requesting 50ish feet flybridge info

ZZ13 said:
That's great that you have had no issues since you bought at the 15 year old mark. Does the boat still have the factory installed TVs, stereos, speakers, a/c units, refrigerators, microwaves, duckbills, bowl seals, bellows, sea water pumps, trans oil coolers, aftercoolers, shaft seals, fresh water pumps, battery chargers, nav systems, alarm systems, etc?
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Yes, it does have all of those. Oh, wait, I did change out a bowl seal, but that myself. Everything else if original equipment and working fine. I feel very luck to have had such good fortune with this boat.

The way I figure, if I do need to change out something I'll still be money ahead over buying a boat that was, say, 10 years newer. The price difference between my boat and one 10 years newer would have been huge, and that difference is still sitting in my investment accounts earning interest and growing at a reasonable rate.
 
Yes, we bought it. It's now called O Sea D. Very happy with it. Love the layout.
Charlesoceanone said:
J98052 you must have bought Boiling Oil. That looked like a great boat. I was still a few months from being ready to pull trigger on a 52 when that came up. Looked liked beautiful boat. I'm looking at 52 this weekend and hoping it's as advertised. I also like the 08 and newer design. We have been looking at 54 Sundancer and love the ride but can't get away from the space the 52 provides. We don't have lake house or condo so must have livability.
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We seriously looked at the Prestige, as we loved the layout, but decided not to risk it. My thoughts:

1. The hull is not as robust as SeaRay, and we heard from our trucking company that they have had trouble loading Prestiges, and having the hulls crack.
2. The fit & finish was not great, and we started calling them "Ikea Boats"
3. It's French. Not the best reputation for complex mechanical devices.
4. We really like SeaRay.
5. Community - Tons and tons of SeaRays here (50% of the boats in our marina are SeaRay), only seen 1 Prestige. No Prestige user forum!

One interesting data point --- I'm sure a debate will ensure -- at the time, 2 years ago, the Prestige 550 Fly weighed about 30k pounds, whereas the 520 sedan bridge weights about 50k pounds. I know the pod drives save some weight, and the big QSM 11s weigh more, but that's a big difference. We get some pretty heavy currents and wind waves in the northwest, and were concerned about the light weight being thrown around.


Richie89 said:
anyone have any knowledge or experience with Prestige boats? They are a French boat and look awesome with a unique layout. the 500 flybridge is very interesting.
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Sold thru brokers in the US.

Find a Prestige dealer and see if you can find his parts department or manager…… see if you can count his technicians. About all you will find are a couple of broker/sales types and a phone answerer. Then, compare that to your local Sea Ray dealer. Like them or not, you do have a parts resource and a human to talk to when you have a serious problem. If all else fails, you can talk to someone where your boat was made to get vendors, part numbers etc. Not likely with a Prestige.

To each his own, but if I'm going to spend big money for a boat, I want something besides a salesman making promises behind the product.
 
thanks for the continued good info. support is very important to me. i bought my current boat in MD from a good dealer, but immediately taking boat to GA, then to FL, has proven to not be the best situation as dealer has offered help at times in need, but obviously isn't realistic. now in Miami, for sure, i'm only going to buy a boat where there is excellent after the sale support. down here, i see a ton of Prestige, Azimut and Sea Ray boats. those 3 are probably the most popular in the 50 fly category. in my research also, i am liking the pods, Zeus and IPS.
 
fwebster said:
Sold thru brokers in the US.

Find a Prestige dealer and see if you can find his parts department or manager…… see if you can count his technicians. About all you will find are a couple of broker/sales types and a phone answerer. Then, compare that to your local Sea Ray dealer. Like them or not, you do have a parts resource and a human to talk to when you have a serious problem. If all else fails, you can talk to someone where your boat was made to get vendors, part numbers etc. Not likely with a Prestige.

To each his own, but if I'm going to spend big money for a boat, I want something besides a salesman making promises behind the product.
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Thanks for the specific heads up. I did some research and found that Intermarine is the FL Prestige dealer. They have a boat yard with a 50 ton lift and full service center with ICW waterfront access in Ft Lauderdale. They do all services there. The brands that are making my cut are the ones that I see a whole bunch of in my boating area. I'm looking forward to the Miami Boat Show. Wish I could make the FLIBS, but I already have a Keys trip planned that week.
 
Were also considering our next move, in a conversation this winter I heard good things* about Galleon. Apparently almost all the fittings and components are built in-house which controls their costs. Build is done in Poland.

disclaimer: These good things came from a salesman for marine max (who represents galleon) and I have never actually even seen one live, never mind be on it.
 
That actually would worry me a bit. My preference would be to have fittings and components which are generally available from multiple US sources.

Mark
 
i'm with football fan. previously, it was mentioned the high need for a Sea Ray (for example) parts dealer. more importantly it seems to me, is a dealer for the individual systems. in my search so far, i have noted the system manufacturers each boat is using. recently, i've had generator issues. Sea Ray wasn't helpful at all really. But i didn't have too much trouble finding a Kohler repair and parts center to help me out.
 
upon returning from a 3 week trip up north, we returned and discovered that our boat neighbors had bought a Prestige 560. I had been on this boat at Roche Harbor - as I mentioned earlier, I really like the layout. But the build quality, not so much. My son noticed that the cabin doors on the Prestige are hollow, and the wood is soft like balsa. The doors on our 520 would stop a bullet!

also don't know what we'd do with the crew quarters.

Very tight between the 2 boats!
 

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When shopping for boats last year I saw a couple of other brands that really looked good to me. Regal, Formula, and Cruisers come to mind. All really nice boats. Once I realized that there were probably 10 Sea Rays to every Regal, Formula or Cruisers I figured I was better off sticking with Sea Ray. More to choose from, more dealer locations, probably easier to sell down the road.
 
FootballFan said:
That actually would worry me a bit. My preference would be to have fittings and components which are generally available from multiple US sources.

Mark
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I took it to mean more like the furniture, stainless pieces like handrails/supports, canvas/upholstry, etc. were all manufactured in the same company where other manufacturers would sub out some of this work. I doubt they are custom building galley appliances, pumps, electrical components - that would be silly.

Richie89 - good luck keep us informed of how it goes - I love virtual boat shopping!
 
My shopping might end up being sooner than I originally thought because of Irma. I'm expecting damage.
 
Richie89 said:
Thanks for the specific heads up. I did some research and found that Intermarine is the FL Prestige dealer. They have a boat yard with a 50 ton lift and full service center with ICW waterfront access in Ft Lauderdale. They do all services there. The brands that are making my cut are the ones that I see a whole bunch of in my boating area. I'm looking forward to the Miami Boat Show. Wish I could make the FLIBS, but I already have a Keys trip planned that week.
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If they are still around then.
 
I was on a Galion in Miami last show. They design was very busy and complicated. Seemed like a nice enough boat but too much going on for me. Sea trialed and received accepted offer on 52 last week. Survey and delicacies repaired supposed to close this week. Then Irma came! I hope she's still there or I'm starting all over again.
 
I toured 2 Galeons this winter, and they struck me and my friends as very low-end boats. I know we try to avoid brand-bashing here, but I just don't get it. Our local MarineMax is selling them now. I saw 3 new ones last wkd - 2 of which replaced larger SeaRays. I can't imagine wanting "new" over quality, but I already said I don't get it - I'm clearly not their target demographic.
 
Anyone have any experience with Monte Carlo boats? They have recently come on my radar. They have a 45 foot flybridge that is gorgeous and reasonably priced. the layout is the best I've seen for my particular likes. I love the 3 helm stations. One thing I've noticed about many Sea Ray's on the market is the lack of an inside helm. I want the fly helm, inside helm, and I'm loving the mini helm in the stern on many of the European boats.
 
I have a friend that is the Prestige dealer here in NC. I am sure he would be happy to answer any questions with out any pressure. His name is Dennis at Grande Yachts 910-338-4890. I have been on a couple, they are awesome.
 
Richie89 said:
Anyone have any experience with Monte Carlo boats? They have recently come on my radar. They have a 45 foot flybridge that is gorgeous and reasonably priced. the layout is the best I've seen for my particular likes. I love the 3 helm stations. One thing I've noticed about many Sea Ray's on the market is the lack of an inside helm. I want the fly helm, inside helm, and I'm loving the mini helm in the stern on many of the European boats.
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I believe they are part of Beneteau......but built and designed in Italy......so a French Italian......Nice boats!
 
I was going to ask if Monte Carlo was the company or a boat name from another company.

I subscribe to boatest, got an email this morning about the test on a Beneteau Monte Carlo 5.

At the boat show in FLL last fall we visited the Beneteau display. Got on a 50ish ft boat I think. No idea what the model was.

Was not impressed with the construction of the boat. Hatch's did not appear solidly constructed, fittings used through out the boat seemed light. My impression was here I am on a brand new boat and I am seeing short term failure points.

Just my impression of the boat we were on. May not be the anywhere near the boat referenced above.
 
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