Conference vicki::boats

	Some friends of ours purchased a 36' Regal at the boat show in February.
They loved it this season and had only minor problems with the boat, mostly the
"Dealer Prep" kind of items.  Other then that I have know idea as to how well
Regals stand up in the long term.  They seem like well built boats.  I clearly
think they are at least a notch above a Bayliner (I hate them)....

	Dave

    
    

    Hi,
      Regal's are wonderful.  Are previous boat was a Regal 277XL.
    Not one thing was wrong with it and we put over 100 hours a season
    on it for 3 years.  They are built very very well and the company
    goes out of their way to prove it to you.  They'll even offer you
    a free tour of the plant (if you happen to be in Orlando,Fla.).
    We had gotten ours through Slip's Capeway Marine in Raynam Mass.
    Excellent dealership.  I would highly reccommend Regal, as they
    are a quality boatbuilder who care about their buyers.
    We would have stayed with the Regal line, except that the 36 was
    not what we were looking for in a bigger boat.  We really wished
    that Regal had something we wanted, but the company does not want
    to overexpand its line, and I think that is what has made it so
    successful.  It hasn't gone the Bayliner route (yet) and I hope
    it doesn't.
    
    Cheers,
    John

  I presently own a 27' Regal and feel that its a tremendous boat.
  The quality in it is superb. There are no "rough edges" on this
  boat anywhere. I can honestly say that I have not had a single
  problem with mine for the 3 years I've owned it.

  Its comfortable, good looking, cruises smoothly, and I'd even
  term it "luxurious".

  I'm selling mine (see note 3.86) but only because I want to move
  down to a smaller boat because I'm buying a house on a lake 
  therefore I don't need a boat to sleep on anymore.

  Take a look at mine if you'd like. If you're looking for a boat
  of that size, I can make you one helluva deal!!!  ($44K)

  I'll be at Lake Winne this weekend (last of the season) if you
  do want to check it out. Let me know.

  My friend also has a 277 Regal and he's had equally good success
  with his.

  Dick

    Re. .3,
    
    You may have a hard time talking Al into $44K given that in the
    base note he said:
    
    "...so I've decided to stop by and see what he has in the 18 ft. range.."
                                                                             
    john

    Thanks for all the input. The dealer I'll be visiting this weekend
    is Inland Marine in Chepachet R.I. They're about 10 miles south
    of my home so they're really handy.
    
    Your right John, Dick's 27 footer is a little out of my range. I'm
    looking for something in the 17 to 18 foot range. 
    
    This dealer is telling me (over the phone) that he can put me in
    an 18 footer with a 130 i/o, coast guard package, full mooring cover
    and shorelander trailer for just over $11,000. Sounds really attractive
    to me. If he can come up with the same boat with maybe 175 hp or so for
    around $12,000 I'll go for it.
    
    I was originally concerned about the quality of the boat because I
    haven't previously heard of the boat and also because of the low
    price quote. I originally called this guy to find out if he had a
    17 ft Ebbtide in stock. The Ebbtide with a 130 i/o was about $1,000
    more and it's a much smaller boat. The dealer told me that the reason
    for the price difference was not related to the quality but rather
    the distribution costs. He told me that he has to buy the Ebbtide from
    a distributor. He can get the Regal directly from the manufacturer.
    
    Thanks for the comments,
    
    Al
    
    
    
       
    
    
    
    
    Inland Marine in chepachet R.I. About 5 miles south of the Mass
    border. 

    I've seen a few Regals and they looked really nice, and seem to have a
    fairly good reputation.  The only sour note was in a Popular Mechanics
    comparison of six multi-purpose ~19' sport-cuddy-cruisers where
    they found a fair number of things not to like about the Regal model
    (Sebring XL 195) in the July `86 test.
    
    The test included, in finishing order: 1. Mark Twain MTC 195, (18'9"),
    2. Four Winns 195 Horizon (18'10"), 3. Cobia Sportster 197 SCV (17'7"),
    4. Success 1919 (18'9"), 5. Regal Sebring XL 195 (18'11"), and 6.
    Centruy Palomino LTD (19'6").
    
    All boats had the same powerplant, the MerCriuser Alpha One 205 V6. 
    
    Comments on the Regal included: highest top speed of the six, extremely
    sloppy steering made the boat a real disappointment in the quick-turn
    abd performance courses, the driver's pedstal collapsed through one
    turn, in rough seas it came down hard and unevenly, too much bouncing
    produced some rather unseemly vibrations and rattles. The Regal was
    rated last in finish, on the rough side in glass and details.
    
    The lapses of quality in the Regal line may be very rare, however it
    obvious that do happen from this test, (and probably to every other
    maker too), but when a company advertises its superior quality to let
    even one bad one out the door isn't what you'd expect to happen.  I am
    not entering this note to dump on Regal, only to let you know that
    nothing can be taken for granted and that even a new Regal ought to be
    as carefully checked out as any other boat before taking procession.
    
    john 

    We spent last week in the Orlando area visiting my parents and my
    father had seen an ad for the previously-mentioned Regal boat plant
    tour. We took the tour on Thursday (they are only done on Monday's and
    Thursday's in the afternoon) and since we were the only two there we
    had our own private tour. The woman (from marketing) giving the tour was
    very accomodating and let us go at our own pace. This is their
    headquarters and they build smaller boats (up to 21')in one large 
    building and then the larger boats (up to 38') in another building.
    There are two other large buildings where they do woodworking and
    cushion/seats/wiring harness/trim and then repairing of customer boats.
    
    We spent most of the time on the small boat line. Building boats at
    Regal is a very labor-intensive process. The only automation I saw (we
    were not allowed in engineering/prototype) was a large table router
    which cut out most of the plywood pieces for stringers, seats, etc.
    Saw them laying-up hulls and decks and then assembling them (easy to
    install an engine before the deck is installed on the hull!). Saw this
    one guy putting on stripes, that was clearly an art! Looked like they
    build a quality boat. They make nearly all their own components,
    except, of course engines, drives, controls, etc. They have their own
    fleet of trucks for shipment. They produce about 45 boats per week.
    
    Nice people. It has been owned by the same family which started it.
    They used to make hot tubs! It is very convenient, about 5 miles from
    Orlando airport on Jetport Drive, right off S.R. 528. Took about 90
    minutes. Worth the time if you have not seen a boat plant, and
    certainly if you are considering a Regal.
    
    Larry