BC is Up-Sizing

A few years ago I remember complaining to a friend that I wouldn't be able to buy a boat until Mrs. BC got a new kitchen. His response was, "buy a boat with a kitchen in it!" About 2 years after that conversation I got my tin.

Well, Mrs. BC is getting her kitchen this summer, so I got the go-ahead this weekend to put the wheels in motion on a bigger boat purchase. \/ The irony is that the new boat will have a kitchen too! We live close to the shores of Lake Ontario so I've decided to buy a cruiser, minimum 30'.

First step is to get on the waiting list for a slip. It can take a couple of years to get a slip around here, but that's okay because I will be shopping around carefully for the new craft, and I have a lot to learn about cabin cruisers. I won't be purchasing anything until next summer at the earliest.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

Unable to provide any ideas, but congrats on the upcoming up-sizing! =D>

IM IN THE SAME SITUATION NEW KITCHEN BEFORE BOAT OR GARAGE, FUNNY THING I WAS ON THE POLACRAFT WEB SITE SNOOPING AROUND AND THEY HAVE "SPOUSAL CONVERSION KITS" FUNNY AS HELL HAS SCRIPTED THINGS YOU CAN READ TO YOUR SPOUSE, MOVIES FOR THEM TO WATCH, I SENT MY FIANCE A PICTURE OF A BOAT THAT I LIKED AND THAT WAS ATTACHED I DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT, SHE E MAILED ME BACK WITH IT... :LMFAO:

WOW...that's exciting news. Congrats! Can't wait to see what you get. =D>

Didn't realize that a kitchen comes first, but you're right. Now that I think about it....I did have to put in a new kitchen before I got my boat. Wasn't planned that way, but it happened that way. I completely redid my kitchen from the floor to ceiling 2 1/2 years ago. You've already seen my boat...so here's the kitchen. I did all the work myself...except for laying the hardwood floor. No time for that.

Congrats!! My dad had a 27' Baja cabin cruiser and it was awesome for us. A little small and a little too narrow for my liking now but you could put it on a trailer and pull it anywhere. I had a Dodge Durango R/T that I would pull it with no problems. My brother and I are in the market for a similar boat this year or maybe next. We want something over 30' with twin motors but nothing supercharged or anything. Basically a 60+ mph go fast boat with sleeping quarters and a bathroom. As far as cruisers, Sea Ray and Fountain make amazing cruisers along with Baja, Bayliners are pretty afordable. The dream would be an old, well taken care of Chris Craft. They are very rare to find a nice one and expensive but if you found a refurbished one with new everything, that would be amazing. Keep us posted for sure and I hope there are more people around these parts that chime in on this. Man I love boats.

Fender, kitchen is beautiful. Great job.

Can't wait to see what you end up with. The only advice I can give is to keep an eye out for sales along the TN river, lots of cruisers there.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been scanning Craigslist and various used boat sites for a couple of months and it seems to me that there are a ton of used cruisers on the market, and prices fluctuate widely. It's a little overwhwelming actually.

Congrats!
I assume you'll be keeping your tin? That's a nice little fishing rig you got there.

Awesome, congrats.

And great kitchen, check your PMs.

My dad has a 1983 28' Chris Craft, took forever to find a decent one. Very few boat were comfortable in the cabin but this one I can stand upright in and I'm 6'6". his is 350 inboard powered, single screw. Does around 23mph when it planes out, cruises at 17 on step.

Be sure to find something you can move around in and is easy to work on.

Jamie

jasper60103 said:

Congrats!
I assume you'll be keeping your tin? That's a nice little fishing rig you got there.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, definitely keeping the tin! Can't fish skinny water for bass in a 30' cruiser!! :LOL2:

Sounds great! I have a lot of experience with cabin cruisers. I would start off by looking at what companies have to offer. I would highly recommend Searay. They are one of the best boat brands and their quailty of craftsman ship really shows. I had a 1989 searay sorrento 23' that lasted me 20 years (then a tree fell on it and totaled it) The boat was amazing, handled well, fast, never had a problem with it. There is also some new technology that is becoming very popular regarding engines. Joy stick control, has changed the way people dock these big cabin cruisers. There is a joy stick next to the throttle that can move in any direction, and all you have to do is move the joy stick and that is where the boat will go. No more frustration while docking. Some really nice cabin cruisers are the searay 330,350, 370, the cobalt 323 and 373 are also beautiful cruisers. I would recomend (if buying used from someone other than a dealer) hire a mechanic to look over the boat with you before you buy. Its much different from a tin, where you just check compression, water pump and if there are any leaks in the boat. Now you have to worry about generators, air conditioners, beds, heads, pumps, blisters on the fiberglass, stern drive bearings, corrosion (if you live near salt water), radar arches, electronics (not just a nice little fish finder [-X )
Looking fworard to what you purchace =D>