ric wrote:
Larson? Meh. They're not nearly as refined as a Four Winns or Chaparral. You'll find a lot of little quirks on it that will anger you. I wouldn't waste your money. I myself sold my 2000 Four Winns H180 for a 2009 Stingray and within a year I sold it for a 2003 Chaparral, which I consider a MAJOR upgrade. It was like going from a BMW to a 1980's honda back into a Bentley. I'll never downgrade brands again.
Stick with the brands that are good. Four Winns, Chaparral, Monterey, Cobalt, Fountain, Regal, etc.
I know what you are saying but after talking to some people that are very familiar with the Larson brand and the their larger boats, this would not be a lower tier boat. I would not be stepping down to a Bayliner, Tahoe or even Rinker. Some even said the LXi model line is similar to the offerings from Monterey, Regal, etc.
I will say this though, no offense to the current FW H180 owners but I think the new H180 is a much cheaper looking and feeling boat than the one I have and you had. If we were to gauge a brand only on their entry level boats today, we might have a different opinion of Four Winns. But when you step up to the larger FW boats, you can see the details which make their boats more appealing. I think Larson is the same way, the LXi is considerably superior to the LX model line.
I cannot speak of Stingray boats as they are not popular up here but after further research and conversation, the LXi series is superior to Rinker 246 which is very common here. On paper, the Rinker 246 appears to be comparable to the Stingray 250LR.