We might be jumping ship

We own 04 240 Sig. Chaparral. Had her 5 years now and use it in the gulf. Been happy with her always. It has the 350 Mag. with the BIII. But Still love our 340 Dancer for the Great Lakes, Sea Ray makes a hellva Good Boat.
 
Thanks Woody, I'll cal on that one when the sun comes out here in the west, meaning later today.
 
I have also owned both boats. A Sig 27' and now the SD340. I owned the Sig for 5 years with no engine issues. I did have to replace the Drive as the gears literally shattered, but no known reason why ( No I was not slamming the gears). Engine room was good, and ride was great until looking at 4-6ft seas, and then very wet. I would say it is an OK boat, but I could not compare to Sea Ray. Although I have bigger now, overall Sea Ray is better quality to small details. Just look real carefully.

Best of luck.
 
Spot,
I made a quick check of what 280s were available here from Skipper Buds and Mike's boat is cheaper even with shipping for a 2003 280.

I looked at Chaparrals while shopping for Sea Rays and I crossed them off the list since they do not offer inboards. Also, they had V berths instead of island berths in their 330 and 350 which was another reason I crossed them off the list.
 
fwiw, I owned a 1989 Chaparral 178XL for about 5 years and never had any problems with it. Ran like a top...
 
How all these boats run and hold up in 5 years is not really the point. They are both production boats and use similar components, and volvo vs. merc are pretty similar with pros and cons to each. The point really is the fit and finish of he two boats and how they will look after 15 years of use. I think the sea ray will come out on top.
 
Spot said:
As some of you have seen, we are looking to upgrade. While looking at the 280/290 class of boat we found a Chaparral 280, new non current at a great price.

We love our dancer and really want another, however I have not been able to find the options that I have learned that we want in the next boat such as AC/Heat, Gen, Windlass, twin power... a more loaded boat than our 260 Da.

Is Chaparral the dark side? or from what I can tell they are similar to the 280DA with a few other differances. Any opions from the street... or harbor?

Thanks all.... just trying to support the economy in our way :grin:
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The main option missing on the Chaparral is a way to get

to the bow without going thru a hatch!
 
I have been looking at Sea Rays for about a year now to replace the sold Bayliner we had and I have found that they do appear to hold up quite well if given just a decent amount of care - which most Sea Ray owners seem to do at a higher level than many other boat brands out there.

Not sure why that is, but that has been my own experience. The thing that has really impressed me regarding the Sea Ray / Bayliner comparison during my shopping of used boats is the Sea Ray layout. I have looked at 80's models up to about 2000 and the layouts are all GREAT in their own way. Very multi-purpose user friendly boats.

Not sure how the mechanicals, hulls, etc compare though as I have yet to get some actual ownership experience with a Sea Ray yet - but getting close!!! :smt038


katricol said:
How all these boats run and hold up in 5 years is not really the point. They are both production boats and use similar components, and volvo vs. merc are pretty similar with pros and cons to each. The point really is the fit and finish of he two boats and how they will look after 15 years of use. I think the sea ray will come out on top.
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That used to be a term used by sail boat people to describe any one who had a boat with a motor on or in it.....
 
It looks like we may not be a traitor after all. We attended the Seattle boat show and found a few deals on many boats and found that the 2009 270/now 280DA has some incentive money and agressively priced to start may be the ticket that we are looking for. A little longer than our 260Da, a little wider than our 260da with all the options that we are looking for while still able to drop it on a trailer when we want.

Color, yes I chose a color this time since i wax the boat several times a year, because I like it and we call it theraputic. Will let you know when the deal is done, they have a few bucks to hold it for now.
 
Spot said:
It looks like we may not be a traitor after all. We attended the Seattle boat show and found a few deals on many boats and found that the 2009 270/now 280DA has some incentive money and agressively priced to start may be the ticket that we are looking for. A little longer than our 260Da, a little wider than our 260da with all the options that we are looking for while still able to drop it on a trailer when we want.

Color, yes I chose a color this time since i wax the boat several times a year, because I like it and we call it theraputic. Will let you know when the deal is done, they have a few bucks to hold it for now.
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I was on that boat today. Set up nice. I'll congratulate you when you've signed the dotted line. I didn't notice what power plant she had though?
 
Spot said:
What i am looking at has Volvo power
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Volvo is what I would go for as well. Engines similar/GM blocks like mercs but outdrives are far better in terms of reliability in the outdrives than mercs. Volvo has a history of solid R&D prior to putting out a product. Their outdrive durability is legendary.
Have volvo duoprop outdrives on my cobalt and they have been bulletproof/rock solid.
Limitations to merc only outdrives are what's keeping me away from smaller Sea-rays, so thus has me shopping for bigger dancers with diesel inboard power.
 
It has the 350 mag, It looks like the performance should be similar to our current boat maybe a little better. We cruise not race so the bigger motor is just not needed. The proof will be with 4 guys on board from Nebraska for the test drive.
 
popeye said:
That used to be a term used by sail boat people to describe any one who had a boat with a motor on or in it.....
Click to expand...
Oh, I never heard that before. Thanks for the info. Learn something new every day!:smt001
 
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