dorrwalter
New Member
My wife and I are somewhat new to boating life (been doing it for a couple years now) but really enjoy spending weekends and as much vacation as possible at the boat. We are looking at the possibility of doing some remodeling on our current boat versus buying a newer used boat. Can you give me your thoughts on which direction you feel is best? Here is some additional info...
My current boat is a 1988 Sea Ray 390 Express with 454's that have about 1,000 hours on the engines. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the structural integrity, the engines or generator on this boat. It is in great shape and I would rate it a 8.5 or 9 out of 10 for a 1988 boat. If we decide to keep this boat we want to make it more comfortable and enjoyable to stay in and use. We would want to do the following if we keep this boat.
We are looking at two newer boats in different price ranges.
Any input on which direction you would go? Here are a few questions.
Thank you for any input. I appreciate the help from more experienced buyers. I am on my first boat and I know eventually it will be time to buy a new one. Just trying to figure out if now is the time.
My current boat is a 1988 Sea Ray 390 Express with 454's that have about 1,000 hours on the engines. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the structural integrity, the engines or generator on this boat. It is in great shape and I would rate it a 8.5 or 9 out of 10 for a 1988 boat. If we decide to keep this boat we want to make it more comfortable and enjoyable to stay in and use. We would want to do the following if we keep this boat.
- Add a Bow and Stern Thruster ($21,000). I know a lot of people are going to say learn how to drive but this is for my wife's insanity. She gets stressed on windy days and would rather sit at the dock than go out for a ride. She wants to be less stressed when docking and also worried what to do if something might happen to me while out on the boat. She wants to be able to dock herself if needed. She will not try it without thrusters. So this is a must to make her happy. Happy wife is a happy life.
- When we purchased the boat a couple years ago there were no seats, besides the caption seat, in the cockpit area. We want to add the seating back into our boat. I am having a hard time figuring out exact costs on this but my guess is it will be someplace around $5,000. If anyone has any good info on where to get this let me know. May need to just do custom...
- I would like to look into putting new synthetic teak flooring on the deck. This is not a must and most likely will be a winter project. The cost will be between $3000-$6,000.
- Little odds and end things like putting a new shower faucet on, etc. This might add up to $500.
- Updating the electronics - $2,000 - $3,000
We are looking at two newer boats in different price ranges.
- The one boat we are looking at is a 2001 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer with Thrusters. This would run us around $120,000 or so.
- The other boat is a little newer and has Axius. It is a 390 Sundancer and will run us in the $220,000 to $250,000 range. These boats look extremely nice and the technology has changed so much in the last 25 years.
Any input on which direction you would go? Here are a few questions.
- Is putting $35,000 in a 1988 boat wise? It is in great shape for the age of the boat but that is a lot of money on a 28 year old boat and we could almost use that same amount of money to get into a newer boat.
- What would you do if you had these three scenarios to choose from?
- Also if we do decide to purchase a new boat we would need to sell ours. Has anyone had success selling themselves or do you recommend using a broker? We would price this very competitive to give us the best chance to sell before storing for the winter.
Thank you for any input. I appreciate the help from more experienced buyers. I am on my first boat and I know eventually it will be time to buy a new one. Just trying to figure out if now is the time.