2012 express cabin cruiser boat photo

You have to see the newest Regal Express cruiser. Go to a dealer or go to a boat show, but see this boat. She has high style with a very good level of functionality. As a weekend cruiser, she has huge windows and portholes to see out from inside the cabin and a huge (for a cruiser of this length) bed in the owner’s stateroom.

She is 28’ 10” by 8’ 6” and fits under most bridges when on a trailer. Thus, no permit is needed to trailer this fully found cruising yacht. She will take a strong pickup truck to tow its empty 7,585 lbs. weight, however. Figure on a “10,000 lbs. plus” towing load with fuel, batteries, water, boat gear, crew supplies, and trailer included as you would typically would be towing her going down the road.

The owner’s cabin area features the largest bed in her class of trailer-able sleepers. No need to convert a vee seating area into a bed at the end of a day or a week on the water. It is set up and positioned within the cabin area such that the bed linens can stay ready all day long.

This Regal 28 Express is a single engine I/0 boat. You select from a 260 horsepower Mercury Marine Bravo III, a 270 horsepower Duo-Prop, and 300 horsepower with either a Duo-prop or Bravo III outdrive. Since Regal Marine Industries exports so many boats internationally, they also offer a diesel engine choice with a Duo-Prop that is popular in Europe.

2012 Express cabin cruiser at rest boat photo

express cabin cruiser underway boat photo

2012 fiberglass express cabin cruiser queen bed boat photo

2012 boat photo Yamaha outboard

The cleanest engines are the inboard / outboards. They come with Catalytic Converters and other tweaks to get a 4 star rating as compared to a 3 star rating for the outboards. Which means that the outboard engines are the “worst for the environment” engines compared to I/O power packages.

It is surprising that the 2 stroke Evinrude and the newest 4 stroke Yamaha are both equally rated at 3 stars. The I/O engine packages have simply pulled ahead of the outboard packages for 2012 for the cleanest level in environmental boating.

Evinrude makes the lightest outboard engine package at a stated weight of 524 lbs. for a 250 Horsepower engine. It’s a 200 cu. in. two stroke engine. It should be propped to run between 4,500 – 5,800 rpms. Some say it’s the least complicated and has the lowest number of parts. And it may take the least attention and maintenance over a season of use.

Yamaha makes a F250 Offshore outboard that is a four stroke engine. It has a stated weight of 562 lbs. It also has more parts (pretty much all the valves and camshaft parts) than a two stroke. The displacement is 254 cu. in. I cannot tell if the smaller displacement two stroke will be faster in a 0 to 30 mph acceleration test than the bigger cu. in. 4 stroke outboard, but in similar displacement two strokes compared to similar displacement four strokes tests show the two strokes really beating the four stroke.

2012 boat photo evinrude outboard motor

The stern drive I/O is a four stroke 305 cu. in. engine based on a Chevy block that is then made into a marine engine by Volvo – Penta. It has a horsepower of 270 and can come with the efficiency of two propellers on one shaft in its Duo-Prop Stern Drive. This one weights in right at 1,000 lbs.

2012 boat photo volvo penta inboard outboard engine

It is important to note that both the torque and the peak horsepower are at a 1,000 rpms lower than the outboards.

So, a cleaner for the environment drive package. Lower engine rpms needed to get a boat up on plane and at a cruising speed. Some more weight within the power package. The I/O choice of the efficiency of a Duo-Prop outdrive. All of this says that a I/O is the way to go in 2012 for seabuddy.

8.1 power boat engine from Volvo

Volvo makes an 8.1 gas big block engine for the most torque and horse power for a power boat. Volvo has been a leader in marine pleasure boat power in the USA since 1959.

The 8.1 engine comes with a choice of camshafts that are selected based on where you as a boater want your power. Use 4,200 rpm and above mostly and pick the high Hp cam, use 4,000 rpm and below for almost all your time boating, select the 375-400 Hp engine cam. So, a true “hot rod” boat speed freak boater best uses the high performance camshaft and everyone else should use the regular cam. It is a no brainer, really, as you know going into a boat show if you want the most power you can get out of the engine below 4,000 rpm (even more power than the performance cam at these “below  4,000 rpms” engine speeds). Remember, the 375-400 Hp engine is the “Hole Shot” engine choice for the quickest 0 to 30 mph acceleration tests.

Volvo Penta gas power boat engine

Either the 375 or the 400 Hp engines are rated to run as fast as 4,600 to 4,800 rpms. They just do not develop as much power at those rpms as the Hi-Po camshaft engine.

All of these engines are 8.1 in displacement or big cubic inch engines developed from a Chevy based v-8 engine. They are fuel injected engines using a MPI fuel delivery system. Fresh water cooling and  the drive system is separate choice.

Absolute 43 yacht with Volvo Penta power

power boat underway with Volvo Penta power

2012 Chris Craft I. O. power boat

She is a sport boat on the exterior and a four sleeper, complete galley, and head down below. This power boat tops out at 48 mph and cruises from as low as 16 mph to as high 42 mph with the same fuel economy. The photo shows how this performance boat handles in a turn. Should one call her a sporty boat, a performance boat, or a cabin cruiser?

Chris Craft builds a stylish way to run around all the waterways in its Corsair 36 power boat model. In the USA she usually runs twin 8.1 Volvo gas engines with twin diesels as an optional choice. Volvo marine engines has tested and approved the engine installation details in this boat model. She went from 0 to 30 mph in acceleration boat tests in less than 10 seconds while weighing just under 10 tons with some 2,500 lbs. of fuel, water, crew, gear weight onboard and are willing to show their test report numbers to interested boaters.

2012 Chris Craft Corsair power boat

This model of the Corsair series is actually over 38 feet including the swim platform and 36’ 3” without it. The beam is 12’ 6”. She weights some 16,000 – 16,500 lbs. dry. Air Conditioning, two refrigerators, a microwave, a cabinet mounted coffee maker, a convertible dinette, and then a queen size bed in the owner’s cabin all of which is done in a high nautical fashion makes for a luxurious boat.

Take a look at your local boat show, where she may be what you need for this coming summer’s adventures on the water.

power boat cockpit of a Chris Craft Corsair

layout with its private owner's cabin

wood yacht sportfisherman with Volvo IPS

Take four fisherman plus two to four crew at and back some 250 miles offshore in a wood boat in comfort using a custom boat powered by Volvo IPS to get this performance.

The room created by the IPS system allows for two double berths under the salon deck for the crew while two luxurious staterooms accommodate the owner’s party with two large heads. So it’s a three stateroom / two head boat.

She is all about good fuel economy, offshore high performance, quick maneuverability, ease of handling, and big fish fighting ability. “Spencer Yachts has taken the Carolina style and tradition of boat building with a unique look and transformed it into a World Class and high performance Sport Fishing Yacht”

 She has South Carolina flair, outstanding styling, and the world class fit and finish of the highest class custom boat.

 This sportfisher is 57’ long with a beam of 16’ 10”. Her engines are Twin 1200 model 900 Hp Volvo Diesel D 13s. Fuel capacity is 1450 gal. Her draft is 4’ 5”. She weighs 26 tons. It has been said that it’s the most maneuverable boat of its size on the market. It certainly has  outstanding looks.

Spencer yachts are in Wanchese, NC at 252-473-6567, with their hull boat building plant at Manns Harbor.

One final quote…. “Amazing is the only word for (the boat’s) handling, maneuverability, spinning and backing down on a blue marlin.”

wood boat layout photo by Spencer Yachts

wood composite yacht image with Volvo IPS

the Tiara Yachts 4500 Sovern underway

At 4.4 mph a 4500 Tiara Yacht is estimated to get a range of 1951 miles from its tankage.

At 19.6 mph the same boat and power (870 Hp total) gets a range of 255 miles.

At 30 mph she gets 280 miles in her range.

At 36 mph (WOT) she still is estimated to get a range of 256 miles.

These are the numbers for Tiara Yachts new 4500 with about a 1,000 lbs of gear on board.

Look for a new Tiara 4500 Sovran powered with the twin Volvo IPS 600 package, which is her standard power.

To get 255 miles to 256 miles from her standard tankage from as slow as 19.6 mph to as fast as 36 mph shows a very well developed hull shape, running balance, prop set, and power package combo.

She is a nice express cruising with a hardtop boat that comes with top shelf back-up support, too. And take a look at her standard teak wood interior.

She is named after her hull length, not her LOA. Beam is 9’ 11”.Sleeps six and has a queen sized 56” by 84” berth in the master stateroom for the Admiral.

What is a window express? Regal puts more and bigger windows in the main cabin so the boating views and light stream inside.  Oversize forward deck windows (Regal boat exclusive) add even more to the airy and bright cabin environment.

the cabin front windows make the difference

Experience the light inside the 2860 Regal cabin cruiser with the curtains pulled back and you will have seen the best there is available inside a boat cabin for airiness and sunshine brighten your boating weekend. Regal 2860 wins this point hands down.

Next, lay out on the skipper’s berth and see the biggest size berth there is for a good nights rest. Again, the Regal 2860 wins as it’s a “no contest” in this size class cabin cruiser.

Check off what else is important in a cruiser and a 2860 Regal cabin cruiser is competitive in all respects.

Competitive in everything that one looks for in a cabin cruiser and “the best in class” in two points of top importance.

Take a look, there is a sale going on right now.

clean running hull design that is well balanced

Master stateroom, note the light with a wood interior finish

This boat has the latest joy stick handling choice and the efficient Volvo Penta IPS pod drive system. With smaller than normal engines for good fuel economy, she makes her speed with the IPS pod drive as a straight shaft inboard of higher Hp would.

So, its… 1) easy marina maneuvering, 2) same cruising and top speeds, and 3) better fuel economy underway comes with this top-of-the-line Yacht. And the IPS diesels and drives take up less space within the hull, so another room is added, to top off the benefits of an Volvo Penta IPS drive system.

wide side decks plus this saloon

How about the hull? She is wood and resin instead of glassfiber and resin. In this case, epoxy resin. A fiberglass boat is made up of layers of glassfiber cloth combined with resin, this one is made up of wood combined with epoxy resin. Epoxy resin is both expensive and extra strong. On a budget-be-damned yacht, where strength and light weight are valued higher than the budget, epoxy is the resin of choice. Epoxy resin is used in either wood or glass fiber yacht construction.

The interior is also finished in wood, often in either a gloss white paint finish, or stained and finished with rubbed-effect varnish.

This hull splits the sea

She has three staterooms, one with a head in suite, plus a shared head for the other four people in the remaining two staterooms. Its a galley down, with and inside steering in the main saloon set-up. LOA 59’ 6”, Beam 16’ 7”, Price, just over 2 million. She is listed as a boat for sale / yacht for sale on Boat Trader.

at speed at sea