Mercury V12 600HP Verado Outboard

[BigAl52]

Yup SeaRays were first class all the way. I really like CoBalts also. Nice boat CT

[JEBar]

the Wellcraft Excell shown below is the largest boat we've ever owned .... the previous owners took it from the US to the Bahamas and back twice .... we towed it as far west as Estelline, SD and made two trips in it from Winona, MN to Prairie du Chien, WI (about 200 miles round trip) down the Mississippi .... it had a Volvo motor and outdrive .... we had visions of developing a place on the Inland Waterway at the NC coast and using it to run the waterway; as well as, just off shore

[markiver54]

Nice to hear from you Stan!
Savor those beautiful memories. You have probably kept your pain in perspective, however, I know some pain lives on.
God speed to you...

[Stray Cat]

Sea Ray made a gorgeous boat. Maybe still do.

Sea Ray's classic boat lines; fit and finish of a production boat was always appealing to me. Just last week they introduced a 37ft (?) open bow day boat with a cabin (or salon as they are referred to if you're holding a glass of wine with your pinky in the air ) that has big a55 twin outboards. It would be interesting to witness the outboards independently operate when crabbing the boat up to a dock in a cross wind.

[Stray Cat]

Here is our home afloat Stray Cats underway on pool 10 of the Upper Mississippi...not far from Prairie Du Chein, WI. It was born in 2006; we were fortunate to see a portion of her being built at the Sea Ray plant in Knoxville, TN. We've traveled as far north as Still Water, MN on several occasions. I really believe time spent in the woods or on the water adds time to the end of one's life.

[John E Davies]

I am really glad you SeaRay owners have good boats. My 1988 Sundancer 250 was built in Arizona. The overall workmanship was simply horrible - junk wiring, poorly routed and supported plumbing, exposed wood stringers in the bilge, unsupported holding and fresh tanks... The Mercruiser had lots of issues, like dying just as you tried to get into reverse while approaching a dock (poorly designed and sticky ignition cutout linkage), but that wasn’t SeaRay’s fault. They used regular silicone sealer on all the deck fittings, so when it failed six months later (it doesn’t stick to stainless steel) water entered at all those holes at the rails, cleats, windshield and hatches. The balsa core (!!!!) deck swelled and delaminated, water would literally squirt up out of those fittings when you walked on it. After six weeks the SeaRay tech rep tried to “fix” it. He drilled a bunch of holes up into the headliner and water steamed out. He then injected epoxy up there while it was still soaked, needless to say that was a complete wasted effort, all it did was wreck the headliner. They trucked it back to the factory for a new deck. I insisted that they use the correct marine sealants and the repair was fine, but it took four MONTHS and completely wrecked that boating season for me, which is pretty short here.

It also destroyed the boat’s resale value.... If it had been out of warranty (I don’t recall the terms 12 months?) the boat would have been declared scrap. So I do not see much quality when I look at a SeaRay... how is your deck, and the hidden rats nest wiring, and the electrical splices of twisted wire and electrical tape, and the untreated plywood under the seat cushions and vinyl covered wood dash, and the rusting steel staples there?

If I ever buy another boat it will be welded aluminum.

John Davies
Spokane WA

[RanchRoper]

Unfortunately there are lemons with all products once in awhile, whether it be boats or firearms. Sorry about your experience, ours was nothing but happy sailing.

[BigAl52]

Agreed. Right across from me sits a Dutch Star made by Newmar. There are like 5 of these within a few spaces of my 5er. Im not sure what they cost but if I had to guess it would be at least 500K or more. One right across from me is having issues right now. Doesnt matter what you spent for something those gremlins are there

[Stray Cat]

If you have ever owned a boat, then you know what B.O.A.T. stands for and for the most part, it is true. I've never owned one, but presume an RV could follow in the same terminology. I'd also take it a step further, "If it has boobies, tires, or propellers, eventually it's going to give you trouble".

[markiver54]

If you have ever owned a boat, then you know what B.O.A.T. stands for and for the most part, it is true. I've never owned one, but presume an RV could follow in the same terminology. I'd also take it a step further, "If it has boobies, tires, or propellers, eventually it's going to give you trouble".

I heard long ago, " A boat is like a hole in the water you pour money into "
Have been in many, but never owned one.

[JEBar]

since the late '60's I've only been with one boat or another for very short time periods .... the shortest was an 8' Porta Bote .... the largest a 34' cruiser .... both inboards and outboards .... the only type of boat I've wanted that I've never owned is a Pontoon .... at this point, I don't anticipate ever having one .... some were bought new, others used .... I've never owned a bad boat but I've had two with bad motors .... both were made by Mercury

[Hatchdog]

Speaking of boat names we had a lot of fun with ours. We both are a second marriage and in my first marriage I was unsuccessful in convincing my wife that we needed a bigger boat other than my 12’ Mirrocraft fishing boat. When my current wife and I got together she was willing and excited to enter the boating world. Her ex had a few bass boats but she never got to enjoy just a runabout type of boat.

So since we were each other’s “Second Mate” we decided to name out boat just that. Both a nautical term and a perfect description of us. With our second boat we expanded on the name by adding our names in the form of a possession and adding the word “too”. This represented both the fact it was the second boat of ours but also that we considered the boat to be our mate “too”.

Please excuse the rat that shows in both pictures but they were the best I could find showing the boat names. That was my step-dog that I married into. I have since convinced my wife that big dogs are the way to go. We have had two Goldens since and are currently on the search for the third.

We didn’t name our last boat so on picture of it.

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[BigAl52]

Best days of owning a boat are when you buy it and when you sell it. RV doesnt stand for recreational vehicle. It stands for REPAIR VEHICLE. Right Jim