Bestway info please

Anyone have any info on the quality etc. of Bestway boats? I don't see a lot of them for sale. Also how do Volvo penta engines stack up compaired to others?

Ebach said:

Anyone have any info on the quality etc. of Bestway boats? I don't see a lot of them for sale. Also how do Volvo penta engines stack up compaired to others?

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There's one been for sale in Beaufort NC. Been for sale for like 5 years. Price has dropped from like $129K to $74K over 5 years. Beautiful boat.

Had it been $74k when I bought mine, I would have bought it.

1988 Bestway Sundeck Motor Yacht Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I understand Volvos are "high winders", that is run at high RPM. May have a shorter life be more finicky. But take that as hearsay, because I'm not a mechanic, but I talk to them.

Hard to tell from the photos but engines look like TAMD 60B's or maybe 40B's, either way max rpm 2450. Really solid engines but Volvo parts prices are outrageous.

Thanks for the reply Ben. We have been kind of eye balling a 50' but we can not find much info good or bad on a Bestway. This the one we have been thinking of going to look at.

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Paul

I have a 1985 Bestway 40 ft. Labelle Sundeck with Volvo Penta's. It is Taiwanese of moderate quality. There were enough made in the mid eighties that they got a lot of it right. The volvo's are a very good engine and max rpm is usually 3600 for pleasure and 3000 for comercial uses. All that I have seen are turbocharged. The TAMD 40's, 41's 60's made in the eighties are getting old but parts are still available some new and lots of used. Parts prices are outrageous. Fortunaly the engines are high quality and not many parts are needed very often. For example the last three years all I have needed is circulating pumps at $650 each. Filters, oil and glow plugs are all available from generic sources. In summary I have found the Bestway to be a lot of boat for the buck.

Ebach said:

Thanks for the reply Ben. We have been kind of eye balling a 50' but we can not find much info good or bad on a Bestway. This the one we have been thinking of going to look at.

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Paul

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Hi Paul -

Whoa! That is a Battleship! It's huge. Good luck, it looks beautiful. I shopped various flavors of Marine Trader for years before getting our boat. I probably would still be shopping, but as it's our first trawler (We had Sea Rays a few years) I liked smaller and simplistic (single screw) to manage my learnings and costs. I actually missed buying a 42 Present with twin Perkins, but ours has been a great learning platform.

Anyway, Marine Trader came out with a few different collaborations, which I think were a "Bestway" and a "LaBelle", and I think there were some combinations. As far as I can tell, those two variations seemed to have more decorative and ornate woodwork in the cabins and tended to have more deck teak. So when you decide, think about how much woodwork you plan to sand and varnish.

Also PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to the undersides of ALL windows. If they have not been replaced, you might find that's part of your first work. I am planning replacements now for this winter. Mostly the sliding windows. I am budgeting about $200 per window from Wynne in Alabama. People on this forum have had very good results.

Good luck.

Volvo parts are very expensive, triple that of Cats or Cummins. Be aware that Volvo does not support engines that are out of production. If you need a replacement part you are SOL. I know, I've got two Volvos in my engine room.

boatpoker said:

Hard to tell from the photos but engines look like TAMD 60B's or maybe 40B's, either way max rpm 2450. Really solid engines but Volvo parts prices are outrageous.

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That makes me glad I have a Lehman. I'd heard that about Volvos.

Looks nice and well kept. I would like to see it sit out in a good rainstorm to see if the windows or that teak deck leaks. Very expensive to repair leaky decks. I really like the Bestways but when I was in the market I tended to stay away from teak decks and wood framed windows.