Shopping for a 245 Weekender...

J

jhortonvt

New Member
May 23, 2007
48
Northern Lake Champlain, VT
The bad news is I lost my trusted old friend, a 1989 220CC. Great boat, open layout, and in great shape-until she ended up on the rocks thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

BUT the good news is now I'm looking for a new (to me) boat and I like the looks/layout/size of the 245 Weekender.

So far my research has been limited to boats.com and boattrader.com. Basically I've been comparing what limited info is included with the boat listing, and the pics with each boat listing - trying to note different ammenities, cloth vs leather in the cuddy, etc.

My price range is putting me in the market for vintage 2001 or so. Here's the listing closest to me (about 3 hrs away), that happens to be the lowest price of my search:

http://www.boattrader.com/find/listing/2001-Sea Ray-245 WE - 7105-93718710

Here are my ?'s
-Were there alot of different 'trim packages' for these?
------I ask b/c I see quite a variation in pricing for this year/model, most are
------around $30k, but they range from $25k to $38k. The asking prices don't
------seem to jibe with hrs or the engine size (5.0 vs 5.7)

-Do they have any design flaws that I should look out for?

I guess that's it for now, I'd love to hear from any of you Weekenders out there...

Justin
 
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You should be in a good postion to buy a boat. It's the right time of year for it.
I'm on the wrong coast to be of much help.
Best of Luck.
 
My first boat was a 1989 200CC, loved that boat, and I miss it today. I liked the 245 also, but was a bit heavy for us to tow with our current TV. Good luck in your search.
 
I can't say much about the boat but can tell you Irwin marine seems to be a great dealership - they went out of their way to work with me on a deal and even though I ended up buying elsewhere they keep in touch and are very professional - also you know where the boat was probably used (no salt)
 
This boat is the same hull as the 240 sundancer of that vintage. The only things that would need close inspection IMO would be water leakage in the cabin.

Good luck in your search!!
 
Check iboats.com as well....>Good luck searching and be patient. The right boat will come along
 
Nehalennia Re: Shopping for a 245 Weekender...

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"You should be in a good postion to buy a boat. It's the right time of year for it.
I'm on the wrong coast to be of much help."

That's what I'm hoping, especially if I can if I can find the right boat from someone who doesn't want to winterize/store it this fall.



Ididntdoit Re: Shopping for a 245 Weekender...

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"I can't say much about the boat but can tell you Irwin marine seems to be a great dealership - they went out of their way to work with me on a deal and even though I ended up buying elsewhere they keep in touch and are very professional - also you know where the boat was probably used (no salt)"

That's good to hear, there's an awful lot of shady-or at least less than helpful dealerships and marinas out there.

I just emailed them about looking at it next weekend, hopefully it'll work out.



RiverRat Re: Shopping for a 245 Weekender...

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"This boat is the same hull as the 240 sundancer of that vintage. The only things that would need close inspection IMO would be water leakage in the cabin."

Do you mean around the hatch, or maybe around the rubrail? (My 220CC would get water inside every time it was out in the rain, it took me a minute to figure out it was going inside the rubrail - a bead of caulking around the entire top of it fixed that problem).



Weave Re: Shopping for a 245 Weekender...

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"Check iboats.com as well....>Good luck searching and be patient. The right boat will come along"


Forgot about iboats, thanks. Yes patience is the hard part, although what will be really hard-if I buy one- is trailering it home and WRAPPING IT UP.
 
From both spots. My 01 225 weekender had serious leakage around the rubrail so bad it had to shipped back to the factory for repair. During that same period talking to other people I heard that they were also having this issue with the 240 DA along with hatch leakage. Should be easy enough to spot, just start looking at the underside of the cusions and check the edges of the interior carpeting for stains. Even the carpeting they used for the sides up to the rubrail and around the hatch will have staining if there is an issue.
 
Any thoughts on how afraid of a saltwater boat I should be?

Here are my 2 frontrunning 245 Weekenders:

'01, Freshwater boat, 310 hrs, asking $24,995

'02, Saltwater boat, 120 hrs, asking $25,000

I'm sure there are alot more differences, but based on what I've listed here, if all other things were equal I would be inclined to go with the saltwater boat. I've seen pictures of the saltwater boat and the hull looks pristine (haven't really gotten a good pic of the lower unit). And the owner says he rinses the engine after each use.

Obviously I'm a freshwater user....
 
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