Some stuff to consider ...

The word "trailerable" depends on your perspective. These are both very
heavy and relatively big boats. IMHO, hitching one of these up every
weekend and hauling to the lake or shore for a family jaunt is going to
become a tedious project. And road travel will be slow. Your truck may
be able to handle the weight, but you will be hauling a large boat meant
for the water but mounted on a trailer. You must go slow, negotiate
curves carefully, stop cautiously, etc.

Plus trailering a boat this size on a regular basis could be very
stressful to the hull. Again, boats hulls are built to float, not
necessarily to ride atop a trailer all the time.

You are also dealing with a wide trailer. I may be mistaken, but if
memory serves me, maximum width for highways is generally 8.5 feet (you
should check this out in the Dallas area). 8.5 feet is the beam of these
boats. Your trailer will (make that "must") be wider. Depending on local
regulations, you may have to get a "wide-load" permit every time you hitch
up your boat.

Have you considered foregoing the trailer, getting a slightly larger boat
for more comfortable cruising and renting a slip in a nice marina?

All that being said, to answer your specific question, Regal makes a nice
boat these days, but they weren't nice to me when I had serious problems
with one of their boats some time back. From that experience alone I'd
lean toward the Crownline.

Plus your gut tells you the Crownline "feels better" even though the Regal
is more spacious. Hmmmm, more spacious yet the boats are essentially the
same size. What is missing from the Regal to create that additional
space? Could it be hull structure? You may want to trust your gut here.

You are right about the mid cabin and sleeping in the "V". When we had
one we called it "the garage", for that's what is was - our floating
storage shed. For most express cruiser owners, the mid cabin is either
for storage or a good place to sleep for the kids.

Also that radar arch may come in handy, even if only to mount a GPS or TV
antenna or even overhead lighting. Just make sure that arch is within
bridge clearances on top of that trailer.

Hope this helps.

Larry Weiss
"...Ever After!"
"a little after..."


DallasBoater wrote:

We've owned a 19ft runabout for about 8 yrs and are ready to make the
leap to an Trailerable Express Cruiser. We already own an F250
Diesel, so towing weight won't be an issue. We've done our research
and visited multiple boat shows over the past 2 years and have
narrowed our selection to two boats (in no particular order):

Crownline 270CR
http://www.crownline.com/models.php?id=270_cr_04

Regal Commodore 2765
http://www.regalboats.com/viewBoat/i...at&boat_id=120

The boats are comparably priced with similar available options except
for the fact that the Crownline has an available Radar Arch, while the
Regal does not -- but the Regal is a little longer.

I would like to hear any opinions from owners of either of these 2
boats. Here is my assessment of the two -- let me know if I'm missing
anything?

The Crownline has a better quality finish from the vinyl, to the
quality of the deck cleats & other hardware. The Crownline has an
optional Captains Call through the side hull exhaust (which I like).
The Crownline has a double captains chair vs. single on the Regal.
The Crownline has name brand Bomar windows. Every Crownline owner I
have talked has been VERY satisfied with their boats. (This is the
first yr for the 270CR model)

The Regal is more spacious for the same money. Nice finish and a
better warranty. Access to the mid cabin is MUCH better and it has
much more clearance for sleeping. But every cruiser owner we have met
said they always sleep in the v-berth, so it may not be a big issue.
I haven't met anyone that has actually owned a Regal to get firsthand
opinions.

Something just feels better about the Crownline vs. the Regal, which
is odd since I usually prefer more space. I would love to come across
someone who has owned both, but I doubt I'll be that lucky :-).

Also -- list price on the Crownline is around $116,000 loaded with
"Boat Show" pricing around $83,000 (w/o trailer). This in the Dallas,
Texas area. How much (if any) negotiating room do I have off "boat
show" price??

TIA