Can anyone speak to the construction of Marquis Yachts?

A recent lightly used boat will save you anlot of money and indeed have all the bugs worked out

From what i understand of your projected use, a SF may be more stable due to the lower CG compared to a MY but in either case gyro stabilizer seems like a must

A large swim platform with railing would be just as practical as a cockpit. A MY with a big aft deck and deep platform would also provide a lot more outside space than the cockpit of a SF

As much as i with with Capt J about the current Hatt MYs, I really think they dropped the ball when it comes to aft deck and swim platforms. This has been their trend for the past 10 or 15 years. I know a few people who pulled Hatt from their short list becaused of this incl the owner of the Johnson 70 i run. the oversized afterdeck (seats about 15 comfortably) and the 8' swim platform were more important than the superior built quality and sea worthiness.

Yes, on the 69' Marquis I ran one time, the hinges and such on the exterior and exterior stainless other pieces (latches etc) were total crap and heavily corroding and not as strong as they should've been for what they were supporting.

How is it going to be used? Cocktail parties and sunset cruises? Long weekend trips with the owners and guests? Week long trips? Mixed use?

As a 4 month owner of a 59 with light hours, I'm more dissapointed than I thought I would be. Love the design and layout. But crap has broken in less than 200 hours that I don't feel should have. And the affore mentioned door hinges on hull are just one of many. Plus I didn't know that the South Florida reseller does not have their own repair staff. They have a very freiendly and knowledgeable guy who canvases contractors to fix your issues and they use a yard next to them when a yard is necessary.

That may be more of a good thing than you realize. One of the best things about buying a pre-owned boat is that you're not locked into using one yard who may or may not be good. Given your location you have a lot of good people nearby to choose from. Ask around the docks and develope a book on who to use for what.