1991 Regal 290 Commodore Opinions

[seabill]

What is everyones opinion on the 1991 Regal 290 Commodore with twin 350 Mercruisers or Regal boats in general? I am currently looking at and considering one and want ro know if there is anything I should look for and what the positives and negatives of the boat would be?<br /><br />Thanks in advance! <br /><br />Bill

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: 1991 Regal 290 Commodore Opinions

Hi Seabill.I have owned a few Regals and currently own a 280 which is probably the same as the one you mentioned except for some styling changes.I have had very good luck with Regals and would highly recommend them.I would stay away from any dark colored hulls due to a problem they had with fading but I cant think of anything else negative.Parts are readily available from Regal in florida and the mercruiser is a great setup.Charlie

 

[Mikedg]

Re: 1991 Regal 290 Commodore Opinions

Seabill:<br /><br />I'm now on my 3rd Regal so I think that addresses my comments on the boats and the company. A boating buddy has a 290 with 4.3's and loves it. The 350's should make it fly. As to things to look for, The Regals are a high end quality boat, but like any boat, they can suffer from poor service and hard use. It would be in your best interest to hire a surveyor to go over the boat with you.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: 1991 Regal 290 Commodore Opinions

I've never kept a boat longer than one summer....until I got my Regal. Given that it's only an 18' bowrider, not a larger vessel like you are looking at, I have been positivaly impressed by the quality and ride. The lake where I normally take it is a total madhouse with pleasure boaters (most in the 28'+ classs)in the summer and the fact that it's long and thin only exagerates the wake problem. It's not at all unusual to have a 2-3' chop due to all the boats running around and once the wakes start bouncing back off the shoreline things really get rough. For some reason an 18' boat seems to be the perfect length to be able to drop down into each trough of a wake, so I get a lot of bobbing action and running faster turns to bobbing into a series of sharp jolts. The main thing that I've noticed is than when other boats of the same length are really pounding (you can really hear them approach too) I'm still just getting the jolts. It takes a series of large wakes taken pretty fast to get that thing to pound and even then it's only once or twice. I've taken friends out who have remaked how much smoother and dryer my Regal is comapired to thier boats. When I decide to move up to a larger boat, you can bet it will be another Regal. I just wish they made a 24-26' walk-around.