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

We got very close to buying a Marlow, but after reading about multiple lawsuits and owners’ experiences, we decided to pass. I can’t speak to the new 66, but we looked at a lot of used 70s and some 72s. Each one was slightly different as Marlow changed and tweaked almost every new hull. Some run fine, I’m sure, but before you buy, read up on problems with vibration and wet ride, and be sure to Sea trial the exact hull you are buying.

What exactly are those? I'm sure like many you get into fantasizing about boats you'll never own, and during a phase of interest in the Marlow I've read something about a lawsuit, but how many and any details were nearly impossible to track down. The best I could find was ONE lawsuit that involved some kind of gotcha situation due to the legal separation between Marlow the builder and Marlow the brokerage.

Most of the commentary was third hand message board gossip about how Fleming or Hampton or Outer Reef were "real" long range cruisers with "proven" track records and Marlows were pretenders combined with "you heard about the lawsuit, right?"

I find it hard to sort this against the constant multi-page spreads for Marlow at the front of P&MY magazine and their brokerage ads which feature a fair amount of turnover for a fairly wide date range of boats. It's not like they're advertising all the same boats in every ad or all from a certain date range. I would think they couldn't keep making, selling and advertising boats if the rumors/stories/lawsuits had that much substance. Given the price and low build volume, wouldn't serious problems over a period of years tank a company that probably builds low double digit hulls in a year?

And it wouldn't surprise me that there were tweaks between hulls, especially early in a given model. How many of these boats do they make? I'm sure some super high percentage (if not all) are built to order and minor updates between hulls seems normal for a semi-custom builder with low volume, and an example of buyer/builder ongoing feedback.

I still find Marlows an appealing fantasy and wish I knew what the real story was.
 
Saw the Maritimo S51, pretty sure boat show price was 1.3. Really nice.
Pretty sure this pic is the back of the S51, not 100% certain though.
 

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Saw the Maritimo S51, pretty sure boat show price was 1.3. Really nice.
Pretty sure this pic is the back of the S51, not 100% certain though.

The Seattle Boats Afloat show is this week. I'll be curious to see which boats will be there. I like the Maritimos but they don't have enough windows in the staterooms. Maybe the newer ones do?
 
What exactly are those? I'm sure like many you get into fantasizing about boats you'll never own, and during a phase of interest in the Marlow I've read something about a lawsuit, but how many and any details were nearly impossible to track down. The best I could find was ONE lawsuit that involved some kind of gotcha situation due to the legal separation between Marlow the builder and Marlow the brokerage.

Most of the commentary was third hand message board gossip about how Fleming or Hampton or Outer Reef were "real" long range cruisers with "proven" track records and Marlows were pretenders combined with "you heard about the lawsuit, right?"

I find it hard to sort this against the constant multi-page spreads for Marlow at the front of P&MY magazine and their brokerage ads which feature a fair amount of turnover for a fairly wide date range of boats. It's not like they're advertising all the same boats in every ad or all from a certain date range. I would think they couldn't keep making, selling and advertising boats if the rumors/stories/lawsuits had that much substance. Given the price and low build volume, wouldn't serious problems over a period of years tank a company that probably builds low double digit hulls in a year?

And it wouldn't surprise me that there were tweaks between hulls, especially early in a given model. How many of these boats do they make? I'm sure some super high percentage (if not all) are built to order and minor updates between hulls seems normal for a semi-custom builder with low volume, and an example of buyer/builder ongoing feedback.

I still find Marlows an appealing fantasy and wish I knew what the real story was.

Far be it from me to cloud your fantasy. I’m just saying that for me, there were enough red flags to steer me clear. They do have nice ads, but in my opinion, that’s no basis for spending $4 million.
 
Far be it from me to cloud your fantasy. I’m just saying that for me, there were enough red flags to steer me clear. They do have nice ads, but in my opinion, that’s no basis for spending $4 million.

I was just reading about this mega-yacht/sailboat on the East coast that originally cost $50 million and was sold only 4-5 years later for $25 million. This is just crazy stupid money and it's shocking that this vessel could have depreciated by 50% in just a few short years.

On a much different scale, this is one of the reasons that we don't want to purchase a new boat. Unless you're planning on keeping it for a long time (like our Chaparral that we kept for 15 years), I just don't think that there is any warranty coverage worth the level of depreciation that most new yachts suffer.
 
Far be it from me to cloud your fantasy. I’m just saying that for me, there were enough red flags to steer me clear. They do have nice ads, but in my opinion, that’s no basis for spending $4 million.

Haha, my fantasy fulfillment is keeping my vacuflush head working. There's plenty of fantasy boats to fantasize about, if I lose interest in Marlow there's always that new Grand Banks 60 or even a used Hinckley if I'm feeling thrifty.

The odd thing about the Marlow horror story/rumor thing is that they're still making them and buying big ad space after a long time. I'd think if the problem(s) that supposedly occurred were that bad, it would have run them out of business. All you have to do is not sell any boats for a couple of years and you're done, this isn't a run of bad brakes at Ford where volume and inertia will keep you in business.

And I still don't know what the Marlow lawsuit issue is/was.
 
Posting an update on our yacht search... We just got to the top of the wait list for a 52’ slip at our marina and we’ll be moving our 450DA there at the end of the month. We’re still on the wait list for a 53’ slip as well as a 62’ slip but it sounds like the 53’ slip will become available in the next month or two. Our marina only allows a 1’ overhang so getting into a 53’ slip will give us more options on boats that are 54’ LOA such as the Princess V52 and the Tiara 50 Coupe, both boats we’re considering but still trying to find for the right price.

We still love the Cruisers Cantius 50 but they’re still too expensive for us at this point (really want to stay under $850K).

Tiara 50 Coupe, Princess V52, and Riviera boats are all at the top of our list - direct drive or IPS is our preference. We’re not so set on having a galley on the main level but no canvas, a walk-around master bed and a beamier boat that will accommodate our 12’ dinghy are all important features for our next boat. The Seattle Boat Show is coming up at the end of the month so we’ll be checking there and of course I’m trolling YachtWorld on a daily basis. Securing a larger slip at our marina was a huge next step for us so I’m glad that we’re pretty close to finding our permanent slip at our marina. Now we just need to find the right boat at the right price and that’s more difficult than you can imagine!

Neither of us want to get a boat that’s older than our 2010 and I don’t think we’re ready for a trawler just yet. (Though there is a 50’ Beneteau Swift Trawler that will be at the boat show that we’ll take a look at...). The other issue is that we would prefer not having to transport a boat to Seattle though we would consider transporting a shorter distance such as from California.

So the search continues!!
 
Posting an update on our yacht search... We just got to the top of the wait list for a 52’ slip at our marina and we’ll be moving our 450DA there at the end of the month. We’re still on the wait list for a 53’ slip as well as a 62’ slip but it sounds like the 53’ slip will become available in the next month or two. Our marina only allows a 1’ overhang so getting into a 53’ slip will give us more options on boats that are 54’ LOA such as the Princess V52 and the Tiara 50 Coupe, both boats we’re considering but still trying to find for the right price.

We still love the Cruisers Cantius 50 but they’re still too expensive for us at this point (really want to stay under $850K).

Tiara 50 Coupe, Princess V52, and Riviera boats are all at the top of our list - direct drive or IPS is our preference. We’re not so set on having a galley on the main level but no canvas, a walk-around master bed and a beamier boat that will accommodate our 12’ dinghy are all important features for our next boat. The Seattle Boat Show is coming up at the end of the month so we’ll be checking there and of course I’m trolling YachtWorld on a daily basis. Securing a larger slip at our marina was a huge next step for us so I’m glad that we’re pretty close to finding our permanent slip at our marina. Now we just need to find the right boat at the right price and that’s more difficult than you can imagine!

Neither of us want to get a boat that’s older than our 2010 and I don’t think we’re ready for a trawler just yet. (Though there is a 50’ Beneteau Swift Trawler that will be at the boat show that we’ll take a look at...). The other issue is that we would prefer not having to transport a boat to Seattle though we would consider transporting a shorter distance such as from California.

So the search continues!!
So, out of curiosity and daydreaming, I plugged in your search (2010-, used, 50-60’, 500k-1m$, Pacific Northwest) to Yacht world, and my choice would be the Prestige 500 (only 16 boats total in the northwest for sale that met criteria). Now, I just need to rustle up 850k!
There is also a Prestige 500s, no fly bridge. I have no idea if Prestige makes a good boat, but it was fun looking at the pics!
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2017/prestige-500-3075110/
 
We are a couple years out on upgrading but have the exact same requirements for the larger boat as you have.
We were at the Chicago Boat Show this past weekend and liked the larger Cruiser Cantis models but fell in love with the Tiara 49 Coupe. Now just have to wait for a gently used one to fall in our price range.
 
So, out of curiosity and daydreaming, I plugged in your search (2010-, used, 50-60’, 500k-1m$, Pacific Northwest) to Yacht world, and my choice would be the Prestige 500 (only 16 boats total in the northwest for sale that met criteria). Now, I just need to rustle up 850k!
There is also a Prestige 500s, no fly bridge. I have no idea if Prestige makes a good boat, but it was fun looking at the pics!
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2017/prestige-500-3075110/

That’s a beauty
 
We are a couple years out on upgrading but have the exact same requirements for the larger boat as you have.
We were at the Chicago Boat Show this past weekend and liked the larger Cruiser Cantis models but fell in love with the Tiara 49 Coupe. Now just have to wait for a gently used one to fall in our price range.

Since we have a 450DA my husband doesn't want to just go up to a 49' boat which makes sense. That being said a gently used Tiara 50 Coupe in our price range would be ideal. Such a well-made and beamy boat. <sigh>
 
So, out of curiosity and daydreaming, I plugged in your search (2010-, used, 50-60’, 500k-1m$, Pacific Northwest) to Yacht world, and my choice would be the Prestige 500 (only 16 boats total in the northwest for sale that met criteria). Now, I just need to rustle up 850k!
There is also a Prestige 500s, no fly bridge. I have no idea if Prestige makes a good boat, but it was fun looking at the pics!
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2017/prestige-500-3075110/

We do like the Prestige layout and design. They are beautiful boats. We'll have to see these two in person before we would consider them. Every time we've looked at a Prestige (except for one we saw last year in Chicago) the fit and finish have always been lacking. Cheap hinges on cabinets, cheaper materials on doors, and I've heard that the hull design (at least in the earlier days) was very light and not as structurally sound as a Sea Ray. That being said we saw a Prestige 630S in Chicago that had much higher materials and quality than any other we've seen. I'm wondering if the "S" models are the higher end?

We have to consider resale value of our next boat. Our 450DA has really held it's value and we're so lucky. This is a something we'd have to look into regarding the Prestige boats. I just don't know enough about them but they are pretty boats!
 

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