- Oct 4, 2006
- 2,335
- Boat Info
- 2003 280DA and 1995 Sea Ray 175
- Engines
- Twin 4.3l and 3.0l, all w/ AlphaI GenII drives
So I visited the Annapolis in-water boat show this past Saturday. It was my first time to a boat show. Beautiful day. Having an in-water show was pretty cool, and I'm assuming is where they dealers show off their larger boats, since there were not many of the size and style we went wanting to check out. I wanted to see the bowriders and smaller cruisers in person. Specifically the 240 Sundeck, 250SLX and 240 Sundancer.
The Sea Ray dealer at the show had a 260 Sundeck (smallest of their selections, with the 496HO engine), and a 260 Sundancer.
After viewing a couple other bowriders and then moving onto the cruisers, my wife and I were both sold on the notion of an express cruiser with the mid-berths. Just seem to make so much sense over a cuddy for not much more $$$. And for similiar reasons, the 26' length seemed to be where the best bang was compared to 24'.
I must say, we were both disappointed in the 260 Sundancer's cabin. I *really* wanted to love the SeaRay. I feel a good amount of brand loyalty. I love my current little boat and I know the quality is there. We ended up with the top three being the Larson, Maxum and SeaRay, all at 26'.
The SeaRay's look great on the exterior. But the mid-berth is the worst of all we looked at. Not much room or headspace and the shape of the berth and stairs give privacy to be had there. And the cost was around 30-40% more than the others.
We rated the Larson Cabrio 260 the best of the bunch. Great cockpit and cabin layout. Huge amount of room in the mid-berth. Nice large area in the engine compartment. Great looks overall. And at a cost we think we can afford (with some minor lifestyle changes), someday. :wink: with heat/air, radar arch, etc. I had never heard of Larson boats previous to the show.
We also liked the Maxum 2600SE. Very simliar to the Larson. I actually like the cockpit layout a bit better, had a nice double helm seat the swivelled 90 degrees. But it has only one engine choice that would seem to be underpowered for me. And it only looked good with a colored hull.
Anyway, anyone have thoughts on these brands, and other thoughts on the fall boat shows in general? Anyone else visit the Annapolis show?
One question we came away with was, what do people do with this size of boat?! I assume we could cruise the Chesapeake Bay anywhere we wanted in a variety of non-stormy conditions. What about even bigger water? What can this boat handle? That's not something they put in specs...
It was a good time! And hey, we made it out without buying anything!!
The Sea Ray dealer at the show had a 260 Sundeck (smallest of their selections, with the 496HO engine), and a 260 Sundancer.
After viewing a couple other bowriders and then moving onto the cruisers, my wife and I were both sold on the notion of an express cruiser with the mid-berths. Just seem to make so much sense over a cuddy for not much more $$$. And for similiar reasons, the 26' length seemed to be where the best bang was compared to 24'.
I must say, we were both disappointed in the 260 Sundancer's cabin. I *really* wanted to love the SeaRay. I feel a good amount of brand loyalty. I love my current little boat and I know the quality is there. We ended up with the top three being the Larson, Maxum and SeaRay, all at 26'.
The SeaRay's look great on the exterior. But the mid-berth is the worst of all we looked at. Not much room or headspace and the shape of the berth and stairs give privacy to be had there. And the cost was around 30-40% more than the others.
We rated the Larson Cabrio 260 the best of the bunch. Great cockpit and cabin layout. Huge amount of room in the mid-berth. Nice large area in the engine compartment. Great looks overall. And at a cost we think we can afford (with some minor lifestyle changes), someday. :wink: with heat/air, radar arch, etc. I had never heard of Larson boats previous to the show.
We also liked the Maxum 2600SE. Very simliar to the Larson. I actually like the cockpit layout a bit better, had a nice double helm seat the swivelled 90 degrees. But it has only one engine choice that would seem to be underpowered for me. And it only looked good with a colored hull.
Anyway, anyone have thoughts on these brands, and other thoughts on the fall boat shows in general? Anyone else visit the Annapolis show?
One question we came away with was, what do people do with this size of boat?! I assume we could cruise the Chesapeake Bay anywhere we wanted in a variety of non-stormy conditions. What about even bigger water? What can this boat handle? That's not something they put in specs...
It was a good time! And hey, we made it out without buying anything!!