Larson Senza 186

[vburgbruin]

Ok I am new to the forum and to bowriders, ski/wakeboard etc boats. Mainly spent all my time in bass boats and pontoons. I am wanting to buy a BR for my kids ages 11, 9 and 7 who love the water (tubing and skiing right now). I have a place on a lake in Louisiana so the summers are long and hot and we will get plenty of use!

Been looking for a deal (like everyone) all summer. Since its my first boat of this type I was looking used and trying not to break the bank. I found a 2005 Larson Senza 186 with a Volvo Penta 5.0 GL-E with an SX outdrive (220hp?). Aprox 100 hours. Has a few cosmetic defects, mainly scratches from a tornado that knocked the boat house down about 3 years ago and the lift fell on the boat and scratched it. Nothing under the bottom though. Upholstery is ok, just replaced the engine cover. Other small things like radio doesn't work. Tried to attach some images, we will see the extent of my posting prowess. Seller says it runs great...of course. I am going to take it out this weekend for myself.

He is asking $8500. Is this a good deal. According to the Blue Book value it seems like a decent deal but some of the defects and radio have me cautious and asking for help. Should I worry about the scratches? Also what about the motor, is it considered a good one?

I will post pics after a few more posts it seems.

 

[jkust]

Doesn't sound like a deal. It sounds like it has more expensive than you would think damage. I think you would be suprised at how much it really costs to fix stuff and how impossible it is to find parts for an older boat...which translates then to me in to a almost give away price if you chose to buy it and not fix it. My last 18 foot bowrider boat got caught in a straight line wind storm while it was on its lift and the lift collapsed and the visible damage was very minor but the parts and labor made it a total loss and it was far more than 8500 dollars. There are tons of boats out there that are truly in 100 hour shape for what is an actual deal. 100 hours is like a new boat still.

 

[vburgbruin]

Yep I have been thinking about all this and why I came here for some words of wisdom. I appreciate the advice. I will post some pics in a second.

 

[vburgbruin]

Post three with pics upcoming....next!

 

[JASinIL2006]

If you haven't read it yet, this 'sticky' topic at the top of the forum is very helpful in looking at new boats. Lots of good info:

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...eeding-help-buying-a-boat-a-buyer-s-checklist

 

[vburgbruin]

Pics of boat

 

[vburgbruin]

Just read thru that post and it has a ton of great info. Going to print it off and carry with me.

 

[jkust]

Pics aren't showing up.

 

[vburgbruin]

Try again

 

[vburgbruin]

more, someone let me know if these worked. thx

 

[JASinIL2006]

I can see 'em now. I like the lines of that boat! Be interesting to see what the interior looks like.

 

[Scott Danforth]

a bit of "dock-rash" in the one pic. nothing a bit of gel, some wet-sanding and a bit of buffing couldnt take care of.

BTW, summer is the most expensive time to buy a boat. end of season is coming up, you can save about 15-20% over in-season pricing

 

[jkust]

Never been a huge fan of Larson but the Senza is the exception. The lines are nice but can't make out much on a phone screen. I've wondered how long it would take for me to wish I didn't have a tinted windshield if I had one of these low profile tinted versions. Seems so impractical to me.

 

[vburgbruin]

Yep I'm fighting the itch to buy for sure. Really wondering if I should hold out a couple more months and see what comes up. This one is so convenient though, on the same lake right around the corner.

What's the reputation of the Volvo Penta 5.0 GL-E (btw what does the E stand for)?

 

[mr 88]

Not about the boat but a comment on length. You have a crew of probably 5. That does not leave much room for the kids ,wife or yourself having any guest aboard. I would be looking in the 21' and even up range with a 5.7 or bigger engine.

 

[briangcc]

IF that's the MPI version of the 5.0, you're sitting at 270HP which will move that boat well. Price point, I know the middle BB value on my '05 Four Winns with 5.0L MPI and tandem was 9k this past spring so I'd say the Larson is in line with that.

Personally, having owned a Volvo and had to buy parts/repairs for it - I wouldn't own one again. Too expensive and dealer network is shrinking in my neck of the woods. Be prepared to pony up $$$ for parts as they are 2-3x more expensive than Mercruiser. Fuel pump on my MPI was $900 alone - this is the part only, did not include the labor to install. NO REBUILD KITS per the marina - authorized Volvo dealer.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Not about the boat but a comment on length. You have a crew of probably 5. That does not leave much room for the kids ,wife or yourself having any guest aboard. I would be looking in the 21' and even up range with a 5.7 or bigger engine.

This is actually a really good point. If you have kids aged 11, 9 and 7, they will want to bring a friend, especially as they get older (even a year or two older). Unless you plan to leave most of the crew on the dock and just take out a few for tubing, etc., a 186 will start to feel pretty small.

If you're at a lake house, though, you might not need to take the entire crew out each time you go... but it's more fun!

 

[vburgbruin]

This is actually a really good point. If you have kids aged 11, 9 and 7, they will want to bring a friend, especially as they get older (even a year or two older). Unless you plan to leave most of the crew on the dock and just take out a few for tubing, etc., a 186 will start to feel pretty small.

If you're at a lake house, though, you might not need to take the entire crew out each time you go... but it's more fun!

This is the exact main decision I have to make. We do have a pier on the lake and hangout there almost all day, so I am running back and forth dropping people off and picking up in my current boat (2000 Stratos 282fs w 150 evinrude). We also have a 24' pontoon for booze cruising...I mean sunset cruising. The capacity says 9 for the Larson, but I know that would be me and 8 of my 7 year old's friends and not really built for 9. Here is my line of thinking right now, use this as a entry boat for my kids skiing/tubing and maybe wakeboarding (at least to learn how to get up?) then if they continue to love it, look at getting a bigger/better boat in a couple years. Not sure if I should just hang on till end of summer and see if a bigger boat becomes a little more affordable.

So I will go ahead and address the money points before someone says I have all these other boats, a lake house, pier etc, so why am i being cheap. Well I don't own jack! I was lucky and married into a family that owns all this and they just let me hang out. For some reason they seem to like me and my FIL wants me to use it because he likes to see the grandkids as much as possible. This boat would be my only contribution to the situation,

 

[jkust]

We went from the same sized 18 foot boat to our current 24 foot boat. Each kid is like having 2 adults. They don't sit still, they want to wrestle each other and generally act like kids. Point is it gets tight very quickly with an 18 foot boat. Sure there's a cushion for each rear but it becomes impractical quickly. As it is on our 24 footer, just the 4 of us still gets uncomfortable when the boys are sitting neXT to each other and start in on each other and one goes to the bow and one to the rear.
I see all the time where people will jam pack a dozen in an 18 footer or 20 on a small pontoon. It just isn't how we operate.

 

[JASinIL2006]

This is the exact main decision I have to make. We do have a pier on the lake and hangout there almost all day, so I am running back and forth dropping people off and picking up in my current boat (2000 Stratos 282fs w 150 evinrude). We also have a 24' pontoon for booze cruising...I mean sunset cruising. The capacity says 9 for the Larson, but I know that would be me and 8 of my 7 year old's friends and not really built for 9. Here is my line of thinking right now, use this as a entry boat for my kids skiing/tubing and maybe wakeboarding (at least to learn how to get up?) then if they continue to love it, look at getting a bigger/better boat in a couple years. Not sure if I should just hang on till end of summer and see if a bigger boat becomes a little more affordable.

We use our boat as both a day-on-the-river-boat and as a lake boat (the latter is similar to what you describe). If you are willing to upgrade in a few years, it's not really that momentous of a decision. A 186 would probably be fine for taking out groups of kids for playing in the lake. As the kids turn into teenagers (and that will happen really quickly!), that boat will start feeling pretty tight... 5-6 people (including you) is about all you'll want in the boat. If your kids really get into wakeboard or skiiing, you might even want to think about something dedicated to that purpose down the line. For now, a 186 is a nice size and should be able to provide lots of water sport fun, be it tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, etc.

If you were planning to spend entire days on the boat (as we do when we hit the river), the 186 will feel much less roomy, and you would be facing the situation kjust describes. We tolerate the crowding because we enjoy the river so much, but it is much less comfortable than when there are fewer people and less gear on the boat.