I guess this is the right forum for this.... I have been looking at some ads for Cruisers Yachts 415 Express 41' and would really like to hear from others that know much about the boat, or actually own the boat. Any information is desired, good or bad. Thanks.
Don't know about that boat/model, but I've known folks who had Cruisers boats and they liked them. FYI, ref your thread title, there's a difference between their "Express" and their "Express Motoryacht" models... and I think you're asking about the Express Motoryacht, perhaps like the one listed on YW in New Bern? If so... to your questions in the other thread, note the Propulsions section says "Volvo D6" (not IPS) and "Direct Drive" (not pods)... so that's one way to tell whether straight shafts or pods. Pros/cons for each. Can't tell about whether it has thrusters or not. I'd guess the 370-hp engines would be the entry-level ones, if Cruisers offered optional upgrades. Might be fine, depending on gearing. D6's have an OK rep, far as I know., and 985 hours isn't huge. Engine condition is very much driven by maintenance, though... so a neglected diesel with985 hours might not be as good a choice as a very well cared for diesel with 2500 hours (both assuming appropriate for the boat). All that aside... what do you like about the boat? What attracts you to it? -Chris
That's the boat. And the ad says it has bow thrusters. What is the difference between Express and Express Motoryacht? And how do you tell if engines have been properly maintained? Is the engine maintenance records good enough? That boat attracted my attention for the comfort to handle 4 people and maybe a couple of extra kids. And it isn't huge. It looks like it might be relatively easy to move around for docking as well. But, we're not locked in on it. Mostly just trying to learn what's important when looking for a boat, and confirming my thoughts. At this point I think I would really like bow and stern thrusters. I think that would be ideal. Can stern thrusters be added??
If you look at a full range of boats by Cruisers (for example), their "two story" boats are motoryachts and the "ranchers" are express boats. Cruisers just happens to use the word "express" for both, perhaps to suggest speed or something. Sea Ray Sundancers are express boats. Sea Ray motoryachts mostly look like basketball shoes. Then there are sportfishers/convertibles, sedan bridges/sport bridges, "trawlers," down east boats, etc... Et cetera. Each with typical features for the class... but the descriptive terms aren't hard and fast, makers play fast and loose with the dictionary... A common practice is to make an offer -- subject to some important stuff like marine survey. mechanical (engines & genset) survey, sea trial -- and during that process you can learn about engine condition and maintenance... or not. Recently I added "successful maintenance records review" as an additional "subject to" and that helped -- since I could do that review before spending money on the rest of it. So one of your requirements is comfort for 4 people, plus maybe a couple of kids. Good. (There are likely a bazillion boats that might do that.) Another requirement is "not huge" -- a little squishy, but also good. (Another bazillion, although significant overlap with the first requirement.) Easy for docking, ditto. I dunno about how that particular boat might be for docking, but I've seen some Cruisers motoryachts like that at various docks and I don't remember their side decks being anything to write home about. Also, it's typical for a "motoryacht" of some persuasion to have the helm mounted forward on the flying bridge... which in turn means good visibility forward... but also docking stern-to might be more difficult because of poor visibility astern. Compare to most sportfish/convertible styles where the helm is more often mounted aft on the flying bridge and visibility astern is usually very good. The issue is not unsolvable (including back-up cameras, etc.) but an example of pros/cons associated with various styles. Still, that one would probably need an in-person look to think about docking... although actual owners might pipe up. But it's a good example of where looking at boats up close and personal becomes necessary to get first-hand impressions. IOW, ads and the Powerboat Guide (or similar) or even fora like this one can only go so far... Back to features: What kind of "4 people"? Two couples? (Two full/queen mattresses nice.) One couple and two singles? (One full queen mattress and two twins or bunks could work.) What kind of "maybe a couple of extra kids?" Same gender, or not? Tiny, or mid-size, or...? (Twins or bunks or pull-outs could work.) How would you use the boat? Dock condo? Marina hopping? Anchoring out? Long distance travel? Some kind of mixture of some of those? All this, just examples of drilling down into requirements to maybe better refine your needs. Partly because it's usually much easier to solve problems of various sorts (space, capacity, ease of boarding, ease of docking, etc.) during the shopping phase. Yes, you can usually add a stern thruster. Be aware, bow thrusters and stern thrusters can fail (as can pretty much anything on a boat)... so a common suggestion is to learn to maneuver the boat without the extras. -Chris
I really appreciate your taking the time to help out an ignorant fool like me. As for accommodations, we would always have my wife and me, but quite often my daughter & family. Two adults and 2 kids, age 16 and 13 (both girls). The kids don't mind sleeping pretty much anywhere. Blanket on the floor works for them. There would be other guests, but we don't need to consider any size beyond our family. At the beach we usually only get 2 guests at a time, other than family, so I'm sure it would be similar on a boat. As for usage. we initially want to just putter up and down the ICW, spending the night aboard the boat at marinas along the way. Anchoring off-shore overnight would be fine, but right now I don't know where that's allowed, so I'm not even thinking in that direction just yet. We might want to take some longer trips later, but that would have to come after we were really comfortable on the boat. The more I read and learn, the more it seems that a bow thruster might be all that's needed. I'm still looking into that. We have already decided that we want to take a class in boat operation, then hire a temporary captain to actually run our boat and let me handle it as much as I can. Regarding the Cruisers Yachts 415 Express, it seems pretty close to what we might like, but we're very open to just about anything. The one thing that concerns me at least a little is that there is no way to completely open the lounge area behind the helm. I could foresee really nice days where it might be nice to just ride in the open space. I've had smaller boats that are completely open and people like that feeling. Just more thoughts that are rattling through my head. I figure it's better to rattle now than after the fact!
Everybody's gotta start somewhere, and it's not like many of us were born knowing boat stuff. USCG Aux offers a decent course. The Waterway Guide and the ActiveCaptain app can show you information about marinas and common anchorages along the ICW. Ref rattling: yes, you can solve a lot during your shopping phase. And then you'll have it pretty close to "right" when you get to your third boat. Now that you have a feel for why the C415 might work, try two exercises: 1) find every similar boat and review the pros and cons of each compared to the C415 2) find significantly dissimilar boats and do the same kind of review. For example 1, Carver or or Silverton or Sea Ray or et cetera also make/made motoryachts. (several with open party decks) so have a look at those and compare features one by one. For example 2, find something like a sedan bridge or sport bridge boat of whatever useful size, and check out features compared to the C415. The Powerboat Guide might be a useful tool; the softcopy version is keyword searchable. It'd also be useful to walk the docks and just look at boats. From where you are, Barefoot. Grand Dunes, and Osprey Marinas, plus Southport and South Haven Harbour Marinas could give you a chance to see a lot of boats in person... maybe get a feel for what appeals... and what doesn't. Boat owners are usually happy to answer questions about their ride... -Chris
I started looking at some Carver boats and think they might fit us even better. Thanks for steering me in that direction. I'm having trouble knowing the difference in the models, however. They have Carver 46, 460, 45, & 450. What are the differences???
I don't think there's any difference in the 46 and 460, in fact I don't see any 460 in Power Boat Guide. See if you can get a copy of Power Boat Guide, by Mcknew & Parker, it will help you greatly in your search.
I looked on Amazon for Power Boat Guide and there are issues for several years. Would it make sense to get a current issue when I'm only looking at boats a few years old?? Also, some are listed as "Broker Editions". That doesn't sound like what I want, but I could be wrong???
I dunno, but usually it's model years and/or slightly modified layouts. We used the then-current Broker's Edition... assuming it includes more boats. -Chris
