New Owner (hopefully)

Eric - just throwing this out at you. I have absolutely ZERO to gain from this and I do not know Mike in any other way than through this forum. But, it's a little bigger, less money and closer to you. If nothing else, it's always fun to look at boats! http://clubsearay.com/showthread.ph...er-4-3-s-Alpha-Gen-II-s-with-optional-trailer

If this is still available Eric, I would be looking at this. Learning on twins is much easier than a single. Having the 260 as a starter boat is ok but like most of us sick boaters you will probably get the "foot-itis" disease quickly. Your statement of not losing too much on the 260 is wishful thinking. You should plan on losing a bunch so you won't be too disappointed.

You always want to buy as much boat as you can afford, tow, etc. Good luck.
 
You're absolutely right about the "environment", Eric. PWM is a good place - you'll like it. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Eric,
Good luck with the purchase. BUT, if it does not work out, please let me know. I am just a few miles down the road from you, and I think you will be much happier on the Potomac in a 280, over a 260. If you are planning on overnighting on the hook, you will be kicking yourself for not having a penny. (Ask me how I know!) Plus, twins (new) and a trailer, for $40k!

<Sorry, just saw the 260 had a jenny, I did not know they would put that in a 260, with a 350.>
Mike
 
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Eric,
Good luck with the purchase. BUT, if it does not work out, please let me know. I am just a few miles down the road from you, and I think you will be much happier on the Potomac in a 280, over a 260. If you are planning on overnighting on the hook, you will be kicking yourself for not having a penny. (Ask me how I know!) Plus, twins (new) and a trailer, for $40k!

<Sorry, just saw the 260 had a jenny, I did not know they would put that in a 260, with a 350.>
Mike

Mike I will keep you in mind should this deal not come together correctly.
 
Had my 260, with gen and trailer, for 6 months now...wish it was 2 feet longer....I really wish it was 10 feet longer! The one thing I wish we had was a little bit more cabin space. Not sure how much more there is in the 280. Being 6'3", the 260 aft cabin does not work. The V birth is OK, but another few inches of shoulder room and length would be perfect. All in all, we love it and you will to! Best wishes and enjoy the "hunt."

Bennett
 
If this is still available Eric, I would be looking at this. Learning on twins is much easier than a single. Having the 260 as a starter boat is ok but like most of us sick boaters you will probably get the "foot-itis" disease quickly. Your statement of not losing too much on the 260 is wishful thinking. You should plan on losing a bunch so you won't be too disappointed.

You always want to buy as much boat as you can afford, tow, etc. Good luck.

The above is dead on. Buy your second boat first, if possible.
 
I agree, you may want to step aboard a 280. You may not think it, but its a huge difference.
 
It sounds like Eric has made up his mind regardless of any input from us amateur experts that have been doing this for many collective years. This happens so often; a newbie to the site and boating comes on, posts several questions about a particular boat and when given really sound advice regarding price, value, size, resale, etc. they ignore it and plunge blissfully onward.

Oh well.... Best of luck, Eric.
 
Sorry for the delay in response. I have been on the 280s. I do feel there is a big difference in stability. That being said there are certain requirements and preferences that I set out to meet. As this is my first boat I wanted to stick with a single engine until I had a full grasp of the maintenance required and can perform it on my own. This is a weekender boat for 2 with occasional friends on board and it must be able to be single handed by either my wife or myself. Due to my lack of knowledge on costs with regard to equipment failure I prefer (but it is not a deal breaker) that I be able to get a warranty on systems. This is a learning boat and I only intend to hold it for approximately 2 years. I have heeded the advise of buy your second boat first but the second boat is either going to be a 36-41ft ACMY or a 38-44 Sailing Cat. These are what we are interested in when we decide to full time live aboard.

NorCal I have taken all of the advice provided under consideration. Some has pointed toward the 260 and some has pointed to a larger boat. Because I haven't gone the way you think I should be going doesn't mean I have "ignored it and plunged blissfully onward". I have been in touch with themikehyde about his 280. I am learning a lot here and am sure to see some of you out on the waterways of the DCMDVA area.

Thank you for your input.
 
Eric,
I think the membership is just trying to be helpful. Personally, I have done bay trips in a 21, 23, 25 and the 280. The 280 is about as small as I want to cruise the bay and lower Potomac in. Maybe I am just getting older, but I don't like getting beat up as much anymore. That being said, anything that is a good bay cruising boat, is not easily trailerable and is better slipped. I trailered my 25, and had the ramp process pretty orchestrated. I will say, that a bad ramp day, pretty much can ruin a boating weekend. Slipping does have it's advantages, and obviously it's disadvantages. Luckily, slips are very reasonable where I am, and having a trailer to be able to pull out once a season for a quick wash, and drive fluid change, makes it nice.

Whatever you decide, I hope you give me a shout when you are down my way!. BTW - We have a great Tiki-Bar at Colonial Beach now!
Mike
 
Eric,
I think the membership is just trying to be helpful. Personally, I have done bay trips in a 21, 23, 25 and the 280. The 280 is about as small as I want to cruise the bay and lower Potomac in. Maybe I am just getting older, but I don't like getting beat up as much anymore. That being said, anything that is a good bay cruising boat, is not easily trailerable and is better slipped. I trailered my 25, and had the ramp process pretty orchestrated. I will say, that a bad ramp day, pretty much can ruin a boating weekend. Slipping does have it's advantages, and obviously it's disadvantages. Luckily, slips are very reasonable where I am, and having a trailer to be able to pull out once a season for a quick wash, and drive fluid change, makes it nice.

Whatever you decide, I hope you give me a shout when you are down my way!. BTW - We have a great Tiki-Bar at Colonial Beach now!
Mike

I did hear something about colonial beach being a good stop. It seems there are a lot of hidden gems not too far from Occaquan to check out. I will certainly ping you and I'm the type that is always up for something on short notice.
 
Any day on a boat, any size is a good day. the financial aspect is the critical part. If you decide you like this boating stuff, you can always go larger later. A key point, the people on this board are hard core boat lovers and are not a Representation of the general boating public. Many folks don't use their boat often, find the time commitment and expense excessive, and bail within a few years, at least here in SoCal.

My my wife and I saved for over 20 years to do the boating thing, after I had been out of it since the late 80's. Getting back in was one of the best things I ever did and I am grateful for every day out there.

Bottom line, if you find you are as a boat crazy as us, and want more space, get a bigger one down the road.It's all good.
 
Sorry for the delay in response. I have been on the 280s. I do feel there is a big difference in stability. That being said there are certain requirements and preferences that I set out to meet. As this is my first boat I wanted to stick with a single engine until I had a full grasp of the maintenance required and can perform it on my own. This is a weekender boat for 2 with occasional friends on board and it must be able to be single handed by either my wife or myself. Due to my lack of knowledge on costs with regard to equipment failure I prefer (but it is not a deal breaker) that I be able to get a warranty on systems. This is a learning boat and I only intend to hold it for approximately 2 years. I have heeded the advise of buy your second boat first but the second boat is either going to be a 36-41ft ACMY or a 38-44 Sailing Cat. These are what we are interested in when we decide to full time live aboard.

NorCal I have taken all of the advice provided under consideration. Some has pointed toward the 260 and some has pointed to a larger boat. Because I haven't gone the way you think I should be going doesn't mean I have "ignored it and plunged blissfully onward". I have been in touch with themikehyde about his 280. I am learning a lot here and am sure to see some of you out on the waterways of the DCMDVA area.

Thank you for your input.

Eric, thanks for the well thought out response. I apologize for lumping with the general newbies. You have obviously done your homework. For those of us that have been on this forum for a while and boating for a while (50 years for me) it gets a bit disheartening when someone comes on, asks for advice and then pays no attention. My one take-away here is what you said you were going to pay for your 260 when others are telling you that price is way too high. That is a very common mistake made by new boaters that do the impulse buy. And I'm not suggesting that is you. As I said, you seem to have done your homework....somewhat.

The used boat market is truly a buyers market and for every boat you don't get there are 5-10 others that are better and cheaper. With my last purchase I offered the seller $15,000 less than his asking price thinking he'd negotiate....he accepted the offer and then came up with all $21,000 worth of survey issues and we threw in everything. My point is, don't be willing to throw money away. You'll have plenty of chances to do that after you own a boat.

For the record....I operate my 52' boat alone often and I promise you it's easier to handle that that 26'.

Good luck with everything and I hope we see more of you on the forum.

Shawn
 
Shawn,

I fully intend to position myself in this deal to my advantage. I've made sure that my wife understands that there is still a significant possibility that we will walk away from this boat if the numbers don't line up where they need to be. While I really like the atmosphere at PW Marina I'm certainly not going to let that lock me into a deal that puts me upside down on such a volatile asset. Even though I have a deposit down on this boat with contingencies (favorable survey) I am still looking at other options as the market constantly has new supply coming in. Just like in flying I will take all of the information I can get and weigh it accordingly. However in the end I'm the one responsible for making the decision and will have to live with the consequences. That being said I have found several pearls in your post. Thanks for that.
 
Eric

Good luck with the survey and the deal. Brandy, who handles all of PWMs closings, is really helpful when it comes to helping you with your registration, asking questions, etc.

If if you end up with the boat let us know if you venture up to DC! Just a reminder you must have proof taking a USCG approved safety course if you boat in DC waters. That is the entire Potomac north of the Wilson Bridge. Boardings are common. (VA will require this as well, but it's still being phased in)

Also, take PWMs free maintenance class. It's very helpful and they will go over everything.
 

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