Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

[Geardaddy]

Fellas..

looking at buying a used Boat.. We are looking at Chapparal 236 Sunsetta (2004 vintage), and the Sea Ray 240 Sundeck.. Looking for some advice on which boat is better for whatever reason.. The Sea Ray has the 6.2L 320HP, and the sunsetta has 270 (volvo)..

My understanding is that Sea Ray deck boats do a decent job in slightly rougher water as the hull is the same as a sea ray bowrider.. Is this the same for the Chapparrel? Also the Chapparrel only has a single prop, the Sea Ray has a dual counter rotating system.. Is this a big deal? Boats are close in price.. thanks for your input!!

John.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

John, okay, I'm gonna rib you a little first... Chaparral is spelled C-h-a-p-a-r-r-a-l. It's not easy, but if you buy one, you "have" to know how to spell it! He He.
Okay that said... I have no actual specific experience in either series of boats you mention, but I know about the engines/drives:
The 270 Volvo is a 5.0 V8, the 6.2 V8 Merc will have an inherent power advantage due to it's higher hp and more torque due to it's increased displacement. Also the Bravo 3 on the Sea Ray is a big deal, and I'm surprised the Volvo Penta doesn't have the DP. Dual prop drives have less effective prop slip, plane faster (in boats with the exact same engines), hold a slower planing speed, manuever better in reverse, and tend to "wander" less at idle speeds. Look at the topic just below this one, a guy is asking whether the 236 with a 270hp is underpowered. Answer the same questions I asked him, and you know if it is.
If the boats are the same price, I have to assume the Sea Ray is either a few years older, has way more hours, or is not in comparable shape. Cause there is about $10,000 worth of engine/drive upgrades on the Sea Ray compared to that Chaparral. Go to Chaparral's website and build a new 236 with both the 5.0GXi VP SX and then with the 6.2LX Bravo 3 and see how much of a price difference there is new. http://www.chaparralboats.com/domestic.html

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

Wait I did it for you... the 5.0 at 270hp with an SX is the base engine for a 2008 236. It costs $50876. Add only the 6.2LX Bravo 3 and the price goes to $59,956. $9000 difference new. See I was pretty close!

 

[Geardaddy]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

Tilliamwe,

Thanks for the response.. I have since learned how to spell Chaparral as well.. The chap dealer tended to "downtalk" the advantages of having a dual prop setup.. Also for whatever reason the 236 is now a different boat than what we are looking at.. We are looking at a 2004 Sunestra which was a deckboat then.. The deckboats have changed considerably since then..

John.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

He would be uptalking the advantages if his 5.0GXi had a DuoProp and the Mercruiser was a 6.2LX with a single prop Bravo 1. He's got to try to sell what he has! Based on your description in your new thread, you want a dual prop drive, whether it's a VP DuoProp or a Mercruiser Bravo 3. Your load will make you want more than 5.0 liters and a dual prop drive. Wait to see what other resonses you get out there in the boating section, too, though.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

Did you ever buy either of these boats?

 

[Thept]

Re: Chapparel vs. Sea Ray..

One thing I did not like about the Sea Ray 240 Sundeck is where the ladder is on the swim platform....directly in line with the prop....how stupid is that? Even the salesman had no words to describe how dumb that is. But we still love that boat and it's between that or a Chaparral 233 Sunesta or the Azure AZ 240.