At 09:31 PM 7/3/99 -0400, seafred seafred@home.com wrote:

Much has been written about Bayliners being "crap."  Frankly, I see it much
like the Mercedes or Lexus owner looking down his nose at the owner of a
Ford Taurus, and calling it "cheap junk"; when in all likelihood, both cars
are equally likely to get you from point A to point B.

Bayliners are more of an "entry level" boat than some.  Their marketing
pitches are certainly aimed at folks who don't have a lot of boating
experience.  When a husband who is hot to buy a boat and the wife who is
luke warm, they do a very excellent job of selling the wife.  They tend to
be less expensive than many, but they tend to be rather flashy so as to
appeal to the eye.  I would certainly never buy one to use as a passage
maker, to cross oceans and such; but I would consider one if I were planning
to island hop in the Bahamas.  For probably 99 percent of all recreational
boat owners, they would do just fine.  The only thing that they seriously
lack in is "snob-appeal."

This sort of reminds me of the last time I when into a bike shop to buy a
bicycle.  One particular brand used the same frame for their 400 dollar
model as for their 1800 dollar model.  The difference was in everything else
besides the frame, which is hung onto the frame.  A Bayliner can be very
similar.  If you are buying one new, you can spec out your engine,
transmission, all your accessories, and most of you other systems.  (These
are the things that will either make you happy or sad, much more so than the
boat itself.)  If you do so with an eye to buy the cheapest, then you will
have a cheap boat.  On the other hand, you can spec them out with some very
high quality components; and you will have a pretty decent boat.

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::
Paul and Cindy Kruse      ::  KJV Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you,
165 South Kenneth Court    ::  my peace I give unto you:
Merritt Island, FL  32952  ::  not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
E-mail:  plkruse@iu.net    ::  Let not your heart be troubled,
407-453-6206              ::  neither let it be afraid.
::
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At 07:28 AM 7/4/99 -0400, you wrote:

Paul Kruse wrote-------

---============================
Well put Paul.
I took on a delivery of a 46' Silverton and when I went into the engine
room I was suprised to find a Pair of 435 HP GM 671 beauties that a lot of
more expensive boat owners would die for. The boat performed beautifully. I
don't frown on a less expensive boat, but commend their crews for using and
enjoying while the big tough passagemakers talk about what they are going
to do one day. And in a lot of cases that I know of that day never came and
probably never will.
Just think of all the boats that were built to cross Oceans that we know
never will.
It's what you do with what you have that counts.
.
Captain Al Pilvinis

"M/V Driftwood"--Prairie 47
2630 N.E. 41st Street
Lighthouse Point, Fl 33064-8064
Voice 954-941-2556 Fax 954 788-2666
Email - CaptainAl@Juno.com
Website http://home.earthlink.net/~yourcaptain