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View Full Version : Silverton 312 Sedan Bridge??



penbroke
08-04-2008, 09:16 AM
I'm looking at a '93 Silverton 312 Sedan Bridge. Twin 5.0L Alphas with 900 hours. Raw water cooled used in fresh water only. I know some of you are in the bigger boat business and would like to hear any thoughts, opinoins or rumors anyone would be willing to share.

I know there were fuel tank issues. This boat has new tank(s) in 03. I expect it to be slow but that's not an problem. I'm used to it as I have one of the slowest Donzi's ever built. I am concerned about fuel economy and any hull coring/structural issues as well as any other experience.

Feel free to PM or e-mail me if you don't want to say it in public...


Thanks,
Frank
penbroke(a)yahoo,com

zelatore
08-04-2008, 09:52 AM
Once upon a time we were Silverton dealers. In fact, we sold several of that model. Of course, I didn't work here in '93, so my direct experience with the 312 is limited. I believe '93 was the first year for that boat.

Silverton in general is pretty conservative. Solid glass hull, decent build and workmanship but nothing to write home about. The upholstery and canvas was usually a bit cheap and the canvas at least has certainly been replaced by now. This was a pretty good looking boat for it's day - about the only things to make it look dated are the graphics and interior colors and those are pretty easy to change should you want to.

One interesting thing on that boat was that the bridge wasn't a bolt-on. It's molded in. That's good for eliminating leaks and squeaks.

There's a reason not many companies build small flybridge boats - they tend to be tender when you get people on the bridge. Like I said, I haven't run this particular model, but the hull is only 28' long, so even with it's relatively low profile 4 people on the bridge is going to add a lot of weight up in the air. It’s only a 14 degree deadrise, so that’s a decent compromise between ride and stability but still, it’s a 10,000 lb flybridge boat and physics are what they are.

The stern drives are very unusual in a sedan. In my market (SF Bay area) they would be a mark against it since nobody wants to deal with leaving a pair of drives in salt water to rot away. That alone would be enough to make me keep looking. I've seen way too many boats basically thrown away because people left them in salt and didn't maintain them. Then they get a quote for doing drives, gimbals, etc and just say to heck with it. Definitely look at the drives carefully!

However, the stern drives are usually quicker than the V-drive option. I think that boat, with 350's (5.7) was supposed to cruise around 20 knots and top out around 30 knots. In comparison, my 32 Carver Montego with V-drives (granted, a bigger hull) needs 454's to get the same numbers.

In short, I'd sum up most Silvertons of that era as basic but solid boats. Better than some but not as nice as others. I think small sedans are the thing they do best, and I'd have no problem buying one myself if I was looking for something in that market. But like any boat, it's getting to the age where who OWNED it is more important than who BUILT it. So if it's had good maintenance and upgrades over the years, and you're ok with the stern drives, I see no reason not to consider it.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I'm not saying I'll have an answer, but you can always ask. :wink: I can also give you the BUC and/or NADA prices if your broker hasn't already, although in this market I'd go more by comps since it takes a while for the books to update. I do expect you'll find good brokerage boats will become more difficult to find over the next year or so as people seem to be shifting from buying new to buying used to save some money.

penbroke
08-04-2008, 08:49 PM
WOW! What a great response. Thank you very much for taking the time.

I would love to see the pricing if you don't mind. I'll PM you the listing and whatever questions I can think of tomorrow.


Thanks again!
Frank