Chapparel quality?

[boatman37]

I know this is a SR forum but been looking for a bigger boat and noticed more than a few Chaps that are substantially cheaper than others. Maybe these were just in worse condition than normal but seems like looking at 2000ish 28-30'ers the majority of Chaps were about $8-10k less than other brands. Most were in the $30-35k range while many Chaps were in the low $20's. Just curious as to why? Lower quality? I always thought Chaps were supposed to be pretty well built boats?

 

[sfergson727]

We don't see them around here, which might be taken as a bad sign. Looking around at the vintage boats, wellcraft, chapparel are noticeably absent. Plenty of vintage Sea Rays, and surprisingly even a few vintage bayliners and rinkers, but no Chaps.

Either they never made much of a dent on the Great Lakes market or they all are sunk/in junkyards.

 

[Tonka Boater]

Chaparral has a decent presence here in MN and I think they build a quality boat. They're owned by Marine Products Corporation, and according their website, MPC is the top manufacturer of 18 to 35-foot sterndrive powerboats in the United States. I didn't know this and I'm not sure how they measure it....but that's what they claim.

Anyway, they build a good boat that is on par with Sea Ray in my opinion.

 

[paulswagelock]

Agreed. Decent build quality, on par with Sea Ray. If you are looking at cruisers, maybe price reflects Chaparral's decision to stop making cruisers a few years ago.

 

[johngus]

we have been looking at 23-25 deckboats.must say the Chapparal looks nicer then any other boat I have seen.looks like fit and finish is very good,and they are using top notch materials.if we decide to downsize it will be the Chapparal

 

[BillK2632]

Never owned one, but see lots of them around LKN, there is a dealer on the water. Some friends had a 30ft cruiser, seemed to be a good boat. I have always been partial to SeaRay cruisers, so not a fair comparison for me. In my mind I always put them on par with Maxum - which I always thought was a good boat for the $$.

 

[mobocracy]

I looked at a Signature 290 at the same time as my 310 Sundancer, but when I was doing my homework I realized that the Chap had Volvo-Penta XDP drives. I could not find anything but horror stories about those drives and the only solution seemed to be total replacement, which involved some kind of reworking of the stern ($20k seemed to be the common number discussed).

I thought the boat looked great, though, but it makes me wonder how many boats shipped with XDP drives and whether Chap's presence in the market cratered because of it.

 

[scooper321]

Looked hard at them before I bought my 320. In fact, I tried to buy a Sig 300 first, but it went under contract a day before I decided to make an offer. That one didn't have the Volvo drives. The Chesapeake is Sea Ray country but there are Chap dealers around. And plenty of mechanics certified on the systems they use. So I was never worried about them. They DO make a nice looking boat. Never got to trial that one so I don't know how they handle. They are super popular for deck boats, though. So I wouldn't shy away from them for concerns over quality. I WOULD shy away, however, if you're buying a cruiser and they exited that market.


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[boatman37]

definitely a cruiser but wasn't aware they exited that market

 

[stephenm27]

I bought a 2008 290 Signature new and kept it for five years. No problems, no issues. It now lives on Lake Norman. Generally on par with my current SR though each have shortcomings in various areas/systems.

Since the recession, Chaparral refocused/retooled on the wake/wave/lower-end runabout market where sales growth is occurring.

They do continue to manufacture 270/310/330 Signature cruisers (formerly also offered cruisers in 290/350/370/420 sizes).

 

[Tonka Boater]

I bought a 2008 290 Signature new and kept it for five years. No problems, no issues. It now lives on Lake Norman. Generally on par with my current SR though each have shortcomings in various areas/systems.

Since the recession, Chaparral refocused/retooled on the wake/wave/lower-end runabout market where sales growth is occurring.

They do continue to manufacture 270/310/330 Signature cruisers (formerly also offered cruisers in 290/350/370/420 sizes).

This is good advice from someone who's owned one. And, as Stephen mentioned, they're still in the cruiser market. I wouldn't have any concerns about Chaparral's quality or them supporting their products. They've been in business since 1965 and have had the same owners since 1986. They don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[sandydlc]

We owned a Signature 300 for 15 years. She was a great boat and we only sold her because we were ready to move to something newer and bigger and found our 450 DA. I can attest to the build quality of the Chaparral. They are very thoughtfully designed and laid out boats. The only problems we ever had were due to lack of maintenance on our part (learned our lessons on that boat). She was solid in heavy seas and we took her as far North as Desolation Sound. If you're planning on anchoring in areas with large tidal shifts or currents I would upgrade your ground tackle to all chain and possibly even go with a heavier anchor. Other than that, our Volvo Penta 5.0 GI engines were solid as can be and the SX Cobra outdrives were great but definitely subject to galvanic corrosion so stay on top of regularly replacing anodes. Find a diver in your area to help with that. We didn't even know that was a thing and delayed service thinking we were safe because we weren't using the boat much and were in fresh water. Not smart.

At any rate, the Chaparral is a great boat and if they were still making cruisers in the ~50' range, we wouldn't hesitate to get another.


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[KnotEasy]

Lot's of them here in Michigan, you just have to go farther north than St. Joe/Michigan City to find them.
They currently have the lead in market share in sterndrive powered boats, under 30 ft. Good boats.

 

[skunkman]

I had a 2007 276 ssx bowrider. The finishing on that boat was superior to my Sea Ray however back in the day Chaparral had issues with exhaust flaps breaking loose so they eliminated them. With the 8.1 Volvo in that boat it sat a little lower than ideal. The end result is that water could easily flow up into the engine - and it did!!! Otherwise it was a great boat.