After having looked at all the boats of consideration in the Northeast (USA), it was time to switch to decision mode.  Inventory was fairly sparse, but had improved during the summer of 2021.  Prices were high, but boats were staying on the market for a longer period of time vs. the frenzy buying of 2020-early 2021. As a result of the market factors, there was some ‘budget creep’ vs our original expectations; it was just a matter of getting the best value.

Here are a few take-aways from the searching of newer boats (5-6 years old) . . .

1. ★Like New ???   The boats were not in as good a condition as one would expect for fairly new boats.  Some seemed to have lived a hard life (so far) and others just seemed neglected.
   

1. ★Boat pricing has really gotten crazy in the past few years . . . new (and newer) boats of decent size rival the cost of houses !!!
   

1. ★Technology is not your friend . . . The engines and systems on boats have come a long way vs. my 1996 vintage boat (which had the first generation of MPI engines).  The engines, controls, and systems of today are extremely complicated and far from ‘bullet-proof’. 
   

1. ★Save the Planet . . .The engines (since 2012 ish) have Catalytic Converters (CAT) in the exhaust, which can be an expensive maintenance item.  Considering salt water use, you had to be really careful about which sterndrive engines were in the boat.  Fortunately, 4 of the 5 sterndrive boats under consideration had FULL closed cooling.  The Chaparral was the only boat with raw water cooling (and would probably soon need a $10K exhaust replacement).
   

1. ★Boats have gotten heavier . . .  My Formula 330 had a dry weight of 8,900 lbs, which was fairly light for its size (33 feet).  The boats under consideration (and all of the same length as the F-330) ranged from 11,000 - 12,500 lbs. dry weight by comparison. . . 2,000 - 3,000 lbs more!!!  There are pros and cons to greater weight.  Pro would be a softer ride . . . Con would be more power and fuel needed.
   

1. ★Marine Vinyl isn’t what it used to be . . . Several of the boats we looked at had upholstery issues; seam tearing and separation.  These were on 5 year old boats!  By Contrast the seating on my Formula 330 lasted for 25 years.  I suspect that with new styles and textures of vinyl, it is not as durable as traditional vinyls.

Being decision time, we put an offer in on the Blue CY 338 (Upstate NY).  Not my favorite color, but it had the most ‘bling’ and options, being the ‘South Beach’ edition.  The boat would need some gelcoat work.  The asking price was high (IMO) and we submitted an offer of what we felt the boat was worth to us.  The seller rejected the offer and it looked like we were too far apart.  So we moved on to the next boat on the list.

White/Gray CY 338 (Long Island, NY) . . . This boat checked a fair number of the boxes, but was the one needing a complete re-upholstery job.  The current owner had tried to get the seating replaced under warranty to no avail.  I contacted the manufacturer (Cruisers Yacht) for some information on new upholstery . . . about $12K, and then time & effort (or cost) to have the new upholstery ‘skins’ installed . . . maybe another $3-5K.  In presenting an offer, I discussed - and factored in - the cost of new upholstery with the broker.  After a bit of back & forth, the deal was done!

2016 Cruisers Yacht Sport Series 338

This boat was the best overall option (for us), as it was one of the the more budget friendly boats (not that any of them were ‘budget friendly’) was the colors we wanted, and the upholstery work was something in my wheelhouse, having done the upholstery on my previous boat a few years ago.

The name - ‘One2Many’ - was catchy and more interesting than some of the stupid names folks give boats.  This spared us a potentially controversial and risky ritual of re-naming the boat.

By then it was mid-October and the 2021 boating season in the Northeast USA was drawing to a close. 

I needed to be quick with the logistics of finalizing the sale and transporting the boat to my home port.

Next steps were the survey and sea trial. 

As a side note  . . .

There were a few other CY328/338 boats on the market at the time of our search.  A 338 on Long Island and two 328’s further away (FL and CA).  The asking price of those boats were fairly insane even for COVID pricing.  Those boats all stayed on the market into the following year, as they were priced too high.  It was interesting to see how the buying frenzy market for boats was running out of steam going into 2022.

About the Cruisers Yacht ‘Sport Series‘ 338  . . .

Cruisers Yacht (Oconto, Wisconsin, USA) (parent company is ‘KCS International’) has been around for quite some time, known mostly for larger (35+ feet) cruising boats.  The ‘Sport Series’ of boats was a new model series, stemming from the company’s acquisition of the Azure Boat company in 2011 (+/-).  Azure was known for stylish bowriders in the 20-30 foot range.  It is a fair assumption that the 328/338 series was an upward size evolution of the Azure product line. Just not sure how much of the design is ‘Cruisers’ vs. ‘Azure’.

The 328 was introduced in 2014 and did quite well.  In 2016 the model name was ‘upgraded’ to the 338 (same hull), the only change was an optional extended swim platform.  The initial boats were powered with twin sterndrive engines, either Volvo Penta or Mercruiser, in the 320 - 380 HP range.  In 2019 the outboard version of the 338 was introduced, and many of the boats produced after that time were powered with twin 350 HP Mercury Verado outboards.  The standard swim deck was notched on the outboard models to accommodate the engine tilt position.

I believe that 2022 was the last year of production of the 338, as the model has been phased out in favor of the GLS series of mid-cabin bowriders, starting at 34 feet and upward.  My good friends at Cruisers Yacht indicated to me that about 325 boats of the 328/338 product line were produced over its 9-year run.  Also, the smaller bowriders from the Azure product line have been retired a few years prior.

History of ‘One2Many’  . . .

I did some research on the particular boat that I was buying and also found some paperwork on the boat from prior owner(s).  This CY 338 was sold to its initial owner in 2016 in the Stamford, CT area.  In 2020, the boat was sold to its second owner on Long Island, NY . . . basically just across LI Sound.  After 2 seasons under its second ownership, the boat was for sale again.

I was a bit concerned about the fairly rapid change of ownership, perhaps the boat was a ‘lemon’.  The second owner kept the boat at a marina, and I was able to get a copy of the maintenance history for review.  Lots of little things getting replaced in addition to regular slip costs, etc.  It occurred to me that this boat was what’s often referred to as a “COVID boat” - bought at the outset of the 2020 pandemic and now being sold shortly thereafter.  Since I do my own work on the boats I’ve owned, I was not overly concerned about the maintenance, but it was good to know the history.

I also was able to get the particular build sheet of the boat from Cruisers Yacht showing the the various things that were original equipment on the boat.  The boat was built in the fall of 2015 and sold to its original owner by Total Marine, Norwalk, CT in June 2016.   I believe that the CY dealership had transitioned from Total Marine to Strong’s Marine over the past few years.  The boat was brokered (to us) by Strong’s Marine - who were great to work with.