On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 05:15:39 +0000, Gould 0738 wrote:

In the interest of providing the rec.boats political debate society with a
short, boating related interlude, I am tossing in one of my more recent boat
review items. :-)

Be warned.

1. It's very long. Send out for coffee after the first 1700 words.

2. Some favorable comments about many aspects of the product are included. Those
who become emotionally distraught when reading anything not bitterly hostile to
the marine industry are invited to either skip this thread or flame me privately
at . Won't accept responsibility anybody becoming po'd and
acting badly after ignoring this advance disclosure.

3. Alternate, issue-oriented, informed opinions offered without personal insult
are eagerly solicited in this venue for the purpose of promoting discussion.
Thank you.

********
A Boat for All Seasons

snip

Thanks for the review, Chuck! Here's some hopefully-#3 comments rather than
#2...

First, OK, it's a "favourable" review. But surely SOMETHING was wrong with the
boat? Of course, I'd say 30 gph is in the "yikes!" category: it takes me a month
to burn that much. What about access forward in those "questionable" conditions
(often a problem with express cruisers)? Anything else you DIDN'T like?

In fact, Impressing the Babes is about the only way I could justify burning
30gph to go 25mph. Let's see...Vancouver to Desolation Sound: about 100 miles.
That's 4 hrs each way, but 120 gals!

And waterproof instruments in an open cockpit? what a concept!

Also, loved your description of the brochures: too true! We have a Standing Joke
in Engineering that in order to be an Engineer, you need a white shirt and tie
(no jacket), a hardhat, a clipboard, and you must be pointing at something. This
is how we're portrayed in ALL brochures...

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Of course, I'd say 30 gph is in the "yikes!" category: it takes me a month
to burn that much. What about access forward in those "questionable"
conditions
(often a problem with express cruisers)? Anything else you DIDN'T like?

Like you, I can boat all weekend on 30 gal of fuel. But, we're not trying to go
25 mph, etiher.

Access forward: Fairly standard on most boats of this style to "gopherward"
(rather than go forward) onto the foredeck from the hatch. Some have walk
through windshields.....Since a side deck needs to be brought prety well aft to
acess it realistically, that swipes a lot of sq footage out of the cockpit.
Personally, I'd rather have a side deck, (maybe just one, down the port side)
but that's not really standard design in this category.

Never been personally impressed by boats with tip-toe skinny decks. IMO, better
to use the hatch than to tip toe along a wet ledge.

Soon as I find a boat without any compromises, I'll forsake my trusty tug and
buy it.............

Hi Chuck,
Is there really a boat without compromises? I am looking for a new boat, but
can't find one that sleeps 6-8, is air-conditioned, comfy, stable in rough
water, reliable, goes at least 30 knots and gets good fuel economy. Just
can't seem to find one without compromising something!

--
Capt. Frank

__c
\ _ | \_
__\_| oooo \_____
~~~~|______________/ ~~~~~
www.home.earthlink.net/~aartworks
"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Of course, I'd say 30 gph is in the "yikes!" category: it takes me a
month
to burn that much. What about access forward in those "questionable"
conditions
(often a problem with express cruisers)? Anything else you DIDN'T like?

Like you, I can boat all weekend on 30 gal of fuel. But, we're not trying
to go
25 mph, etiher.

Access forward: Fairly standard on most boats of this style to
"gopherward"
(rather than go forward) onto the foredeck from the hatch. Some have walk
through windshields.....Since a side deck needs to be brought prety well
aft to
acess it realistically, that swipes a lot of sq footage out of the
cockpit.
Personally, I'd rather have a side deck, (maybe just one, down the port
side)
but that's not really standard design in this category.

Never been personally impressed by boats with tip-toe skinny decks. IMO,
better
to use the hatch than to tip toe along a wet ledge.

Soon as I find a boat without any compromises, I'll forsake my trusty tug
and
buy it.............

Hi Chuck,
Is there really a boat without compromises?

I have it on indisputable authority that Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy both
own one.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 03:21:46 GMT, "Capt Frank Hopkins"
wrote:

Is there really a boat without compromises?

=====================================

I'm told that the only perfect boat ever made belongs to the one and
only perfect woman, and she's looking for a perfect guy to share it
with.

I'm told that the only perfect boat ever made belongs to the one and
only perfect woman, and she's looking for a perfect guy to share it
with.

That's bad news indeed!

1. My wife owns another (much better) boat on her own and she's keeping it a
secret from me?!

2. She's shopping around! Absolutely, most definitely shopping around. :-)

Gould 0738 wrote:


There is a lot of value in a Sea Ray 340 Sundancer. The vessel we tested at
Lake Union Sea Ray in Seattle had a base price of $222,167. With the Raymarine
radar, the 5kw Onan, the SmartCraft system, freshwater cooling, and some
miscellaneous options the retail price on the vessel as equipped was $251,082.
In a market where one could spend nearly as much but have to settle for
considerably less boat, the 340 Sundancer deserves a careful look. In any
season.



Yikes ... just noticed that price. For that kinda moolah you can buy a
new Albemarle 310, according to the new SW Sportsman. With twin Cat
3126s. Of course, the Albe is less the dockside condo and more the head
out no matter the weather boat.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Gould 0738 wrote:


There is a lot of value in a Sea Ray 340 Sundancer. The vessel we
tested at
Lake Union Sea Ray in Seattle had a base price of $222,167. With the
Raymarine
radar, the 5kw Onan, the SmartCraft system, freshwater cooling, and some
miscellaneous options the retail price on the vessel as equipped was
$251,082.
In a market where one could spend nearly as much but have to settle for
considerably less boat, the 340 Sundancer deserves a careful look. In
any
season.



Yikes ... just noticed that price. For that kinda moolah you can buy a
new Albemarle 310, according to the new SW Sportsman. With twin Cat
3126s. Of course, the Albe is less the dockside condo and more the head
out no matter the weather boat.

A lot of money but no where near what you shelled out on your custom 36 foot
lobster boat, right Harry?

How are your friends Harry Hope and Creaky doing? LOL!

A lot of money but no where near what you shelled out on your custom 36 foot
lobster boat, right Harry?

How are your friends Harry Hope and Creaky doing? LOL!

There goes the thread.......
There wasn't any flaming or name calling to his point. Too bad.

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
A lot of money but no where near what you shelled out on your custom 36
foot
lobster boat, right Harry?

How are your friends Harry Hope and Creaky doing? LOL!

There goes the thread.......
There wasn't any flaming or name calling to his point. Too bad.

And there goes the NG thanks to you and Harry. You are the ones that
brought it down. I am only following your great tradition.