Please help with weekender question?

H

Heracles

Member
Jun 20, 2010
83
PA
Boat Info
Aspiring 260 or 280 owner
Engines
5.7L. 6.2, 8.1, or no care!
Hey guys

So my wife, daughter and I love spending weekends to the shore, we spend so much money on hotels, and honestly I’m always on beach looking at the boaters go by and miss that when my dad took us when we were little on his

Would staying on a 280 be more comfortable than a 260 over a weekend? I was leaning to a 2015 260 but for same money seems you can get a nice low hour 2010 280 with a single engine too (which I want for less maint cost)

been looking at this 280 but has no generator not that it’s a big deal

wondering do you guys ever stay on the boat in the marina over the weekend and use that as your “summer house”?


https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2010/sea-ray-280-sundancer-3570597/
 
We had an 05 260 for about 6 years. 2 of us and black lab. Before the dog we’d stay on her during weekend jaunts and a week here and there. Doable but challenging moving stuff around all the time. The aft “crawl” (Our storage spot) was a PIA to crawl in and out of. The boat performed well with just us aboard but was a slug with gear, liquids and another couple aboard. A 280 isn’t bigger enough IMO and with one engine might be too sluggish. I looked at one a coupla years ago that was pristine for sale but shred away because the added space over the 260 wasn’t much.

We bought a 310 with twin Mag 350s and couldn’t be happier.
 
We had a 250 and did fine sleeping on the boat, even with 2 kids in the crawl space. It had a 7.4L engine, no A/C, no generator, just a small fridge.

We were happy. That said, the 280 will be a big improvement for you. I wouldn't hesitate to choose the 280 over the 260.

Good luck to you. Either is a good boat.

The costs of any boat do add up, though.

Forgot to add that, like JimG, we were on the boat all weekend long, every weekend.
 
Last edited:
Mine is definitely a summer home! We are on it every weekend!

Buy your second boat first!
 
Don't be afraid of twin engines, very rarely do both fail you out on the water. Twins will give the power for all the gear. If it was me I'd go for the bigger boat.

Bigger is better. If you can find a 34EC and you don't mine a older classic. It is cavernous inside. A 40EC is a hotel suite inside. It's beam seems to give you a ton of space. It's all in what you want from your boat.
 
Thanks I’m just really torn over a newer 2016 or a 7 year older 280??

and I keep taking notes but the biggest boat you can afford because you always want to move up.

so does the idea of staying on boat for a
Short weekend get away make sense and is more fun vs spending 300
A Night at a hotel and sitting on the beach ?
 
Go older and bigger! Imagine what you could get if you push into the late 90's or early 2000's. It seems like you're already outside of a trailerable size at a 280...so if you're staying in the water, you might as well displace as much water as possible :)

This may have already been said but you should go out and get on a couple of these boats. Walk around a 260, 280 and even an older 310/330. If you think you're going to use the boat "a lot" the bigger size can be life changing. It's hard to get a sense for what beam can do on these boats from photos alone.

I also tend to agree with the comment above about twins. If you DIY your maintenance the extra cost of the second engine is maybe a couple hundred in a typical year? The added control when docking and security (redundancy) when out and about is priceless. Fuel consumption should be nearly the same.

Good luck in your search!
 
Let me ask this and please it's not to be prying.

When I bought my 30WE I wanted a SeaRay. It's always been on my dream wish. Capt Rusty might smile a little but I wanted SeaRay, not Brunswick. My old girl is a tank in the water. The point of all this, I paid less than $20,000 for her.

What are you planning to spend? Again you don't have to answer it's just a question. You can buy a very nice older boat and get the interior space you'd really love.
 
Heracles said:
Thanks I’m just really torn over a newer 2016 or a 7 year older 280??

and I keep taking notes but the biggest boat you can afford because you always want to move up.

so does the idea of staying on boat for a
Short weekend get away make sense and is more fun vs spending 300
A Night at a hotel and sitting on the beach ?
Click to expand...
How do you plan on spending your weekends on the boat? Sitting in the marina or out cruising and putting a bunch of miles on? When my family and I go out for the weekend we put 100+ miles on. The only thing we really use the cabin for is sleeping. So a smaller boat works for us.
 
In my opinion, going older means more maintenance and back-end expense. Going newer means more up-front expense, perhaps less in bringing the boat up to reliable operating condition. The newer boats are more stylish, also in my opinion.

Twin engines gives you backup, but also means more maintenance expense. Twins are easier to work with at low speeds -- they track straighter. Easier to dock. Less space to move around in the engine room with twins, of course.

Be certain to have the trailer checked out. Most trailers in my experience need new tires right away, and likely brake work.
 
it has the 8.1 seems to be optioned nice except doesnt have the teak floors i love. Would you guys go with a 2015 260 or this (older 2010 280).

Sometims i think why waste money but honestly we live so below our means, modest home, and we spend alot of money on vacations and going to the shore points every weekend.

I was thinking about making the purchase, getting it delivered at a marina in LBI NJ where my wife loves going on the weekends. She always jokes she want a summer house, i would then go for a weekend and say lets go to this marina and check it out, and walk up to the boat and surprose her and our daughter lol..

I feel so lost though, im trying to review marinas as i would want to be at a nice family friendly one, we would cruise and just stay on water. i think woud be so fun.
 
If the two boats under consideration are both ocean boats, I’d go with the newer one. Teak is attractive but requires attention. FWC is a desirable item also.
As I said earlier in the thread, the 280 isn’t a big improvement over the 260.
 
Lots of pro's and con's to consider. Always consider TOTAL ownership cost vs. amount you will use the boat. Total includes marina cost, repairs, "upgrades", fuel etc. Its more than you think (and more than most of us want to think or admit). Also think about how much you will be able to use the boat. Staying on a boat at a marina is OK, but you will want to go somewhere, not just stay on the boat. So that brings weather limits on time/enjoyment. Not all weekends are boater friendly weather wise. So when you factor in "usable" weekends, the cost per weekend increases a lot. Then once the kids have summer activities/friends that keep them at home, you lose a lot of other weekends too.

That said, I love having the boat even though the cost per hour of actual use is pretty high (4-5 month season up here). And it was definitely worth it when the kids were young. We had some great times.

Bigger is definitely better. I started weekend stay-aboard with a Campion 245. Pretty roomy for a 25ft-er. With two younger kids and my wife and I it was just barely big enough. On nice days when you can anchor or get to a beach it was great. If a day was rainy or cold, the boat seemed very small pretty quickly. My current 330 would have been perfect, but didn't have the budget in the earlier days.

Friends of ours were debating getting a boat vs a cottage. We offered to have them come up to stay on our boat for a weekend. We have a cottage too, so we set them up on the boat Friday night at the marina, then took them out for the day Saturday and let them stay on it overnight by themselves to get a feel for it. We shared our all-in cost of ownership and they decided it was not for them. Maybe you could find a place that rents small cruisers and try it out for a weekend? Or maybe someone you know would let you use theirs?
 
Surprising your wife with a boat is an interesting idea. It may work for you. It certainly would not work for me.
 
I would just jump into either knowing that this boating thing is either going to be loved or hated. If loved you will most likely purchase another boat in 2-3 years because you've had a chance to know what you really want and if hated she will be sold in 2-3 years..
 
Heracles said:
it has the 8.1 seems to be optioned nice except doesnt have the teak floors i love. Would you guys go with a 2015 260 or this (older 2010 280).

Sometims i think why waste money but honestly we live so below our means, modest home, and we spend alot of money on vacations and going to the shore points every weekend.

I was thinking about making the purchase, getting it delivered at a marina in LBI NJ where my wife loves going on the weekends. She always jokes she want a summer house, i would then go for a weekend and say lets go to this marina and check it out, and walk up to the boat and surprose her and our daughter lol..

I feel so lost though, im trying to review marinas as i would want to be at a nice family friendly one, we would cruise and just stay on water. i think woud be so fun.
Click to expand...
If you went with a 2007-2009 280, you would not only save money, but also gain size... in 2010 Sea Ray basically shifted all cruiser model numbers... for example, the 2009 280 became the 2010 310. In other words, the 2009 280 is 31' long, where the 2010 280 is 28' long. My 2007 310 at 33' is the same boat as the 2010 330.
 
Here is our story and something for you to really consider:

The wife and I started staying on our 1997 221v Starcraft Islander in the late 90's (I ordered this boat new as a fishing rig). Very little conveniences other than an uncomfortable bunk and fridge that I ran a cord to to keep beverages cold. That boat was a salmon fishing rig that doubled as a very small RV for checking out cool marinas around Michigan. At that point, we found out we loved the marina life and the flexibility to check out different marinas around the state. We moved up to a 268 in 2010 that slept our 3 kids and us comfortably with a few more conveniences and room. While we owned the 268 (9 years), we figured out the marina life is definitely for us and carefully thought about our next purchase weighing every option imaginable. After checking out lots of different boat options, we started searching hard for a 1997 or newer 290DA and hunted for one with good bones and a trailer. After 2 years of seriously looking, we finally found "the one" and bought it last June (2019). The wife and I just love this boat. It's a 1998 with a single 7.4ltr motor, AC/Heat on a nice tri-axle trailer. She needed a lot of TLC and a few maintenance items which are now mostly worked out. I do pretty much ALL of my own maintenance.

My point in all this is, don't be afraid to start on the smaller side to get a feel for what you like and want to do. Starting small is not a bad thing. If I would have started "out of the gate" with this 290, I would have gotten burned out quick. It is a lot of boat. She's heavy with lots of systems that require attention. Starting small, we figured out what we wanted, found some awesome marina's along the way and grew into the boating life. We are comfortable with boating and staying in marinas. We have lots of boat friends/families and best yet, we are still mobile (trailer) and are in control of our own destiny. My boat stays on the trailer in my barn when not in use, storage is free and I do not need to own or rent a long term slip if I don't want to. If money gets a little tight (welcome corona virus), the boat can sit on the trailer and it costs me almost nothing.

Think about what I said above and really consider what you want to do. A smaller boat is very saleable when you decide to move up and if you bought it right, you won't loose money on the deal. Best yet, it won't be daunting and will give you a sense of what you want to do down the road. Every one of our boat friends started out with 22-24fters...every one of them! Some are now in 38 ftr's some are still in 25 ftr's and happy as heck!
 
We have had a boat since 1984. Our first weekender, bought in 2004, was a Maxum 2700 (LOA 27') and barely trailer-able. After saving and viewing many brands and sizes, we decided the SR 340 in the 05-07 range was what we wanted. We were able to spend a weekend at a marina on a 340 to get the feel of a boat in that size bracket. Took us 3 years to make that decision. It is all dependent on what suites your needs. I wasn't thrilled with the extra maintenance of twins although I liked the security of 2 engines when traveling. Our 2700 did not have a genny, and after having one would not have a boat we stayed on the hook without one.
We had looked at the 320 (LOA 35') and 340 (LOA 37.5') and the slight 6" difference in the beam made a world of difference and certainly influenced our decision. We boat bout every weekend, sometimes staying on the hook and others at marinas. Another influence to go bigger was the extra storage, genny, forward birth (no setup and takedown every night), ability to handle bad weather (mainly wind and waves) if need be. We boat with my two brother in laws and their families. One has a 320 and the other a 290 (Chaparel). The one with the 320 has a 8 and 10 yo and the other has empty nest. They both are very satisfied with the sizes of their boats and both also have twin engines and genny's. It is all about what works best for your boating needs. Best of luck and most definitely shop around - there are lots to choose from.
 
I used to keep my boat, a Four Winns 268, at Chadwick Island Marina on Barnagat Bay. It was our summer home, even though my in laws had a couple of houses in Lavalette. We stayed there every weekend with a family of five. Showers, room for a picnic table, electric, and water hook up. Very well protected water, no waves at all. Some nice neighbors, too.
 
JimG said:
If you went with a 2007-2009 280, you would not only save money, but also gain size... in 2010 Sea Ray basically shifted all cruiser model numbers... for example, the 2009 280 became the 2010 310. In other words, the 2009 280 is 31' long, where the 2010 280 is 28' long. My 2007 310 at 33' is the same boat as the 2010 330.
Click to expand...
That’s insane - i so don’t want the maintenance of double motors though

my dad was avid boater we had so much fun going off of Long Island ... he said when other guys were buying new coverttes I bought a boat and we had fun memories he was so right
 
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