Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:58:31 -0400, DK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:54:02 -0400, DK wrote:

The Key West is a great boat. It's on my short list for my next boat.
In my search for my next big boat, I stumbled across one of these:

http://www.keywestboatsinc.com/boats/293cc.html

I was very impressed compared to it's smaller cousins. One of the
main issues I had about Key West is that they just don't seem
"finished" to me. Then again, it's not a Contender in terms of
quality/form/fit, but overall, not bad at all for this class boat.

I liked the stepdown and by comparison, the 31 Contender and 30 Key
West are about the same weight which was surprising to me because they
used to be much lighter. It would appear that they've gone in a new
direction.

What model Key West are you interested in?
The 2300.

Polar is another consideration...

http://polarboats.com/po2300ccsingle.html

I want something I can still tow.

I'll tell you what - pound-for-pound, dollar-for-dollar, the Polar is
the best boat I've seen in that class next to Contender.

Everything about Polar boats is well thought out and properly
constructed. They also have features that other boats just don't have
or are interested in for whatever reason. They are the equal of
Contender in a lot of ways.

If I were interested in that class boat, I'd have to flip a coin
between a Contender and Polar which is saying something because I'm a
huge Contender fan/fanatic.

They do have some nice features that were well thought out for fishing
and cruising. My issue at the moment is storage. My current location
has a fixed bridge that won't allow a T-top even on a boat that size at
any tide level. Once that is settled, I can go shopping.

Contenders are very popular here and abundant. They are top-of-the-line
and carry a price tag to match. I just can't justify the additional
cost for the limited time I can get out on the water.

On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:01:34 -0400, DK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:58:31 -0400, DK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:54:02 -0400, DK wrote:

The Key West is a great boat. It's on my short list for my next boat.
In my search for my next big boat, I stumbled across one of these:

http://www.keywestboatsinc.com/boats/293cc.html

I was very impressed compared to it's smaller cousins. One of the
main issues I had about Key West is that they just don't seem
"finished" to me. Then again, it's not a Contender in terms of
quality/form/fit, but overall, not bad at all for this class boat.

I liked the stepdown and by comparison, the 31 Contender and 30 Key
West are about the same weight which was surprising to me because they
used to be much lighter. It would appear that they've gone in a new
direction.

What model Key West are you interested in?
The 2300.

Polar is another consideration...

http://polarboats.com/po2300ccsingle.html

I want something I can still tow.

I'll tell you what - pound-for-pound, dollar-for-dollar, the Polar is
the best boat I've seen in that class next to Contender.

Everything about Polar boats is well thought out and properly
constructed. They also have features that other boats just don't have
or are interested in for whatever reason. They are the equal of
Contender in a lot of ways.

If I were interested in that class boat, I'd have to flip a coin
between a Contender and Polar which is saying something because I'm a
huge Contender fan/fanatic.

They do have some nice features that were well thought out for fishing
and cruising. My issue at the moment is storage. My current location
has a fixed bridge that won't allow a T-top even on a boat that size at
any tide level. Once that is settled, I can go shopping.

LOL!!! Been there, done that. I had my Ranger down at Cardinal Marina
in Stonington for a while and the only exit was under the Amtrak
bridge. I could get it out and in at mid low to low, but was screwed
at any other time of day. I decided being tide bound was silly, so I
went back to trailering.

Contenders are very popular here and abundant. They are top-of-the-line
and carry a price tag to match. I just can't justify the additional
cost for the limited time I can get out on the water.

I totally understand. I've owned two of them, both 32 footers, one a
center console and one a Fisharound and loved them. I ran them
through about anything including one time at the East Passage entrance
of Narragansett Bay in 8 foot short period waves - got through in one
piece and dry as a bone - didn't even get wet. I did run the CC once
out a hundred miles and back again just for giggles, but I mostly kept
within 60 miles of shore. Great boats.

The great thing about Contender is that they keep their value over
time. I sold both Contenders for $2K less than I paid for them - the
first one I ran for three years and the second for two years.

Currently, I'm looking at another 32 CC, used this time, down
Greenwich way. It's a 2006 and powered with 250 Verados which I could
live with if I had to. The owner is buying a bigger CC and has low
hours on the Verados so he's thinking about keeping the engines which
would be fine with me. I've made an offer with and without so we'll
see what happens.

Seriously though - give that Polar a good look. I'm very impressed
with those boats and the people that build them.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


The great thing about Contender is that they keep their value over
time. I sold both Contenders for $2K less than I paid for them - the
first one I ran for three years and the second for two years.

Currently, I'm looking at another 32 CC, used this time, down
Greenwich way. It's a 2006 and powered with 250 Verados which I could
live with if I had to. The owner is buying a bigger CC and has low
hours on the Verados so he's thinking about keeping the engines which
would be fine with me. I've made an offer with and without so we'll
see what happens.

Seriously though - give that Polar a good look. I'm very impressed
with those boats and the people that build them.

Good luck with your purchase. I haven't ready anything bad about the
Verados. If you do repower, that would be some big bucks but you will
gain a fresh warranty.