On Fri, 11 May 2007 18:26:33 +0200, Marc Heusser
alid wrote:

I'd like to get a motor boat.

The local dealer mainly sells Sea Ray.

I have read about problems with the Mercruiser motors as well as
corrosion and wet wood on the boats. Is this really a problem, or was it
just the unlucky guy?

I've owned a 2002 SeaRay 270 Sundeck since the beginning of the year
and have put about 50 hours on it so far. I know the original owner.
It has always been used in salt water, stored on a boat lift and kept
covered.

I've had one relatively minor issue with the Mercruiser engine
involving a defective oil pressure sensor. Other than that it has run
flawlessly. My old 24 ft runabout had a Mercruiser engine which
lasted nearly 30 years in sal****er. It did require quite a bit of
maintenance toward the end however.

The quality of the trim and fittings is well above average and there
are no signs of corrosion. The upholstery still looks like new. On
balance I like it a lot and it seems well suited for its intended
purpose as a day boat/runabout. There are a lot of nice details which
seem to be well thought out.

I think Pascoe sums it up rather well:

======
On the outside, the overall quality is pretty good. Not much chintzy
hardware, and the basic structures are holding up well. With care, it
still looks good. The rub rails aren't all loose, dented and falling
off, and stress cracking is minimal. As a used boat, it offers
excellent value. As a new boat, they're still hard to beat quality
wise, but the quality margin over the competition can be a pretty thin
line at times.
======

You might want to take a look at Crownline and Cobalt which are also
decent boats of a similar type.