Not the whole moving from a Cruiser to a Sedan discussion again

Greg, Mike (boatingfool) has some good points. Therefore, have you thought about both a DA and a DB? Then you don't have to decide. Or there's Gary's suggestion above. Then you can take two PWCs with you. Gary can only take one.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Never will go back to a Dancer after our move to a Sedan Bridge...NEVER NEVER NEVER. There are three of us and even with guests there are always plenty of places to hang out...if not on our boat on others anchored up with us. We use our boat a ton (almost every weekend between the start of April through November with three week long trips) - you cannot pass up the living accomodations; view from the bridge when anchored/docked/running; the light and view from the salon on the hook or in a marina..our boat really fits our particular needs and that is what should drive your decision.
 
As a small boat owners view, I have looked at A LOT of big boats and something that you may want to consider is A/C area vs No A/C area.

Since your in Virgina sure you have hot days but it's not like down here in Florida, I think you would enjoy being outside more up there then down here so the Sundancer in my opinion offers more outside party room where a Bridge boat is going to offer more A/C enterainment area which is what we have been looking at for the next boat. Either a Searay Bridge boat or we even looked at Meridian's.
 
in 2004, i moved from a 26' cruiser to this boat. i hang with all cruiser owners (and two aft cabin guys). i can't keep up with cruisers on longer (4 hour) trips, but they are tied up and ready to catch my lines when i arrive 30 minutes later :thumbsup:). they all crowd into my boat when it rains or isnt so great outdoors. i've had more than 10 people comfortably seated and watching a movie in my salon on more than one occasion. they love my separate stall shower, separatized living spaces and two staterooms. in raft-ups, most people end up congregating in my cockpit and swim platform. they love the view from the helm and i have never found the fly bridge to be lonely place everyone makes it out to be. i DONT miss getting spray on my windshield (and in my face).

on the flip side, i wish i could get that extra 4 knots without cresting 38gph. i sometimes wish i didnt have a ladder and i wish i had a walk thru windshield during tricky docking and anchoring situations. i wish i didnt have all that extra fiberglass to wax every spring. i wish i had a boat with less superstructure when there's a 15 knot cross wind & i'm trying to dock or spin the boat. my friends dont envy my slower pace and my gas guzzling numbers.

i guess the grass is always greener elsewhere, but, i think all the woes i have experienced can be cured by a diesel powered bridge boat and i can say without hesitation that i have no regrets.
 
I asked the same question (DA vs DB) last year.
Every model has its advantages and disadvantages but I can tell you this. When the weather is great, nothing beats a DA. When the weather is crap, nothing beats a DB. I am a fair weather boater, so I enjoy the DA. The engine room is also alot more accessible and serviceable on a DB. So if you are a big guy a DB is a better fit. I like the way that Searay is doing their new models. Closed cockpit so you have more usable room upstairs.

I can only say that the style of an express cruiser outweigh the little advantages of the sedan bridge (but thats personal again). Good luck with your dilema.
 
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I've been on every boat known to man, well maybe not every single one, and i've come to one conclusion... I have to pick one cause that's all i can afford. When i outgrow that one or my needs change, I'll pick another. That's what's great about boats... You're not married to them till death do you part. It's not a wife, or a pet, or a kid... It's a BOAT. Besides a plane or a Lamborghini, it's the most self indulgent disposable income toy man ever created. If you're lucky enough to be able to buy and enjoy one, GREAT. Pick one and enjoy it till you don't. Then pick another.

I put too much butter on my popcorn and now it's soggy.
 
Great perspective, I would like to give you another green dot, but I cant. Love control.

Speaking of love, why do I only have 1 freaking green dot???

pass the popcorn
 
I don't know what good all these answers are going to do you since it is your use that determines which boat is best. I guess you are still building data points in your decision making process.

Bridge boats are not nearly as popular as express boats here and no one can give away an AC or MY........but, this is Florida where we all use our boats as day boats and spend as much time off the boats in the water or on the beach as on them. Having 2 levels serves no useful purpose.

I run a Viking convertible for a friend and in shallow water I love the bridge because I can read the water better.......for a long cruise in open water, I like the visibility but hate the added motion the bridge gives you. Try 12 hours on the bridge in 5-7 ft seas......you can't get off that thing fast enough when you tie it up and shut it down.
 
We have express cruisers, aft cabins, sedans and S/F's in our gang and they all have their strong and weak points as stated. All else being equal, nothing beats the interior space of an aft cabin (we have 3 kids, perfect for us). Aft cabins typically have 3 levels and stairs between each, not so good for some. Some sedans have ladders where most aft cabins have molded stairs, not an issue with cruisers (the flybridge ladder was a consideration for us). The in-slip dock level convenience of a sedan is somewhat less roomy than a cruiser but with added interior volume and light. Cruisers have great water level space but interior volume is less and some say feel cave like. Cruisers typically cruise at higher speeds and have less roll than the other higher CG boats and a lot less windage than a sedan or a/c. I would consider the follwing when making a decision

1. Your pals, what kind of boats do they have? For ease of crossing when in a raft up if raft ups are a major part of your boating experience. Same style boat makes crossing simpler/safer
2. Do you need to get there in a hurry or is the journey part of the good times equation? Cruisers typically gets you there faster if need be
3. Do you spend any time below? Aft cabins are roomy, sedans less roomy but with quite roomy and plenty of of light in the salon.
4. Are you in rough water? Cruisers are lower CG
5. Do you dock in a windy area? Cruisers have less windage
6. Your slip neighbours (if applicable), do you hang out and chit chat across boats? Same as point 1
7. If your answer to 2 is usually not in a hurry. the flybridge models offers the best view on the water and have better visibility (perspective) during docking
8. Do you like your boat to look like it's running at 30 kts while on the hook? Get a S/F (just kidding, love the looks of S/F's)

We love our aft cabin but once the kids are out, our next boat will likely be a 2 stateroom sedan with molded flybridge stairs
 
Our dilemma in choosing between the DA and DB boiled down to a few factors but essentially do we want the boat for ourselves (DA) or to bring a bunch of friends (DB)? Lots of good points have been made in this discussion and our next boat might in fact be a DB.

However we love the cockpit in our DA especially with the all-weather capability of the camper enclosure but you're always zipping canvas. EVERY BOAT IS A COMPROMISE.
 
All I know is Gary should be red balled for that huge damn floating trailer pic. Even I had to scroll over with a 32" monitor. I ain't doin it though, I only have one green ball to spare :grin: SB
 
Well.. at least my information is accurate. Some of the answers and comments here are horse poop... Rondds experience with speed has to do with the era of his boat. The modern DB's don't suffer that problem.

Also, putting an aft cabin boat/MY and a sedan bridge in the same bucket is way off track. Those boats are completely different as far as weight/balance and handle very differently.
 
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mrsrobinson said:
Note to self, Sea salt cannot read.....no sarcasm please, take it to another thread.
Click to expand...

Note yourself all you want. You'll probably just read the note and then post a question if it is the right note or if you should re-write another note with more questions.
 
fwebster said:
I don't know what good all these answers are going to do you since it is your use that determines which boat is best. I guess you are still building data points in your decision making process.

Bridge boats are not nearly as popular as express boats here and no one can give away an AC or MY........but, this is Florida where we all use our boats as day boats and spend as much time off the boats in the water or on the beach as on them. Having 2 levels serves no useful purpose.

I run a Viking convertible for a friend and in shallow water I love the bridge because I can read the water better.......for a long cruise in open water, I like the visibility but hate the added motion the bridge gives you. Try 12 hours on the bridge in 5-7 ft seas......you can't get off that thing fast enough when you tie it up and shut it down.
Click to expand...

I am not opinion shopping. Just trying to think of all the pros and cons and then see where we fit.

For one, I never thought about the weather comments, and they are true now that I think back to our experiences.

What sticks with me with the 396 Carver we looked at this winter is how much we loved it. We came close to making an offer. Now that it's warmer outside we look at it as a nice boat, but what about the outdoor space?

In addition, a boating bud of ours just purchased a sedan bridge and we have been out for a cruise on it. We love the bridge. Cool breezes, great views. And the outdoor space is decent enough. So we are now thinking about a SB again.

The Mrs's father owns a 2003 Sea Ray AC. We love the bridge but we are not fans of the aft deck being so high up and away from the dock.
 
sea salt said:
Note yourself all you want. You'll probably just read the note and then post a question if it is the right note or if you should re-write another note with more questions.
Click to expand...

And then there's the question about which notepaper to use...
 
jg300da said:
And then there's the question about which notepaper to use...
Click to expand...

As long as you guys are enjoying yourself, have at it. Why not just start a new post called "All sarcasm here" and play with it all day/week/month/year.

It's frustrating opening your email, you see replies to your post, you go to read them and it's someone being sarcastic\making fun or 2-3 folks arguing over something not related to the original post.

IMHO it's rude, selfish and somewhat child like, take it somewhere else. In this case I specifically asked for no sarcasm but for some unknown reason you could not resist. My guess is you are sick of my posts...then don't read them, or better yet, share your thoughts with me offline and not in a public forum.

There was a post the other day where the author mispelled a word. Not one person offered him help, but more than one jumped on the opportunity to bust on him for mispelling. Yeah, it's funny but sometimes folks just want replies specific to the post/title and don't want all the crap that comes with it.
 
Well, please forgive me for trying to answer your question. Perhaps learning from other members experiences or why they like or don't like DA's or bridge boats isn't really what you asked about and isn't important to you.

And, Gary, the original post did put them in the same bucket by asking about AC's in addition to DB's. I would also beg to differ with your conclusion that Ron's speed and economy issues are indicative of his boat's era. I think it has more to do with Sea Ray's long standing problem with smaller Sedan Bridge boats than when a boat was produced. New 36DB's suffer from the same malady, as did the mid 90's 370DB.........even the 400DB is slow (when compared to a comparable Sundancer) and needs a lot of power to stay up on the water.
 
fwebster said:
Well, please forgive me for trying to answer your question. Perhaps learning from other members experiences or why they like or don't like DA's or bridge boats isn't really what you asked about and isn't important to you.

And, Gary, the original post did put them in the same bucket by asking about AC's in addition to DB's. I would also beg to differ with your conclusion that Ron's speed and economy issues are indicative of his boat's era. I think it has more to do with Sea Ray's long standing problem with smaller Sedan Bridge boats than when a boat was produced. New 36DB's suffer from the same malady, as did the mid 90's 370DB.........even the 400DB is slow (when compared to a comparable Sundancer) and needs a lot of power to stay up on the water.
Click to expand...

" Well, please forgive me for trying to answer your question. Perhaps learning from other members experiences or why they like or don't like DA's or bridge boats isn't really what you asked about and isn't important to you."

Not following you on this reply. Not sure if one of my replies to you came across as sarcastic, it was not meant to.
 
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