Re: Palm Beach boats
pfb,<br /><br />I owned a Palm Beach 185 "Bay Dancer" This was a very wide basically flat hulled boat. I was VERY disappointed with its performance for the following reasons:<br /><br />1. Very difficult to handle at slow speeds. The lack of a keel and a shallow deadrise made it very susceptable to cross winds.<br /><br />2. You could not use any positve trim without the hull porpoising.<br /><br />I believe these issues were the basic design of the hull. Not indicative to Palm Beach boats. The Bay Dancer is basically a copy of many "bay boats" out there and all of them have the same issues.<br /><br />The "overall" build quality was OK. It certainly was not in the Mako, Whaler or Aquasport league, yet was in line with the price. I found no major defects. The hull was solid and the accesories were OK in their installation.<br /><br />I did talk to others that had the deep V versions that Palm Beach built and they were happy with the handling/performance. They also reflected my views on overall quality.<br /><br />They're a decent boat for the price.<br /><br />I will say that I sold the boat for what I paid for it two years later. The reasons being. 1. There are VERY few Centers here in the desert. 2. I am extremely fussy and that boat looked better than showroom.
