"sciman" wrote in message
...
I am looking for a comfortable weekend boat for the lake. Spend the
night,
cook, fish, entertain...I am thinking in the 30-36 foot range. Searay's
Sundancer 340 looks good, but on the high price. Rinker looks to be more
inexpensive. Maxum? Regal? I have only had experience with Searay
(good),
but not any with the others....thoughts?


I'm making the assumption you are shopping new, and my comments are based on
this assumption. You are looking at a style and size of boat with many
offerings spread throughout the price/quality continuum. I don't know how
anyone here can advise you on which boat best fits your needs. I can tell
you that Sea Ray's 340 Sundancer has probably been their most successful
model in the entire Sundancer line. That doesn't mean that it's the highest
quality boat in its class (although I think it leans generally in that
direction), but it does mean that many people have liked it over the years
and that it is a favorite boat in its size and style among brokers. Good
resale market. I would recommend spending as much time in each boat at the
dealers as possible, while mentally going through all the activities you
would typically enjoy while aboard. The dealer's knowledge, responsiveness,
cooperation, and general posture would likely have as much impact on my
decision as the boat itself. His ability and eagerness to service you after
the sale would be a major point of consideration if it were me. Any boat in
this size range will represent a substantial expenditure of capital. I
wouldn't let $20-30k of price difference sway my decision over whether I
actually liked one boat over the other. Buy what you like and buy it from
who you feel truly earned the business. Hopefully they can be found at the
same place.