Help me, I went to a boat show...

[Turtlesboat]

I put my buttocks in a lot of boats today. I can't even remember all of models. Some key manufacturers weren't there though. The ones that stood out to me in the medium size range....

Tiara 3900 sovran. wow... fit and finish on this boat is really really nice. All I can say is wow. If money were no object, this would be at the top of my list.

Four Winns V378. Really nice layout. It felt like a 40+' boat. fit and finish seemed good.

Larson 370 daytripper. Very Very cool layout. nothing like it at the show. Ultimate party boat IMO. didn't like the swim platform though, it's angled down a bit. But the cabin was just super for entertaining. the hydrolic circular table was great.

Meridian 391 sedan bridge. For me this was the show stopper. What a great layout. for $404k, this was the best bang for the buck. I just loved the way it felt and looked. Very Very Very nice for the price. The only bad thing I could find was that it only had 350 gallon capacity for twin cummings engines. Not much range, but the cabin and bridge were just great IMO. If I were to pull the trigger on a new boat, this would be it. too bad it's such a new model, I could only find a couple of used ones out there.

Compared to these boat, Sea Ray came in a poor 5th as far as layout. I just didn't like anything they were showing except for the 480. But when considering layout, price, and features... I felt they were lacking in the medium size range.

For the price I paid for my 280, nothing came close... But if I were to buy new...... I'm afraid Sea Ray would be down a few notches. I don't want to sound like i'm bashing Sea Ray, but as far as new boat prices, they seemed to be lacking a bit.

anyone else feel like this?

 

[Hampton]

You went to a show? You can't be helped.

 

[jrcinnh]

We went to Boston show today and I had similair feelings. We're looking a little bigger than our 300. I saw the 330 and 340 at the dealer but they both left me feeling letdown. At the show we found the 338 and 358 Four Winns, and the 350 Chapparal to be much nicer. Some stuff is so simple, they had screen doors for the cabin, they had real horns, they didn't have glued-in carpet, and they have camper canvas. We're really starting to like the FW 358. If I can fit it in my slip, I may have to find a new fourm

 

[Dave S]

I haven't seen any of those boats you mentioned so I have no basis for comparison. Tiara, though is generally acknowledged to be a quality boat. Meridian is the spinoff company created when Bayliner stopped building larger cruisers. I have heard others comment on how roomy their boats are but I personally don't like the exterior styling of their boats. I have never been real impressed with the Larsons I have seen. And Four Winns seems to make a solid boat as well. But it seems to me their newest boats copy Sea Rays designs.:huh:

As far as Sea Ray goes, my logic is that I have the best boat dealer in our area (regardless of brand) and Sea Rays hold their value real well. So unless a boat clearly stands out as being superior to a Sea Ray, that's what I would own. But I have to admit there are some real desirable boats out there made by other manufacturers.

 

[Carpe Mundun]

the FW V358 is a tough boat to beat vs. the SeaRay 340 DA or 38DA. I kind of liked the 358 more than the 378.

 

[RiverRat]

TT, Did you take any pictures???

 

[Turtlesboat]

Sorry no pictures, but I did by a lot of junk from the venders inside. I can take pics of that....

I didn't care for any of the other Larsons, but the new 370 daytripper was layed out nice and unique.

I just checked the "boat show price" of the Tiara 3900... $520k. Gulp. They just got a new 3500 which is layed out the same but the price difference is only about $45k. It's so new that it was still in transit.

I can't comment on build quality. just commenting on layout and some nice little details etc...

 

[ANYTIME]

T the end of August, we took a ride on a 2007 holdover Meridian 459 Motoryacht. Like you, we really liked the layout and interior. The boat with twin Cummins 380 diesels seemed to be underpowered. At WOT, on calm, still waters, she could only get up to 2800 RPM/18-19 knots. :smt013

With the Galley Oven option and with the KVH Satellite TV option installed, the discounted asking price was about $548k. :smt009

We enjoyed the tour and ride, but did not buy the boat. :smt001

 

[teekster]

On paper (I guess I mean "on LCD"), the 358 looks A LOT nicer than our 340. Does anyone know how they are priced? I'm not looking to make a lateral move or anything, just curious...

 

[water rat]

The fact that you went to a boat show and didn't come back with a new boat is impressive!

I think it's good to check out other boats. I love my Sundeck, but I think that there are other really nice boats out there that are very well made for a good price. We are paying for the name and that adds a few bucks to the price tag.

What I've done in the past is taken pic's at the boat show, save them, and when I want to go boat shopping, I have an idea of older models to look at. Of course, I still bought a new boat - dopey me, but in theory, it would be great to keep the catalogue of photos to make future boat shopping on the used market a bit easier! I deleted most of my photos when I bought the current boat. I guess I didn't want to tempt myself later, lol.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Moondancer gave me some food for thought on the meridian 391. When I was looking at the boat, I found it strange that it had such small tanks. The range of this sedan bridge is the same as my 280, about 120 miles give or take. Now it's making sense, to put real tanks in this boat, the engines would have to be stepped up. Then add the other stuff that you need and now the price isn't as nice as it once was. The show boat was under powered to make it look good on the price. Probably why they also didn't want to take the boat out, which was what this boat show was all about, Getting to hop on and go for rides in these boats. Still a nicely laid out boat, but properly configured, the price difference becomes less.

I was telling my GF that there had to be a catch somewhere, moondancer pointed it out.

 

[jrcinnh]

On paper (I guess I mean "on LCD"), the 358 looks A LOT nicer than our 340. Does anyone know how they are priced? I'm not looking to make a lateral move or anything, just curious...

Nicer is relative, we test drove a SR 340 and it's a damn nice boat. The FW 358 just has some different features. Some of the WOW factor on the 358 is that it's a different brand. Going from a SR 300 to a SR 340 our impression was, yes it's bigger but otherwise it's the same.

On the price side, the FW 2007 site showed a decked out 358 at around $280K. The site has switch to 2008 and the prices are not in there yet. We're going to talk to the local dealer this week and I'll let you know. I have a detailed proposal from the SR dealer for a leftover 340 with my 300 in trade for comparison.

 

[Hampton]

We absolutely love our 340. We have some great friends with a 390 that are always complimenting us on our 340. They also say that whenever they see a great-looking boat on the water, it turns out to be a 340. I personally believe that the 340 is the best gas cruiser in the entire line up. It's gonna take a diesel 420 to make me look again. By that time, it'll be used and with zeus drives.

 

[CJ Martin]

We went to TrawlerFest this past weekend and saw how the slower half lives. Nice boats, big pricetags. In 10-15 years I could see us in one. Seriously. I think we have at least one more "fast" boat (either another express cruiser or a sedan bridge) in our future before we become "trawler-folk". :wink:

-CJ

 

[RiverGalsMan]

CJ, I know what you mean. Someday when I don't need to be back at the dock in time to be back at work Monday morning, it's going to be a trawler or a slow motor yacht.

 

[Pirate]

Larry- yours will go slow too. Just set her about 950RPM and you'll get the same mileage as the trawler.

 

[RiverGalsMan]

Yeah, but how many RPMs to not need to be back at work

 

[Red Stripe]

On paper (I guess I mean "on LCD"), the 358 looks A LOT nicer than our 340. Does anyone know how they are priced? I'm not looking to make a lateral move or anything, just curious...

A fully loaded 358 was at the Norwalk show for $224 (from it's MSRP of around $285). It's a lot of bang for the buck. I'm learning in my quest (that began with the certainty of a 340DA purchase after this season) that so much comes down to personal preference at this level (although I'm still researching build quality of the Four Winns - so far hearing good things and the fact that it is a C Raymond Hunt design/looks like a SR is a plus to me). I haven't been able to get past certain aspects of the 340's design/features that may work for some, but not for me. My 260 taught me I love the lifestyle a cruiser offers and wouldn't have done anything differently in my decision to own it, but I want to hang onto whatever I get next for a while. I can't imagine abandoning the brand-loyalty I have for Sea Ray but the list of "I wish it had this" is just growing too long and boy, is it frustrating!

 

[Pirate]

Larry - It takes beers, not RPM's, to not go back to work. As for how many? That depends on your work ethic and cash needs.

 

[Big Al]

I can easily understand why SR fans could like Four Winns cruisers since their design are quite similar to Sea Rays cruisers. Have a look at the lines of a Four Winns and you'll understand why. FW have great interior design also. That being said, I believe the 358 compares more to the SR 340 in size. In July at a marina, I had a FW 358 on one side and a SR 340 on the other side. Their sizes looked very similar. I was obviously longer by a minimum of 3-4 feet. How does the price of a FW 358 compares to the price of a SR 340 ? I would think it is very close. If you ask me which one I would choose, well you could say I am biased but I would go for the original no questions asked, ie the 340.