what do you think about this deal? I LOOKED..

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Prospective

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Well, I decided to go check it out... and promised I would post my thoughts. In general I really like this boat. The space is perfect for our family and intended use. The swim platform is huge, the side decks are nice and wide, the helm is laid out nicely and the cockpit is comfortable. The layout inside is great and the 2nd stateroom is nicer than what I've seen on larger boats. The finish is 2 steps up from what I have on my boat.

This boat in particular was in average to below average condition. The story the broker gave me is that the current owner bought her in FL and used her a bit but quickly upsized to a 46ft Meridian. So this boat is sitting on the hard waiting to be sold. She said it's been out of the water since last October.

Interior was in pretty decent condition and didn't really show much wear. It had a bit of a musty smell but it's been sitting under shrinkwrap for awhile now. The exterior was okay. The vinyl had some mildew but was not cracked or torn. It would probably clean up okay. There was a spot on the corner of a hatch were it must have been hit and the corner was cracked. Without looking too closely, there were various other Gelcoat scracthes and chips. Helm looked okay but various rubber bits were faded and cracked as if they'd seen a lot of sun. It is a FL boat. Hull didn't show any damage but trim tabs had significant residue from marine growth which had been quickly scraped off. Why not paint the tabs?

The bigger dissappointment was in the engine compartment. It wasn't a disaster but it wasn't pretty either. The bilge had water in it that looked brown to black. I didn't have a flashlight with me so my visability wasn't great. I don't know a thing about diesels but based on the pics posted they look like Cummins B's with the seperate covers. Didn't see any HP ratings posted anywhere obvious. There was some surface rust rust on top of engines next to these covers. Not sure if that's significant but it doesn't look very nice. Obviously never covered with any corrosion inhibitor. Generally engine compartment was dirty but didn't show any obvious signs of mechanical disaster. Broker swears all maintenance has been performed. I would certainly want to see proof.

Overall, it just looked a little worn. But much of the cosmetic stuff could be brought back with a little elbow grease. The bigger question is if the overall condition is evidence of poor mechanical maintenance which would be an issue. But to be fair, I take excellent care of my boat but if you climbed on it in March after it had been sitting under shrink wrap for the winter you might have your doubts...

The attraction to this particular vessle is, it's near by so no shipping needed. The price is cheap (assuming it's in good working order), and the owner would be willing to take a trade which makes getting out of my boat easier. My sense is the price on this thing might go a lot lower if I made an offer.

I am not planning on doing that now. Even if I decided to, I would wait until the end of the season and negotiate off-season storage into the deal. And don't worry, I would plan on getting a hull and engine survey done before closing any deal. Thanks for your input...
 
thats reality if you want to sell a boat reasonably fast in today's market. its not a good time to be a seller. i would not expect that boat to be in pristine condition. at that year and low hours on the motors the boat has not been used that much and quite possibly not as well looked after as one that was used more often.
 
No harm in taking a look. I've always liked this particular model of Regal.

If the boat was kept up north a lot, the hours are not that low. Figure 50 hours a year for your avergae bay cruiser puts it at 400 hours.
 
I have the same boat, but with gas engines. The price is actually in the ballpark if in good condition. As for the amount of hours, that seems to be about right for a northern boat, but I see it was from Florida somewhere during its life.
I wonder why 2 years on the market? I would certainly make a point to inspect boat. Take note of headliner near starboard window, it appears to have wrinkles which may indicate a past leak. This vintage was notorious for leaks in both front and side windows.
 
It's only 15 minutes away. Can't hurt to look.

If it was in W. VA, I would say give Greg Saracco a call!!!!

Ditto Scott on the hours.
 
I was not knocked down when I saw the price. It's seems fair but not a deal of a lifetime. I agree with the other posters. Take a look at it in person. If it's want you want, make an offer and have it surveyed. Engine hours can be deceiving. A boat may have been used a lot in the first 2-3years and then barely used the last 6-7 years; perhaps sitting unused for a couple of years.
 
1980290_1.jpg


Not sure what to say about the boat except it's blocked properly!

Seriously thou, the diesels for that year are only 370 HP IIRC. I have never operated one with the 370 cummins but it sounds a little underpowered to me. FWIW ours has the 440 Yanmars.
 
I looked at this boat when I was looking.
I don't think Cummins made a 420.
I think they are 330.
Which makes this boat pretty slow.
But if your ok with that, then its not a bad deal.
 
Thanks folks, I appreciate the feedback. I guess I don't follow them close enough to appreciate the prices. It's the cheapest diesel boat on Yachtworld for that year and seemed significantly less that what I would have expected. But I guess that shows how far prices have slipped.

Currentsea, I know you got a much newer gas boat but what if anything turned you off of this one??
 
For this boat it was really the speed. The 330 is a very economical engine but I like my speed and this boat will cruise around 22mph and top out at 27mph. For most people that is fine. I like speed. I also was not a fan of the light colored interior cabinetry. Both issues were not deal breakers but there were better deals out there for me. I looked at my spreadsheet I still have of the over 30 boats I followed and this boat was 189K in October 2008, so it dropped a lot.
If u like it, look at it, drive it, SURVEY it and good luck!!!
 
To my knowledge Regal did not sell diesel with less then 370HP on the 37-40 models. Most of those where VP. Not sure what HP these Cummins really are, however with 370 diesels you cruise fatser then with 420HOs and burn barely half the fuel in diesel. 400hrs is low hours for diesel.
 
Thanks all, does seem to be a bit of mystery surrounding the engines. The add lists 420hp which I don't think can be right. Other listings with the same engines list cummins with 370hp so I am guessing that is it. A look-see at the engines would resolve the problem. And I'm assuming regal published figures for cruise and WOT speed for this set-up... I'll post again if I do decide to look at it. Broker said boat is still in the yard and owner has not put it in the water. I bet it will be really cheap in October if it hasn't sold yet!
 
Yes, there were definitely 370 Cummins out too. Rommer should have all the data on those engines. Cruise would be very close to VP 370s in case he does not have the data for Cummins anymore.
 
Curious, just emailed broker regarding the engines. She is claiming that the engines are "Cummins Diamond Series" at 420hp. Does anyone know if this was even an option on the 2001? I could go see the boat, would the rated hp be somewhere on the engine?
 
"Cummins Diamond Series" has nothing to do with size or HP- it’s a product line that covers many different size/HP engines

A lot of brokers don’t know one engine size/hp from another. I would not trust any broker listing to be accurate

Ask the broker if they are Cummins B's(5.9 liters)220-370HP or C's (8.3liters) 420-480HP in 2001.

Both are very good strong engines- most likely this boat has 370HP B’s

The 370’s should be better in 'performance' to 420hp gas

Remember it’s not HP alone that pushes the boat, the engines torque plays much more of a role especially on heavy boats at cruise speeds -
The high end torque for a stock GM 8.1/420HP gas engine is 500 lb-ft,
The Cummins 330/370 B has 680 lb-ft.
BTW: a Cummins C, which is almost the same displacement as the big Gas engines has 1200 lb-ft of torque

I see you’re from RI and I assume you would not be using the boat on a flat lake. Stock Gas boats run fast on flat water which you have very little of.

One big thing I noticed when we moved to our first diesel boat (Cummins C’s)was that unlike gas engines sea conditions have very little effect on them so they can run longer, cheaper, faster regardless of what the waters doing. Better performance

Get caught in some snotty water off Pt Judith and you would be better/safer with even a 330hp diesel engine than a 420HP gas in the boat
 
Good post Andy,
Here is some #s that apply to my 2004 34c/36c Silverton, Gas vs Diesel. The Silverton 34/36C is about the same weight and LOA as the Regal, the beam on the Silverton is 10” wider, so for all practical purposes they are basically the same size boats.

My boat has 8.1, 385 HP Gas Crusader Motors, Cruise Speed is 21k with a fuel burn of 29 to 36 GPH.
My friends boat (same boat) has Diesel, 315 HP Yanmar Motors, Cruise speed is 19k, but only burns 18GPH, he has less of a variation on fuel burn because tide and current does not affect diesel as much as gas (torque).
When I am burning 29GPH, it is ideal circumstances ( tide, wind and load is right).

Point here, do not get hung up on the HP when comparing diesel to gas, I did that when I bought my boat, no regrets on choosing gas (could not justify the additional 42k for diesel with the boating I do). I thought that 315 hp diesel; the boat would be a pig, far from that. Top end, my gas motors are about 4knots faster, but how often do you run WOT?
The year I bought my boat, the HO motors were not available, if they were, I would have them. With that said, and the boating I do (60 hours of run time a year on average) there would be no doubt in my mind that I would rater have the HO motors as opposed to diesel. Reason being, speed, nothing more or less. If I traveled the ocean frequently and had to deal with rough seas, then diesel would be my first choice. There is no substitution for the torque that diesel delivers in rough seas.
 
I just read a Boat test Report on the 3780 with Cummins 370hp B’s

Says the cruise speed is 26MPH and WOT at 32MPH – not too shabby- But it’s a Canadian site ;-)

http://www.boattest.ca/boatsandplaces/TestReports/Report.aspx?id=81&Make=Regal&Model=Commodore 3780

If you go to the boat it’s easy to tell the difference between the Cummins B & C

The B should look like it has 6 separate valve covers- you will have to look at the tags to confirm HP
This is a B
370B.jpg


This is a C, straight valve cover

450C.jpg
 
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