On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:32:41 -0400, DK wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:00:36 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:49:35 GMT, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:

I'm still a Contender fan. Much like 2001, when they get desperate to
sell me another CC, they'll build me one or give me a deal on a left
over just to keep the lines moving.

I'll tell you - that first Contender I had I practically stole from
them - seriously. They were desperate to get rid of it. Heh, heh,
heh.
They are very popular with the mega yacht crowd on the east coast
where money seems to be no object. They fit them out with a large
stainless steel towing strap just above the waterline at the bow and
pull them about 200 ft back. When they're ready to come into port a
crew member goes on board and brings the Contender in separately.

Some nice dinghy!

I've seen that occasionally over near Newport Yacht Club and around
Mystic. Regulators too.

I saw one Jupiter once - that's a boat that intrigues me - I really
like the styling.

Any thoughts about Bluewater or Pursuit in that size?

Pursuit? Oh yeah - always have had a "thing" about Pursuit boats. In
particular this one.

http://www.pursuitboats.com/C340.htm

I have a couple of friends with Pursuits and they are built like
tanks- very heavy for their size. Side-by-side with Contender, they
are very similar in terms of quality. I just prefer Contender because
I'm a brand loyalist - I've always owned Fords for instance - and the
Contenders I've owned have always held their value - then again, I
tend to really take care of my stuff and when something gets dinged or
donged, I have it fixed immediately. You would never know my 2000
Ranger, for example, is eight years old - its in showroom condition.

Bluewater I'm not that familiar with - you don't see a lot of them up
around this area. The ones I have seen seem really well built -
strong, but I've never had one out for a run.

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:28:23 -0400, DK wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:17:24 -0400, DK wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:

Mako's are overpriced and not even made at the old plant anymore so the
build is suspect for the price you pay.
That is correct - the old plant has been shut down, the old molds
destroyed and the new boats are built somewhere in NC.

However, they are still junk - they ain't your daddy's Mako anymore.

Got any Key West or Polar dealers near you? They would be my top two
choices in that size.
I'd stay away from Polar for a few years - they've seriously gone
south in quality with their newer boats.

I know - I know I used to pimp Polar like money was no object, but
from what I've seen recently, their QC has gone straight to hell.
Sorry to hear that. Five years ago I looked over their line and they
were 1st class boats.

There wasn't a bigger fan of Polar boats than me - seriously. I
thought they were the best built, best featured, dollar-for-dollar
value on the market - bow to stern a quality boat.

The last one I looked at on a showroom floor looked like it was built
by Bayliner - ripples along the sides, not a straight gunnel rail on
the boat, the hardware was obviously cheap and the components were not
top of the line.

And it wasn't a one off - there were two of them exactly alike.

I honestly don't know what I want to do at this point.

It's been a few years, but is Hydrasports still building a decent product?

Yeah - it's a good product no doubt about it, but they went away from
being somewhat unique styling to a more generic look.

Still a good boat. One of the charter guys over in RI has a 3300C
which he trailers believe it or not. Very nice boat. I've been out
with him a couple of times over the past few years sword fishing and
it does the offshore bit nicely. We did a cod fishing trip to
Stellwagon Bank two years ago in January and I was surprized at how
well it handled fishing the seaward side of the bank. Very stable
boat.

http://www.hydrasports.com/mInfo.cfm?mid=5278

I really like the looks of that particular boat, but the problem for
me is that with the white hull, it's kind of ugly.

And I like white hulls - boats should have white hulls. :)

"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:28:23 -0400, DK wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:17:24 -0400, DK wrote:

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:

Mako's are overpriced and not even made at the old plant anymore so
the
build is suspect for the price you pay.
That is correct - the old plant has been shut down, the old molds
destroyed and the new boats are built somewhere in NC.

However, they are still junk - they ain't your daddy's Mako anymore.

Got any Key West or Polar dealers near you? They would be my top two
choices in that size.
I'd stay away from Polar for a few years - they've seriously gone
south in quality with their newer boats.

I know - I know I used to pimp Polar like money was no object, but
from what I've seen recently, their QC has gone straight to hell.
Sorry to hear that. Five years ago I looked over their line and they
were 1st class boats.

There wasn't a bigger fan of Polar boats than me - seriously. I
thought they were the best built, best featured, dollar-for-dollar
value on the market - bow to stern a quality boat.

The last one I looked at on a showroom floor looked like it was built
by Bayliner - ripples along the sides, not a straight gunnel rail on
the boat, the hardware was obviously cheap and the components were not
top of the line.

And it wasn't a one off - there were two of them exactly alike.

I honestly don't know what I want to do at this point.

It's been a few years, but is Hydrasports still building a decent product?

Yeah - it's a good product no doubt about it, but they went away from
being somewhat unique styling to a more generic look.

Still a good boat. One of the charter guys over in RI has a 3300C
which he trailers believe it or not. Very nice boat. I've been out
with him a couple of times over the past few years sword fishing and
it does the offshore bit nicely. We did a cod fishing trip to
Stellwagon Bank two years ago in January and I was surprized at how
well it handled fishing the seaward side of the bank. Very stable
boat.

http://www.hydrasports.com/mInfo.cfm?mid=5278

I really like the looks of that particular boat, but the problem for
me is that with the white hull, it's kind of ugly.

And I like white hulls - boats should have white hulls. :)

On the West Coast north of Los Angeles, CC suck. Too many days of nasty,
cold water and wind and fog. Need a boat you can get inside, out of the
weather.

On Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:59:24 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

On the West Coast north of Los Angeles, CC suck. Too many days of nasty,
cold water and wind and fog. Need a boat you can get inside, out of the
weather.

Pansies...

"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
On Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:59:24 -0800, "Calif Bill"
wrote:

On the West Coast north of Los Angeles, CC suck. Too many days of nasty,
cold water and wind and fog. Need a boat you can get inside, out of the
weather.

Pansies...

Pansies? We boat all year, just not during the 2-3 weeks of real nice
weather.