Scott found a 1991 Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin for sale on Craigslist and we decided to go down to Gig Harbor to see it. The ad said it came with a liveaboard slip in Seattle, so we were very interested. The photos of the boat looked great too and it was in our price range at $69,999.
Why are they selling their 1991 Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin?
So the story is, they lived on this boat with their infant, but then moved onto a Bayliner 4087! How ironic, since that is the boat we sold last year because we didn’t think it would be a good liveaboard. They have been on a waitlist at Shilshole Marina and finally got in, so they are subletting the liveaboard slip. Why? Because they are moving to Florida. Interesting.
Right away, just boarding the boat gave me pause. You have to have dock steps and I have to ask, how does that work when you are at a guest dock?
The swim platform was very narrow and if you have the dinghy back there, you would have no room to board the boat from the stern.
Is this Sea Ray 44 a good liveaboard?
The living space was open and spacious in some areas, including the cockpit and salon.
Going up to the flybridge, I did not like the steps. They were skinny and definitely needed to be replaced.
The flybridge helm didn’t have any electronics and was definitely showing its’ age. The canvas and Eisenglass not only needed to be replaced, but the moldings were coming apart too.
The walk arounds were a little narrow, but I liked that this Sea Ray 44 had side doors versus zip up canvas. The bow had plenty of room to lounge and relax.
What does the interior of the Sea Ray 44 look like?
Surprisingly, the carpet was in fantastic condition – it almost looked new. The salon had a huge sofa that has storage under each cushion.
They also had installed a huge flat screen television.
There is an interior helm station (which we never use), but it too did not have any electronics. There is space to add them however.
One thing that was strange, was the settee had been removed. See what it would normally look like in the following photo.
What I did notice was water stains where the settee would have been. Perhaps there is a story behind that?
How about the rest of the boat?
The galley was nice and roomy. It had a built in blender in the counter and a Black & Decker can opener! Wonder if they still work? I like that there was plenty of counter space. The fridge is fairly large and it had a Princess stovetop.
This boat does come with a washer/dryer combo, but it looked pretty old. Perhaps original with the boat?
Sea Ray 44 Staterooms
This Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin comes with only two staterooms and two heads. The guest stateroom is a v berth and the bed took up most of the space. There did appear to have a bit of water damage in that stateroom too.
The day head had access from the forward berth and the door was a sliding barn door. This allows for more space in the head. Unfortunately, this is a wet head.
Moving to the aft cabin, we found the doorways very narrow. The bean on this boat is only about 13′. Guess that means we need to go on a diet!
The master cabin had a full walk around bed and two vanities on either side. Plenty of liveaboard space. It also has a huge locker!
The master head did have a separate shower and had plenty of storage, however the door was a bi-fold, which we are not keen on as it takes up space.
I didn’t get any photos of the engine room, but you can see the tour of it on our YouTube video below. Unfortunately, the bilge had quite a bit of standing water and that was a red flag to us. In addition, the engines were gas, not diesel which we are not a big fan of.
Overall Impression of this Sea Ray 44 Aft Cabin
While we liked most of the layout of this boat, we didn’t like how narrow it was. This boat did need a lot of work and a huge investment. Scott and I estimate it needs about $40,000 worth of work and that’s assuming the engines are in working order.
However, we had to consider that this boat came with a liveaboard slip. But remember, this was a sublet, meaning the owners would be the official marina tenants. At any time, they can cancel their agreement with the marina and we would be out of luck. In the end, we actually did offer $25,000 but we have yet to hear back.
Be sure to watch the full tour below. As always, thank you for following our journey and blog. Please subscribe to our channel and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Stay tuned, as we have some fun adventures coming in the next few months!
Cheers,
Scott and Ally
