talexander38
New Member
looking at 3 boats a 38 bertram , 36 trojan tri cabin and a 36 sea ray all seem to be in about the same shape and price range. So please tell why you like your Sea Ray any info is a help.
want to know
- Thread starter talexander38
- Start date
- Nov 26, 2006
- 7,628
- Boat Info
- 2008 44 Sedan Bridge
- Engines
- Cummins QSC-500's
Straight Drives
What years? What types of drive systems?
talexander38
New Member
i'm looking for your overall likes and dislikes of the Sea Ray, it's a 1984 36' aft cabin with merc's and v drives
vernh59
New Member
You mean like this one?
Bridog
Well-Known Member
- Oct 6, 2006
- 12,153
- Boat Info
- 1996 450DA
- Engines
- 3116 Caterpillars
A pretty big reason is the the Bertram and Trojan are no longer produced and you will be completely on your own with no dealer or factory support.
Other than that, the older Berts were extremely well made boats, the Trojans were mid level to cheap and Sea Rays had the general quality we've come to expect, except they were still trying to figure out the big boat business in the mid-80's. The Sea Ray will have superb woodwork inside since they owned one heck of a wood shop back then. Some of the Sea Ray construction techniques were known to be problematical on some boats, but not all. All boats of that era teneded to be under powered (expensive to operate) by today's styandards so don't buy one without a thorough sea trial.
Other than that, the older Berts were extremely well made boats, the Trojans were mid level to cheap and Sea Rays had the general quality we've come to expect, except they were still trying to figure out the big boat business in the mid-80's. The Sea Ray will have superb woodwork inside since they owned one heck of a wood shop back then. Some of the Sea Ray construction techniques were known to be problematical on some boats, but not all. All boats of that era teneded to be under powered (expensive to operate) by today's styandards so don't buy one without a thorough sea trial.
talexander38
New Member
thanks thats just what i was looking for:thumbsup:
talexander38
New Member
yea the boat looks like that one
vernh59
New Member
We bought our boat in '95. We had a 27 Carver that didn't meet our family needs. The thing that first caught my eye on the boat was the size of the interior. Sea Ray got every bit of interior room they could. The seperate salon and aft cabin meant the kids could watch TV in their "own room" and we had the rest of the boat for whatever. We figured we spent 6 or so hours in a 48 hour weekend running the boat and the rest of the time "in" the boat so the interior was important. Next the boat had a generator and a real stove so time on the hook is very comfortable.
My boat has a pair of 165 Crusaders so she isn't a fast boat. A hull blistering 15 kts is about it but that's OK with me. She is fairly economical to operate. One of the things I really like about operating the boat is the flybridge with excellent visbility while underway and while manuevering in close quarters. She is very predictable. If you notice, the walkways are wide with plenty of handhold making it easy to move to the bow to handle lines while docking.
Dislikes are few and out weighed by the likes. When I re-power I think I will use 5.7 Crusaders. Not for the extra speed but because the 5.7 won't have to work so hard to get the same speed. Fishing is a PITA on an aft cabin because it is about 6 feet from the deck to the water. You either need to get a long gaf or get on the swim platform to boat the fish and then haul him up the ladder to the deck.
The '84 model differences- only one hatch on the bow and different side vents on the hull, that's about it. With 270 gallons of fuel and a 130 gallons of water this is a great weekend (or longer) family boat.
Let me know if you need anymore info.
My boat has a pair of 165 Crusaders so she isn't a fast boat. A hull blistering 15 kts is about it but that's OK with me. She is fairly economical to operate. One of the things I really like about operating the boat is the flybridge with excellent visbility while underway and while manuevering in close quarters. She is very predictable. If you notice, the walkways are wide with plenty of handhold making it easy to move to the bow to handle lines while docking.
Dislikes are few and out weighed by the likes. When I re-power I think I will use 5.7 Crusaders. Not for the extra speed but because the 5.7 won't have to work so hard to get the same speed. Fishing is a PITA on an aft cabin because it is about 6 feet from the deck to the water. You either need to get a long gaf or get on the swim platform to boat the fish and then haul him up the ladder to the deck.
The '84 model differences- only one hatch on the bow and different side vents on the hull, that's about it. With 270 gallons of fuel and a 130 gallons of water this is a great weekend (or longer) family boat.
Let me know if you need anymore info.
sbw1
Well-Known Member
- Oct 10, 2006
- 8,185
- Boat Info
- This is listed in my signature
- Engines
- This is listed in my signature
A friend of mine sold his 38 Bert a few years ago to a person who was visiting the US from New Zeeland. It was a high hour older aft cabin. The hull was probably 2" thick at the bottom--way over engineered. The buyer put it in a container ship and sent it down under. After its arrival, the yard ripped everything out of the interrior and put it in a dumpster. He rebuilt the diesels. The entire project cost around $150,000 and the boat showed and surveyed as new. Market value at the conclusion of the refit was his purchase price plus the costs of the improvements. You don't need to worry about factory support on these project boats. The hulls are strong and go through the water well. The equipment is all new when you are done. This project would not have been economically feasible on the Trojan or SR as the market value would not be what you put into the refit.
Just prior the refit, I had a chance to run the boat on Lake Michigan in rough seas for 10 miles or so. It was a very impressive sea boat on all points of sail. Tried to talk the wife into taking it on a project. She could not visualize the final outcome so we passed on it and bought the Tiara. I think she would have enjoyed that boat as much as the one we ended up with, but that's water over the dam. The old Berts are very livable and good performers. One point has not been made, and that is the bottom. Many of them need to be blasted, fared and sealed with a barrier coat. That used to cost about $10,000 a few years ago. Have no idea what it would be today, but if you go the Bert route, it's worth looking into.
Just prior the refit, I had a chance to run the boat on Lake Michigan in rough seas for 10 miles or so. It was a very impressive sea boat on all points of sail. Tried to talk the wife into taking it on a project. She could not visualize the final outcome so we passed on it and bought the Tiara. I think she would have enjoyed that boat as much as the one we ended up with, but that's water over the dam. The old Berts are very livable and good performers. One point has not been made, and that is the bottom. Many of them need to be blasted, fared and sealed with a barrier coat. That used to cost about $10,000 a few years ago. Have no idea what it would be today, but if you go the Bert route, it's worth looking into.
