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Random Quote: Follow me as I go fishing around the world or at least get my boat out of the driveway.
opps pbms actually made a valid point they do have crappy bonding systems. but that is an easy fix. as far as mechanical/electrical not too bad just replace the couch with love seats or something.
Just a point of clarification. The current Luhrs ownership is the same as it has been since 1981. Managers may come and go but essentially it the same people.
quote:Originally posted by rpmunroe:
However beware of the leaky luhrs windows!!! Cant say enought 'bout that.
SAY NO TO WINDOWS!!!!!
I just got back from Montauk, I was admireing all the 50', 60', 70' and 80'+ custom Yachts... I found their are two easy ways of determining if the boat is any good or not in about 10 seconds.
Look at the side profile of the hul and take note:
1. Plastic thru-hull fittings?
2. Any windows installed in the hull?
I CAN NOT BELEIVE HOW MANY YACHTS over 40 and 50' have PLASTIC thru hulls installed??????? It is absolutely un-beleiveable. AND, everyone that had plastic thru hulls ALSO had windoes installed in the side of the hull.
Every well made boat, including a few 80+ footer's had not windows, tells ya something doesn't it?
Marlintini, yes I had 315 Yanmars in my Luhrs and the only problem I had was a very slight rear main seal. Bayshore in Annapolis fixed it over the winter under warranty. I can say nothing but good things abiut the engines. The only other thing that I ran into was Mastery the Florida distributor for Yanmar put out a bulletin that they wanted the engines turning higher rpm,s than when I first bought the boat, so I had to work with Luhrs and Mastery to get smaller pitched props and went to four blades to get rid of some cavitation problems and to get the rpms up to between 3900 and 4000. Other than that I had the boat for a little over a year and had 175hrs with no problems other than the leak and it would only leak about a thimble full every 6 to 10 hours but a rear main will only get worse so they took care of it for me. I would yanmars again if I were buying an inboard boat.
quote:Originally posted by Birdman:
I CAN NOT BELEIVE HOW MANY YACHTS over 40 and 50' have PLASTIC thru hulls installed??????? It is absolutely un-beleiveable. AND, everyone that had plastic thru hulls ALSO had windoes installed in the side of the hull.
Every well made boat, including a few 80+ footer's had not windows, tells ya something doesn't it?
Are you sure they weren't gold thru-hulls painted like plastic so they weren't targets for thieves?
Next you will tell us you don't like windows on the bottom of the boat either where they are safe from the elements. If not, then how do you see fish so you can shoot them?
Zh, I am not a very fast person on the typewriter, so it would take me a long time to tell you the good and bad. You are more than welcome to call me if you would like and I will answer any questions you have. When I looked at the boat I was also looking at Pursuit and Rampage as well. My phone number is 717-898-0550
I always thought the Luhrs were in the middle class or lower class of the sportfisherman style boat. However this winter at the NY boat show I saw a new Luhrs 32 footer. I believe it was a new hull deign, according to the salesman. I noticed the boat had considerable more deadrise at the bow entry and if memory serves me correctly also at the transom. Looked like a true battlewagon with the diesels. Probably the most inexpensive 32' sportfisherman at this and other shows I have visited.
As others have stated, Luhrs quality has not been top notch according to people I have spoken to. I must add I have never even been on a ride on a Luhrs, so I have no first hand experience.
not that it mattersto the thread, but i had a 40 ft 1988 luhrs i bought brand new...boat only lasted 1 year with me.....we all make mistakes..bought for the sole purpose, as many other people buy luhrs, you get a lot of boat for the dough..then when u use it on a regular basis and find things like fuel valves, hardware, screws rusting, wiring a mess, boat had stress cracks..cheap pumps etc...need i go on....I dont know if they being built by same people..but i believe the original premise is still there...get a lot of boat for the money...I mean, if thats all you can afford, thats fine, but if things like i mentioned start happening, you gotta expect it unlike i did..yes, i made a mistake, not fine toothcombing the boat....good luck....
I don't own a Luhrs and really am not defending them but ALL boats have problems. An acquaintance with a new million dollar Viking has had vibration problems. Now, Viking fixed this problem by replacing wheels, shafts and struts but just goes to show that they all can have problems. They do sell alot of boats so there is a market for them.
I can tell you this much, my buddy bought a used 32 Open this past "off season" and I had the pleasure of going offshore with him two weeks ago.
The boat was very comfortable...fast and economical. When we pointed her home (from 45 miles out) it was blowing a bit from the south...say 15-20 so we had a good 3-4 foot sea building. Well, we ran at 22-24 knots the whole way while I took a snooze next to the Captain's station.
All in all, the ride was awesome, the construction felt solid and she fished very well. We brought home two nice BFT's of 130 and 107 pounds.
A guy I know personally, is a Luhrs dealer. He calls them a "price point boat", ie. get alot for your money if you can't quite afford a Viking...
Anyway, he told me 5 years ago he wouldn't enen sell me one. Lots of quality issues that just killed the boat and many of his customers. However, he now beleives they have their act together, and are making a fine boat, he now see's very few quality problems coming back compared to a few years ago.
Personally, I know nothing about them except that 32 open express looks like a beauty. Hoepfully the new Scout 32 gets some of it's features!!
Luhrs 32 
