Considering Sea Hunt Escape 186 LE

[buhuskies]

Never heard of Sea Hunt but I am considering the purchase of a new Escape 186 LE with a 115 OB

How is the reliability of Sea Hunt Boats?? Are they entry level like bayliner or more upscale and better built?

I like the lines and the looks of this boat and it's a great size. Plus I like the more conventional look as opposed to speed boat shape like the 100s of mfgrs all make. I want to sit in a raised helm seat and this boat appears to offer that.

Comments and suggestions welcomed,
Thanks
ken

 

[FasterDaddy]

Re: Considering Sea Hunt Escape 186 LE

I just bought a Sea Hunt 186 LE at Ed's Marine in Richmond. I looked at other boats in supposedly the same price class...Trophy, Triumph, Seaswirl and also looked at a Scout, which is more expensive boat. I was surprised that the Sea Hunt was more like the Scout without the fancy trim. I think it is a no frills boat fewer features, but better build quality. The Sea Hunt does not have a floor locker, like the Trumph or Scout or Trophy. It has no cleats amidships, but it has integrated handles on the bow, like the Scout. The scuppers in the Sea Hunt were smooth black heavy duty hoses like the Scout, while both the Trophy and Triumph used hoses that obviously were not smooth inside, and were white and cheaper vinyl looking. The hose clamps didn't look as good on the either the Trophy or Triumph. The electrics in the Triumph console were a mess. The Sea Hunt dealer offered me a choice of motors, the others.... take a 115 HP or leave it. I was least impressed with the Triumph. The Scout was most expensive, but I was not sure why it was more expensive than the S H. What really surprised me was that both the Triumph and Trophys were more expensive than the Sea Hunt, and not nearly as nice a boat.

 

[FasterDaddy]

Its been 16 years since we bought our 18 foot Sea Hunt with a 150 Vmax 2 stroke Yamaha. Boat and motor are still going strong. Without a doubt this is the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. We now have over 800 hours. If I was buying this boat today it would have a four stroke fuel injected Yamaha. The 150 has bulletproof reliability and costs really nothing to maintain, but it can be a bit fuelish.