Just looking!
- Thread starter Matt R
- Start date
Shining
New Member
Welcome aboard Matt. Good luck in your search.
You won't be disappointed with a Sea Ray. :grin:
You won't be disappointed with a Sea Ray. :grin:
Skip
Well-Known Member
- Oct 5, 2006
- 1,085
- Boat Info
- 07 58 DB
Truly Blessed IV
2010 Nautica 12' RIB, 40HP Yamaha
- Engines
- MAN CRM 900s
Matt,
I owned a 2002 260DA with the 6.2L/BIII Package and found it to be a great family cruiser. Shortly after we bought it I became very ill with a disease called tenfootitis. So the 260 gave way to a 320, which gave way to the current 420DA with Cummins Power.
We looked at both the 240 and 260. The 260 was a better fit for us.
One thought, from a guy who kept his first two Sea Rays (260DA, 320DA) an average of 9 months each (but now in season three with the 420DA).
-Buy the most boat you can comfortably afford, appropriate to your intended usage now and in the future. (i.e. how you think you and your family might use the boat in 3-5 years-and remember, you are guaranteed to make new boating friends who will want to join you aboard)
As a good friend of mine says, buy the most boat you can get your wallet around.
-Buy the most motor you can. You never hear guys say "Dang it, my boat just has too much power" but you often read, on this website and others, folks lamenting the fact that their boat is marginally powered.
A final thought. Some folks will only shop for new boats. More power to them-they get full warranty and (in theory, anyway) a dealer who is going to bend over backwards to make that new boat run perfectly.
But I am a used boat buyer.
Every one of my Sea Rays has been 2-3 years old. The new boat buyer gets to enjoy the depreciation hit, de-bug the new boat, etc. With proper due diligence (hull survey, mechanical survey, sea trial) you can get a whole lot of used boat for the money-with residual transferable warranty in many cases--
And in the current economic downturn, there are deals to be had.
My .02. Good luck.
Skip
I owned a 2002 260DA with the 6.2L/BIII Package and found it to be a great family cruiser. Shortly after we bought it I became very ill with a disease called tenfootitis. So the 260 gave way to a 320, which gave way to the current 420DA with Cummins Power.
We looked at both the 240 and 260. The 260 was a better fit for us.
One thought, from a guy who kept his first two Sea Rays (260DA, 320DA) an average of 9 months each (but now in season three with the 420DA).
-Buy the most boat you can comfortably afford, appropriate to your intended usage now and in the future. (i.e. how you think you and your family might use the boat in 3-5 years-and remember, you are guaranteed to make new boating friends who will want to join you aboard)
As a good friend of mine says, buy the most boat you can get your wallet around.
-Buy the most motor you can. You never hear guys say "Dang it, my boat just has too much power" but you often read, on this website and others, folks lamenting the fact that their boat is marginally powered.
A final thought. Some folks will only shop for new boats. More power to them-they get full warranty and (in theory, anyway) a dealer who is going to bend over backwards to make that new boat run perfectly.
But I am a used boat buyer.
Every one of my Sea Rays has been 2-3 years old. The new boat buyer gets to enjoy the depreciation hit, de-bug the new boat, etc. With proper due diligence (hull survey, mechanical survey, sea trial) you can get a whole lot of used boat for the money-with residual transferable warranty in many cases--
And in the current economic downturn, there are deals to be had.
My .02. Good luck.
Skip
