Talk me in/out of this boat - 2012 Larson 258 LXi

alex8q4 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:13 pm

I hear ya... It's a big purchase, it should at a minimum put a smile on your face.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 9:34 am

I have have been reading many online reviews. Seems all of them read like advertorials. Some have more data, photos and other details but none really point out any negatives. For example, I do not recall any reviews where they say a boat has a bad ride.

Anyway, after much consideration we are likely going to hold off on buying a new boat at this time. It is in our best interest financially to wait until our youngest son goes back to school and my wife goes back to work. This way we will have additional disposable income.

That is unless we happen to come across a boat we really want that is a deal we cannot refuse.

ric · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 9:44 am

The best rides you'll get out of something like a Formula or Chaparral, but you won't get the latest styling or features.

blue dragon · **Joined:** Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:01 pm **Posts:** 792

Jdpber wrote:

have you ever owned a black hull?

have you ever tried to detail one and keep it looking sexy?

Black hull i charge double to detail. EVERY mother trucking water spot is shown. every little scratch. HORRIBLE! dark hulls only i repeat ONLY look good 5 minutes after a detail while they are on the trailer.

RUN LIKE HELL from that dark hull they are a mother to keep looking good.

Come on, thats not quite true. They do require more work, but my boat still looks like this after 4 years

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 9:58 am

It is true if you consider location. A dark hulled boat in Canada is easier to maintain than the same boat in South Carolina.
Much more sun , salt, heat and humidity there, and that makes a big difference on how much effort and time you spend to keep a boat looking like yours.

ric · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 10:13 am

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

It is true if you consider location. A dark hulled boat in Canada is easier to maintain than the same boat in South Carolina.
Much more sun , salt, heat and humidity there, and that makes a big difference on how much effort and time you spend to keep a boat looking like yours.

Dark hull in Florida you might as well just schedule a detailer to buff it out every month. A slip neighbor bought a new Regal with a lot of black gelcoat trim mid last year. It looks like dogshit now.

purdueosch · **Joined:** Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:52 am **Posts:** 141

blue dragon wrote:

Jdpber wrote:

have you ever owned a black hull?

have you ever tried to detail one and keep it looking sexy?

Black hull i charge double to detail. EVERY mother trucking water spot is shown. every little scratch. HORRIBLE! dark hulls only i repeat ONLY look good 5 minutes after a detail while they are on the trailer.

RUN LIKE HELL from that dark hull they are a mother to keep looking good.

Come on, thats not quite true. They do require more work, but my boat still looks like this after 4 years

I agree blue dragon, it's not quite true. The two boats and one ski I've owned all had dark hulls. I don't regret those decisions. If I had a boat that was stored in the water or on a lift I might feel differently.

Graham R · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:44 pm

ric wrote:

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

It is true if you consider location. A dark hulled boat in Canada is easier to maintain than the same boat in South Carolina.
Much more sun , salt, heat and humidity there, and that makes a big difference on how much effort and time you spend to keep a boat looking like yours.

Dark hull in Florida you might as well just schedule a detailer to buff it out every month. A slip neighbor bought a new Regal with a lot of black gelcoat trim mid last year. It looks like dogshit now.

A guy at our marina would for sure agree. He had a white Baja 275 on the water for 50 out of 52 weeks. Changed it for an all black one; including the topsides ! Wow, it looked smart for at least a month ! After that, he could never keep up with the continual cutting/ polishing it needed

schoolsOut · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:46 pm

I have a light hull, which is not too difficult to keep looking good, but my boat is on the trailer most of the time. For the week or two that i keep it in the water, it looks like hell by the time I take it out at the end of the week. My brother keeps his in the water all summer long and it gets a pretty nasty green slime on it after a few weeks. That is one of the reasons he ended up buying a new boat with a dark hull. It does not show the slime nearly as quickly as his old (2010) white Chap. He has the dark blue Cobalt in the pic below now.

LouC · **Posted:** Sat Feb 21, 2015 5:41 pm

If you want color and don't want to be a slave to it, Imron or Awlgrip are about the only way, unless you can keep it out of the sun a good part of the year.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I have had dark hulls for the past 15 years and no probs at all. My h210 red hull still looks new top to bottom. I trailer though and wash and wipe down after each use. Its also stored inside and under cover.

The colored hulls are sharper looking boats, but the white will hide spotting and fading if its in sun and water 24/7. If you leave it floating all year you got to expect major clean up.

I have a bud who has a 22 foot blue wave...its blue...and looks new. He's has it in his slip on lift and merely washes hull after each use. Its on gulf coast.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:25 am

Keeping it out of the sun is what makes it last. Here most boats are in slips or moored, storage is expensive and trailering is difficult. The ones I see on the moorings that have colored gel coat, are mostly faded/oxidized badly. There may be better quality gels that hold the color better over time, but you never know when you buy the boat.
If I were buying a new or nearly new boat there is no question I would want a white boat, with no tape stripe either. Colored gel to me is like a painted trailer. A ball and chain....

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I recon if I had to keep it outside I would want white too. Its just that here most either are on lifts and under cover or stored inside.

I would be afraid that a moored boat would get smacked around here. Many folks here are doing good to not run into slipped boats or docks.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2015 9:11 am

I have a shallow mooring spot, that keeps people away from me (3' @ low tide)....
While accidents can and do happen, trailer info is as or more risky here and because property is so expensive forget about inside storage unless you are wealthy.
In the salt pond you need a low maintenance boat and trailer.

GottWhat · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:08 am

Thanks for the colored-hull input. Luckily, we would be rack storing our new boat as well.

As far as the Larson goes, it was just added to eBay: 2012 LARSON 258 LXI

A clean 2006 Formula 260BR is also available on eBay but is out of our budget.

www.iFourWinns.com

Talk me in/out of this boat - 2012 Larson 258 LXi

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