Advice / Input on Larson?

[brad614]

I am considering purchasing a 2004 Larson 240 Cabrio with the Volvo 5.7 setup. I am not that familiar with the Larson brand; can anyone give me any advice or input on the boat or powertrain? I have owned Sea Ray's and a Wellcraft before - how does the Larson compare? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

Larson will be a step down from the Sea Ray and maybe 2 steps down from the Wellcraft.

 

[benjh1028]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

Larson will be a step down from the Sea Ray and maybe 2 steps down from the Wellcraft.

Totally agree - and I own a Larson.

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

I own a '97 Larson 206 SEI. I bought it in 2005. It has been a pretty good boat overall. It was a huge step up from the Bayliner I had before. It is not a high end boat by any means but it works well for us. The lettering on the outside of the hull was basically gone when I bought it. The Larson lettering on the upholstery has come off during my ownership. The fit and finish aren't bad, not great either. It seems to be a solid handling and riding boat. I haven't had anything fall apart when running over wakes. I would buy a Larson again but I hope to upgrade a bit if I ever do get an other boat.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

obviously nothing is a COOL as a welly lol but I've never really heard anything specifically bad about a larson... As with any boat, manufacturer is 20% and upkeep is 80%

 

[brad614]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

That's scary...I own a Wellcraft and I am not that impressed...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

yeah like I said it's more upkeep than brand.... My boat is well built but I don't love the layout. I think it was built for midgets LOL I think that is a real common thing for small to mid size cruisers tho... trying to cram in as much as possible..... is the 240 cabrio a cruiser?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

Anecdotal only....but I think Larson boats have more than their fair share of fiberglass/gelcoat issues as reported by members on this forum.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

I can't comment on build quality, but the older Larson's seemed to get a lot of use out of small boats. They were one of the very few 25' boats, with the seperate dinette and vberth. I can only recall maybe two other manufacturers that got this layout in a boat 25' long.

I do however see a LOT of Larsons being nearly given away on the local CL. That surely doesn't speak for the boat so much as the upkeep, but I have noticed it lately.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

I owned an older larson 23 or 24, it was my 1st boat, I kind of tortured that thing, but it had already seen it's better days. With over 3000 hours when I purchased it, I really didnt have to do much of anything for the entire time I owned it. It was a heavy boat, and it seemed well built, and it sure took the Great Lakes waves well. I would say it's in the same class as Sea Ray, but they dont have the market share like SR does. My guess is; it's a step up from a Baylinner so maybe a middle of the road quality boat. I would buy another if I was looking, I wouldnt go out of my way to buy just a Larson.

 

[Philster]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

Wellcraft is as middle grade as it gets.

Larson has traditionally been seen as a bottom-tier brand, and I've used them as a case study in business classes after reading about them in Harvard Business Review. They have a company quality control philosophy of having everyone be Six Sigma Certified, and being world class when it comes to quality. They have 'blackbelts' in quality, a desirable ranking for members.

They are used an example of how measuring internal quality along the way (execution of screwing this into that, or hanging this on that) doesn't produce a quality product when the materials or design are not quality from the start.

You can attached a pathetic screw to a pathetic component perfectly all day, and get your quality assurance score of 100%, as can all your coworkers. However, if the screw ain't worth squat, and the component it holds together is junk, the end product will be junk.

I'm not calling Larson junk, but what I am saying is that they are not the highest quality, but offer boaters a chance to boat less expensively -- and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[bnicov]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

They make a decent boat. Mine is a 19ft'r and it's 10 years old and rides great and looks just fine. Think of Larson as a Chevy, it's no Cadillac or Lincoln but it's comfortable and has all you need for fun on the water, the rest is just fluff.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Advice / Input on Larson?

is the 240 cabrio a cruiser?

Yeah, it's a 'pocket cruiser' almost identical to the '99 Chris*Craft 240 EC I owned, or a Searay 240 'Dancer. Enough cabin headroom for everyone except smokeonthewater ( ), forward v-berth with breakdown dinette, a tiny mid-berth, head with shower and porta-pottie type toilet, prolly 20 gals of fresh water capacity, galley with sink and single-burner stove. They all follow the same formula/layout. Decent overnight accommodations for a couple of people. They're good boats if you like the idea of overnighting and want to try it out.

Linda and I liked staying on the hook in our C*C so much that we bought the 4Winns so we could stay out longer and more comfortably.

A friend of ours has a '92 Hampton 25. It's unfortunate that Larson did away with the Hampton/San Marino series. They were unique in that size range in having tons of room in the cabin. The replacement Cabrio series is no better/worse than everyone else's in terms of space utilization.