Venomous

I went to the Grand Rapids , MI boat show this weekend and there was a Formula display which included a 240BR, 350SS, 330SS, 34PC and a 353 Fastech.

There has been much discussion of the quality of a Formula boat and there is a lot of evidence to validate it. There were a few things I saw that surprised me because they were not expected. For example, the seats on the 240BR rocked back and forth almost as if they were loose. The hanging locker in the 350SS creaked when opened. The table in the 353 rocked loose in its mounting location in the floor. These things do not detract from the performance of any of those vessels. In fact they are relatively minor but they were not expected nonetheless. When the level of quality is consistently above par you get accustomed to a new expectation. I'm sure all of these items can be fixed but I'm surprised they were not addressed before showing the boats.

ThirdBird

If you snoop around enough, you can always find something on any boat that is just not right or well thought out. That's half the fun of a boat show.

What's real fun is to hop on board some "Glitzcraft" and really just pick on everything that's junk or stupid. Poor sales guy doesn't know whether to justify the stuff or kick you off his boat.

beckmwi

I was there too- the 240 BR was not impressive.

What were your impressions relative to the competition?

Venomous

I think overall Formula has great quality and attention to detail. For example on the 350SS and 34PC there were rubber inserts in the snaps to prevent the black streak running down the sides of the boat after a rain storm.

I thought the 244X Chaparral had a better overall fit and finish than the 240BR.

The larger boats were comparable to Sea Ray et al. There were not too many high performance boats to compare the 353 but overall the 353 is impressive. I would love to own one.

ThirdBird

I checked out a couple of new Chaperrals last summer at Krenzers Marine in Sodus (NY). Quite nice, very nice. I was impressed.

selpel

Well as a Formula dealer I too would like to know how this items were over looked before the show. I know that the seats most likely just needed the swivel base tighten but still it was a mistake. If they received their 350SS two days before the boat show(like we did) no one had a chance to look it over. The 240BR we had at St. Louis did not have a problem because our service dept. had checked the boat over before putting it on the trailer. I was happy to see our first 350SS (bought sight unseen by a lady on our lake)was prep from the factory show ready and had no problems showing it at the show. To sum it up every boat can have little problems out of the shrinkwrap but a GREAT service dept. prep is worth its weight in gold.

jaybird

Being a former owner of both Chapparal and Formula I feel I can comment here. Chapparal does have a nice fit and finish, and so do most Formulas. However that is where it ends. The construction of Chapparal is / was crap IMO. Basically the boat fell apart, granted I did drive it hard, but the motor mounts disintegrated because they used non-marine wood (basically they used stacks of plywood and 2x4's with nails and glassed them over. The glass cracked and the wood rotted, and turned to dust. I also found that they used the gas tank to support the floor!!! I had other rot as well, and the boat was only 6 years old. Believe it or not they actually put plywood in the hull, not just the transom. I called Chapparall to ask about these problems and how to repair them, and they would not comment!!!! Terrible company trying to hide their design flaws. I ended up spending about 5 grand to fix their screwups.

They look nice, but I would put them in the same construction class as Bayliner. I will NEVER buy another Chapparall again, but would buy another Formula tomorrow.

Venomous

Thanks for the insight. You can't put frosting on S*** and call it cake!

I know Forumla builds a rock solid platform. My friend owns a 1995 336 and it is in incredible condition despite its age. I also know Formula will stand behind its product.

Gorm

1998 382 fastech.
Roof fallen down.
Water leaking everywere.
Most of the bolts behind the rubrail broken or loose.
Glue between deck and hull "not glueing", can lift the deck
everywere around the boat.
Water under the stringer and the foam absorbes the water.

Formula quality?
Anybody else got the same problems?

5PMSMWHR

sounds like a Katrina boat, or at a minimum, neglected