New Bowrider, Sea Ray or Glastron or ?

[AlexanderT]

Hello
I?m looking to buy my first bowrider.

I?m looking at a 21 footer. The supply/brands are a little limited here in Denmark and I have been looking at the following.
Sea Ray SPX 21, 250HK Mercruser 4.5L with tower ect.
Glastron 205 GT, 250HK Mercruser 4.5L with tower ect.

And perhaps a Chaparral but the it will probably be an outboard motor.

Of the two the Glastron is a little cheaper than the Sea Ray.

The boats cannot weigh more than 1700kg. We will be using the boat in salt water and mainly for watersport.
Any comments about the quality of the two boats? Any recommendations about optional brands?
Pointer would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Alexander

 

[Starcraft5834]

your buying new? open bow,, a deep V hull will provide you the best ride through the "chop"... if used... its all about care and condition....

 

[jkust]

My neighbor just bought at a 2017 Glastron GT 225 with all of the options, including Bravo 3, Tower, 6.2 liter 300hp and all the little options as well. His house is next to mine on our lake so I know the boat well. Pretty much every thing about the actual build itself that is outwardly visible as well as under the hatches is very entry level...suprisingly low end/ low budget for 60k usd. It wouldn't make the list if I were in the market for a bowrider. The upholstery colors look nice, the tower functions good, it gets out of the hole very quickly and he has only had minor engine issues and minor accessory issues so far. It is Blingy and my neighbor is a first time boat owner and new boater and is unable to see past the shiny speaker grills, etc and so is a good fit for him.
That 1700KG's is very limiting especially if that is a wet weight.

 

[Scott Danforth]

with the 4.5, i am assuming new purchase

between SeaRay and Glastron. Glastron is a slightly lower level manufacturer than SeaRay, however SeaRay has been cutting back on costs on their smaller boats for years to remain competitive.

regarding weight, if your looking at boats and trying to keep your towing weight within check, i can tell you that boats always weight more then what they speck out on paper.

 

[QBhoy]

I'm not sure I would be spending that kind of money on either of those boats. Pretty poor quality, compared to what you could have a few years older ? I'm sure hey will look good though....for the first few years at least...if you are careful.
Just my thoughts.

 

[Slip Away]

or.... Monterey 204FS

 

[AlexanderT]

Thank you for the replys. The weight is about being able to tow the boat and trailer with our car. Its dry weight.
What should I be looking at if I want better quality and better sailing experience in a litle chop? Chaparral?

 

[Scott Danforth]

what is your car's towing capacity? because to the dry weight, you need to add fuel, the weight of the trailer, the weight of any accessory (such as the tower), the weight of all gear and the people inside the vehicle.

so to your 1700kg dry weight, add 600kg for the trailer, 200kg for fuel, 120kg for the tower, 150kg for other gear..... your at 2770kg being towed

 

[Gtbuzzbee]

I can provide feedback about the SPX 21 as I currently own one. I purchased new last year and have 65 hours with the 4.3 V6 220 select package. There are many positives to this boat and is well designed for the money. The design for a 21' boat is very open with lots of legroom in the back. We constantly have 8 guests for days on the lake and never feel crowded at all. I was recently on a 26 Chaparral and the 21SPX felt about the same with floor space. An abundant amount of storage allows us to hide everyone's gear leaving the walking lanes open. We often tube, waterski, and just starting to wakeboard. With 8 guests and the standard 19P prop the boat has enough launch to get a skier out of water. Top ends speeds is enough with 45 pushing its limit. Bow rise in minimal as well. Being Sea Rays lower end model there are probably areas where corner were cut, but they do a good job of hiding it. All around great boat for the price with a good name on the side. The one negative I am battling probably more has to do with the size than anything else. Being 21' at 3600lbs the boat gets bumpy in choppy conditions. When conditions are less than ideal due to wind and other boats the driver has to be mindful of the conditions. You can feel the bounce and often throttle back to keep the guests happy. Coming from a 18' stingray bow rider this boat handles the chop considerably better but I find myself wanting more. Although this boat does well I often look for 25-28 foot used boats to handle this issue. Good luck with your decision and let me know if you have any questions about the SPX!!!

 

[jkust]

Chaparral?

It depends...Chaparral makes a relatively new line of low end models known as their H20 line that was in response to the economic downturn. Still a nice boat but not on par with their other lines as you you would expect. Point being, the Glastron doesn't make a lower, and upper line. I think you've limited yourself a bit because a wet weight boat on a trailer is going to be a very small boat to come in under 1700kg's. My previous 18 foot Chaparral was well over 1700kg's on the trailer. Even cutting the weight of the heavy I/O off and replacing with a lighter Outboard is going to force you to modify your search I think.

 

[Starcraft5834]

2770 kg = 6106.805 pounds.... being towed by a car? what's your definition of a "car"...?? no car that I am aware of can tow that safely... not even close.... 2000lbs about most I have seen a car capable of. large SUV.. or better yet full sized Truck is needed

 

[jkust]

2770 kg = 6106.805 pounds.... being towed by a car? what's your definition of a "car"...?? no car that I am aware of can tow that safely... not even close.... 2000lbs about most I have seen a car capable of. large SUV.. or better yet full sized Truck is needed

I think the limit is 1700KG's.

 

[AlexanderT]

Thank you for the reply.

I realise that it is limiting with the dry weight of max. 1.700Kg. There is a margin of +/- 7% and that makes room for some extras. Out car can tow 2.300kg and the trailer is 550kg.

Here are som dry weights:
Sea Ray 210 SPX 1453kg
Monterey 218SS 1656kg
Monterey 204 FS 1406Kg.
Glastron 205 GT 1365Kg.
Chaparral 216 SSI 1588kg
Chaparall suncoast 210 1361kg
Chaparral Suncoast 230 1588kg.
We are not going to be towing the boat all the time but we need to be able to tow the boat sometime. It looks like there is some possibilities and nice boats to be had in our ?weight-range?
Regards
Alexander

 

[Scott Danforth]

I think the limit is 1700KG's.

OP was referencing dry weight and not a complete package on the trailer with fuel, etc.

Thank you for the reply.

I realise that it is limiting with the dry weight of max. 1.700Kg. There is a margin of +/- 7% and that makes room for some extras. Out car can tow 2.300kg and the trailer is 550kg.

Here are som dry weights:
Sea Ray 210 SPX 1453kg
Monterey 218SS 1656kg
Monterey 204 FS 1406Kg.
Glastron 205 GT 1365Kg.
Chaparral 216 SSI 1588kg
Chaparall suncoast 210 1361kg
Chaparral Suncoast 230 1588kg.
We are not going to be towing the boat all the time but we need to be able to tow the boat sometime. It looks like there is some possibilities and nice boats to be had in our “weight-range”
Regards
Alexander

SeaRay SPX 21 is 1512kg http://searay.com/page.aspx/pageid/160944/pmid/354253/SPX-210.aspx

however as i pointed out in post #8, you cant tow at dry weight because you need the trailer, fuel, gear, etc.

regarding dry weight....+/- 7% is a pipe dream. I work for a company that makes equipment that lifts boats onto/into yachts. we weight all tenders (from every manufacturer) prior to selling on-deck equipment, and we weigh tenders during the HAT (Harbor Acceptance Test). most are 10-20% heavy compared to published spec, some are over 100% heavy compared to published spec.

your going to have to add the weight of the tower, fuel, gear, etc. fuel alone will be 135kg

Just a few from the test notes

SeaRay is generally about 15% over spec for dry weight (have not tested the SPX line this year, last tested September 2014)
Correct Craft is about 12% over spec for dry weight (tested in August 2016)
Ski Nautique is about 10% over spec for dry weight (tested April 2017)
Boston Whaler is about 22% over spec for dry weight (Tested July 2017)
Yellow fin is 120% over spec for dry weight (I think they dont understand the LB/KG conversion or something because they were 2.2 x the weight published - Tested July 2017)
Chris Craft is about 20% over spec for dry weight - (Tested August 2016)
Regal is about 10% over spec for dry weight - (Tested May 2015)
Zodiac is at spec for dry weight - (tested 3 days ago)
Novurania is about 10% over spec for dry weight - (tested Jun 2016, will test another December of this year)
Williams tender is about 5% over spec for dry weight - (Tested January 2017)
Dragonfly is about 15% over spec and none of there hulls are consistent.
Riva - custom built, they give you an exact tested weight.

I can also tell you that a case of beer in bottles is 42#, the average boat has over 100kg of safety gear