Another newbie boat buying topic.

[scubaboxer]

I own a mint 2005 Sea Ray and I'd much rather have it than a 2015 Bayliner. It's like having a 10 year old Mercedes vs a brand new Kia. My boat is a 185 with the 4.3 Mercruiser; great boat! I also have an extended swim platform. The I/O with platform makes it feel much bigger. On a normal day with the 4.3, we put anywhere from 30 to 50 miles on the boat running from the river to the beach; 10-15 gallons tops. I agree with most posters, stay with Sea Ray, Four Winns, Chaparral, Crownline...you won't be disappointed, or embarrassed ) I also wouldn't worry too much about keeping it in fresh water. I live on the coast and tons of people keep their boats in the water. Granted, your maintenance expenses should be a little more, but not much being that it's fresh water. take it out of the water every now and then and scrub her down.

 

[jec6]

After many months of searching, researching and general frustration over lack of boat availability....

SUCCESS!!

I put a deposit on a 2008 Regal 1900 today. Sale is pending an in water test when the ice melts at Wallenpaupak at the end of April. It's 19ft, volvo 4.3 f/i, swim platform and Bimini top and single axle trailer. Part of the deal includes new bellows and impeller installed before the water test. It was a fresh water only boat as well. Feel like I negotiated a fair price and was really impressed with the build quality of the boat. Didn't know too much about Regals before researching them the last few days. It's nice they're still a family owned company. The boat fit, finish and materials were first rate and they had some really thoughtful design elements.

I downloaded the operators manual and have been reading it over the last few days. One thing that is not well defined in the manual is how to set up bunks for lifting and trailering the boat. I have a Harbor Master 1992 lift at the house and am trying to figure out how far apart to set the back bunks to properly support the boat. So far I've had no luck with finding good info on line or through Regal directly (they said the trailer or lift mfg would be the best resource). Does anyone here have first hand experience with a Regal 1900 (or 2000 bow rider) that can share their setup with me. Regal did say the bunks should be as close to the motor mount stringers as possible, but they would not give me dimensions for where they are in reference to the center line of the boat and the transom. If possible, I'd also like to know the height the bunks should be above the bottom of the center line at the recommended lifting location. The bunks on my lift are about 6" above the cross member and I don't want to place them too far outside that the boat vee height is greater than 6"

Besides the lift related questions, if you guys have any general good advice for me as a new Regal owner, I'm all ears.

Thanks again for the advice I got here, it definitely helped steer me in the right direction.

 

[jec6]

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:

You've already gotten a lot of good advice. Which lake are you on? My wife and I are planning to be on Seneca when I retire but I'm interested hearing about the others.

We're on Keuka. We absolutely love it. The water is pristine, the community is friendly and I think the shape of the Lake adds a lot to the character. I've never been on Seneca, but we do love Watkins Glen.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Open the engine hatch.... Look in and you will plainly see where the motor mount/stringers are....

 

[jec6]

Open the engine hatch.... Look in and you will plainly see where the motor mount/stringers are....

I figured I could find the engine mounts, but wanted to be sure that was best placement. From the research I've done, this is what I *think* is best practice... does this sound right to everyone?

The boats hull *should* support lifting across almost any points except chines or specific geometry that won't handle a jack pad.

Common sense suggests:
1. Supporting the boat with as large a contact area as possible to distribute the load

2. Ensure the boat is well balanced on the lift points and the rear points are not forward of the engine

3. The weight is as evenly distributed as possible to minimize risk of cupping/flex.

4. Best case, the rear lift points should be as close to the motor mount stringers to directly support the weight of the motor and drive and run to the transom if possible.

5. Other lift points should be on stringers or structural elements of the hull.

 

[tpenfield]

I do not think you have to get it to an exact science, as long as the lift bunks are high enough from the cross member to avoid scraping the keel. Bunks have a wonderful way of distributing load.

Power boats are fairly strong as compared to sailboats in terms of lifting, so long as you are avoiding any point lifting sources as you mentioned, and not lifting right on a hull strake, you should be fine.

I lift my 33 foot boat with a couple of boat stands right up near the chines.