Which are good options instead of a larger Sea Ray yacht?

With one out of college, one in college, and two to go - I'm a used boat buyer. We just went through this choice a while ago - and after 20+ years of SR's, made a change and went with a Cruisers Yachts. It had a lot of attributes that were important to us from a functional perspective not found on SR's, it's a 16 year old vessel and her fit and finish is outstanding, and we're incredibly pleased with her performance - other than the fact she loves fuel docks.

I would suggest at some point you include a CY on your list to check out. American built in Wisconsin, and do most of their fit and finish (wood, coverings, etc) in-house - which allows for solid QC.

The below link literally hits on all aspects of your wish list in your opening post, and then some...

http://cruisersyachts.com/page.aspx/pageid/164443/pmid/367192/50-Cantius.aspx
 
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With one out of college, one in college, and two to go - I'm a used boat buyer. We just went through this choice a while ago - and after 20+ years of SR's, made a change and went with a Cruisers Yachts. It had a lot of attributes that were important to us from a functional perspective not found on SR's, it's a 16 year old vessel and her fit and finish is outstanding, and we're incredibly pleased with her performance - other than the fact she loves fuel docks.

I would suggest at some point you include a CY on your list to check out. American built in Wisconsin, and do most of their fit and finish (wood, coverings, etc) in-house - which allows for solid QC.

The below link literally hits on all aspects of your wish list in your opening post, and then some...

http://cruisersyachts.com/page.aspx/pageid/164443/pmid/367192/50-Cantius.aspx

The Cantius yachts are definitely on our list! We have a friend who owns the 45 Cantius and he really enjoys it. Thankfully they are available in the Seattle area so transporting it would hopefully not be an additional expense. Have you found your Cruisers yacht to be comparable in quality as your Sea Ray?
 
The Cantius yachts are definitely on our list! We have a friend who owns the 45 Cantius and he really enjoys it. Thankfully they are available in the Seattle area so transporting it would hopefully not be an additional expense. Have you found your Cruisers yacht to be comparable in quality as your Sea Ray?
We went from a 98' 370DA to an 02' 3870 - and the fit and finish, and the materials themselves on the CY are superior to our DA - esp the fit and finish aspect. While our CY is 16 yrs old and low hours - you'd never know she was that old. Outstanding fit and finish work. There are a lot of things they do, such as every wire in the boat is clearly labeled, that is something I wish all manufacturers do. Also, they sit high. When tied up to an 03' 380DA a couple of weeks ago, we were looking notably down into their helm area from ours. Because CY rear staterooms are 6' 2" or more, everything is taller, at least in our boat size category - in addition to the salon being 6' 6". When we started looking for a different boat, I only thought SR as I love them. We are extremely pleased with our CY.

A good vid to give further definition to how they do things...


Definitely not saying one over another, just when looking to expend this type of capital - look at everything. The Cantius line is a bad ass line of boats and hits every mark you listed.
 
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We went from a 98' 370DA to an 02' 3870 - and the fit and finish, and the materials themselves on the CY are superior to our DA - esp the fit and finish aspect. While our CY is 16 yrs old and low hours - you'd never know she was that old. Outstanding fit and finish work. There are a lot of things they do, such as every wire in the boat is clearly labeled, that is something I wish all manufacturers do. Also, they sit high. When tied up to an 03' 380DA a couple of weeks ago, we were looking notably down into their helm area from ours. Because CY rear staterooms are 6' 2" or more, everything is taller, at least in our boat size category - in addition to the salon being 6' 6". When we started looking for a different boat, I only thought SR as I love them. We are extremely pleased with our CY.

A good vid to give further definition to how they do things...


Definitely not saying one over another, just when looking to expend this type of capital - look at everything. The Cantius line is a bad ass line of boats and hits every mark you listed.

If money and moorage availability were no concern, that Cantius 60 would be a dream to own. Until then, we plan on getting aboard as many boats as possible before making any decisions. The Cruisers are at the top of our list.
 
I came really close to getting a 37' 2005-ish Cruiser Yacht, it was nice (needed the carpet removed and replaced with wood, but not because the carpet was bad, I just don't like carpet on boats!), but it was a nice boat. Little too much for me at the time, but had the wife stepped foot on it, the deal might have been done. My mistake. Here is a used Cantius, seems like it is probably one you guys will visit, of course, I like boat porn, and this qualifies, so I have already read the full description and viewed all the images a few times over!

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/20...tates?refSource=enhanced listing#.W4MnZi2ZN24
 
Todd, two observations on that boat:

1. The hydraulic platform appears to be the entire swim platform. That leaves nowhere to stand while maneuvering the dinghy onto the chocks while loading unless you stand on the platform and ride it down into the water. Swimsuit required.

2. Is that the bathroom sink dead center in the MSR? No thanks.
 
would suggest at some point you include a CY on your list to check out. American built in Wisconsin, and do most of their fit and finish (wood, coverings, etc) in-house - which allows for solid QC.

When I was looking to buy my current boat, I looked at a lot of brands. Chaparral was high on my list. And Cruisers caught my eye. Loved the layouts. But as I looked at the Cruisers, every single one I saw had spider web cracks across the gel coat. Most were on the swim platforms (making me wonder if Cruisers owners, as a group, were poor at docking? Lol) but some we along the transom, too. I concluded - right or wrong - that Cruisers boats had a poor, or thin, gel coat. In the end, I ended up with a Sea Ray, so happy ending!
 
When I was looking to buy my current boat, I looked at a lot of brands. Chaparral was high on my list. And Cruisers caught my eye. Loved the layouts. But as I looked at the Cruisers, every single one I saw had spider web cracks across the gel coat. Most were on the swim platforms (making me wonder if Cruisers owners, as a group, were poor at docking? Lol) but some we along the transom, too. I concluded - right or wrong - that Cruisers boats had a poor, or thin, gel coat. In the end, I ended up with a Sea Ray, so happy ending!
Weird, I looked at 4 (including the one I purchased - but it's Imron painted), and then there are 5 or 6 on the docks where our slip is - and I've not seen nor has anyone said anything along those lines at all. Regardless, they're a boat that fits the OP's requirements, and I would look at them as well as any other brands that might work for the OP.
 
Todd, two observations on that boat:

1. The hydraulic platform appears to be the entire swim platform. That leaves nowhere to stand while maneuvering the dinghy onto the chocks while loading unless you stand on the platform and ride it down into the water. Swimsuit required.

2. Is that the bathroom sink dead center in the MSR? No thanks.
Is that swim platform hydraulic? Looks like it is not, and I think there might be a lift on the back of the boat? It’s covered up, but I’m guessing what’s under that cover if the platform is not hydraulic. Of course, many/most might require a hydraulic swim platform on a boat that size.
 
Weird, I looked at 4 (including the one I purchased - but it's Imron painted), and then there are 5 or 6 on the docks where our slip is - and I've not seen nor has anyone said anything along those lines at all. Regardless, they're a boat that fits the OP's requirements, and I would look at them as well as any other brands that might work for the OP.

Agreed. One should look at all of the manufacturers this class. I wasn’t trying to start a pissing contest about brands. But I will mention that some other of my friends were looking for a 40 foot cruiser not long ago and noticed the same thing. Perhaps it was just an era where they were more prone to crazing?
 
With two now in expensive private colleges we didn’t want any boat or college loan payments so were used boat buyers too when shopping for our current one.
Naturally Sea Ray was my first choice, but once I was boatless and really stepped up the hunt I looked at some other brands. The ones I liked were Formula, Regal, and Cruisers.
Other than really liking Sea Rays of this vintage, the other big draw was there were so many more of them to look at. The other brands were nice, but since they didn’t sell as many of them new there were less used ones to choose from.
I would venture to guess that around here there are more larger Sea Ray’s on the water than all of the other brands combined.
 
With two now in expensive private colleges we didn’t want any boat or college loan payments so were used boat buyers too when shopping for our current one.
Naturally Sea Ray was my first choice, but once I was boatless and really stepped up the hunt I looked at some other brands. The ones I liked were Formula, Regal, and Cruisers.
Other than really liking Sea Rays of this vintage, the other big draw was there were so many more of them to look at. The other brands were nice, but since they didn’t sell as many of them new there were less used ones to choose from.
I would venture to guess that around here there are more larger Sea Ray’s on the water than all of the other brands combined.

Zeroing in on that last sentence. Every marina we go in, SR is the most dominant brand in the marina.
 
Zeroing in on that last sentence. Every marina we go in, SR is the most dominant brand in the marina.

Which makes me hopeful that we'll be able to stick with the Sea Ray brand. I finally remembered the boat that we saw in Chicago - it was the 2018 L550 Sundancer - way out of our price range for now but once it starts dropping? I'd love to have that boat.
 
For my money, the 60/610Da is one of the best Sea Ray ever produced. Great handling boats, built like a Sherman tank, and fast for a 60' boat.They can be bought for well under $1.0mil now.
 
If you want to know more about the Cruisers 48Cantius PM me. I've had one for 3 yrs now and love it.
 
For my money, the 60/610Da is one of the best Sea Ray ever produced. Great handling boats, built like a Sherman tank, and fast for a 60' boat.They can be bought for well under $1.0mil now.

There is lot of wisdom and truth in Franks post. I agree.

After we sold our last boat (DB 47) and was on the search for the next boat, had a lot of conversations with Frank.

We diligently focused on this boat - traveled and looked at 3-4 60/610 DA's.

At the end of the day - the boat did not match our cruising lifestyle.

If you are on a 48DA - and you love it - then this is a great step forward.

For us (and this is the key point, everyone is different in what matters) we wanted the fly bridge - and the storage.

Our goal was to be nomads, no dock box, but long periods (8-20 days) on the boat year around. We are in the Chesapeake right now, will head south back to FL in the next couple of months. Not sure yet where we will go in FL. We found what works for us. Doesn't mean it works for anyone else.

Would have loved a 650 Fly - but not willing to spend that amount of $.

Mark
 
For my money, the 60/610Da is one of the best Sea Ray ever produced. Great handling boats, built like a Sherman tank, and fast for a 60' boat.They can be bought for well under $1.0mil now.

Moorage anywhere near us for a boat that large has a very long waiting list but I'll check them out anyway. It's free to look! Thanks Frank!
 
There is lot of wisdom and truth in Franks post. I agree.

After we sold our last boat (DB 47) and was on the search for the next boat, had a lot of conversations with Frank.

We diligently focused on this boat - traveled and looked at 3-4 60/610 DA's.

At the end of the day - the boat did not match our cruising lifestyle.

If you are on a 48DA - and you love it - then this is a great step forward.

For us (and this is the key point, everyone is different in what matters) we wanted the fly bridge - and the storage.

Our goal was to be nomads, no dock box, but long periods (8-20 days) on the boat year around. We are in the Chesapeake right now, will head south back to FL in the next couple of months. Not sure yet where we will go in FL. We found what works for us. Doesn't mean it works for anyone else.

Would have loved a 650 Fly - but not willing to spend that amount of $.

Mark

As I mentioned to Frank, moorage is a huge issue in the Seattle area. Not so much the cost of it, but the availability. We're on a wait list for a 60' slip at Elliott Bay (which is where we are now) and they're telling us it will be another 3+ years until something is available. We're currently in a 450DA so moving to a 510 or similar would be far easier to find moorage and it's still enough of an increase in size/design that it would make it worth it. It's a shame that where to park your boat dictates what you can look for but we really don't want to have to take a ferry to Bremerton in order to get to our boat. For sure we would not use it as much and that defeats the purpose of upgrading. I've heard good things about the Marquis boats but they are just not available in this area and I hate the thought of (and expense of) transporting a boat across the country.
 
As I mentioned to Frank, moorage is a huge issue in the Seattle area. Not so much the cost of it, but the availability. We're on a wait list for a 60' slip at Elliott Bay (which is where we are now) and they're telling us it will be another 3+ years until something is available. We're currently in a 450DA so moving to a 510 or similar would be far easier to find moorage and it's still enough of an increase in size/design that it would make it worth it. It's a shame that where to park your boat dictates what you can look for but we really don't want to have to take a ferry to Bremerton in order to get to our boat. For sure we would not use it as much and that defeats the purpose of upgrading. I've heard good things about the Marquis boats but they are just not available in this area and I hate the thought of (and expense of) transporting a boat across the country.

I can understand your issue. Having boated in FL for a while, keeping the boat on the south east coast (Miami up to Palm Beach) was accustom to 60' slips being plentiful. No problem at all. Moving out of that area, specifically the west coast, slips for a 60' boat are few and far between. Much more difficult.

Definitely something to consider for the geographic region a person is in.

When we moved our boat from Florida to the Chesapeake a couple of months ago we probably stopped in 10 or so marinas. I don't think a single one was a slip, we spent most nights tied to the fuel dock, or a T head. Limited space available. You learn to love side ties.

Mark
 
I had a deal on a 540 Dancer fall through last summer, and pickings have been thin, so I expanded my search. Ended up finding a clean 2001 Neptunus 56 Express. Very nice boat, quick and rides better than the Sea Ray. Well built and the factory has been very helpful with questions and support. Definitely worth a look.
 

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