I did a search in the I/O forum on Volvo vs Mercruiser. Heres some first hand experiance speaking their opinion. Im not a marine certified tech, but I do get my hands on quite a few and would have to agree, its Volvo Penta hands down.<br />As far as the Regal boat goes, theyre not a "Value Boat". Theyre built with quality and upgrade materials. With lots of attention to detail and optional features you wont find on other makes. Definately climb aboard one before you purchase.<br /><br /> http://forums.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=011806#000000 <br /><br /> http://forums.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=005126#000000 <br /><br />Dayum......I sound like a salesman.Originally posted by magster65:<br />Regal 258... nice boat! Good call RP. I'm good with Volvo or Merc drives... I may even like the Mercs. better because I've worked on them but I wouldn't let that scare me away from a Volvo. This old dog can still learn stuff<br />The only nightmare stories I know are with old OMC stuff. They'd break for no reason.<br />Thanks
) A good salesman too. I think the majority of the posts were referring to Alpha drives and almost all of the boats I'm looking at that are merc have Bravo drives. My Searay had an Alpha and it made a bunch of noise if you shifted slow. If you shifted fast(er) it was fine and I never had any problems with it. What about the Cobra drives? I take it the order of preference is;<br />Volvo - Merc - Cobra...<br />and either duo prop design is a better unit than the single?
, bug screens on all the widows. The previous owner spent $11500 on canvas / has covers for every seat, window, anchor winch, bridge, cockpit, heavy poly windows, privacy covers, even the steering wheel has one. It holds 140 gallons fuel / 30 gal fresh / 30 gal black water. It sleeps 4 comfy, cruises at 18 mph at 3200 rpm and does 28 wot (gps). Tollycraft are built like tanks, this one weighs 10000 pounds. It's smooth and mechanically quiet but has a nice exhaust note with above water dual 4" w/ mufflers. Geez, you'd think I was trying to sell it or somethin'!
<br />I have a 2003 Dakota quad cab 4x4. It's towing capacity is 6500 lbs. This package will be right around it's maximum but my truck has the biggest engine available that year (5.9) with 4 wheel disc/anti-lock brakes and the towing package option. I think it'll be ok for the 3 mile trip to the ramp. I'll do an upgrade if I have to but I really like the truck. <br />
Errrr.....<br />Ummmm.....<br />Hmmmm.....<br />C'mon... spit it out!
<br /><br />Concerns about the tow vehicle? I've towed an older 23' Sea Ray Sundancer (4400 lbs. I think) and it handled it easily. Like I said, if I have to, I'll get a different truck but... I'm still just starting to shop. We'll see how things go. <br />I know I can't stand being behind an overloaded vehicle... putting along at half the speed limit... I'll never be that guy! 
The boats you are looking at weight around 6500lbs dry. You'll need to add 1500lbs of trailer, 600 lbs of fuel, the weight of gear, food, drinks, passengers, etc to the dry weight to get the true weight of the boat. You are going to be several thousand pounds above the towing capacity. You might want to think about that. You will absolutely need a weight distributing hitch regardless.<br /><br />I have a Durango with a 5.9 and the towing package with a 7400 lb rating, if memory serves. My boat with a dry weight of 4700 lbs is about all I dare tow. Then again, I routinely tow 100+ miles, have done a 1000 mile tow, and you are only looking at 3 miles... <br /><br />You can increase the towing capacity and safety factor on your truck by installing low profile tires and dropping the front end of the truck to match the sag of the rear end with the trailer hooked up. I put 285-60-15 sport truck tires, in place of the OE 31x10.5s, on my Durango for the Summer. The tire change improves wheel torque by 10% while at the same time providing much more traction and vastly improved side to side stability. I turn the torsion bar bolts out 8 turns each on the front end to drop it for the towing season and turn them back in for the Winter. It costs nothing to do and is a really nice feature on Dodge trucks.<br /><br /> Even with 6500 lbs of boat and trailer behind me, the Durango is very stable on New Hampshire's narrow and twisty back roads and I am easily able to move along at normal traffic speeds. Goodyear marathon trailer tires help dramatically as well.<br /><br />Good luck!Originally posted by magster65:<br />
