Rank the different boat brands

[Salt to Sea]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Hi, Salt to Sea,

Of course, everyone feels a need to defend his own choice, and boat choice is at the end of the day, more personal than cars, because the basic environment (the ocean) is not as safe as land for humans.

Boats that are lightly built can be very good and expensive (due to materials costs) or dreadful and prone to having issues and there's a middle ground, as well. When you have settled on a marque in which you think you might be interested, go to the owners forum and see what kinds of repairs they are discussing.

What you will eventually want is one that has been better maintained [see http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-a-78671.html], than the others you're interested in. Don't allow boat lust to develop till you've found exactly what you think you want, given that ALL boats are compromises.

One of the easier entry level stances is like a used Catalina 22, 27,or 30. Very common boat, easy to buy and sell, and you can learn a lot with one and have a very good time. Or, look for posts about a Hunter 27 bought by a CF member called something like <Teknishn>, sorry, I don't remember how he spelled it.

Or, look at Sailorboy1's avatar, he has a Hunter listed as hi s boat. Ask him the pros and cons. Mostly boat owners like to talk about their boats, but there is sometimes brand bashing that occurrs, which is unpleasant to deal with. Just as there is sometimes conflict between the preferences of mono vs. catamaran owners. Boats are built to price lines and their solidity or lack of it is part of that.


Ann

Thanks, I didn’t even consider egos when posting the question. That’s a great point, I appreciate the help. I was really hoping there was some sort of hierarchy of brands - but it looks like I need to get more involved around here and keep doing more research outside of here.

[MicHughV]

a case in point....the boat list by John Neal ( a well known global sailer ) posted by "CarlF" must number in the 100's...I didn't try to count them...too many...and that is just one person's point of view...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

. I was really hoping there was some sort of hierarchy of brands.

There is! Pretty basically it's:

$5M
$4M
$3M
$2M
$1M to .................................................. ..........................................$10

And then within those there's

size
model year
equipment
condition

Even where you ask "What's the best boat to get for $x" there is no answer. In the end all there is is the best boat for YOU.

[Salt to Sea]

Follow up question: how do I delete an entire thread and/or create a new account on this site?

[Calif.Ted]

Broker friend mentioned that he had a customer wanted a Catalina 28 that had just sold, so he started looking for a 27-28 ft. boat less than 20 years old. There are none for sale in S. Calif. from any builder, Catalina, Bene, Hunter, no one. That list is mostly boats no longer built, some for decades, not going to get a 10 year old lightly used one. So depending on size and age market can be limiting. It seems many people doing boat research seem to decide nothing but a boat degreed to be "blue water" by someone will suit their purpose. Personally I find some such boats boring while others seem downright dangerous to any but very experienced people.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

Follow up question: how do I delete an entire thread and/or create a new account on this site?

you can't

but you can start a new thread with a different question

[Cat36Mahalo]

Yachtworld.com found 2 Catalina 28’s in California. 13k and 45k

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

Follow up question: how do I delete an entire thread and/or create a new account on this site?

To get an a thread deleted,:
A. It needs to be an ad for something that sold or is no longer for sale.
B. No responses.
C. A rules violation in the first post so bad that the mods are willing to delete that first post.

If you create a new account the mods will likely catch you, the accounts will be merged and they will start paying more attention to you. People creating multiple accounts is a big problem and isn’t tolerated.

[Salt to Sea]

Originally Posted by Adelie

To get an a thread deleted,:
A. It needs to be an ad for something that sold or is no longer for sale.
B. No responses.
C. A rules violation in the first post so bad that the mods are willing to delete that first post.

If you create a new account the mods will likely catch you, the accounts will be merged and they will start paying more attention to you. People creating multiple accounts is a big problem and isn’t tolerated.

I’m 0 for 2 tonight. That one was meant to be sarcastic. Guess I’m not as smart or funny as my kids think.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Salt to Sea

I’m 0 for 2 tonight. That one was meant to be sarcastic. Guess I’m not as smart or funny as my kids think.

Completely missed that you were being sarcastic. Too many people with the same questionS being serious.

Regarding:

A: All the of the folks that contributed won't necessarily want their posts deleted. There are plenty of folks that think it was my thread so I can do with it what I want, either establishing "rules" that all posters have to follow, or deleting it when they are done. So sorry, doesn't work that way. A poster gets a 30m window to edit or delete a post. If the post was the first in a thread then the whole post is deleted because all responses would be non sequiturs with it gone.

B. There are plenty of folks that establish sockpuppet accounts to help them promote some product they are trying to sell or to help bolster them in some argument by making it look like there are a lot of posters that agree with them. Then there is the occasional person that has been suspended and establishes a 2nd account so they can keep posting during the suspension. And finally there is the odd person who has been permanently banned that tries to establish a new account to keep going.

As I say too many people being serious about these questions to assume anyone is being sarcastic when they ask.

[Adelie]

Also I was being serious about the Cals. Unless I had a special need such as shallow water capability or needing to go somewhere high latitude I would start with the Cals, very good bang for the buck.

[JC Reefer]

Salt to Sea, don’t let these old people give you such a hard time. There is a defined hierarchy within boat builders.

Beneteau, Catalina, Macgregor, hunter [emoji6]

[john61ct]

Did you mean to say you're buying new?

Give your budget range?

Both those will help narrow things down, eliminate hundred if not thousands of builders.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

Salt to Sea, don’t let these old people give you such a hard time. There is a defined hierarchy within boat builders.

Beneteau, Catalina, Macgregor, hunter [emoji6]

So, is that ranking top down or bottom up? Enquiring minds want to know!

And what about all the other marques?

Jim

[Salt to Sea]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Did you mean to say you're buying new?

Give your budget range?

Both those will help narrow things down, eliminate hundred if not thousands of builders.

I’m trying to figure it all out and was hoping this would help me narrow my daydreaming searches some.

I’ll probably be looking for a 20-30’ (I know that’s a huge range) used boat for under $10k and maybe even under $5k. I bought a little 12’ boat recently and learned it’s way too small. Gonna upgrade to something bigger next summer but really just at the beginning stages. I didn’t mean for this to turn into a thread to help me decide exactly what I need, as I have too much to learn before getting there.

There are a number of 20-25’ boats in my area for under $10k. I could drive to So Cal for a great deal too (10 hrs to L.A.).

I’m not going to be looking for my dream boat, rather a good learning boat that my family and I can enjoy while beating it up on the lakes around here.