keep in mind that as far as engine warranty goes, you can go to any Merc-certified dealer.

ON EDIT: Baja was a subsidiary of Sea Ray, so actually what he was told about warranty is true. BUT... if a problem arise in regards to something Baja-specific (made by Baja), then all bets are off and more than likely that part will not be able to be replaced. However, a lot of parts are available after-market as that's basically where they came from, anyway.

 

[chuck1]

Dennis,

When was Baja a subsidiary of Sea Ray? That is the first I ever heard that.

I stand corrected.

Chuck

 

[Lazy Daze]

Dennis,

When was Baja a subsidiary of Sea Ray? That is the first I ever heard that.

I stand corrected.

Chuck

I don't recall the exact time frame, but Sea Ray acquired them somewhere in mid to late '90's. There was a drastic improvement in Baja's fit-n-finish.

Sea Ray also has Boston Whaler.

ON EDIT: I'd say most people were never aware of this. I'd estimate that 98 out of 100 people that come into the showroom don't know that. It wasn't as if Sea Ray and Baja made huge ad campaigns about it, you know?

 

[chuck1]

Wait a second are you saying Sea Ray or Brunswick??? Yes Brunswick owned Baja for a while. Brunswick still owns Boston Whaler not Sea Ray.

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

Let's correct this: Parent company: Brunswick owned Baja and still owns Sea Ray, Boston Whaler and a few others. You can find that on the Brunswick web site. Baja was a sister company, not a subsidiary of Sea Ray.

Like all boats, they are component built and the motor manufacturer has certified mechanics through out the country that will honor their warranties. Case in point, I bought a 5 year extended mercruiser warranty to cover engine and out drive and did not buy a ambassador warranty to cover the boat because there were few issues that could go wrong with the boat itself. (That is a separate issue).

Anyway - like Lazy Daze said your going to find better fit and finish on the Sea Ray but there is nothing wrong with the Baja if you want to go fast or be part of the go fast crowd. It is considered the Volkswagen of the go fast folks, they prefer Fountains, Formula's and cigarette. Just kidding. :lol:

Stick with the Sea Ray. IMHO :thumbsup:

 

[RedGST]

I know that Baja was owned by Brunswick (who also owns Sea-Ray). Basically what the dealer told me is the same that Lazy Daze mentioned above (thank you btw)

We really dont do much (if any) watersports.
Alot of our use is spent driving about 10 miles through 2 ft waves to get to a beach.

Ride quality at cruising speeds will be similar.

Sea ray will retain a higher re-sale and be a more sought-after boat.

This is interesting. I really figured with the deeper hull of the Baja & the fact that its a little longer - that would provide a smoother ride quality?

Oh, and the re-sale thought had crossed my mind... but im pretty sure that if we like this boat... we'd be keeping it for some time... (so im guessing that the resale value at that time wouldnt differ all that much... but again, good point!)

 

[Lazy Daze]

While all the companies are under the Brunswick "umbrella", Baja and Whaler were actually directly under Sea Ray. Sea Ray, themselves, wanted a piece of the high-performance and fishing market.

 

[Lazy Daze]

This is interesting. I really figured with the deeper hull of the Baja & the fact that its a little longer - that would provide a smoother ride quality?

If you had them side-by-side, you are correct. The 277 would be little better at handling a 2-foot chop. It's just not going to be a nigh-and-day difference. I would suggest buying the boat more on whether or not it offers - amenities - what you want. If everything else is equal or unimportant to you, then go with the Baja. All I'm saying is don't make the ride quality the number one determining factor. Hope this helps!:smt001

 

[Lazy Daze]

Let me clarify my above statements a little better regarding the companies. To say that Sea Ray "owns" Whaler and (owned) Baja is an overstatement. To what extent Sea Ray profited from this, I don't know. But, they were absolutely put in charge of them. In fact, Whaler and Baja were required to go to Sea Ray dealer meetings... not the other way around.

 

[rktktpaul]

To what extent Sea Ray profited from this, I don't know.

I thought the new Pachanga was developed by Baja for Sea Ray before Reggie Fountain was made to "buy" Baja from Brunswick.

I was thinking about a 210 Sundeck for the exact same reason - my 185 Sport is just too small for the chop in Lake Michigan. If you had problems with your 220 Select, a 210 Sundeck is not going to cut it for me!!

 

[RedGST]

I thought the new Pachanga was developed by Baja for Sea Ray before Reggie Fountain was made to "buy" Baja from Brunswick.

I was thinking about a 210 Sundeck for the exact same reason - my 185 Sport is just too small for the chop in Lake Michigan. If you had problems with your 220 Select, a 210 Sundeck is not going to cut it for me!!

Yeah, we dealt with it for the past 4 years... but we finally hit the breaking point this year.
We had to move marinas... and we now have an extra distance to go to the beach... and we're just getting beat up. Im tired of only being able to go 5-10 mph in 2 ft waves...

Our 220 is great under 2ft waves... but it was a rare day this year if the water was that calm...

I really do want to stay Sea Ray, but right now it just looks like the Baja is the better option...

Ill be finding out more within the next few days...