Doral 40? Mediterra

[gilliac]

Does anyone on the forum have one of these? I was looking at a used one this weekend and the wife loves the boat, but the way it handled was very dissappointing. It has the 370 Volvo IPS drives, and admittedly I am used to smaller, gasoline powered IO boats like a Formula 31, but the Doral was very slow to plane, and rode very bow high. The engines have very few hours anddidn't seem to be the problem.

The dealer said it was due to the bottom and props being very dirty and needing a good cleaning. I spent almost two grand in tickets and hotel bills in taking the wife to see the boat and, while the dealer has offered to haul and clean the bottom for a second sea trial, I am uncertain if I need to spend another chunk of money just to find out that I will never be happy with the way the boat runs. Also have some reservations about a dealer who knew I was coming that far and didn't prep the boat.

I would love to have some feedback from any Doral owners who have similar boats. I am going to post somewhat the same thread in a general section, as it may be just that I am expecting too much from the IPS set up (never had one) compared to an IO design.

Thanks

Gil

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Doral 40? Mediterra

Don't think you will find that this boat will ever be a direct comparison to a Formula. Not sure I buy into the dirty bottom and props thing though.

 

[WhySoSearious?]

Re: Doral 40? Mediterra

i would bet the Doral Mediterra be quicker than the Formula of the same size. Boattest.com said it was their fastest ever in that range. I looked at Formulas and decided Dorals are better in so many ways (mainly the layout).

anyway, you'll be surprised how much a dirty prop makes a difference. a little growth can decide whether the boat will make it on plane or not. beginning of the season with polished/cleaned props, my gps registers over 50mph and i can get on plane in about 5 secs. mid-season when i was away for 3-4 weeks, it took 30 seconds to get on plane (according to my video camera) once. i had to scrape the trim tabs and props and run the boat for a while to get her going again (i'm bottom painted and had no growth on the hull, just the stainless prop and trim tabs were covered in algae).


the dealer should have prepped the boat for sure. i would have requested the boat be hauled while i was there so i can inspect it. i've had a dealer tell me that i would have to pay for them to haul it and clean it (the poor Formula had tons of growth and wasn't even drive-able imo), and i would only be reimbursed if i bought the boat. nuts. so your dealer was trying to save a few hundred bucks and potentially lost a sale. ugh

IPS is more efficient, but i don't think it can perform as well as an IO in the speed dept.

Gil, i hope you buy a Mediterra. my wife and i love that boat and would love a ride.