Where's the Chris Craft Commander Club?

commander club

The Commander club is actually very alive and well. I lurk there frequently, having owned a 38' before being smitten by the 41 Regal Roamer!

These boats share a lot of the same Hardware, engines, running gear, and much more with Roamers. I belive they have registered over 1300 commanders of the vintage you were looking at.

The website is www.commanderclub.com

Mark

Apples - Oranges

Haven't, but figure they are both great values.
Still, one of them tend to attract navigation buoys more than the other.
CHeers!
Eric
"Tin Tonic"

comparing commanders/Roamers

Personally I know this will stir the pot on the Commander site as they lurk here as well!

Commanders are sturdy-solid and rot free from the sides down as probably any boat could be. They (38') are great running dry boats in moderate seas.
The weaknesses were the express models could not support the bridges and windshields from racking in even smaller seas. Nothing major, just annoying.
They are sometimes prone to rotting on the deck near the bow eyebrow.
They are holding their value better than anything other than a Hat or Bert IMO. Gelcoat is getting old and most that have been in the sun all of their lives are chalking and in some cases getting down to the woven glass (blue).
Would I buy another one? Absolutely, every boat has a few warts and I know where most of the warts are on these boats. Carvers, C-Rays and others tend to have hidden warts that might be very expensive. Take a look at Dave Pascoes web site www.yachtsurveys.com Might not be plural?
He will tell it like it is when it comes to wood on a boat when used as a cored material, especially in the hull.

Roamers on the other hand do not twist and flex quite as much as their FRP couisins. So Bridges and windows seem to be better. But rear decks do rot!!
Under the nautilex can be a very big surprise at times. Stray current can cause major headaches in some locations, it leads to galvonic corrosion and pitting of less noble surfaces such as steel and alumnum. So you need to monitor what is happening to your hull and gear and become educated to a degree about the subject.
My Roamer rides every bit as well as our 38 did. Lots of room and the woodwork is equal to the wooodwork on the Commanders. Many Commanders were made at the Roamer plant. Many components from the two lines are shared, hence the need to learn from each boating group. Engines, trannies, gauges etc are all shared to some degree. You can be that 90% of the time somene before you has had the same issue you had and it has been solved by the collective effort so you don't need to re-create the wheel. Almost forgot one ride issue. My Roamer is definately wetter! No big issue to me but there is a difference.

So I will not plug one over the other except to say that I love my Roamer and intend on making it my last boat! Till I find that 45' Commander tournament SF in pristine condition!!
Mark

Personally, I like em both, and a lot. They share the same family tree, have lots of similar visual ques, same power and transmissions, and in many cases, the same interior layouts. My 38 Commander is model FXA 38 3004 R, and the "R" signifies the "Roamer" plant. It has the same 427 gas engines and HJ72.5 Paragons that a lot of you guys are running, and in this regard we can certainly learn some tips by talking with each other.

Here's a tip of the hat and a toast to the Roamer guys here on the forum, from a dyed in the wool Commander guy.


Cheers!

Paul, aka "dogsharks"