Tifosi

I have been looking into upgrading from runabouts to cabin cruiser class pleasure boats, mainly 25-30' in size and prefer single engine instead of twin-engines. Will probably be used on Lake Washington only and as an overnighter on the weekend. The boat will remain in the slip and not planned on being trailered, and the slip is covered with power. Here are my questions:

1) I have narrowed down to 4 makes: Sea Ray Sundancers series, Regal Window Express series, Chaparral Signature series and Monterey Cruiser series. Opinions on each brand will be greatly appreciated.

2) Evaluating the need of a generator as they range from 8K-10K. How many of you actually spend nights out on the water and is it really necessary here in the NW? The summer evenings are fairly cool, and I imagine that out on the water, AC is not really needed at night as much as the heater is needed. What's your take on this subject?

3) Dealership support: I realize that most of the boats will get serviced by and at the service center closest to where they are docked. But having a dealership closer to ones location will still be an advantage I imainge. Regal's only dealership is in Tacoma, as the other threes are fairly local as in Kent, Lake Union and Kenmore. Is this a big deal? For Regal owners, do you see this as an disadvantage or no?

4) Please advise and share your opinions on single engine vs. twin engines and Mercuriser vs. Volvo-Diesel engines.

I am sure I will have more as my research deepens. Again, TIA.

boatommy

I answered the air conditioning question on the other post.
You might look into a late 80s or early 90s 30' Tollycraft Sport. They are an extremely well made, spacious boat and hold their value quite well.
thom

gtfish

The boats you mention are in the Express class I believe which is extremely popular with good reason. Its going to be hard to find a boat of that size and class with a single screw as they are intended to be fast cruisers. If you are buying new the dealer is very impotant because more than likely you will get them to fix almost anything for year ,maybe more with some. Most of these boats have Mercruisers ,and if new maybe Volvo's (Regal) ,so any certified dealer can do warranty service. Sounds like you will be anchoring and hanging out a lot so it would be important to match your needs to the layout. etc.

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Greg
24 Vector

finadict

If 30ft and a single is what you want, the boats you mentioned aren't it. Mainship builds a 30, Camano troll builds a 31 that is a good NW boat.... there may be others such as shamrock there may be some small tug style boats in the low 30 range...good luck

tomictime

stay in the lake with a great boat ??? get something salty, Troll was a GREAT recommendation. You can have trolling valve installed and they will fish salmon well.

JD

Tifosi

Okay, I have narrowed down my choices to 2, Sea Ray 20 Sundancer vs. Chaparral 280 Signature. Please share your opinions on these two, on build quality, customer service, reliability and material used etc. Thank you.