Eastern 248 test ride

[roydawn]

Took a test ride on an Eastern 248 at Wefings Marine in Apalachicola, Fl. yesterday. It was awesome! Boat only arrived in Fl. from Eastern in New Hampshire on Tues. we sat on it most of Wed. then Marc, Pres.of Wefing's suggested a test ride for Thurs. AM, so we jumped on it. The 248 preformed flawlessly great ride, MPH-RPM right there with brochure. Great boat, great $$$, great dealer. Any Eastern 248 owners out there want to chime in. love the boat. Roy

 

[BOSBoatMan]

It'll look a little lost down there in sunny FLA amongst all the Carolinas, no?

Are you going to buy it?

 

[roydawn]

This part of Florida is all Grady White Country [Gulf offshore fishing]. But we LOVE the Down East Lobster boat look. We are mostly cruisers, [plan on many trips to the Keys],with lots of river fishing & limited Gulf fishing trips. hope to wrap up a deal in the next few weeks. Roy

 

[MouseTrap]

Wefings has a great reputation for selling pocket cruisers (Eastern, C-dory, and Rosboroughs). I think the Eastern 248 is a great little sporty weekender. Should be perfect for what you want to do! I know this thread didn't get to much response, but I hope you post pictures and updates.

Good luck!

 

[guitarman]

I had a seaway 25 coastal cruiser which is a cousin to the 248 and out of about 7 cruising boats that i've cruised extensively on including a grand banks 36 the seaway was my favorite. the 248 is a little wetter ride but I think you will love it.

 

[roydawn]

Thanks Guys, We really like the look, construction, feel, & ride of the 248 Eastern. Our last big boat was a Grand Banks 42 [sold 2009]. Really miss the cruising & feel the Eastern will be perfect for short weekend to week cruises. And it will handle all MY fishing needs. Also water is very shallow in our backyard so it's 15" draft will be handy. Marc at Wefings Marine is great to work with, he is bringing 3 Eastern's & 2 Seaway's to the Naples, Fl. boat show next week if any one in Fl. wants to see these awesome boars. Roy

 

[The Nancy D]

I had not heard that the 248 was an especially wet ride. I can offer no first hand knowledge though as I've never been on one. I do, however, have the older model 24 and that is (or at least can be) pretty wet -- I wonder if this reputation has spilled over to the newer design?

Wetness aside, it is the favorite boat I've ever owned. I can say maybe two or three things that are less than ideal and a whole lot more that has been great, most of it to do with the sort of fundamental design and construction.

Hope it all works out for you and that you are as please with an Eastern as I have been.

 

[roydawn]

Nancy D, We certainly didn't think the ride was wet. We had 1-2' seas, wind blowing 15-20, & criss-crossed our own wake many times, ALL good for us. I believe the chine on the 248 is sharper than the older 24, which may help. Great Boat! Roy

 

[Wefings Marine]

Marc from Wefings here , I havent made a formal introduction yet , but I thought this would be a good time to let everybody know that ;
a. We are very excited to have Eastern/Seaway/Rosborough
b. We are all about service and selling great product in the Southeastern US
C. We are at the Naples Boat Show This weekend !!!!
So if you are in the neighborhood, we have 6 boats here including 2 24's E 248 Islander and SW 24 Offshore Hdtp], a 21' Seaway Seafarer ,a 22'Eastern CC, an 18' Seaway CC , and a 20 foot Eastern CC . Yamaha all the way ! [We do Honda and Suzuki too]
E mail or PM if you want to come and Ill arrange tickets . The show goes through Sun at 5 PM . Ill have some of the boats down here for a week or so . Ill announce upcoming shows as well .
I look forward to learning from and maybe adding to this site !
Marc Grove
www.wefings.com

 

[roydawn]

Marc, How was the traffic at the Naples Boat Show? Did people go nuts over the 248 Islander like I did? It's an awesome boat. Roy

 

[Wefings Marine]

Roy, show was very good .Quite a few folks recognized the boats , had about 10 folks showed up for comp tix via our newsletter , and the Eastern 248 Islander was a hot item. But you knew that already . Overall it was a great success and we will have some boats in Naples on an ongoing basis. There were literally hundreds of boats , and not to piss you cold Northerners off ,it was about a perfect 80 with a nice breeze every day. Having the cookie cutter 500 HP deep vees next to us didnt hurt either as we were half the price and well over twice the economy.
Made for good conversation . I think the median age in Naples Fl is about 75 , so most folks appreciated what we have .
Or as one fellow told me , old folks live in Miami , their parents live in Naples !
Marc