I bought my first boat in the past month a 1988 27' Carver Montego, with a
10' beam. Its on the south river
in Annapolis MD. I spent some time learning with a coast guard skipper
(which was a really good piece of
advice that I recieved here) .. Ill admit that at first I was intimidated
by the size of the boat but now with twin engines, things are very easy to
manage and the boats size is no longer a concern. I looked for quite a while
and for me I don't think I could spend a lot of time on anything much
smaller. I am delighted with my choice! Be sure to have the boat surveyed I
learned more in 4 hours with my surveyor than I had in the past year.

Good Luck

Paul
"Brian Newman" wrote in message
...
I am in the process of looking to buy our first boat. We have looked at
the
Four Winns Vista Series (238 and 258) , the comparable Sea Rays and also
Regals. We will be using it in the CT River and in Long Island Sound. I
have a couple questions:

1. Do you think that this cruising type boat is something we should work
up
to instead of buying it as a first boat?

2. While the Four Winns and the Sea Rays are comparable price wise, it
looks like you can get a great deal on Regal. I am talking about $20,000
range for the Regal vs. $30,000 for the Four Winns and Sea Rays- Is it
worth
spending the extra money on more expensive boats?

3. If anyone has any buying tips - (I know to have the boat/engine
inspected and to test it in the water) what else should I be aware of in
buying this first boat.

Thanks in advance for the advice.