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Have a 1990 Wellcraft 2600 Coastal. Looked at a new 2003 Wellcraft Coastal 290 for $125,000 loaded except for electronics. Was ready to trade up when I noticed more than 30 late model Coastal 290's for sale on the internet. Anyone have any info about these boats and why so many are for sale so soon?
Something to think about is contacting the owners and inquire as to why they are selling so soon ....you might find these folk's have taken a beating on thier stock's and feel selling would help recoup some of the 401k pain ....john
If you check carefully, you'll find most of the ones for sale are gassers. The gassers use a lot of fuel. Also, lots of every kind of boat are for sale now because of the economy...it's a great time to be a buyer. FWIW, I have a Coastal 270 I/O...couldn't afford the 290. I did however sea trial a 290 on an absolutely nasty day and it was dry, soft, and handled very well.
I read an article on WellCraft Coastals in the Boat US newsletter some time ago. I do not remember the details; but some of those boats; maybe the 28 Coastal; have serious structural defects. Something like broken stringers. Like I said I din't remember the details. Maybe someone can shead some light on the subject.
I have a 1995 33' Coastal. I love it, but it also loves gas. I'm sure it uses a lot more than the 29' would though. When having it surveyed 18 months ago, the survey said it was very sound and solidly built. The previous owner was selling it to buy a new one (33' Coastal) with diesels and flybridge.
CG, the BOATUS article was about mid-80s Coastals with wood rot in the stringers. Pretty common for that era of boats and well documented for Gradys also. IMO the 290 is a great boat in that size range but is getting pretty big to trailer conveniently. I've been looking at the 330s but I don't want to sell my 240 since it does everything I want except 3-5 footers.
That boat is a pretty sweet looking rig, and with 4-strokes or Optis, probably would do pretty good on fuel. I took a look at them at the Miami show and the 290 was real nice. Wood cabinetry, air conditioning, and a generator! How could you go wrong?
I have a 29' Coastal for sale and will be glad to tell you all about it. Great boat if you want a fishing machine with creature comforts. Let me know. Email me if you want. Click on my profile.
No direct information regarding your question but one thing I've been very happy with is Wellcrafts response to questions. They have been very responsive regarding my boat and it's characteristics in different loads, different engines, and different seas. I found their testing information to be very complete and no reason I should question it.
I would suggest you contact Wellcraft about your questions and I'm sure they can provide you the necessary answers to your questions. http://www.wellcraft.com/asp/Page1.asp
Wellcraft Coastal 290 
