wrote in message
oups.com...
JimH wrote:

I stand by my comments John, including the fact that fluff reviews do
potential buyers a disservice.

"It's all about looking good and going fast" to some *boaters*.

**************

There's a bright fella. Sticks by his lie that I'm "paid by Sea Ray to
defend Sea Ray boats" when even his normally close allies point out the
absurdity.

And yeah, JimH, for a lot of boaters it is very much about going fast
and looking good.

LOL. That would explain us bass boat owners. 70.9 MPH Bass Cat under ideal
conditions with a full (tournament) load. 72 plus lightly loaded and out of
control. On the other hand my GPS indicates an average speed of les than 1
MPH when actually fishing. LOL.

I'ld have to say in my personal experience those people who can afford and
choose to buy a nice boat are either about looking good and going fast or
looking good and being comfortable. In my case I bought my Bass Cat after
reading hundreds of articles and listening to many other people with hands
on personal expereince of different boats, and having owned three used
beater bass boats so I could compare features and decide what I truly wanted
out of a Bass Boat.

In the case of my dad's two Searays. They are older models. Pre-Brunswick
so I guess my experience with them does not apply. I can say those old
Phoenix made Searays are rock solid rough water handlers. Stable and safe
at displacement speeds and pretty darned impressive when properly handled at
planing speeds. No flex and accurate tracking in the worst conditions we
have run them in. No, we have not run them offshore, but I think people who
call them an OK lake boat are really doing them a disservice. We have run
ahead of (and a few times trailing) storm driven waves in huge lakes with
these and they kept us safe and drive. Anybody who has run Lake Mead or
Lake Powel in the afternoon on a windy day will understand the type of
conditions I am talking about.

So, I guess I have no relevant opinion on modern Searay boats, but the odler
ones were incredible. At the time my dad bought his Searays they had a top
notch reputation in the industry. He also has an early 90s 22' Bayliner
walk around cuddy which had a transom rot out in just a couple years. (it
was kept on a trailer, covered and dry except for a few weeks each year.
They also sold it way under powered with a single Force 150. He had the
transom rebuilt by an independent shop, and set it up with twin 150s. It is
now a decent boat. If Searay in the early 90s was truly similar in quality
and construction.to the Bayliner then I would have to agree with their
detractors, and any current Seray would be subject to severe scrutiny by
myself before I would consider purchasing one.

Personally I love the look of that 68 footer they have on their website. If
I was able to afford something like that I'ld certainly consider my options
carefully. On the other hand. Do you think that thing could outrun pirates
off the coast of Yemen with the over 3 thousand (claimed) horsepower using
that pair of optional Cat diesels? LOL. Don't need no stinking guns. Just
catch us if you can. LOL. On the other hand with only a thousand gallons
of fuel capacity I doubt it would ever make it that far. LOL. I'ld never
make it across the Pacific with it.
--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com