Ok,, so here's my very first post to this forum. I've had a Four Winns Horizon 200 for 13 years. The kids are grown now, so I'm now ready to take a leap and move up to a slightly bigger boat and I've got my eye on a used Chaparral Signature 350. I've been looking around for over a month at various cruisers around this size. I started at the 28ft variety thinking that would be a big enough step up, until I started really looking. Now I've decided that 28ft just won't be big enough for how I plan to use the boat. I expect I'll be spending weekends on the lake, and plenty of evenings just at the dock. I really don't know, because I've never had a boat like this. I guess I sort of feel like I'm buying my first house, and boy did learn a lot from my mistakes. I've tried to do my homework by looking around at various brands, sizes, ages, etc. Here's my criteria so far: 34ft minimum, V Drive, cabin entrance to the side, not center (Rules out Sea Ray's), walk through windshield to the front deck, curved corners in the deck seating, nothing older than 2002, fresh water boat (I'm on Lake Lanier in Atlanta). So this is just sort of an open question. What else should I be thinking about, looking for, questioning? They all come with the basics it seems and I just don't know what I don't know - so maybe you guys can help me look under some rocks. I think the engines are solid, Volvo 8.1 gi's although one started overheated during the test drive and they replaced the impeller and will be testing it out again. Should I be more alarmed about that than I am? They said it was because the boat had been sitting for a while without running. Any advice would be appreciated. Look forward to getting to know you guys.
I took it out of the slip and navigated through the marina and out into open water, where we only ran for about a minute before the engine issue. I really thought it was fairly easy, but there was ZERO wind and plenty of room to get out. I know that when you reduce the space you have to work with, and add wind, things get a little different, but I think I can handle it..
