Hello from Middle Tennessee
Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 1:56 am
A quick hello to all. We are in the middle of ordering and specing out a new R5. I've lurked a bit, got a few answers and of course have a few more.
We are in the process of downsizing. Through many (30 ish years) I went up in boats and ended up with a Carver 360 SS. (sedan bridge) While we really liked the boat, and enjoyed our time on it, we decided that a moving condo on the water was not what we wanted to do. I do however miss looking at the wake rolling off her stern when up on plane with the 8.1's swilling fuel! Part of our new plan is to be able to trailer the boat to various lakes and enjoy some time in different places. A year ago, we traded the Carver for a Sea Ray SLX 300 (on a trailer, but mostly kept in drystack) and thought that might be the answer. It wasn't. While it was trailerable, And I have moved it about, it's a bit big for comfortable towing. (twin 350's, almost 10' beam, 9K+ lbs,) I didn't quite do enough discovery there, It's a beautiful boat, and I screwed up and let emotions get in the way.
We looked at another smaller Sea Ray. 250, 230 ish size. Really disappointed in the new styling and fit and finish of new SR boats. They just do not feel like $100K boats. The styling is too angular, too trendy, and the arches are getting all herky-jerky. (Admirals comments!)
That brings us to the R5. Looked at them in the fall, shied away for a reason or another, and have now come full circle back. The quality and look we desire are there, we feel that they actually look like boats!
A big bonus in the R5 (which pretty much locked us in) was the availability of a windlass. It may sound silly, but we anchor often. I'm 5 years from retirement, I'm past tossing and retrieving anchors manually. I just ain't gonna do it.
Most of the options we have picked for solid reasons, and feel pretty confident in. Stock floor covering, as we will remove it in a couple of years and SeaDec the entire boat, swim platform and all. There is a SeaDec like option, but we like the custom touch. Mooring cover, A windless, of course. An arch, (we still kneeboard even at this age!) a 350 HP Merc (more merc service around here) trailer, and some trinkets.
The thing I have questions that I would like to pose the braintrust here is:
The Makassar Dash, What does it consist of on the 2020? Still have the sides down along the cupholders?
And a Captains Call exhaust. I've heard different opinions about it. This comes mostly from the Admiral. She is having a hard time going from twin engines to a single (the last 4 boats were twins) and she got quite handy piloting and hearing the sound of twins. (She gets a real kick out of watching big man boaters stare at a little just under 5 ft woman docking a 40 foot bridge boat, or loading a 30 ft boat on a trailer. ) So I'm wondering if the sound of the CC exhaust will help her forget there is only one engine in the hull. (I'll like it to, but just looking for an additional "sale " of the option!) I'm sure she will pick up the intricacies of single engine boating, but I'd like a nice sound also. My worries are that now boats are blessed with catalytic converters , do the cats muffle the exhaust too much? While I'm sure it's a fair amount louder than underwater, and maybe it's just the right amount of loud, not annoying like a go-fast but just a bit of boat engine noise, which is not really such a bad thing. So the actual question in all that rambling is, does it make enough difference to be appreciated?
We haven't placed the order yet. We probably will next week, after a really cold test drive. So currently I have no pics to post. (Unless you want to see the Sea Ray and Carver) I will however, post them when we have some. I promise.
Capt Bob
Admiral Elaine
We are in the process of downsizing. Through many (30 ish years) I went up in boats and ended up with a Carver 360 SS. (sedan bridge) While we really liked the boat, and enjoyed our time on it, we decided that a moving condo on the water was not what we wanted to do. I do however miss looking at the wake rolling off her stern when up on plane with the 8.1's swilling fuel! Part of our new plan is to be able to trailer the boat to various lakes and enjoy some time in different places. A year ago, we traded the Carver for a Sea Ray SLX 300 (on a trailer, but mostly kept in drystack) and thought that might be the answer. It wasn't. While it was trailerable, And I have moved it about, it's a bit big for comfortable towing. (twin 350's, almost 10' beam, 9K+ lbs,) I didn't quite do enough discovery there, It's a beautiful boat, and I screwed up and let emotions get in the way.
We looked at another smaller Sea Ray. 250, 230 ish size. Really disappointed in the new styling and fit and finish of new SR boats. They just do not feel like $100K boats. The styling is too angular, too trendy, and the arches are getting all herky-jerky. (Admirals comments!)
That brings us to the R5. Looked at them in the fall, shied away for a reason or another, and have now come full circle back. The quality and look we desire are there, we feel that they actually look like boats!
A big bonus in the R5 (which pretty much locked us in) was the availability of a windlass. It may sound silly, but we anchor often. I'm 5 years from retirement, I'm past tossing and retrieving anchors manually. I just ain't gonna do it.
Most of the options we have picked for solid reasons, and feel pretty confident in. Stock floor covering, as we will remove it in a couple of years and SeaDec the entire boat, swim platform and all. There is a SeaDec like option, but we like the custom touch. Mooring cover, A windless, of course. An arch, (we still kneeboard even at this age!) a 350 HP Merc (more merc service around here) trailer, and some trinkets.
The thing I have questions that I would like to pose the braintrust here is:
The Makassar Dash, What does it consist of on the 2020? Still have the sides down along the cupholders?
And a Captains Call exhaust. I've heard different opinions about it. This comes mostly from the Admiral. She is having a hard time going from twin engines to a single (the last 4 boats were twins) and she got quite handy piloting and hearing the sound of twins. (She gets a real kick out of watching big man boaters stare at a little just under 5 ft woman docking a 40 foot bridge boat, or loading a 30 ft boat on a trailer. ) So I'm wondering if the sound of the CC exhaust will help her forget there is only one engine in the hull. (I'll like it to, but just looking for an additional "sale " of the option!) I'm sure she will pick up the intricacies of single engine boating, but I'd like a nice sound also. My worries are that now boats are blessed with catalytic converters , do the cats muffle the exhaust too much? While I'm sure it's a fair amount louder than underwater, and maybe it's just the right amount of loud, not annoying like a go-fast but just a bit of boat engine noise, which is not really such a bad thing. So the actual question in all that rambling is, does it make enough difference to be appreciated?
We haven't placed the order yet. We probably will next week, after a really cold test drive. So currently I have no pics to post. (Unless you want to see the Sea Ray and Carver) I will however, post them when we have some. I promise.
Capt Bob
Admiral Elaine
.
You think you may be a bit biased? 
