Prestige 560?

The Prestige is a price point boat. The zues are probably 30% more efficient than shafts in the same boat. In addition to keeping zincs on them, it's crucial to keep the drives and props clean as a little growth hurts performance a lot more than shafts. The Prestige is a price point boat for sure, they do a great layout inside for their size. I'd say seakeeping and overall quality is 1 step below your old searay, it's ok but nothing to write home about. Things like a lot of the interior pieces are glued with no fasteners, the teak (exterior decks) is very thin on them, etc. They're a royal pain to wash with all of the stainless and the wing dings everywhere that you have to chamois. All in all they're an ok boat if you pick your weather. I'd say a step above Carver/Marquis and a step below Searay, Princess and Sunseeker.

I do 10-15,000 NM's a year and have done around 200,000 NM's now without incident. I ALWAYS plot my routes from paper charts and put it in the GPS as a route and use the chartplotter as a guide. You either get a lot of detail in a small area, or a large area and no detail, but not both like paper. Also, I've seen the chartplotter be 1/4 mile off in crucial places where if you were following it, you'd be on land or a sand bar.

The proof is in the pudding. I'm not a huge fan of the late model L series. I could think of many other ones I recommend first. But if you look at Searays in the 2000s up until 2009, they all are in very good condition. The gelcoat doesn't have issues, there's no structural issues, the interiors are nice without issues. They age very well. The systems were simple with good components, access wasn't always the greatest. They ran well also.....like the 52' and 58' sedan bridges. For what they were, an average priced yacht, for an average usage, the quality was very good for their price point. I've done some LOOOOONG trips on Searays without any issues. I took a 98' 45' sedan bridge from Lauderdale to St. Croix, a 58 SB from Delray Beach to CT. Another 58' from DE to OH. I used to tow a 25' Robalo with 2-225's behind a 52' SB.

I'm just closing on a prestige 50' fb. Was considering 550 but first boat and got intimidated with the size. I went through the same discussion just a couple of months ago on this forum (and others). It's a tradeoff. Yeah I would LOVE a Princess or Sunseeker but the price of those for same size is just not in my budget. Yeah I could have gone smaller and older and gone with a sunseeker or princess (and there are a couple nice ones in the market now) but won't be getting the options and the space I currently need for my family (although even the 2009 Sunseekers and Princesses the interior cabinetry/wood/trims etc I find far superior to prestiges but prestiges has a really nice look also). It's definitely as Capt J. says... a price point consideration. and for me layout. Very difficult to find a boat of same size with the space and layout offered on Prestiges. As for seaworthiness, as I'm doing limited local fair weather cruising (icw,bahamas and keys) this boat is fine for now. Wow I LOVE THE 560's! Gorgeous Boat! Do though checkout the Sunseeker or princesses just so you can compare. Searay is no longer going to be producing boats in their "yacht class" (anything bigger than 40') so not sure how service will impact owners in the future. Capt J has a lot of experiences in Prestiges and has helped me much in understanding their value and areas where they may lack as well. I'm new to this and will share my experiences as they occur. would love to hear from you and others what your final decision was and why based on findings. I'm sure this is a lifelong learning experience here.

My two cents...Prestige is a price point boat...no doubt. Love the features, styling, materials, bang for the buck, technology...all good. What has always stopped me with regard to Prestige is their resale and their displacement relative to every other similar size boat.

Take a look at 2 or 3 year old Prestiges and you will see a very significant depreciation. This is happening during a period where late model used boats are in high demand. What does the market know the we don't?

Displacement...some years ago, I compared similar size boats and Prestige was always 25-35% lighter. I did not do anymore digging than that. Less is more?

The two things together always left some doubt in my mind.

Oh...Capt J...I wholeheartedly disagree with your SR vs Marquis comparison. I have owned both and you are way off.

Quality, construction, functionality, design...Marquis head and shoulders above any of the Sea Ray larger models. I never thought it was close. Just my humble opinion...

All of the hardware on Marquis is undersized. Cleats, hinges, keepers, latches, etc. I've seen cleats tear out of the stern of 2 different Marquis, and they never towed anything. Woodwork damage on interior cabinets and drawers because the keepers and slides weren't strong enough for ocean use. A shattered hull window on another that was in 8' seas from the hull flexing so much. Their performance is very lackluster and run very bow high, even with the trim tabs buried down at 80% load. Gel coat on one 60' something Marquis (63' or 65' something like that) that never cured and was tacky to the touch and the owners had the entire boat painted. Just plain bad gelcoat on others that would never really shine. Now, I've seen some issues with modern Searays, but mostly a punch list of small stuff. I haven't seen any major structural issues on late model Sea Ray's or anything like this.

So you are all saying it's time for me to replace my Ray Jefferson RDF , 10 Channel Ray Jeff VHF and Hummingbird Flasher? What about the Decca radar?....Lol Tusindtak, Don't ever for get your old school days of paper charts, compass, binoculars, and depth meter navigation...it is still one of the best ways to get around...and your are right staring at the gps screen to much can contribute to hitting that log you didn't see right in front of you because you were to busy looking at the screen or working all of the do-dad buttons on the **** unit....I think this happened to me once.

Man ...you ARE old...Lol. I saw those Pierce Simpson adds in old issues of Yachting Magazine that's it. I first experienced Radar on a Decca but don't recall the model.

If the Decca radar has the boot you have to put your head into, it's still good, keep it!

Lol...yeah I forgot about that boot headpiece!