On Fri, 5 Oct 2007 03:33:23 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

Hard to say. There are lots of boats being sold with good speed
potential that are not really designed for heavy conditions. Going 30
kts through 3+ footers is tough going for anything but a sportfish or
offshore racing hull. Same boat in 1 footers, which is probably
closer to how most people use them, is a different story. Once a boat
goes airborn off a wave it's going to thump things around when it
lands.

The thump I understand.
It was the after-thump shimmer and flexing that concerned me.

I think it has done the "thump" thing a few too many times and is
starting to loosen up internally. Not a good thing obviously, and not
a recommendation for older SeaRays that have been run hard. SeaRay and
a lot of other manufacturers use glass over foam composite
construction. Once the bonds between glass and foam start to break
down, the boat loses structural integrity very quickly. This has also
been happening a lot with cored sailboat hulls as they begin to age. A
friend of mine in Connecticut has a 39 footer from a well known
builder. The boat is literally falling apart internally from multiple
core failures.

One of my neighbors in SWFL had an older SeaRay 29 that was still a
decent boat in most respects. The anchor pulpit always had a funny
little shake to it though that made me wonder about the rest of it.
Down our way most people use their SeaRays to take family and friends
out for a quick spin on relatively calm days. You rarely see them out
in the Gulf when the seas are kicking up except for the larger ones
over 40 ft.