Cancelled the Crowley-Beal 23' Order

[Magnolia Sun]

Hi All: Just wanted to follow-up & let you know I cancelled the order for the CB 23' It's a damn shame to because I really wanted this boat. The boat (finally) went into mold up in Milbridge, ME

I gave Jeff a deposit of only $1000 about 6 months ago for a build slot. I've been asking Jeff for a quote for 2 months now & have yet to receive one. I told him I needed a quote by last Friday & because we sold our Eastern 24' & we needed to know how much it would cost us to move forward. Never happened. Requested my deposit back which I don't think it will be an issue because Jeff has 2 more CB 23' on order. They can have my built slot.

We decided to go with the Seaway 24' Hardtop (made by Eastern in Milton, NH) Received a quote within 1 day with all of my upgrades. The final cost with a TON of extras was 62K Went with a Honda BF150 & many, many other opitions. I took her for a sea trail on Saturday with a Yamaha 115HP & it did fine in some chop. There are some things I do like more about both boats, but in the end I will be happy with the Seaway.

Will take delivery @ the end of April. Good thing is Milton, NH is only about 1 & 15 miuntes from Gloucester, MA. so I will taking alot of pictures as the progress unfolds.

Welcome to Seaway Boats

 

[Eastporter]

Congrats! It looks like a nice boat.

 

[The Nancy D]

Please let us know about the Seaway 24 once you have some time with it under your belt. I've seen one around Salem Sound and it looks beautiful.

Was model Eastern 24 did you have? My brother and I have the center console set up which we love. It certainly can be a bit wet though.

 

[Magnolia Sun]

Please let us know about the Seaway 24 once you have some time with it under your belt. I've seen one around Salem Sound and it looks beautiful.

Was model Eastern 24 did you have? My brother and I have the center console set up which we love. It certainly can be a bit wet though.

Nancy: I will post here about the progress of the Seaway 24' Offshore. It went in the mold yesterday (bright yellow hull)

We owned the 2004 Eastern Hardtop. This was the mold with a narrower 7'8" beam. It's a great boat! Never had one issue with it other then needing to re-caulking a little here & there. With a Pilothouse it saved us from the water most of the time, but I could see were a CC might have some issues. No Bow-Dodger? The soft-chine has it's blessing & it's faults.

BTW...I live (& moor our boat) in Magnolia, MA.

 

[JimRP31]

Wow nice job. I never thought my post on the Seaway would generate so much interest or in you changing options. Looking forward to see the build in progress.

 

[Magnolia Sun]

Wow nice job. I never thought my post on the Seaway would generate so much interest or in you changing options. Looking forward to see the build in progress.

I must thank you for your link! I never knew that Eastern made Seaway & we were getting frustrated with the CB 23' progress. Considering I had a Eastern 24' built new years ago, I felt really good about going back to them (I know Roger St. Cyr @ Eastern) pretty well. Eastern makes a soild boat.

When I noticed your link on the Seaway 24' Hardtop for $42K+ my jaw dropped. I said to myself...something isn't right. Went to the dealer two days after your post & within 5 minutes I knew that this was my new boat. Granted that 42K+ priice is with a Mercury 115HP & it's pretty bare inside. For $62,500 this is what I received:

Honda BF150
Honda NEMA Cable to GPS
Honda Analog Gauges (All)
Billet Cut PVC Handrails (very nice handrails)
Cuddy Shelves w/ Teak Pin Rails
Hydraulic Steering
Gel Coat Color Change
Windlass Anchoring System w/ Roller & Line
Electric Windshield Wipers (X2)
Opening PH Windows (X2)
Rod Holders (extra set)
Side & Aft Curtains (Sunbrella Plus)
V-Berth Filler Cushion
Teak Floors in Cuddy Cabin
Todd 1000 Chairs (upgrade from the cheap standard Wise Chairs) (X2)
Todd Adjustable Chair Pedestals (X2)
Vinyl Jump Seat Cushions (X2)
Dual Batteries (Group 24 Exide Deep Cycle)
Swim Platform w/ 3-Step Telescoping Ladder
5 Rod SS Rocket Launcher on the PH Roof
12 Volt Plug
Interlux Micron 66 Paint Anti-Fouling Paint (upgrade vs. standard)
Blue Seas Contra #8053 12 Volt Panel (X2) (upgrade vs. standard)

Also...They will fiberglass-in an angled instrument panel in the Pilothouse. You'll notice that the Seaway 24' has a flat surface in front of the helm. I wanted this because I did not want to read my gauges installed on the bulkhead.

Total came to $62,556.00

The dealer sold me a Load-Rite Elite Roller trailer (6 months old & used only a few times) for $3900.00

In the end, I think my wife & I did pretty well.

 

[JimRP31]

I think you did very well. The only change I would make is to swap out the Exide batteries for Optima. They offer a deep cycle marine battery that is sealed with a 3 year warranty. You will never have any issues starting your engine or with them leaking.

 

[Magnolia Sun]

JK: I hear you on the Optima batteries. I did think about the Gel version. Too be honest...I have used both Deka & Exide standard acid/lead batteries for 15+ years & never had an issue. Plus they usually only cost around $100.00 & they don't weigh a ton either when picking them up.

I change my batteries every 4 years. Also...I keep them on a float charge in the Winter in my basement. The best small investment any boater can make is this little guy here:

Amazon.com: Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger: Automotive

for $25.00 free shipping & no sales tax, this is a win-win IMHO.

 

[The Nancy D]

We too have the older Eastern 24' hull. And, we do have a dodger, but things have been know to get a little sloppy during our near-weekly circumnavigations of Cape Ann.

We're moored in Marblehead off Fluen Pt. I'll keep an eye out for your boat this summer; we tend to head north a lot. Sound sweet -- we'll be green with envy, I'm sure.

 

[jrg]

The Nancy D -
Good to see you around here! Spring is coming...

J

 

[Raider Ronnie]

Bummer about the beal and to be honest I like the look of that boat much better.

 

[Magnolia Sun]

Bummer about the beal and to be honest I like the look of that boat much better.

Raider: Yup...I agree. The CB 23' is a more attractive boat, no question. Cleaner lines & lower pilothouse roofline makes it look very sleek. The problem? Finishing the boat & price.

Last night I received a call from Chris Cornell (ex-Jeff's Marine employee) that I have a relationship with. He threw some numbers @ me to save the purchase. Too expensive, like almost 20K more with a trailer. Then he gave me a bare-bones # w/o power or trailer @ 47K. Eastern/Seaway quoted me 48K & change with the standard options with the Honda 150HP OB. In the end...with want I wanted for upgrades I was looking @ 80K. Simply too much money for a 23' boat IMHO.

 

[BillD]

Raider: Yup...I agree. The CB 23' is a more attractive boat, no question. Cleaner lines & lower pilothouse roofline makes it look very sleek. The problem? Finishing the boat & price.

Last night I received a call from Chris Cornell (ex-Jeff's Marine employee) that I have a relationship with. He threw some numbers @ me to save the purchase. Too expensive, like almost 20K more with a trailer. Then he gave me a bare-bones # w/o power or trailer @ 47K. Eastern/Seaway quoted me 48K & change with the standard options with the Honda 150HP OB. In the end...with want I wanted for upgrades I was looking @ 80K. Simply too much money for a 23' boat IMHO.

One off custom build versus production build = $more$ $money$.
Sometimes you get what you pay for..................,

but I agree with you, $80K for a 23 footer, a beauty @ that, is up there for spending practicality.

 

[Magnolia Sun]

One off custom build versus production build = $more$ $money$.
Sometimes you get what you pay for..................,

but I agree with you, $80K for a 23 footer, a beauty @ that, is up there for spending practicality.

Bill: I wouldn't say that Eastern is a "production" company by any means. They are small potatoes vs. many, many other builders. Everyone is a production builder vs. Beals Boat Shop. Honestly...that 80K figure is short by 5K or more, I didn't include several items that Seaway fulfilled (i.e. rocker launcher, canvas aft/sides, windlass anchoring system, windshield wipers)

Eastern makes a fine boat, I know because I had one for 8 seasons.

 

[yanmar]

That is exactly why i went with a Judge 27 chesapeake in 2005 ( PRICE !!!! ) Yanmar 240 hp w/ dual axle trailer was $74,000 out the door ! But if i had to do it all over i would have saved more money for down payment and gotten a true custom build . ( by the way Bill Judge is a F**KING SC*M BAG ) jeez did i say that out loud

 

[Magnolia Sun]

That is exactly why i went with a Judge 27 chesapeake in 2005 ( PRICE !!!! ) Yanmar 240 hp w/ dual axle trailer was $74,000 out the door ! But if i had to do it all over i would have saved more money for down payment and gotten a true custom build . ( by the way Bill Judge is a F**KING SC*M BAG ) jeez did i say that out loud

I know Judge is made in the Maryland..Correct? Molds are very similar to Eastern (or vise versa) I have heard good things about their boat line in general. We don't see many (if any) up here in New England @ least I don't around the Cape Ann area. Boats cost ALOT more since 2005 that is for sure (sigh)

 

[El Mar]

( by the way Bill Judge is a F**KING SC*M BAG ) jeez did i say that out loud

Really?? That's the first I have heard of that. Please explain if you can.

Not that I doubt you, but Judge was on my boats to look at for a while, not so much anymore but I would love to hear the story if you can.

 

[Eastporter]

Magnolia Sun- At the end of the day you have a company that you are familiar with and trust. You have the boat you desire, along with the custom touches. I think you will get the boat as they have indicated (commissioning date), and you'll be boating on it this spring. Have fun and congratulations again.

 

[yanmar]

Breif history of Judge from what i was told by the salesman . Judge was buying kits from eastern and finishing them off to customers liking hence Eastern by judge . Bill wanted to modify some of the hull designs , Eastern was not interested . He changed hull designs enough to paten and wahla Judge Yachts was formed . Once again i was told this story from his salesman / manager so i dont know it to be exactly true . What i do know to be true is in 2005 i had them build me a 27 ' chesapeake w/ a yanmar 240 hp . Mack boring supplied the engine and when i took delivery i had problems with the control right off the bat . Bill was uncooperative in helping me because i lived three hours away blaming the morse single lever control as garbage and i should have had a dual lever set up . I called mack borig to see if there was a way that they can help me and found out that my boat was suppose to be seatrialed by them before the turn over to the customer and that never happened . So mack did the sea trial and found the engine didnt turn enough rpm's the floor opening was to small in the front and there was a high pressure oil line up against the deck . Bill was still being a dick bag about fixing the prop and floor and i had to get my lawyer involved . Everything got fixed but not the way i wanted to go about getting it done . To think i bought a new boat because i didnt want to have problems for a while........................LOL

 

[BillD]

Bill: I wouldn't say that Eastern is a "production" company by any means. They are small potatoes vs. many, many other builders. Everyone is a production builder vs. Beals Boat Shop. Honestly...that 80K figure is short by 5K or more, I didn't include several items that Seaway fulfilled (i.e. rocker launcher, canvas aft/sides, windlass anchoring system, windshield wipers)

Eastern makes a fine boat, I know because I had one for 8 seasons.

Did not say they did not make a nice boat. What I meant was Eastern builds lots of boats each year and have economies of scale.

How many 23 CBs are built per year?

I know lots of owners who have Easterns. They make a nice boat.
Most all are happy with their boats.
No offense on your Eastern build!