RichardS
New Member
Guys, a couple years ago, my wife and I sold our old 42 aft cabin that we used as a hotel room so that we could enjoy the little 21 foot bowrider we kept in the slip next to it.
We took the big boat money and instead of buying another boat to use as a house, we bought a house to use as a house. We got a good deal on a little rancher on a lagoon with 60 feet of vinyl bulkhead, and our first season we loved it, spending almost every weekend there and taking the little bowrider out every chance we could. (Our home's lagoon is 5 minutes of "no-wake zone" to the bay.)
Got an offer from a guy who wanted our 21 footer and we let it go. It was a nice little boat but we wanted something a little "nicer".
We spent the entire winter searching (did I mention I'm in south jersey? Not a super long boating season) and finally, today, after a few "false starts" and a couple disappointing boating expeditions, and the sticker shock of a couple boat shows, we landed on a boat my wife and I equally love and after some pretty fierce negotiating (I mean REALLY fierce, but I have to hand it to the broker who was the middleman....he had the patience of Job with both the seller and myself), we came to an agreement and put a deposit on this thread's title boat....a 2009 Sea Ray 270SLX, with the arch, which is quite cool looking and seems like a great advantage over the bimini top we were used to, and the 496 Merc/Bravo III set-up. The boat has 112 hours, and the shop printed out a read on the engine's rpm history showing the great majority of those hours spent at quite low rpm's (don't know if this has anything to do with it but the seller is a 76 year old gentlemen who used the boat to take his grandchildren out for little excursions and he is said to be a very quiet and extremely safety-conscious fellow, which is why he's selling it.....he feels after 7 years of use he now no longer wants to handle a boat of this size, and perhaps not any size anymore. I'm told he has no plans right now to buy even a smaller replacement boat.
Anyway......we love the "look" of the boat, style-wise, and we love the cosmetic condition of the boat, which, and I have a VERY discerning eye, my wife even more so, looks like a year old boat, not a 7 year old boat. It's hard to find any wear and tear anywhere on the boat, inside or out. The boat was kept covered when not in use, was bottom-painted but kept on a lift anyway. The cushions are spotless and the interior is, truly, like new, the hull shows very very few signs of docking wear, and it's just overall a gorgeous boat.
So.......I have a satisfactory mechanical inspection as a sales contingency, of course, but unless an issue that is truly costly is revealed, I don't see this deal going south. The broker's expectation is that the seller will take care of any small issues, and no one expects (naturally!) any big issues, but we will cross that bridge when and if we come to such a situation.
Here's my question for you all.......(maybe question(s) is more accurate)
We shopped with the following brands as our target boats in the following order: (bowrider only, 24-28 feet)
1. Cobalt
2. Formula
3 Everything else, including but not limited to Sea Ray, Chapperal, Monterey, one or two others.
Yes, we wound up with one of the #3 choices. Wonder what your thoughts are on our choice, as compared to the others. We choose the 270SLX after my wife found it while we were at a broker where we had gone to look at a Cobalt 262 they had advertised. One look at it and she said "that's the one!"
Guys, I'm not looking for validation of our choice so much as your opinions of the 270SLX as compared to what else we may have purchased. As Sea Ray owners, I guess I may be asking the barber if I need a haircut, but I'd love to hear what you guys think of this particular model, what problems if any I should be looking for, what issues if any I should be mindful of not only at time of purchase but going forward, and whether the 270SLX is well regarded in the Sea Ray community. Every brand, no matter which, has had it's dogs. (Cobalt's example would be the 24SX)
I really look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions and advice!
Thanks in advance for your patience reading all this and any words of wisdom you're kind enough to impart!
We took the big boat money and instead of buying another boat to use as a house, we bought a house to use as a house. We got a good deal on a little rancher on a lagoon with 60 feet of vinyl bulkhead, and our first season we loved it, spending almost every weekend there and taking the little bowrider out every chance we could. (Our home's lagoon is 5 minutes of "no-wake zone" to the bay.)
Got an offer from a guy who wanted our 21 footer and we let it go. It was a nice little boat but we wanted something a little "nicer".
We spent the entire winter searching (did I mention I'm in south jersey? Not a super long boating season) and finally, today, after a few "false starts" and a couple disappointing boating expeditions, and the sticker shock of a couple boat shows, we landed on a boat my wife and I equally love and after some pretty fierce negotiating (I mean REALLY fierce, but I have to hand it to the broker who was the middleman....he had the patience of Job with both the seller and myself), we came to an agreement and put a deposit on this thread's title boat....a 2009 Sea Ray 270SLX, with the arch, which is quite cool looking and seems like a great advantage over the bimini top we were used to, and the 496 Merc/Bravo III set-up. The boat has 112 hours, and the shop printed out a read on the engine's rpm history showing the great majority of those hours spent at quite low rpm's (don't know if this has anything to do with it but the seller is a 76 year old gentlemen who used the boat to take his grandchildren out for little excursions and he is said to be a very quiet and extremely safety-conscious fellow, which is why he's selling it.....he feels after 7 years of use he now no longer wants to handle a boat of this size, and perhaps not any size anymore. I'm told he has no plans right now to buy even a smaller replacement boat.
Anyway......we love the "look" of the boat, style-wise, and we love the cosmetic condition of the boat, which, and I have a VERY discerning eye, my wife even more so, looks like a year old boat, not a 7 year old boat. It's hard to find any wear and tear anywhere on the boat, inside or out. The boat was kept covered when not in use, was bottom-painted but kept on a lift anyway. The cushions are spotless and the interior is, truly, like new, the hull shows very very few signs of docking wear, and it's just overall a gorgeous boat.
So.......I have a satisfactory mechanical inspection as a sales contingency, of course, but unless an issue that is truly costly is revealed, I don't see this deal going south. The broker's expectation is that the seller will take care of any small issues, and no one expects (naturally!) any big issues, but we will cross that bridge when and if we come to such a situation.
Here's my question for you all.......(maybe question(s) is more accurate)
We shopped with the following brands as our target boats in the following order: (bowrider only, 24-28 feet)
1. Cobalt
2. Formula
3 Everything else, including but not limited to Sea Ray, Chapperal, Monterey, one or two others.
Yes, we wound up with one of the #3 choices. Wonder what your thoughts are on our choice, as compared to the others. We choose the 270SLX after my wife found it while we were at a broker where we had gone to look at a Cobalt 262 they had advertised. One look at it and she said "that's the one!"
Guys, I'm not looking for validation of our choice so much as your opinions of the 270SLX as compared to what else we may have purchased. As Sea Ray owners, I guess I may be asking the barber if I need a haircut, but I'd love to hear what you guys think of this particular model, what problems if any I should be looking for, what issues if any I should be mindful of not only at time of purchase but going forward, and whether the 270SLX is well regarded in the Sea Ray community. Every brand, no matter which, has had it's dogs. (Cobalt's example would be the 24SX)
I really look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions and advice!
Thanks in advance for your patience reading all this and any words of wisdom you're kind enough to impart!
