My wife and I are thinking of buying our first boat, and we have looked at several and there was a 1995 Chris Craft that caught our eye today. It is a little older than we would like, but it was in phenomenal shape. It is a 22 or 23 foot boat with a 361 cu engine. It has an open bow and like I said it is in great shape. Anyone have any opinions on Chris Craft boats? We are fairly new to the boating industry, so any info you have would be great!

have always been good quality boats. what model is it and how much? dont let the year bother you too much. with proper maintainance, boats have a very long life.

Boats depreciate faster than a sled especialloy when they get over 10 years old. Make sure you get a survey done on the structure and get the engine tested as well as this is not done in the survey. I had a 90 177 and loved it.



Jim

Yeah, sure they do. A $20,000 boat - 10 years from now - someone is selling for $9000. A $10,000 sled - 10 years from now - someone is selling for $1500.

Chris Craft makes a pretty decent boat but like all boats it all depends on how well it was taken care of. Like was mentioned have a survey done and get a mechanic to go over the engine and drive. If your not going to have it surveyed at least have a mechanic take a look (compression check, oil in engine and drive, gimble) take a close look at the transom. tap the transom (all over) with your knuckle and listen for consistancy...tap,tap,tap,thud...not a good sound. Do all the guages and lights work. Check all the hardware and make sure it is all tight and secure. Check the gelcoat and fiberglass, look at the bottom, check for any little bubbles in the gelcoat or damage to the bottom of the boat. The boat is probably a 23' Concept. It could have a 5.8 liter (which would be a Ford 351 ci) Volvo Penta engine and drive or a 5.7L (GM 350 ci) Mercruiser coupled with a Alpha or Bravo drive. Either engine/drive combo are decent setups. Don't overlook the trailer when your looking at the boat (bearings, tires, breaks, bunks, etc). Take the boat for a test run and check out all the controls and operation at both cruise and WOT.

Thanks for the information. I must have typed wrong, it is the 351, not 361. I believe it is a 23 foot Concept. The boat is supposedly a single owner boat that was traded in for a newer model. The price seems high at $14,000. I don't know how much wiggle room there is though! I tried to look things over the best that I could. It has had an 80 point inspection, not exactly what that includes, so I may have to ask for the records. We will try to test drive it this week and see what we think. I appreciate the feedback!

to get a little more information, id suggest visiting a boating website ( iboats.com is a very good one ) and go into the chris craft subforum. they should be able to tell you everything you would ever want to know about that type of boat.

what kind of drive does it have on it...who makes it merc, volvo, or omc? STAY AWAY from omc but either of the other 2 will be ok. the 351 is fords 5.8 liter that is no longer used in new boats...gm won the marine i/o industry. Make sure parts are easy to kind, and like already stated, be sure to find a marine surveyor whenever you buy something used that is of substantial value. Chris craft makes a very good boat too and boats will hold their value better than most other recreational vehicle especially if they are taken care of.

I always compare on Ebay auctions that have ended and DID NOT see anything sell for $14k like what you described.

make sure it has a mercruiser outdrive parts are easyto find stay away from the others

exactly on the money... boat prices do drop quick from brand new but used if you shop around can be a very different story i bought my boat 5 yrsago and just sold it last week for exactly what i paid for it 5 years ago same deal with my friend at the marina bought his 6 yrs ago for 15 g and sold it for 18 used do hold value do your homework and it,s not a huge money losing deal .... happy boating