live aboard boat

I'm not finding many super-efficient, full displacement hulls in sub-45' powerboats. Trawler-style boats in that size seem to be mostly semi-displacement "fast trawlers", with not a lot better efficiency than full planing-hulls as Capt J mentioned. Trawler-style aft cabins do a bit better in rough weather with more bow flare, at the cost of interior space in the V-berth, and other space compromises mentioned by Capt. J. I love the look and feel of a trawler, but not the compromises.

My wife and I also like being outside on our boat, and when we take off all the canvas we have a lot of open deck space with fresh air and sunshine. Early spring and late fall, we love being out of the wind with friends behind the canvas and glass. It feels like a different boat without the canvas.

I think if you take your time and look at a lot of boats in person you will begin to see the
( sometimes subtle ) differences in them.
I always felt that if you buy a used, higher quality boat you can get a good value.
It always depends on the P.O.'s ability to keep the boat nice.

I happen to like the Sport Fish style boats but often found that hard core fishermen used a boat only as a means to get to the fish.
Not always but they tended to be more concerned about their rods and reels than the boat.
I'm not talking about " Captained " boats but the " ham & egg" guys.

Once again you'll start to notice these things as you view more in person.

And if they look beat in the pictures, they will look even worse in person.

You need to narrow down your search to what you really want / need or you'll spend years looking and looking and........

You have to make a list of necessities. But on the size range you're looking at. Mine would be shower size, overall head size, headroom, galley (and refrigerator)size, size of master and storage. In that order.

For whats its worth my input has been through the eyes of somebody searching for a loop vessel, which in essence will be a live aboard for at least a year. The features than Capt J mentions, all of them, would be incorporated in such a boat

Would something like a Mainship fit the price/size question?

http://www.**************/boats/199...308/Grasonville/MD/United-States#.WjMMN0pl-K8

Yeah, but their quality is worse than Bayliners!

Yes, and they make several other models of varying sizes and features. Mainship is another Chevy, in that long list, as is Bayliner.

Mainship had the same corporate ownership (and build quality, systems quality) as Silverton, Luhrs, and Hunter. FWIW, LARGE Bayliners (i.e., not the small run-abouts) have a pretty good rep in many circles, with varying reports about the last few years...

-Chris

So far in this thread and others like it, every brand of around-40' aft-cabin boat, is compared to a Chevy. There are a lot of them, fairly popular it seems. I've seen threads on this where someone was looking for a roughly 40' MY with a lot of cabin space and higher quality, there were no suggestions. I can only guess this isn't a market for wealthy buyers, more families on a budget, retired loopers, live-aboards, looking to get maximum living space for the least money.

Are there higher-than-Chevy-quality small aft-cabin boats out there, that aren't 20-years-old? I love the old Bert and Chris motor yachts, I used to work on them, but newer boats have so much better use of interior space. It would be hard to update the interiors of those older boats to match the useable space and feel of a newer, smaller, mid-tier boat. I love the look of the high-end trawlers and expedition boats, but again, big compromise in interior space and often in performance.

I've just worked on a couple of Sea-Rays and Rinkers and cannot understand just how such a piss-poor a product was released onto the boating public. Really poor build quality and cheap fittings. I know they are built to a price but really??

If any of my Chevy's were like that, straight back to the dealer for a refund.

What year were they? I've never had any issues with the build quality of sea rays. I've managed many that were 15-25 years old and still solid boats

J, all about 10/15 years old. The hull lamination and gelcoat were of poor grade, the wiring poor, and the bubbling metal fittings dreadful.

I haven't come across that. The searay gel coat never is and never was super shiny, but it doesn't crack and it lasts.

Must admit, after a long buffing, the white did come back, but the black. OH Boy, that hurt!!!!

Can't think of any newer ones in that size range, but I don't follow the market closely. "High quality" US-built to me suggests names like Hatteras, Viking... but most of their aft-cabin models are (were) larger, I think... and older. OTOH, the 45-58' Hatteras motor yachts (for example) would maybe be really good value for money, even if older '70s and '80s models. I've thought about taking on a project like that, but for the most part I'm not doing anything with ladders to the bridge anymore... and that limits my options.

Anyway, without Chevy boats, boatloads of folks who are boaters... wouldn't ever have been able to join the fun.

-Chris

I've done A LOT of long deliveries in Searays. I trust their build quality. Their ride is pretty good, it's not a Hatteras obviously. But of all the deliveries I've done, the Searays have had virtually no issues on the entire delivery. The systems are simple, and quality items, the electrical panel doesn't have 200 Euro trash breakers. Access or height mainly in the engine room isn't the best, but I've also seen worse. I took a 1997 45' sedan bridge from Fort Lauderdale to St. Croiz, USVI. A 2007 58' Sedan Bridge from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Conneticut. Another 58'sedan bridge from Delaware to Toledo, Ohio. Those are just a few that I can think of right off of the top of my head. They're an above average quality boat, for an average boater, at an average price, for an average use.

http://www.**************/boats/198...66/Sturgeon-Bay/WI/United-States#.WjU-QkxFxRQ

http://www.**************/boats/198...um-Kingdom-Lake/TX/United-States#.WjU-iUxFxRQ

http://www.**************/boats/197...670/Grand-Haven/MI/United-States#.WjU_C0xFxRQ