Another: "What do we buy?"

After dreaming about it for let's say, 30 years...

Ready to buy a boat. Sure, we've had your various sailboats, inboard ski boats, walkaround fishing boats, etc. Never had a real, "in the water" (not trailerable) yacht.

I'll lay out some parameters, but really, we're fairly open.

Budget: up to $200k
Intended use: day cruising with family and friends. Some Puget Sound region fishing. Occasional trip north, maybe southeast Alaska at the very max.
Wants / needs: Must be able to be easily crewed by husband & wife... Son in law, etc... Should day cruise 15, sleep 6 in beds. Two heads preferred. I like the pilothouse concept, but not required.

I prefer the saltier "trawler" look, but the Bayliner 4788 is a very good looking boat as well. Sorry, I said "Bayliner"...
Prefer twins & bow thruster, as we're not super experienced in larger boats. (Though I do occasionally use a 40' single screw wood "trawler" yacht)

We want a boat that is very well maintained, no projects. We have no desire to be "passage-makers". Don't need a super macho ocean crossing vessel. Simply, weekend use with family & friends, and the occasional longer trip with say, four on board.

Thoughts, suggestions, criticism?

Ed

Man, with that kind of budget you're going to have a wide range of great boats in the PNW to choose from. For 15 during the day and not running into one another, I'd be looking at boats around the size of the Bayliner 4788 you noted, but you also mentioned fishing, so others having a decent, uncovered cockpit with room to swing a rod and some twins to back-down on a tough catch. It should be a fun search with a 200K budget!

Well, you already mentioned the Bayliner 4788.

No need to be sorry you mentioned it either. The 4788 is a excellent Coastal Cruiser. It fills your mission and budget requirements.

The 4788/490 is an extremely poplar boat in the PACNW for good reasons. It is among many boats out there that would work just fine for what you are asking of it.

I would go along with the others. $200k is a lot of money but there are not a lot of boats large enough for 15 plus beds for 6, new enough not to be a project boat, twin engine, bow thruster, two heads, etc... That you can into for that money. Pretty much the only boat that I know of that checks off all on that list would be the Bayliners.

DeFever 48 checks all those boxes

Since i and the other strangers here don't know you and yours, it is not really possible to suggest a boat for you. it is a very personal decision. For us, ergonomics of operation and maintenance were extremely important, as we are clumsy and a bit inept. Likewise we needed to evaluate the suitability for the boat to be our exclusive full time residence for a number of years, as well as the boat's seaworthiness, ease of service, parts availability, etc. These latter factors helped us home in on the Hatteras brand.

We had the benefit of having chartered a number of boats over the previous few years, for extended vacations, so had developed a good list of must haves for our specific intended use, and we were ever happier with our choice as the years went on. However, our boat is not for everyone by any means, so I am not going to tell some anonymous stranger that is what they should buy. I'm just suggesting a good process to use for making one's own personal decision. Good luck with your hunt, and have a great time cruising once you've made your purchase!

GT6

Two things. (1) What is your previous boating experience? (2) Don't willingly take candy or advice from strangers.

You are in a great locale to find the right boat. Spend 3 or 4 days in Seattle, one in Portland and one in Anacortes. But, you need to put some front end work in, (at least 20 boats) so the boats you want to look at should be well vetted with phone calls and promo materials in advance. Build a spreadsheet on those vessels passing the first few hurdles. Don't waste your time on dogs either, walk quickly if the boat care and attention is visibly missing or smells bad.

Sure, our advice will spew forth - but walk the docks with your own specific wants and needs on your own self made rating sheet. Be aware, at least half the vessels you look at will have intentionally hidden by owner faults. Some very serious.

So once you narrow the list down, come back to us with a shortlist and the chances are very good those of us in the PNW will know the vessel and issues if any it has had in past. Don't be afraid to use PMs, some get very rankled when their brand gets trashed by trolls. Enjoy this trip.

Sorry, I said "Bayliner"

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Please don't apologize for saying Bayliner. My first boat was a Bayliner. I still miss it. She was a great boat. I am sick of hearing boat snobs insult various boat brands because they supposedly don't measure up to brands A,B, and C. Most boats, if well cared for, will provide many years of enjoyment. Just because a boat does not cost and arm and a leg does not mean it's a POS. Truth be told Bayliner's bad rap was started by disgruntled searay owners. They were just pissed off that they paid way to much money for a boat.

Don't forget that much about boat ownership is a love affair. Look at all the details, sure, but you will be most happy with the boat that sets your heart racing.
Good luck!
Oldersalt

Good stuff, thanks.

My apologies to the Bayliner fans, the nuance of it didn't get through via this media. We're actually looking into the Bayliner 4788's as they seem to be a potentially good fit.

Big fan of Defever's as well. My dream boat has long been a Defever 49 raised pilot house. We'll look at Defevers from 42-49'.

Others that look interesting:
West Bay 45
GB 42-46
Albin 48 North Sea Cutter
Ocean Alexander 40-54. pilothouse, europa, etc.
Navigator 42, 50
Cheoy Lee 48
Hatteras 42 CMY
Californian 46-48

GT6 said:

Good stuff, thanks.

My apologies to the Bayliner fans, the nuance of it didn't get through via this media. We're actually looking into the Bayliner 4788's as they seem to be a potentially good fit.

Big fan of Defever's as well. My dream boat has long been a Defever 49 raised pilot house. We'll look at Defevers from 42-49'.

Others that look interesting:
West Bay 45
GB 42-46
Albin 48 North Sea Cutter
Ocean Alexander 40-54. pilothouse, europa, etc.
Navigator 42, 50
Cheoy Lee 48
Hatteras 42 CMY
Californian 46-48

Click to expand...

A very important thing you need to decide early in your search is how fast the boat has to go. That decision will either include or eliminate allot of otherwise good boats.

The best way to do that is to think of what you want to do with the boat, and how long in time you have to do it.

Don't think "when I'm old and retired" think "next weekend" (unless retirement is in the next couple of years). Where do you want to moor the boat? How much time do you have on your hands? Where do you want to explore? Think realisticly.

For example if you have mostly weekends and a couple of week long trips a year, you might want to consider a semi planing, or a full planing hull boat, simply because it will open up options for you. The problem is this will cost in fuel. If fuel costs are a consideration, or if you have lots of time on your hands, then a full displacement boat might be best.

The big thing is to not only think of what catches your eye, although that is very important. Look at your mission needs for the boat, and eliminate boats that do not fit that need.

Oh, when I mention fuel costs, what I'm referring to is you and your spouses mental tolerance for fuel costs. If you or your wife are going to be unhappy pulling up to a fuel dock and dropping 500 to a thousand for a weekends fuel costs then that is something to be realistic about. A good rule of thumb is that a SD boat in the 45-50' range will get approx .6-.8NMPG at say 15 knots. So a 150 mile weekend (not un heard of) will burn between 180 and about 250 gallons of fuel if running at a fast cruise speed.

There is/was a WB 45 for sale in Sidney. Hawgwash could easily find out if still available, PM him if interested.

A good start now spend a lot of time sitting, lying down, walking the decks, sitting at the controls of a lot of different boats. soon you will begin to notice what features you prefer. We for example wanted no ladders, no outside path to the fly bridge, wide side decks, beds that one could sit in and read, accessible line handling , acceptable visibility aft for docking and looking behind. The sailboat look may be pretty but if it reduces livability it many not be fore you. 15 people under way is a lot.


Remember form follows function.

For that "Salty Side " check out the older Defever 49 pilot house that's on YW on the west coast .

My Wife and I are also looking for a new-to-us boat for our return to the PNW. We have found the "Hebert Yacht sales" website to be a very good source of boats to view. just select search all Pacific north west boats, then fill out the form, and you will gea a list of "most" of the boats that are available from Oregon to BC.

mramoo said:

My Wife and I are also looking for a new-to-us boat for our return to the PNW. We have found the "Hebert Yacht sales" website to be a very good source of boats to view. just select search all Pacific north west boats, then fill out the form, and you will gea a list of "most" of the boats that are available from Oregon to BC.

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If you fill out the form are you not obligating yourself to use Herbert as a co-broker with all the potential pitfalls that entails?

I would not fill out any form to supposedly ease the burden. I prefer the old fashioned way, shoe leather, word of mouth, yachtworld and reading the various sales companies websites for current listings.

ksanders said:

A very important thing you need to decide early in your search is how fast the boat has to go. That decision will either include or eliminate allot of otherwise good boats.

The best way to do that is to think of what you want to do with the boat, and how long in time you have to do it.

Click to expand...

Very good points. We're buying with a partner, (whole 'nother bag o worms!) and they are much less concerned with fuel costs than we are. I believe the 4788 series would allow us to cruise both low & slow, or zip along faster.

Reality is such a hard thing to deal with concerning boats, in my experience. What we dream of doing, versus what we actually do. Our previous boat was an inboard sportfisher.

I planned on going offshore for tuna, but the family got nervous when out of the sight of land. So, we tended to fish the inshore kelp beds off La Jolla, Coronado Islands, etc.

I think this next boat will really be used primarily for cocktail cruises, long weekends in the San Juans, etc. Some fishing & crabbing as well.

GT6 said:

Very good points. We're buying with a partner, (whole 'nother bag o worms!) and they are much less concerned with fuel costs than we are. .

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Worry less about fuel costs, that is managed largely by the hand on the throttle. Insurance, moorage, repairs and maintenance and upgrades will eat up much more money. If one partner is anal (good) about getting maintenance done and the other anal (bad) about keeping repair and upgrade costs down - the boat will suffer and it will not be a fun JV.

Finding the right boat sounds easy in comparison.

Another: "What do we buy?"

I agree, the partnership idea sounds bad, but maybe that's the only way to get the deal done?

If that's the case I might just look at a cheaper boat I could buy alone. Or even smarter, ditch the entire purchase idea and just charter.

Just call me Mr Buzzkill. ?

We've pretty much decided on a Bayliner 4788. Problem is finding a great one at our $200k price point. Believe it or not, they appear to be selling quite quickly.

Looked at a decent one in Anacortes, in a charter fleet. Nicely equipped, bow & stern thrusters, etc. My hesitation is the charter factor. Like buying a rental car. On the other hand, I would have no problem buying a former rental airplane. I know what maintenance is required, etc., and log books pretty much tell the story on airplanes.

The 4788 has a layout that really suits our expected usage. Quality looks good, comparable to anything else we've seen. Surprisingly, I looked at a GB46 that didn't seem as well built or designed as a 4788. Also somewhat older for the same price range.

Our current plan is to sit and wait for the right boat to come on the market. No rush means a better overall deal. I'm mostly looking for something with fairly current electronics, superb maintenance records, and decent equipment.

Not interested in chartering. We tend to like to go to the boat on no notice, take a couple friends for cocktails, etc. Not plan trips much in the future, more spontaneous, which does not really fit with renting.