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Random Quote: Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~Henry David Thoreau
If your interested in Bayliner as a possible boat to purchase I would suggest you disregard any of these posts from the people who are not current or previous owners because most of them are passing false information. Focus on current or existing owners like myself for staight talk. I would also suggest you watch the BAYLINER Owners web page. That is what I did before I bought my Cierra. If the guys that own them recomend them you can be reasonably sure that they are okay. Bayliner is not in the same class as a Searay. Go to the boat show where you can compare them side by side and see the differences. I have a 97 2355 Cierra. I looked at Searays among others and decided that the things that make a Searay cost more weren't that important to me so I saved a lot of money and bought the bayliner. It won' re-sell for as much money but It didn't cost nearly as much either. If you look around there are a lot of very old Bay's still out there so they must not be built to badly.
"If the guys that own them recomend them you can be reasonably sure that they are okay."
I'm not going to debate Bayliners with anybody. However, I have read these forums long enough to realize that most everyone posting on a bulletin board will recommend whatever boat that they own.
Sorry bcohen, I must respectfully disagree. I'm a current Bayliner owner (an '87 in fact), & I would not recommend buying one. Don't get me wrong, mine's in excellent condition in every way & hasn't given me any trouble. The reason I don't recommend them is that their reputation, deserved or not, makes them very difficult to sell. That "B" word across the side of the hull sends 'em running. In shopping around for used boats, I see many other Bayliners besides mine languish on the market month after month despite relatively fair asking prices.
The only reason I'm selling mine is because it's a ski boat, & I now want an offshore boat. It's very annoying when you're ready to move on & you have such a difficult time selling your current boat. Also, in addition to lower resale value, it will take more advertising, & hence, more money to sell a Bayliner.
One generally does not keep a boat forever. Therefore, fair or not, I think a boat's marketability should be considered when making a purchase decision.
Form follows function. Know what you want your boat to do and buy accordingly.
Bayliner is a perfectly acceptable boat for its price-point.
The worst part of owning a Bayliner is listening to uninformed people put down your boat.
No matter how good the actual quality or how well the boat serves your needs someone wants to say you're in idiot for buying the brand. You see the ugly sides of people when you own a Bayliner. Tiresome.
You want to disregard information from previous Bayliner owners? Why? I would think those people would be a wealth of information. I think you are scared of what you might hear.
Give us a break from your (first post) lecture about how to "evaluate" a boat.
For starters, if all you are going to go by - when shopping for a new boat - is a bunch of chit-chat on a Web forum, then you should stay off the water and sit your ass down in front of your computer screen for entertainment on the weekends.
My suggestion would be to get out of your chair, turn off your PC, and go look at the boats for yourself! Compare layouts, size, consoles, storage, hardware, glasswork, rail work, component quality, finish, power (motors), and overall craftsmanship. Please don't forget dealer quality.
I can assure you that if you keep all of the factors in mind that I list above (dont forget dealer quality), that you will immediately identify the Bayliner as a bottom tier boat. All you have to do is compare the Bayliner to something mid tier, then to something upper tier. You don't have to be a boat surveyor to posses such skills. And you will be able to do all that without going on one single boating Web forum.
SEE for yourself why everyone here hates Bayliner. Dont take the word of a current or former owner. SEE for yourself. You don't have to own one to dislike one.
Y ahora las cosas hediondas van a ser hechas en México ahora. Eso que un chiste.
Bob Cohen (the 1 post IL wonder at bcohen@transunion.com) sent me a love letter today.
Folks like Bob should be banned from the forum. Actually, anyone from the Land of Lincoln should banned. You see if you post your email to your profile, you become subject to harassment from people like Bob. Here is Bayliner Bobs lovely message:
Mad Dog,
I can see from the number of posts you have made that you are one of those big mouth opinionated assholes that have to stick their two cents in on every subject whether your qualified or not to comment. I will be sure to disregard any of your opinions I see in the future.
SEE for yourself why everyone here hates Bayliner. Dont take the word of a current or former owner. SEE for yourself. You dont have to own one to dislike one.
My response to Bayliner Bob is as follows. As a gentleman (Bob got me shortly after my medications were injected), I responded to Bob and used no profanity or insults. I believe that Bob did a good enough job insulting himself:
Bob
Dont you find it interesting that Brunswick has the know-how to make Boston Whaler and Hatteras, yet turns out boats like Bayliner? Dont you find it interesting that Brunswick has the likes of Marine Max selling Whaler and Hatteras (strong high-end dealer) and has the likes of Travis Boating Center (slimy, prey on first time boat buyers) selling Bayliner?
What Brunswick is doing is criminal. If you ask me about it in an open forum you will get my asshole , two cents worth, and opinionated feedback. I have looked at the Bayliner and Trophy line very closely and they just dont compare to a Scout or Grady. They also dont compare to their sister boats Whaler or Hatteras.
And thanks for reminding me of my quote. Just to reinforce it have a look at the JD Power ratings for Bayliner boats. Remember, Bob, this is a survey based on feedback from Bayliner Boat Owners (obviously like yourself).
I'm not sure what this guy was fishing for with his orig. post, but one's thing's for sure: everyone here has at least two things, and one of them is an opinion.
As with anything, you have to look at the aggregate to get a picture. Why someone would allow individual feedback bother them (after soliciting same) is beyond me.
But I do like Whalers. Out here in Orlando at Disney, all of the water / lake areas use Whalers to patrol the waterways. Pretty nice boats (and n/c about the power).
And - as an FYI - I help in a Bayliner / Mercury owner from the water this weekend. Poor guy out there with his buddys waving a white shirt for assistance. I only had to pull him back less than a mile - and my Son thought it was "so cool" that we rescued someone. See, I can sometimes be a nice guy.
For the money, Bayliner isn't a bad boat. It is meant to get the first time buyer out on the water. It is the number 1 boat sold, so it's got to be doing something right. I've had them in the past and I currently do have a Trophy Center Console as one of my boats. The Trophy has been a good boat and runs great with the 150 Merc. I realize it's not a Whaler (another boat which I own), but for the price and the amount of time I get to use it and where I use it, it is just fine..BTW, I just towed a Grady White walkaround w/200 Yamaha in myself.
They might be fine in the river sking/fishing but I'll be damned if I take one offshore. They deserve every bit of their bad rep in my opinion. My co worker had such problems with his brand new one that after a year of his complaints/shop trips they refunded his money back to him.
I looked at a 7 year old one about 2 months ago that a friend wanted and spent days talking him out of it, it was a lot of boat for the money but the gel coat was chipped to hell, had blisters all over the place, cracks, unfinished wood under the hull, just pure junk but looked good for the price for him.
I once inquired about a bayliner myself and called a dealer that sold bayliner along with other brand name boats and asked the salesman what he thought about a bayliner for an offshore boat vs his other name brand boats. He asked me if I had seen the pictures of the bayliners heading offshore and I said yes, he told me thats where that boat turns around after that picture and heads back in. He said it as a joke but being serious and after what I have personally seen with these boats, they might be fine for a cheap river boat, but offshore I'd spend my money else where.
All I'll say is that for an inexpensive boat there are builders out there that are far worse in quality than Bayliner. Do I really need to start rattling off their names? They just don't get the print because they aren't as popular. Most boat buyers buy them over everything else out there, so they are doing something right...and don't tell me that every buyer is an idiot..I agree, if time was spent mostly offshore, and money wasn't an object, I'd buy a Whaler Outrage or Grady etc.... but for a family runabout/skiboat on the river/bay they aren't bad.
Just checked out JDP rating-- yes the scout,grady and whaler where graded better;however they only rated cc I want a boat for bad weather on Lake Erie-- where were the Sportcrafts, Parkers,Ospreys,Shamrocks,Steiger Crafts and Cherokees. Are we to believe they were not good enough to make the list or was the rating somewhat slanted to convey the results JDP wanted--- " figures don't lie --liers figure "
Charlie Chan once said "listen much, talk little". C C was a pretty sharp guy.
I think that's the way to look at boat (and motor) opinions. Everyone has an anecdote--good or bad--about any name brand boat. And of course they will swear that is the reason that it is the best/worst made boat.
The only reason someone is going to get on here and argue what a great boat Brand x is is that either they own one, or they own one and feel pretty insecure about owning it. And if they email you at home to argue, well, then that just adds to it I think. If that guy likes Bayliners that much--great--he should go and buy about a 10 year old one just to prove what a great boat they are. I think that should clear up any doubts in his mind, one way or the other.
Good point, Joe... one way to "grade"/judge a boat is to ask yourself, "Would I buy a 10-yr-old one?". Or, go look at 10-yr-old ones, and see how they've held up, etc.
Afterall, a 5-10-15 year old boat will tell you MUCH more about the make than a brand new one!
