Shopping in the 31 foot range

[Painter]

Larry,
Personally I have never seen a 3100 with larger than 5.0 I have seen 1 or 2 listed with 6.2 engines but no photos to verify it. I spent 3 years looking for my boat and during that time saw all listings in US and Canada never once confirming any lager engines. I don't have a long history with boats but I would say it is far from a slug. Anyways good luck with your search and hope you find what your looking for.

[larry jones]

Originally Posted by Painter

Larry,
Personally I have never seen a 3100 with larger than 5.0 I have seen 1 or 2 listed with 6.2 engines but no photos to verify it. I spent 3 years looking for my boat and during that time saw all listings in US and Canada never once confirming any lager engines. I don't have a long history with boats but I would say it is far from a slug. Anyways good luck with your search and hope you find what your looking for.

Painter,

I'm not going to doubt you, but the competition has a LOT of 31 ft boats with 5.7s... all fuel injected. I have not demo'd a Maxum yet, but did recently demo a Chaparral 31ft with 5.0s, filled the tanks and put thre guys on board, one really heavy guy and it was absolutely a slug... no doubt about it. I'll take the bigger engine any time.

[ss3964spd]

I would hazzard a guess that the 31 Chap is a thousand or two pounds heavier than a 31 Maxum. Still, I have to agree with wanting larger engines. Twin 5.0's might be the base engine package which always seem to be just adequate.

[larry jones]

Originally Posted by ss3964spd

I would hazzard a guess that the 31 Chap is a thousand or two pounds heavier than a 31 Maxum. Still, I have to agree with wanting larger engines. Twin 5.0's might be the base engine package which always seem to be just adequate.

I'm showing the 31 Chap wt at 10,600, beam 10.0, and the 31 Maxum wt at 10.8 and beam at 10.6.
That's from Boattest.com

[Painter]

Larry,
If your going to make comparisons I suggest you check more into your information.
The 31 Chap listed on Boattest.com is a 2013 with twin 4.3 as opposed to an older say 03 to 08 which is larger with 10'7" beam and a dry weight of 11,395 lbs. Not to mention that many boats can have numerous problems from engine issues to dirty hulls that cause poor performance. The Chap you tested could of had many problems only to be found through a good survey. As I have been told before on this forum PEOPLE SELL BOATS FOR A REASON. In other words no boat is perfect.
Just my 2cents!

[larry jones]

Originally Posted by Painter

Larry,
If your going to make comparisons I suggest you check more into your information.
The 31 Chap listed on Boattest.com is a 2013 with twin 4.3 as opposed to an older say 03 to 08 which is larger with 10'7" beam and a dry weight of 11,395 lbs. Not to mention that many boats can have numerous problems from engine issues to dirty hulls that cause poor performance. The Chap you tested could of had many problems only to be found through a good survey. As I have been told before on this forum PEOPLE SELL BOATS FOR A REASON. In other words no boat is perfect.
Just my 2cents!

Painter,

You're absolutely right and appreciate your post. So how does one really know what they are getting? By inspection, sea trial, survey, etc., etc. Due diligence. And the first part of that process told me that the 310 Chap that I demo'd either was grossly underpowered, or had some serious issue. This particular boat looked like a 10 on 10.... you could eat off the floor of the engine compartment, the hull was perfect, the layout, cabin and cockpit was perfect... not a flaw, and I really thought I'd buy it, but it just didn't perform. I didn't want to deal with either issue and the owner wouldn't address it, so I passed, as there's plenty of GOOD boats out there.

[johnnjerri]

I'm looking at 3100 2004 model, very low time with the 5.0 260 hp bravo 3. Have read here from some that it might not be enough engine? Noticed that some hardware is coming loose. I have had a maxum for 17 years time to move to a bigger boat. Please share any info, have to buy it soon ifi want it. Thanks
John

[Painter]

Welcome johnnjerri
IMHO if it has the mpi 260 hp with b3s it has plenty power. Survey, mechanical inspection and sea trials are a MUST!!!
Not all 5.0 motors are the same and different drive packages also make a difference. Don't be fooled by bigger is better and if your comparing make sure its apples to apples.
Where are you located and is the boat a Yachtworld listing. I have owned mine for a year but was watching the market for 3 years previous and there are a lot of the same boats still for sale now.