- Oct 4, 2006
- 2,335
- Boat Info
- 2003 280DA and 1995 Sea Ray 175
- Engines
- Twin 4.3l and 3.0l, all w/ AlphaI GenII drives
Well, after a couple of years at looking at boats, finally deciding on the 2002-up 280DA, and then taking an entire season to find one...we have! She's ours. We had her surveyed and sea trialed last weekend with fantastic results. She looks basically brand-new. Extremely well cared for, she was trailered her entire life, washed and rinsed after every outing and drives, generator and a/c flushed with fresh water every time.
She's a 2003 and has a generator, 4.3l twins with Alpha I drives, just turned over 200hrs during the sea trial, Garmin 3210 Chartplotter and radar, 3-axle trailer with surge disc brakes. Going from my Garmin LegendC with 2" screen to the 3210 10-1/2" screen will be something else!
We should have her in home waters within the next couple of weeks.
I know some of you probably thought we were all talk; I've laughed at how long we had been looking. We purchased our current and first Sea Ray 175 in '06 as a "test" to see if we'd like it. Bought it for nothing, brought it back from the dead and have been using it nearly every weekend. But we always had to be careful of the weather conditions as it wouldn't take much and we'd have nowhere to go.
So we first started "looking" at 220 and 240 Sundecks, then after determining that a cabin was a good idea (thanks to two growing girls (now 8 and 6) we thought the 215EC was a good idea. Then we moved on to the 240 Sundancer. Couple months later, the 250DA.
But wait, there are some 260's out there with generators. And yes, now my wife says a generator is a must-have-requirement! But wait, even more 270's have generators and they have a seperate dinette, perfect! So we actually did look at a couple for sale.
Then back in January 2010 we went to a boat show in Virginia Beach and walked onto a boat with a radar arch. Boy aren't those nice? Lots of head room and lighting from them. Plus, they look sweet. Looked at another 270 for sale in Annapolis, MD and sitting right next to it was a 280DA with arch and twins. Out of our league. Well....maybe not? Price differential was not that much and look how much more boat you get; generators are way more common, seperate dinette, radar arch and twin engines. Twins would be nice out on the Chesapeake, and for docking.
So here we are. The 3rd one we put an offer on since May and it's ours. And I'm glad the other ones we put offers on, or barely missed, didn't work out. This boat is the best of them all as far as care, maintenance, and equipment. I think we'll have a lot of fun with her in the remaining time we have this year. It will be a LONG winter, that's for sure!
And hey, I'm a two Sea Ray boat owner!
Tom
She's a 2003 and has a generator, 4.3l twins with Alpha I drives, just turned over 200hrs during the sea trial, Garmin 3210 Chartplotter and radar, 3-axle trailer with surge disc brakes. Going from my Garmin LegendC with 2" screen to the 3210 10-1/2" screen will be something else!
We should have her in home waters within the next couple of weeks.
I know some of you probably thought we were all talk; I've laughed at how long we had been looking. We purchased our current and first Sea Ray 175 in '06 as a "test" to see if we'd like it. Bought it for nothing, brought it back from the dead and have been using it nearly every weekend. But we always had to be careful of the weather conditions as it wouldn't take much and we'd have nowhere to go.
So we first started "looking" at 220 and 240 Sundecks, then after determining that a cabin was a good idea (thanks to two growing girls (now 8 and 6) we thought the 215EC was a good idea. Then we moved on to the 240 Sundancer. Couple months later, the 250DA.
But wait, there are some 260's out there with generators. And yes, now my wife says a generator is a must-have-requirement! But wait, even more 270's have generators and they have a seperate dinette, perfect! So we actually did look at a couple for sale.
Then back in January 2010 we went to a boat show in Virginia Beach and walked onto a boat with a radar arch. Boy aren't those nice? Lots of head room and lighting from them. Plus, they look sweet. Looked at another 270 for sale in Annapolis, MD and sitting right next to it was a 280DA with arch and twins. Out of our league. Well....maybe not? Price differential was not that much and look how much more boat you get; generators are way more common, seperate dinette, radar arch and twin engines. Twins would be nice out on the Chesapeake, and for docking.
So here we are. The 3rd one we put an offer on since May and it's ours. And I'm glad the other ones we put offers on, or barely missed, didn't work out. This boat is the best of them all as far as care, maintenance, and equipment. I think we'll have a lot of fun with her in the remaining time we have this year. It will be a LONG winter, that's for sure!
And hey, I'm a two Sea Ray boat owner!
Tom
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