SeaRay vs. Viking, Hatteras, Bertram

Yes, and those people that own Vikings, Hatts and Berts are falsely opinionated buffoons? Tell you what... before making a blanket statement like that, you might consider the company you keep. I owned a 480 Sedan Bridge. Care to match wits?

Seems to me that people buy what suits their tastes and their budget and anyone who would call them idiots for it would have to be complete fool and extremely rude. Welcome to YF VikHatBer. Haven't missed you. Now of course the guys navigation skills are certainly in question.

See below, it even happens to Vikings.

65' Viking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVNPIBKlJ2w

it seems to me that the research, consideration and ultimate purchase of a watercraft are integral and exciting steps along a path that is part of the passionate journey of pursuing a lifestyle on the water. i think that this website embodies that spirit and passion thereby fostering the lifestyle.

although i have read many educated and well-crafted recommendations regarding the selection and purchase of a boat, none has ever been mean spirited or insultive of the person asking the advice. and with regards to specific boat owners and the reason for their purchase, i have never seen a blatant attack of one's character because of their decision of ownership - until now!

to castigate someone for their choice of ownership is to impugn the journey and taint their dream, which i believe is contra to the purpose of this website.

I agree with this entirely.

BUT, it doesn't sound like he is calling Searay owners idiots for buying or owning a Searay. He is saying most Searay owners are not knowledgable (which I definately in my time on the water find to be the case in general when it comes to an owners understanding of the navigation rules.)

You may have missed this:
"People who buy those larger Sea Rays are usually idiots...doesn't surprise me." As far as the generalizations are concerned, I passed every kind of boat going northbound through the ICW as I was coming down when the show broke up. Almost all were wide open through the idle & slow speed zones. None of them were Sea Rays. Although I didn't quiz them on the nav rules they obviously didn't know that they were responsible for damage caused by their wakes so I'd guess they may have missed other lessons too. Idiots come in every kind of boat although I've found the worst offenders are usually the go-fasts, but some of them know their stuff too.

Yeah it is a generalization......Down here in South Florida it is typically the SeaRay owners.....I met one that bought a new 54' as his first boat and just started running it, with no instruction and never had a boat before......I have met a few Searay owners that are knowledgable as well......but the majority of traffic offenders in South Florida are the Searay owners...... it may be different elsewhere........

Doesn't matter if it's a Sea Ray, a lost canoe or Legacy. There's just something very sad about a boat sitting where it's not supposed to be, on sand or on rocks, just sad.

While I don't agree all SeaRay owners are idiots. I do agree with Capt J on the above.

The ratio of boating edict/rules ignorance to SeaRay ownership my just be high due to the fact there are so many SeaRays sold.

But it does make you go um.

... Bingo!

To a large degree it is the number of boats. I've had first time boaters with a 51 Bertram, a 60' Sunseeker, and a 62 Fairline in recent years to name a few. None thought they needed to learn anything.

Have any learned where the nearest sand bar is? hehehehe

sand bar...how boring. The real fun comes when they learn about the effect of wind and current while "parking".

A Searay would never be my first, second, or third choice. (I'm more of a quality Sportfish guy..... but somewhere you draw the line.....I'd take a 75' Jim Smith SF, or a 63' Bayliss SF long before I'd take 3 production sportfish. Once you see the quality and ride on a custom boat a Bertram,Hatteras, or Viking is not very thrilling.....however I wouldn't throw rocks at them either......

But, I've run and delivered lots of Searays. For the average owner that is going to go up and down the ICW and an occassional trip. They're a good boat for that and for the money. They're simple and easy to maintain in relation to a lot of boats their size. They usually have a pretty good layout. They are built strong enough for their intended usage. They manuever pretty well and are pretty easy to run. They use fairly good quality components. Searay has been pretty darn good with warrantying things from what I've seen. While they don't excell at anything (speed, ride, strength), they're a pretty good all-around boat. Heck I even caught a 150lb Blue Marlin on a 45' Sedan Bridge that I delivered from Ft. Laud to St. Croix off of Provo.

not to be picky but there is nothing in the nav rules about being responsible for your wake... it's usually local /state rules.

i never see too many "go-fasts" on the ICW and frankly they don't' leave much of a wake anyway. the sportfish are usually the worst offenders, every time i get waked or passed without signals on the ICW, it's a sportfish.

As to Sea Rays, they do a great job marketing the boats and creating a brand image, lots of flashy things too. Style takes precedence over sea worthiness, just look at that "stylish" reverse sheer they've been using for the past few years... who in their right mind want the bow of a boat to dip down! but it sells.

As to Sea Rays being easy to maintain i really have to disagree on this. every single one i've been on is a maintenance nightmare with things being impossible to reach and service. Some systems are installed during construction and blocked as other things are installed. Water pumps hidden behind engines, windshield wiper sealed behind cabinetry, bilge pumps that you can't even touch, etc...

I for one dumped a Blazer and another Chev for (2) Hyundais and subsequently traded those for (2) more. You just can't help but offend. The fact is that as a lifelong Chevy owner they just couldn't keep up with the quality of a Hyundai or the price.
What Sea Ray has is great marketing and a huge dealer/service network in the US. When there's a problem you don't have to call Italy. That makes people comfortable, especially when they don't have experience in this world.
Is it the best boat...NO, but it serves a purpose and does that well. Basiclly, it's a Chevy. Bentleys are cool, but most people are more comfortable in a Chevy (or a Hyundai or Toyota, etc.).

The Beached SeaRay thread has been split and moved into its own discussion title in the Sportfish forum.