I'm looking at a 2005 Cruisers Yachts 405. Goods? Bads? No such thing as too much information here. Thanks in advance.
Unless your usage is definately under 75 hours a year, I would avoid gas engines at all costs in a 40' boat.
How will you be using the boat? Seeing you're in St. Paul, I'm going to assume on the river etc... That being said, a cruisers may be a decent fit as you generally won't experience a lot of rough conditions. Cruisers hulls are a little bulbous as they tried to get more interior volume which makes them pound in any sort of head sea. I also agree with Capt J with regard to finding one with diesel engines. Even though being on the river you may not regularly be making long runs etc, the added maneuverability around the docks with diesel engines make getting them a no brainer for me. IMHO, Cruisers does have some of the best layouts in their class and you get a lot of boat for your money. However, the fit and finish etc along with the sea keeping ability in heavier water leaves a lot to be desired when compared to some of the similar higher end boats in its class. Max
Thank you, Capt J. I should have included those details earlier. I usually end up with about 40 hours per year of usage. I'm currently in a 1997 Carver 355 Aft Cabin and have had great luck with it for the past ten years. I boat exclusively on the St Croix River, and the Mississippi River in Minnesota. I'm a big fan of diesels, but they are like hens teeth, very scarce in this part of the country unless you get into the 45'+ size boat. In an effort to save on shipping costs, I'm looking for something less than 500 miles away from me.
I agree with all the above. If I recall correctly, servicing the water pumps on Mercruisers is a pain.
That is true, took me two days to replace them on my 8.1 Horizons. I could do both in less than one day now that I've figured it out. I'm still figuring out my '04 Cruisers 375, but so far quite impressed. I spent my first three days of ownership driving over 500 miles in three days with my family, from the south-east tip of Georgian Bay to Holland, Michigan, Labor Day weekend. The second and third day were into reported 3-5' waves, occasionally bigger came over the bow, and I was surprised and impressed with how well it handled the weather. It has a deep-V bottom, but it is a planing hull with a bulbous bow, no flare to that bow at all, not a heavy weather shape. At barely a plane and trimmed nose-down, it didn't slap or shudder. The engines didn't seem to be working hard, didn't slow their RPM much when I buried the bow. I would say this boat has more engine than needed, and that helped it handle the waves. My boat hasn't been maintained, other than fluids and filters, in it's 12 year life, and amazingly nothing is wrong with it. I have all the routine maintenance to do, which is good because I'd want to do it anyway to make sure it is right. I've been through it pretty well, I've found a loose cupboard door hinge, faulty windlass deck switch, horn doesn't work (loose air line?), an oil pressure sender needs replacing, and the Mercruiser Vessel View gauge system seems to have been reset to factory default. I'm not finding much that has gone wrong with the boat itself, seems well built, good materials, and good fit and finish. It badly needs a polish job, but the interior looks like it just rolled out new, it has held up extremely well.