Who built boats best?

[chconger]

OK all you seasoned restorers out there...

If you were going to go on the used market for a 10+ year old runabout, who (what firms) built their boats "made to last"?

What were the companies / factories / era's that turned out well made boats, with superior techniques and craftsmanship?

And..what made them great?


Would also be good to get perspectives on boats to stay away from...

Thanks
Chris

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Who built boats best?

Fiberglass: It's hard to beat a Boston Whaler.

Aluminum: Lund is one of the best.

There's a lot of well built boats out there, just not a lot of good boat owners. Even the best built boats will age quickly when neglected.

If I was looking to buy a used boat, I would mainly look for a good boat owner that took care of and sheltered their boat instead of the builder of the boat.

Every once in a blue moon you can find a well built boat that has been well taken care of, but this usually takes a lot of time looking and a lot of footwork.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Who built boats best?

Not seeing too many Boston Whalers or Lunds in the rebuild section. See tons of Bayliners.
Any boat built with wood infastructure and left out to the elements is suspect for rot.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Who built boats best?

A pre-Murray Industries Chris Craft. Many of their early fiberglass boats such as a 23' Lancer have hollow boxed stringers, so no wood there to rot. The Jim Wynn designed hulls is excellent for cutting chop. I personally have found that I do not like sterndrives and they were offered in inboard configurations, either straight or V drive.

 

[sphelps]

Re: Who built boats best?

http://www.fiberglassics.com/wiki/images/thumb/c/ca/Mfgb64005.jpg/471px-Mfgb64005.jpg
http://www.fiberglassics.com/wiki/images/thumb/c/c4/Mfgb64003.jpg/467px-Mfgb64003.jpg
But I may be just a little biased !

 

[Bondo]

Re: Who built boats best?

Ayuh,.... In my experince,.. Ole Slickcrafts are solidly built hulls, with fine workin' water surfaces,... nice rides....

Some Wellcrafts are nicely built,...

Most Fourwinns are decently built...

Highliners, 'n Old Towns are nice hulls, but balsa cored,...
If the balsa is goin', they're Alotta work to fix...

Glastrons are Ok, for production run hulls too...

Personally, I think Whalers are over-rated, 'n over-priced,... If their foam is Wet, it really ain't Fixable...
'n their foam, Does get wet,... seen 'em,...
If yer ever gonna Buy 1,... Weigh it 1st, it's more important than a sea-trial...

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Who built boats best?

Tiara built some smaller ones way back when that were very well built.
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...808968/Deale/MD/United-States&boat_id=1808968
http://boats.iboats.com/1983-tiara-20-mg/1226295.html

 

[djpeters]

Re: Who built boats best?

Starcraft .

 

[86 century]

Re: Who built boats best?

There are some companies that have gone to full composite hulls(no wood).

I know skiers choice(supra/moomba)made the switch in '92 may not be what you are looking for as v-drive boats aren't for everybody.

 

[chconger]

Re: Who built boats best?

Starcraft .

I have heard Starcraft as a good boat before...what did they do differently?

 

[chconger]

Re: Who built boats best?

Ayuh,....
If yer ever gonna Buy 1,... Weigh it 1st, it's more important than a sea-trial...

Never thought of that....weigh it, and if its over the "brochure weight" / spec; its full of water?

 

[chconger]

Re: Who built boats best?

Not seeing too many Boston Whalers or Lunds in the rebuild section. See tons of Bayliners.
Any boat built with wood infastructure and left out to the elements is suspect for rot.

I have heard negative stuff on Bayliners in the past. But don't understand what it is about them exactly.

 

[xanthras]

Re: Who built boats best?

I have heard good things about Rinker, Four Winns, Starcraft, or maybe Cobalt if you canf afford one! There are lots of good ones, like said above, just lazy owners.

 

[chconger]

Re: Who built boats best?

Ayuh,.... In my experince,.. Ole Slickcrafts are solidly built hulls......

You say old...did they ever decline in quality?

 

[matt167]

Re: Who built boats best?

Bayliner is a cheap boat. Nothing high end, build thousands of the same thing, put a nice affordable price on it and sell as fast as possible. This is the same type of success of the VW Beetle..Often abused and not taken care of, left out to the weather ect.. Any boat with a wood structure will rot, but they rot much faster if left into the open.

 

[Fishin Magician]

Re: Who built boats best?

SeaRay all day......I hold a 1976 Anniversary Edition SRV 220 with a small block Ford V8 Ford...full camper cover with riser.........have had others..ie four winds.....SeaRay all day....5 thousand pounds of BUSINESS............

and or Montgomrey Wards Flat Bottoms 10 ft'rs......Sea Kings......with 4.5 hp merc's

FM

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Who built boats best?

Grub had ya covered right at the start there...

If I was looking to buy a used boat, I would mainly look for a good boat owner that took care of and sheltered their boat instead of the builder of the boat.

Buying used has everything to do with how the owner cared for the rig. I think the original builder is still important but secondary to the actual condition of the stringers/flotation/trasnom/deck/hull/engine/trailer, eh.

Cheers and happy hunting !

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Who built boats best?

You say old...did they ever decline in quality?

Mr Leon Slikkers sold the company to AMF in the early 70's, He continued to work there for a couple years then left and started up S2 Yachts; which gave us Tiara/Pursuit.Later in the mid 80's he bought the Slickcraft name back, and started building boats under the Slickcraft name again.

 

[mbible]

Re: Who built boats best?

SeaRay all day......FM

I have a 1986 SeaRay that was cared for decently by her previous owner, though I'm getting into fixing things because of her age.
I notice the fiberglass seems thick and I love to drive it way more compared to a 10 year newer bayliner that I drove.

Note: I will be pulling the deck off of my SeaRay this weekend for major surgery I assume, lol. But if I believe it will be worth it if I don't get carried away.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Who built boats best?

Formula boats of the late 1980's - early 1990's era are incredible boats. Many aspects of their designs and componentry were years ahead of other boats during that time.

Some day, I hope to find a F-292 from that era for restoration and re-fit. It would be an awesome boat in a new era.


In terms of boats standing the test of time, I echo the comments about Boston Whalers. I'd like to get one of those from the late 1960-70's era. Their longevity is mostly due to the fact that they do not rely on wood in their construction or strength.