2001 Doral 230 BR help please

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Gromulin

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Hello all, I'm going to look at a 2001 230BR w 5.7 Volvo, fuel injected. 160ish hours.

The owner lists the HP at 310...that seems high for a 2001 5.7?

The guy bought it last year from a dealer, and says his kids just don't like going out as much as he thought. (..probably means he's a stressed out 'Richard' on his boat, which is never fun for anyone..just my guess...)

Looks like a nice boat, but I'm a bit concerned about Doral being around / caring about anything but selling new boats...I'm near Sacramento CA and the nearest dealer is in Utah. How was the quality of these boats in 2001? Do I need to pay attention to any special "issues" a Doral of this type and year might have had?

Any advice from owners of this or similar models would be greatly appreciated!

He's asking close to 16K..but no one gets asking these days.
 

Maps

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
131
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

I own a 2007 BR with the 5.0 GXi volvo . The hull is solid but the windshield screws loosen to easly . The venting system design is bad so I have problems fueling cause of the back pressure .

Other than that no complaints .
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Hello all, I'm going to look at a 2001 230BR w 5.7 Volvo, fuel injected. 160ish hours.

The owner lists the HP at 310...that seems high for a 2001 5.7?

The guy bought it last year from a dealer, and says his kids just don't like going out as much as he thought. (..probably means he's a stressed out 'Richard' on his boat, which is never fun for anyone..just my guess...)

Looks like a nice boat, but I'm a bit concerned about Doral being around / caring about anything but selling new boats...I'm near Sacramento CA and the nearest dealer is in Utah. How was the quality of these boats in 2001? Do I need to pay attention to any special "issues" a Doral of this type and year might have had?

Any advice from owners of this or similar models would be greatly appreciated!

He's asking close to 16K..but no one gets asking these days.

Nice boat but the price seems a little high !!!
 

Snobike Mike

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
363
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

I'd get a survey done. 160 hours on a 9 (almost 10) year old boat is pretty low. In many respects, I'd much rather see more hours on an older boat because sitting is way worse than running for an engine.

Happy hunting.
 

Gromulin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
230
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Taking test drive tomorrow. Nice boat, negotiated price below NADA "Low"..well below NADA "Average" and about 35% under BUC value. Will see how she does out on the Lake tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll be headed straight out to five days on a lake camping Wednesday morning.

Oh, and Kudo's to Doral. I sent them an e-mail Sunday begging for an owners manual, and today a very nice marketing person sent back a .pdf of the full 2001 owners manual, 2001 sales brochure, and a couple .pdf's on anchor windlass' that must have been for the CC version. Very good service!
 

kenmyfam

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Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Doral were great with me as well. Sent me a PDF for the 1985 range.
Can you post your information for all to see ??? even a link to a site you upload it to would be great.
Thanks,
Ken.
 

Gromulin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
230
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Doral were great with me as well. Sent me a PDF for the 1985 range.
Can you post your information for all to see ??? even a link to a site you upload it to would be great.
Thanks,
Ken.

Bought her today. 90% chance she'll be named the "Grace-Marie" after my daughter...nice boat name, huh? Score some easy points with mama and daughter with that choice;)

Man, she's a big girl compared to my old 85 Glastron 177. Cut through the 2' chop on Folsom lake well. Good power..I can tell I'm gonna add some smart tabs or old-school hydraulics, for sure, since most of my time will be pulling kids in tubes and beginner wakeboards, I'll need to get a little flatter a little sooner to be a happy driver...

Other than that, it has a stereo that I can't fathom...one 2000W amp for the 2x10" subs and another for the 4x6" wakeboard tower speakers. He did all the electrical himself, and did a REALLY neat job (I work in low-voltage wiring for a living, and could tell this guy was an engineer at heart).

Gah...long damn day...the story of today is another post. Wife just got home and want's to get a tour.

More later...

Ken: Send me a PM on how to upload .pdf's to a public server and I'd be glad to share all the stuff I've found. I'm just too brain dead to figure it out...

I'll just finish with: :D:eek::(:):D
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,385
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Good Luck with the new boat and welcome to Doral ownership.
PM will be on the way shortly.
 

Gromulin

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
230
Re: 2001 Doral 230 BR help please

Well...she's a winner. Spent two days on Union Valley Reservoir, just got back Sunday night. Went straight back to work today..still reeling. A couple observations / comments / questions.

Needs trim tabs. She's 24' long, 4000 pounds with a full tank and and 30+" draft. Are Smart-Tabs a viable choice or should I just bite the bullet and get "real" hydraulic tabs? The Bennett tabs with the fancy-schmancy, automatic controller looked cool...but $$$

I need a good solution for beaching at campgrounds. I have another thread going about Keel-Guards, but would like opinions from other 230+ size owners. I had one 12 pound fluke anchor on an anchor-buddy that worked well on a gently sloping mud and decomposed-granite shoreline until the wind kicked up (and the lake lice and over-transom loud boat guys got out there). No damage, I just want a bullet-proof solution for anchoring / launching from a beach with kids and wife. Two anchors? Double up the bungee with a heavier anchor?

Otherwise, she ran great. The trim gauge was quirky, and seems sluggish..need to check fluid. WOT was about 400 RPM lower than expected, but I am still learning where the sweet spot is...she probably needs a tune up and new plugs..but WOW. The room of a pontoon or deck boat with the handling and comfort of a bowrider.
 

yoerayo

Recruit
Joined
Aug 20, 2017
Messages
1
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I was hoping someone might still have the owners manual PDF referenced here.
 
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