Formula Boats

Richie89

Richie89

Active Member
Aug 20, 2012
599
Miami Beach, FL
Boat Info
450 Sundancer
Engines
Twin Cummins 480 Zeus
I'm seeing a lot of them recently and the owners always view them as about the best boat out there. Where do they fall in the quality scale? They have a 45 Yacht that seems about the size of the 470 Sundancer.
 
I have a lot of experience with Formula PC's. I'd say the quality is very, very good, but not as good as many people believe it is. I've been told by Formula fans, "oh, you have a SeaRay? I just don't like the quality of production boats, which is why I have a Formula". Seriously. A seagull can't poop in the Great Lakes without hitting a Formula...!

I've known 2 Formulas that were bought back by the factory for defects, and a third that should have been.

I've never run a 45. The 31PC and 37PC are some of my favorite boats.
 
I too have LOTS of experience with Formulas, and here's what I can say. All of the Formula's that I've owned and been intimately involved with were all of higher quality than the Sea Ray's I've owned or, again, been intimately involved with. Their customer service has been even better than my Sea Ray experience as well. Not to say Sea Ray has been bad, but Formula has been outstanding. Formulas are built like tanks. They can take a beating.
 
I have a friend that has a 34PC with a Hardtop - It is an absolutely gorgeous boat and I love it. But he also had to have major engine work under warranty.

The boats seem to be sized similar to the newer Sea Rays as his 34PC is smaller than my 2004 340SDA. It also seems that Formula likes using stern drives and I was done with Bravo 3s in saltwater and preferred the V-Drives for simplicity - then again I do most of my own maintenance and he has his yard do most of his. His Formula also has the joystick control which gives him nice docking control for stern drives.

-Kevin
 
I have a few buddies that have them, 400SS and 40PC. They seem like they're high quality to me. I however don't like the look of the PC models, they sit too high out of the water for my liking, kinda like the Rinker look. That's just my opinion of course. The 400SS is a killer boat and it flies. We looked into a 400ss before buying our 390.
 
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They are gorgeous boats that catch my eye every time I see one on the water or tied up at a dock.
I drool over them every year at the NY Boat show.
I’ve never been out on one, but have engaged a few owners in conversations. All seemed very happy with their boats. Several of the owners I’ve spoken to were former Sea Ray owners.
When I was shopping for my current boat I expanded the search to include Formulas but never got to look at any up close for two reasons:
1. There just aren’t that many used ones out there to choose from.
2. The few I saw in my price range had very dated interiors as compared to the Sea Rays for the same money. That probably wouldn’t be the case with the newer ones.
 
KevinC said:
I have a friend that has a 34PC with a Hardtop - It is an absolutely gorgeous boat and I love it. But he also had to have major engine work under warranty.

The boats seem to be sized similar to the newer Sea Rays as his 34PC is smaller than my 2004 340SDA. It also seems that Formula likes using stern drives and I was done with Bravo 3s in saltwater and preferred the V-Drives for simplicity - then again I do most of my own maintenance and he has his yard do most of his. His Formula also has the joystick control which gives him nice docking control for stern drives.

-Kevin
Click to expand...
Major engine work doesn't sound like a Formula issue. And it sounds like it was covered by warranty.
 
Correct, it was covered by Merc as an engine issue. But I would love to know what happened to have water intrusion on two basically new engines.

Outside that I love the boats looks, fit and finish.

-Kevin
 
I believe most Formula hulls and decks are made of better quality. Solid core design rather than balsa core.
 
Met a boater at our marina 5yrs ago that just purchased a new 400SS. Beautiful boat (traded his 37' formula which he loved). Twin diesels with outdrives and all the toys, this thing was really an outstanding boat.

A year later, the owner wasn't quite so happy. An engine oil leak meant pulling the engine to repair. Unfortunately the dealer's repair didn't hold and it soon began leaking again so it was pulled again and repaired again. Also, stress cracks began to develop in the shower floor as well as places surrounding the stern entry point. Apparently the dealer tried to say it was from too much use but the shower had never ever been used. Another disappointment was that the sunbrella top leaked whenever it rained and soaked the large cockpit/carpet and repeated trips to the dealer did not provide a fix.

After the dealer failed, he contacted Formula in Indiana to complain and the manufacturer actually picked up his boat in the fall, hauled it to Indiana and said all the issues would be taken care of properly at the factory. Wow.

Unfortunately, his expectations were dashed when he had the boat returned in the spring. The hairline crack repairs were made and a I believe a new top was provided BUT the boat (left uncovered on the trip back) was absolutely filthy with road grime including the cockpit. The owners are absolutely meticulous and were so upset that the boat was not delivered as clean as when it left. After fighting with Formula, they were compensated for their cleaning time but he was still steamed.

Since then, the cracks have reappeared, but they love the boat and actually had a factory hard top added to update the boat which looks like new. He wouldn't say how much the hard top was, but I'm thinking he may have re-approached Formula about the stress cracks again (he wanted them to buy the boat back and get a new one, but they said no) and settled on a new hardtop.

So... not perfect, but he is so impressed with the boat overall and was able to press the manufacturer to address his issues. Then again, he's the original owner and had a formula boat prior.
 
We all know that all manufactures have some issues at some point on a particular boat or two, it's a boat and things are bound to happen. What makes the buyer or owner of the boat a long time believer of the brand is how the manufacture handles their customer's issues.

I owned a Formula for 10 yrs and had first hand experience of how Formula backs up what they sell and stands behind their brand reputation. I was overwhelmed with their fantastic customer service and support they provided me when I had an issue with my Formula and bye the way I was not the original owner.

When it was time to move on to our next boat, it was very hard to go away from Formula but they did not have the size boat we desired and so we purchased our first Sea Ray. I believe both brands are have strengths and weaknesses. As it is always said "there is no perfect boat" it is a give and take with all boats.

JB
 
Thanks so much for all the responses and info. i'm doing lots of research for our next boat, and the Formula 45 Yacht is impressive. The thing that surprises me is that it's actually cheaper than the comparable Sea Ray. A 2015 Formula is cheaper than a 2013 Sea Ray 470, and all the forums i can find say that the Formula is actually higher quality, so wanted to check here too, to see what Sea Ray people thought. It says a lot to me that Sea Ray people think they are a quality product. The thing that is limiting our boat search is that we have narrowed down to wanting front and rear sunpads and that is a non-negotiable. we are on anchor at sandbars a lot and depending on the wind and where the sun is, sometimes we are on the bow, sometimes on the stern. we have gotten used to having both on our Venture. we are going to give the Sunseeker boats another look as well.
 
I went from SR to Formula last year, and posted this last October.

Right now, I'm definitely of the opinion that Formula is the better quality boat, but I'm hardly saying SR is rubbish.

The service from Formula is outstanding, and that counts for a lot.
 
I’m looking to upgrade from my 240da in the next year or so. I’ve been looking at other brands. But keep coming back to sea ray. I looked very closely at the 27pc and 31pc and although they are beautiful boats I much prefer the style and layout of the sea ray. I’ll probably end up getting a 290 sundancer.
 
IMO, the 27PC and 31PC aren’t even comparable. After just a moderately rough day on the gulf, the cabin floor of the 27 would be littered with screws that had fallen out.

The 31 on the other hand, was rock-solid. It handled and rode better and was more comfortable.
 
I just purchased an 01' 40PC last year, it is exactly what we were looking for as it had the walk through bow that we wanted and no comparable sized sea ray did. We looked at the 37 and 40 Expresses as well as the 400 sundancer. For the money we are happy. It has easily handled any weather we have been in (6-7' Waves on Lake Erie). A friend with a 320 Sundancer was skeptical at first, but after being on our boat for many rides admits that it handles well and may be higher quality than his beloved Sundancer. As for Formula Customer Service, they are second to none and have been fantastic each time we contacted them.
 
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