Which boat for someone new to boating?

John, ........ What a topic for you!

Have they not seen or been on your 370 yet?
They would fall in love with your boat.
Sweeeeeet!
And I'm sure your price would be right......

I'm not actually looking to sell my "soon to be perfect again" 310, but since you are guiding them in the 320 / 340 direction. as a friend of yours, they are welcome to come look at our 310 for comparisons.
It is on the hard.
Just give me a ring.

Lee
 
mrsrobinson said:
Our slips were numbered...never knew.

We rode by yesterday to check on the center console. I recall her being white...grey now from all of the gravel dust. The marina looked empty...in fact, I think I saw a few tumble weeds blow by.....
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Oh yeah! Based on the way you have tried to remap the contours of the James River, I think your slip number was 666.:smt100

True Dat about the tumbleweeds. It's gonna be tight this year.
 
Hey Lee.........thanks for the compliment, and the offer to look at your boat, the 310 would also be a great boat for them. This whole process is in the infant stages. They have not seen my 370, but talking with his wife today, she seemed intimidated by 37' of boat compared to my old 310/330 DA that she was on before.

Someone in this thread asked who starts out with 30 ft or bigger boat......a friend at my yacht club thru some guidence from a few of us there bought his first ever boat two years ago, it is a '98 370DA, it is the brother who used to own Nauti Cool a 330DA (Lee knows the connection), and I'm pretty sure that was his first boat also.

Greg, I got your PM.......thanks

John
 
I fI ever had to make that "first boat" decision again I would chose a 380DA or a 410DA and never look back or to upgrade ... right size for weekending or extended stays and easier to handle than a single screw stern drive boat.
 
Alex D said:
I fI ever had to make that "first boat" decision again I would chose a 380DA or a 410DA and never look back or to upgrade ... right size for weekending or extended stays and easier to handle than a single screw stern drive boat.
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Yes,........... and if we all knew then.......... what we know now!

I have to chuckle, when we got our first boat, a 2001, 215EC, I remember having it on a trailer in my back yard with the camper package up.
My wife and I looked out our back kitchen door and said, whow! That thing is huge...........
And then we took it down to the boat yard to spash her and saw all the other "bigger" boats, Oh My....

Now our 3rd boat, a 310DA seams small.
Have to say, that I was intimidated just a little with the first boat, and I don't think I could of handled a 310 on my own without some guidance. It didn't take long though for me!
But this new guy is asking the right questions, of the right guy.
So, just show him a varity of sorts and explain the in / outs of each and with your guidance, they'll be fine.
 
You are making my point SeaHarley ... now we have the opportunity to advise someone not to follow the very expensive trail we all took just to end up in the same place he or she could go in the first place and save A TON of money by doing so.
 
Yep, I understand.
But we have to understand that they are in a different place than we are now - at this time.
And they have to be comfortable with their own learning curve.

They have ask an appropriate person for some good advice.
And they will be getting all of the above advice - and more!
 
I think you can help him evaluate his own capabilities. Is he a good listener, thoughtful, slow and calculated, or is he one of those guys who goes into most endeavors half cocked? There are some people that you can tell that with a little bit of guidance could tackle a 480 or a sedan bridge as their first boat. Others need help with a dinghy.

All that being said, if they seem capable, I would steer them wwaaaaaaaayyyy away from a new boat. Knowing as little as they do, they are likely to want to trade up very quickly considering that they are willing to start at 150. If they insist on new, something in the low 40's with Zeus, a hardtop, cockpit air, blue hull, and all the electronics would be nice for them (and me in a couple of years). They have to realize that if they buy new and then trade, they are going to take it in the royale shorts.
 
"I have to chuckle, when we got our first boat, a 2001, 215EC, I remember having it on a trailer in my back yard with the camper package up.
My wife and I looked out our back kitchen door and said, whow! That thing is huge..........."

Same here when we went from our 24' cabin cruiser to our 330DA. The 330DA scared me. Now, it's like driving the car every day. I am reminded of how we felt when folks with a smaller boat get on our 330DA and comment on how big it is. I guess it's all relative huh?
 
mrsrobinson said:
..........
Same here when we went from our 24' cabin cruiser to our 330DA. The 330DA scared me. Now, it's like driving the car every day. I am reminded of how we felt when folks with a smaller boat get on our 330DA and comment on how big it is. I guess it's all relative huh?
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Exactly!

Would I love to have a 40 footer now? Yep, you bet!
When we first started out, if I would have been told or guided to buy a 40 footer, I would have laughed and said - yeah, right! I couldn't have afforded it back then either. But now, is a different story.
 
Well, I will tell you we thought our next boat was going to be a 400 or 410DA, maybe even a 450DA. We have looked at all of them and love them, and, had ours sold quickly probably would have purchased one. But now, having spent even more time on different boats, we are re-thinking what our next boat will be.
 
SeaHarley said:
Yep, I understand.
But we have to understand that they are in a different place than we are now - at this time.
And they have to be comfortable with their own learning curve.

They have ask an appropriate person for some good advice.
And they will be getting all of the above advice - and more!
Click to expand...


I had thoughts of the same when I purchased mine after having owned a few smaller boats off and on for a number of years.

Like I have posted here before, I started by looking at a 29, then a 28, followed by a 31 then a 34, next a 36, and a 37 (All Sea Ray Sundancers) to the final choice, the one I have now (I even had a 34 surveyed) before I saw a 36 and 37. These later two are the boats which sold me. I would probably have ended up having a 37 if I had not found such a sweet deal on my boat.

The 36 and 37's did it for me

But, to the subject, a question I asked my surveyor, about operating a larger boat, to which he replied, Practice, Practice, and then some more Practice...and this go to a marina and look around at all of the other larger boats and remember this, they all had to learn, and probably felt the same.

I have even admitted here on CSR to my hiring a licensed Captain to go out with me so i could practice for a few weekends. And I will say it was a couple hundred dollars well spent.. but, as always I am still learning today.

My suggestion here is to go with a larger boat and used. $150K in today's market for used boats should be enough for a fine boat, as fine as frog's hair.:thumbsup:
 
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mrsrobinson said:
Well, I will tell you we thought our next boat was going to be a 400 or 410DA, maybe even a 450DA. We have looked at all of them and love them, and, had ours sold quickly probably would have purchased one. But now, having spent even more time on different boats, we are re-thinking what our next boat will be.
Click to expand...

Food for thought. Do you want a new boat or do you want to want a new boat?
 
dpmulvey said:
Food for thought. Do you want a new boat or do you want to want a new boat?
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Unless I become a rich man we will never own a new boat.

No, we are liking sedan bridges more and more. Plus, with this economy and knowing what we have in Mrs R she looks better and better each day.
 
mrsrobinson said:
............with this economy and knowing what we have in Mrs R she looks better and better each day.
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Amen!

My boat is completely fixed up now. Everything works on it and since I did many upgrades, I'd say it is much better than the new 310 of its day.

We like it. And we spend every weekend on it.
We still like to travel a lot, ask anyone that knows me.....
And I also take our boat out a lot by myself.
That makes our 310 a very practical boat for us.
 
When I moved up from a 27 with I/O's to Easy Go I was very apprehensive about the difference in size. Getting in and out of the slip was what bothered me the most. After a little manuever practice out where I couldn't hit anything I discovered this boat is much easier to work with in close quarters. Very predictable. The fly bridge creates more sail area in a crosswind but there is a technique for that too. Looking back on it, IMHO, the bigger the boat, the easier it gets.
And besides, bigger boats usually get more help from the dock neighbors whether you need it or not.
 
My first boat was a 320 DA. Though we loved it we outgrew it. I remember leaving the dealer with it and thinking that was an awfully long bow I was staring out at. Thought the same thing when we left the dealer with the 40DA. I don't have that sensation with the 44DB and I actually think this boat is easier to handle around the dock than either of the other two. I would highly recommend the 320 DA IF it's big enough for the intended use...otherwise the new boater will find themselves upgrading prematurely $$$$$$

question, How many actual started out with a 30+ foot boat as their 1st boat?
Would highly recommend some kind of training/classes for your friend.[/quote]
 
It was mentioned many times, but I also agree 150% to get a used boat especially since this is their first boat and they probably don't know yet what they will like or dislike, will they get footitis, .... (wow.. they could get something really nice for $150K......).

The admiral wants a new boat (sounds familiar). For this price I think they could get a nice 280, which is a great boat.

While I was shopping for a larger boat a couple of years ago, I got an advice from Frank saying: "Don't be intimidated by the amount of fiberglass in front of you" and he was right. But when you buy a first boat and you have no experience, chances are you will be intimidated by the size and go for a smaller one.

At least they have you John, to guide them in their decision. This is a great plus.
 
I had a 260 and upgraded to a 320 a few months ago (haven't updated the profile yet). When I first drove the 260 it felt like alot of boat for me to handle but soon felt like a ski boat after I had a chance to drive a 280 and 320. The used market is flush with great buys right now. Mine had less than 80 hours and I got it for well under $120K. It's a 2004 and I absolutley love it. I totally agree with Bigal in regards to not being intimdated by the amount of fiberglass in front of you. If you've never captained a cruiser the 260 is as intimidating as the 320. The twin engines make life SO much better.
 
If I had a friend wanting to buy a boat, I would of course first try to sell him mine :) and then go get a 410DA or a larger trawler. Besides that I would very strongly advise him to go to a large boat right away by showing him what he can exepct to pay and lose in depreciation if he upgrades twice in the next five to eight years ... some guys here went from a 260 to 340 to a 420 just in two years time ... I cannot imagine how much they have lost in depreciation doing that ...
 
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