29' Luhrs 290 Tournament

[CaptainSteve]

I am considering a 29' Luhrs 290 Tournament. I am wondering what you all think of the ride? Input good and bad please.

[Mike Roni]

The marina I am at sells them and the docks are littered with them. Everyone who has a Luhrs is always complaining about all the problems they have with them. One guy took delivery last year and day one it had 56 things wrong with it. The only decent boat is the 41 express.

[frankypettolina]

I think Mike's answer is a little to "all inclusive." The big question is, how are you going to use the boat?

As a fish 150 days a year and charter it, the luhrs 290 may not be the best choice. In a recreational application I have a lot of happy Luhrs owners out there. Funny thing, alot of the Luhrs owners seem to upgrade from one to another bigger one. They can't all be complaining about stuff breaking.

Any boat builder can have good and bad boats out there. Ocean had a bad rep for a while, but there are more than quite a few happy Ocean Owners out there. Same thing with Luhrs.

I happen to have surveyed a 97 290 Tournament today, so the question is timely. I will not go into details with exactly what findings there were, but the boat surveyed "average" for her age showing some normal signs of wear, and a few abnormal's that need to be addressed. Of the 3 boats I surveyed this week, she was the least problematic.

Now for the ride. NE 15 or so out of OC, 3 foot chop kind of close together. In our face we were not uncomfortable at 15 to 17 knots, but definitely took spray. In the trough, we could run her at WOT without any unusual pounding, mid to upper 20 knots. (350 Merc's, btw) Drifting was not unbearable, a little rock and roll. Following sea, not too bad, maybe a little squirrely. The boat is tab sensitive and load sensitive, however.

For the price range, they are a lot of bang for the buck. Remember, every boat is a compromise in some way. Luhrs is not the most heavily built boat out there, but not the lightest either. In a recreational application, they fit the bill, just make sure you find a good one, have it loooked at by both a mechanic and a Marine Surveyor (be sure to get someone either NAMS or SAMS)

Hope this helps.

[Tuna Taxi]

I agree with Franky. The 290 is a good boat for the rec, my brother has one and after fishing on it a few times my opinion of Luhrs has changed for the better. He can take his 29 out in wx I would not take my 43 out in, and the ride is not bad. Has a very deep v to take the seas, but is short in the snout and is a very wet boat. It rolls like any deep v, but that is not a Luhrs problem.

Luhrs puts the money where its needed (and nowhere else), the hull is good and the foo-foo is not so good. Most of the customer complaints are from people who bought a low priced boat and expect high priced fit & finish, in my experience. The boat certainly has some finish issues, but if you want bang for the buck and a good boat to get you out & back, the 290 (or most Luhrs boats) is a good one.

[qspjarmstrong]

think of the 1979 28 Topaz Express...?

[frankypettolina]

Not to jack the thread, but the older topaz boats were good hulls. They had some bulkhead problems, and cockpit floor problems. But then again, this could be the case with any older boat.

They have held the test of time, and are still popular in today's market, especially in the retrofit/refurbish crowd.

[qspjarmstrong]

Originally Posted by frankypettolina

Not to jack the thread, but the older topaz boats were good hulls. They had some bulkhead problems, and cockpit floor problems. But then again, this could be the case with any older boat.

They have held the test of time, and are still popular in today's market, especially in the retrofit/refurbish crowd.

thanks...sorry about jacking the thread...I couldn't find the "post a new thread" option