Boatingnut
Active Member
I have already made the move to a Neptunus. I have seen one of those 650's, IMPRESSIVE.
Where do you think Sea Ray owners will go next?
- Thread starter copb8tx
- Start date
MonacoMike
Well-Known Member
- Sep 15, 2009
- 14,721
- Boat Info
- 2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
- Engines
- 85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
I would like to add an overlooked addendum to this post, as others have said Formula also is an excellent choice. My friend purchased a new Formula and one day about 6 months in his batteries were dead. My friend expected to lose the day if not the weekend.
The local service folks had a question about getting them recharged and called Formula on a Saturday to get that info. Upon reaching Formula they answered the questions then, though not their responsibility, told the service people to put brand new batteries in at their expense and get the customer on the water.
Service like that is awesome and not many would do that.
MM
Have you ever taken a walk around a boat with Capt. Rusty and got his perspective?
It's an education on what is good and what is not so good. For example, we were looking at a boat some time ago and he pointed out some sharp inside pockets that were features on the superstructure exterior and noted how difficult it will be to clean, polish, and wax those types of areas.... Or the width of the gunnel walkway, or a million other things that determine functionality and practicality rather than the wow factor and build quality. I have been enlightened.....
It's an education on what is good and what is not so good. For example, we were looking at a boat some time ago and he pointed out some sharp inside pockets that were features on the superstructure exterior and noted how difficult it will be to clean, polish, and wax those types of areas.... Or the width of the gunnel walkway, or a million other things that determine functionality and practicality rather than the wow factor and build quality. I have been enlightened.....
FastMarkA
Active Member
I have similar stories where Formula did everything possible to get me back on the water, and I also know others who've experienced the same with Formula.
It's a great combination to have an extremely seaworthy boat that's backed up by its manufacturer.
Bentwings
Member
When I got my 34 express last year I was surprised that there were so few new boats of any brand at the chosen marina. Many Sea Rays of various vintages and condition. We are on the Big River so the realy big 45-50 footers are limited. My pocket yacht is still a pretty big boat here and fills the 40 foot slip right to the end. There are several hundred boats in the marina and two more marinas just next door. It’s the same across the board.
The live aboards are all house boats except me. I’m the odd ball. As far as the new style I too don’t like them. I think SR made a huge error going this route. Even the younger generations that can afford newer boats are not going that way. There are a lot of wake boats here but as soon as the family grows up these go on the market. It might last a little longer if there is an onboard head but as an overnighter or weekender even a marina weekender these boats get passed on.
There are 37-40 footers but not many new style.
The live aboards are all house boats except me. I’m the odd ball. As far as the new style I too don’t like them. I think SR made a huge error going this route. Even the younger generations that can afford newer boats are not going that way. There are a lot of wake boats here but as soon as the family grows up these go on the market. It might last a little longer if there is an onboard head but as an overnighter or weekender even a marina weekender these boats get passed on.
There are 37-40 footers but not many new style.
MonacoMike
Well-Known Member
- Sep 15, 2009
- 14,721
- Boat Info
- 2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
- Engines
- 85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
The wart on the industries face we are not discussing is, the young folks with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of just student loan debt are not going to be buying your boat soon. Being classified as a borderline boomer, much of what I have been involved in during my life has either been disrupted as I got there or just as I was through. For example the guys before me in a union shop all made x, I was first hired at x-, after the union agreed to wage concessions for new hires.
What does that have to do with boats? I and others in my age range are likely the last coming along that want to boat like our more seasoned predecessors. The boom in prices is because 50yo are buying not 35 yo. Same in the classic car market where stupid prices are being paid for run of the mill cars. Not talking true collector cars here. When the guys my age stop buying either the car we had or wanted back in the day those run of the mill cars values will collapse.
And god help you with an old boat and survey with a millennial, everything is perfect in their world...
Please tell me how I am wrong?
MM
What does that have to do with boats? I and others in my age range are likely the last coming along that want to boat like our more seasoned predecessors. The boom in prices is because 50yo are buying not 35 yo. Same in the classic car market where stupid prices are being paid for run of the mill cars. Not talking true collector cars here. When the guys my age stop buying either the car we had or wanted back in the day those run of the mill cars values will collapse.
And god help you with an old boat and survey with a millennial, everything is perfect in their world...
Please tell me how I am wrong?
MM
Bentwings
Member
Ok, you got me going. I’m a streetrod guy and a life long car guy. I have a ‘77 el Camino SS one of only about 5k built in that year. It’s notoriously the biggest,heaviest and least popular of these cars but has a far superior chassis and running gear that with only a few tweaks make it a fine road car. 15k miles last year alone.
My daily driver is ‘94 Buick RoadMaster Estate Wagon. Ironically these came with a slightly detuned Corvette Motor. With the 4 Spd Automatic and trailer package rear end this land yacht can easily keep up with the newer cars and still gets 20+ mpg. It can tow more than some trucks too.
Neither of these cars will break the bank. Between the two of them I have far less than the cost of my boat especially when you consider the slip fees.
The usual comment I get is that boats are depreciating assets. True enough to a point. The older SR are not depreciating like they did years ago. How much is that 70 grand new truck worth a year later? Barely 50k with near 0 miles. It better not have any hotrod mods or you can’t give it away. A year later if you could get 30 k fir it you would be doing great.....better take it, it’s still sliding.
Both my cars have agreed value insurance as well as the bells and horns. The two of them cost less than the boat insurance because I don’t have ten years behind the helm. LOL
I’m too old to be crawling under cars now so I have these serviced at a favorite shop. I could do either if forced but I simply choose not to. I service the boat because I have not found trust worthy mechanics that really know what they are doing. I do not throw parts at vehicles boats or cars in hopes of fixing problems. I address the problem and fix it accordingly.
As far as age and classic car buying you are very close to bullseye. I belong to a large car club that recites the pledge of allegiance before meetings. I doubt if there is anyone under 55 maybe even 60. There are a couple knocking on the door of 90. So I’m just a kid at 77. A frame off restoration is a $150k project. You see these cars go for 60-70k all the time. Even so they still are poor cruise cars even with updated drive lines.
I just sold a car I built from the ground up. I saw it’s value drop like a rock in a couple years. Why? Few young people even know what it represented. It’s probably the only car I ever sold for more than I had in it. ....of course I only got $1 an hour for my labor.LOL sadly. As you said the younger people simply cannot afford these cars and certainly not big boats. What’s more is they haven’t even got 100k miles on their drivers license let alone time behind the helm.
So the big boat industry is IMHO declining. The younger kids like the swoopy stuff with lots of push button, touch screen stuff but falter when they have to repair or service it. I saw $150 k for a 21 foot wake boat. Sure would buy a nice cruise boat. It was hooked to about a $60k truck. Imagine what payments would be on that one. Where do they live?
Suburbs here 30-40 miles from the down twin homes go for $300k up.i don’t know what intown condos go for but I’d bet not a dime less.
I was a senior mech eng. and only barely eeked out a pittance living.
So it goes on. Let’s be happy with our retirement boats we have. I want a bigger one but it has to wait.
Sorry I need to update my profile....I’m not boatless any longer.
My daily driver is ‘94 Buick RoadMaster Estate Wagon. Ironically these came with a slightly detuned Corvette Motor. With the 4 Spd Automatic and trailer package rear end this land yacht can easily keep up with the newer cars and still gets 20+ mpg. It can tow more than some trucks too.
Neither of these cars will break the bank. Between the two of them I have far less than the cost of my boat especially when you consider the slip fees.
The usual comment I get is that boats are depreciating assets. True enough to a point. The older SR are not depreciating like they did years ago. How much is that 70 grand new truck worth a year later? Barely 50k with near 0 miles. It better not have any hotrod mods or you can’t give it away. A year later if you could get 30 k fir it you would be doing great.....better take it, it’s still sliding.
Both my cars have agreed value insurance as well as the bells and horns. The two of them cost less than the boat insurance because I don’t have ten years behind the helm. LOL
I’m too old to be crawling under cars now so I have these serviced at a favorite shop. I could do either if forced but I simply choose not to. I service the boat because I have not found trust worthy mechanics that really know what they are doing. I do not throw parts at vehicles boats or cars in hopes of fixing problems. I address the problem and fix it accordingly.
As far as age and classic car buying you are very close to bullseye. I belong to a large car club that recites the pledge of allegiance before meetings. I doubt if there is anyone under 55 maybe even 60. There are a couple knocking on the door of 90. So I’m just a kid at 77. A frame off restoration is a $150k project. You see these cars go for 60-70k all the time. Even so they still are poor cruise cars even with updated drive lines.
I just sold a car I built from the ground up. I saw it’s value drop like a rock in a couple years. Why? Few young people even know what it represented. It’s probably the only car I ever sold for more than I had in it. ....of course I only got $1 an hour for my labor.LOL sadly. As you said the younger people simply cannot afford these cars and certainly not big boats. What’s more is they haven’t even got 100k miles on their drivers license let alone time behind the helm.
So the big boat industry is IMHO declining. The younger kids like the swoopy stuff with lots of push button, touch screen stuff but falter when they have to repair or service it. I saw $150 k for a 21 foot wake boat. Sure would buy a nice cruise boat. It was hooked to about a $60k truck. Imagine what payments would be on that one. Where do they live?
Suburbs here 30-40 miles from the down twin homes go for $300k up.i don’t know what intown condos go for but I’d bet not a dime less.
I was a senior mech eng. and only barely eeked out a pittance living.
So it goes on. Let’s be happy with our retirement boats we have. I want a bigger one but it has to wait.
Sorry I need to update my profile....I’m not boatless any longer.
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Bentwings
Member
To answer your last couple statements, yes I too think there is a down hill slide in old cars coming. I went to a funeral Fri night for a friend who passed away. He left 5 Streetrods all top of the line cars. However the market for these is pretty slim. There is the game of numbers matching cars. So what? Unless you are into concourse shows where every tag, shade of primer, every part is an exact OEM part including radiator cap, battery, tires etc. the numbers matching means nothing. You will not win the two bit trophy and probably spend $200 to enter. Who cares about museum classics? Not me, not the average rodder. You need a truck and trailer to drag these cars to the show too. Most of us want to at least drive across town to a show. Frankly I’m showed out. I give or have given all my trophies back. I don’t even go to shows except those honoring military or law enforcement. I go to a couple evening dinner get togethers, Wed breakfast and cruises, and Sat breakfasts. Otherwise I drive my cars just like any other car. Rain or shine. In have more miles on dirt roads than many cars have on sun shinny days.
Now for the boat scene it’s different. Yes there are the classics, the wood boats and others. Few however but owned by the aged not the young. Those who remember them.
However many folks like the more traditional radar arch slant windshield maybe the command deck on the convertibles and aft cabins. Many of these boats are nicely cared for, have newer canvas, a polishing and some updated accessories. All functional and with a purpose. The boats get used some more than others but if nothing else they are a nice peaceful place to rest weary bones. They don’t need OEM parts, what ever is functional is what’s important. For example the ancient LORAN system. I don’t even know if it is still used. I have one but have no clue how to use it. Certainly I’d have a modern chart plotter before I’d even read the inch thick book on the LORAN. So I think these boats from the ‘05 and older will hang around for a long time, at least until the few youngsters pay off the student loan, raise the family pay for a number of new cars and that expensive home. They then will be looking at the swoopy boats. We won’t have to worry, we’ll be long gone.
Back to boats. Boat down. I was just at the marina. The river is still in big flood stage and one of the boats has fallen off the hard stands. I couldn’t see the stern but I think it had outdrives on it. I hope it settled easy. I don’t think the river will be back in the banks until next weekend.
Now for the boat scene it’s different. Yes there are the classics, the wood boats and others. Few however but owned by the aged not the young. Those who remember them.
However many folks like the more traditional radar arch slant windshield maybe the command deck on the convertibles and aft cabins. Many of these boats are nicely cared for, have newer canvas, a polishing and some updated accessories. All functional and with a purpose. The boats get used some more than others but if nothing else they are a nice peaceful place to rest weary bones. They don’t need OEM parts, what ever is functional is what’s important. For example the ancient LORAN system. I don’t even know if it is still used. I have one but have no clue how to use it. Certainly I’d have a modern chart plotter before I’d even read the inch thick book on the LORAN. So I think these boats from the ‘05 and older will hang around for a long time, at least until the few youngsters pay off the student loan, raise the family pay for a number of new cars and that expensive home. They then will be looking at the swoopy boats. We won’t have to worry, we’ll be long gone.
Back to boats. Boat down. I was just at the marina. The river is still in big flood stage and one of the boats has fallen off the hard stands. I couldn’t see the stern but I think it had outdrives on it. I hope it settled easy. I don’t think the river will be back in the banks until next weekend.
