After years of boating and through multiple refit projects from a 39’ boat all the way up to an 80’, we finally bought our dream boat: a 100’ expedition yacht named Bravo! We survived the refit for Bravo, lived onboard for several years, crewed her with plans to travel the world… then Covid hit!
We spent three years traveling up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States, and decided to sell Bravo for a brand new 80’ yacht. But then, we changed our minds and bought a 26’ boat to “get back to the simplicity of boating!”
Follow us to see how that decision worked out for us.
Ugh…been there…done that. Well, my ex did it 🤦♂️😂😭. I’ll never forget that sound. The BANG and the jarring, grinding, immediate slowdown followed by juddering limp to the nearest dock and the sheer misery of knowing your bank account is going to suffer some painful blows. Ouch.
REALLY surprised that after a beautiful custom yacht that you chose a Regal. Why not a higher end boat like a Tiara, Princess, even a Boston Whaler? Just thinking of quality as opposed to the style or layouts here so perhaps that’s what it came down to? Thanks!
Hey Hillary, thank you so much for watching and supporting the channel. To answer your question in several parts, our first requirement was outboard power. There is no way to obtain the storage capability of the Regal 38 XO in a boat that would have inboard power. Second would be two cabin configuration. Referencing your list of other manufactures, two of them would be disqualified immediately because they simply do not make those types of products. Reference your quality comment, without getting into specifics, I can tell you that I have had two boats purchased back by one of the manufactures you listed because of massive quality issues and construction issues. In my opinion, all of these manufactures boats are built the exact quality standards, using the same pumps, engines, Navtronics etc, it simply comes down to style, and design. Finally we wanted a boat built in the US, having had vessels built internationally before, obtaining parts for the simplest of things for example, a spare key, can be nauseatingly complex. I hope that answered your question. Again thanks again for all of your support!
@@From100to26 I so appreciate your thoughtful reply - and completely understand. All of your decisions make perfect sense. Quite honestly, I found your channel because I was drawn to the big live aboard you built. I’ve had the same dream for most of my life. The seemingly quick turnaround on the direction you went was a sobering surprise, and gives me more food for thought. My boating background has always been as the “girlfriend/wife” half of the boating couple, but I have my own money separate from my husband’s and am seriously considering buying a large boat (80-120’-ish) to do some slow cruising back in the Pacific Northwest where I used to live, and that would also serve as a home on the West Coast. My husband and I currently live in South Florida and I can’t deal with the summers here. He is a fair bit older than I, and while he used to enjoy boating he sold his last boat (a 42’ SeaRay Sundancer - which BTW had a 2 stateroom AND 2 head/shower layout) some time ago. He is fine tagging along with me on this maybe-adventure I have in mind, but it really is my own project. My hope is to find a boat large enough to serve comfortably as a part time home, but small enough to manage with day crew (temp captain and deckie/stew) while repositioning. I do have experience running both a 68’ and an 84’ motor yacht with my previous partner, so I’m not a complete beginner LOL, but this was some 18 or so years ago and after some fairly serious health issues, my body isn’t as strong as it was back then 😂🤦♂️😭 I’m no spring chicken. I’m so curious to hear more about the decision you and your wife made to go so far back down in size. The big boat was beautiful and I was really surprised it had such a short spell with you, and even though I completely understand the reasons you discussed for making that decision was there more to it(?). Cheers!
@@hillaryc.3727 Hey Hillary... we had Bravo for 5 years. But a lot to chat about reference your comments. I would recommend sending me a DM at the From100to26 Facebook page and I will send you my number so we can chat. The long and the short of it, going from 80 foot to 100 foot is double the size of boat, and also going from 100 to 120 is doubling again, most people don't realize that. Your voyages will be measured in days not hours and to dock a 100 foot plus boat you will need at least two deck crew. But again, we can chat more when we connect.... We had two deck plus 1 Stew on board, and I did all the engineering. We refit all of Bravo's systems, even still we have larger projects every week. It took the crew 2 days to complete a wash not doing the 1800 sq ft of teak deck and 700 feet of teak cap rails, which if they addressed those, add two days. The vessel was washed every week because it had to even when sitting at the dock. The new owner hired a Captain and because they did not have an engineering background ended up damaging a lot of the system and costing the owner well north of 250k.
Keep the content coming - great review. I purchased a 2022 Regel 26 XO. Overall, happy w my purchase. Biggest down side to the 26 XO is the small gas tank of 72 gallons. It really limits range.
Hey Joseph, thank you so much for your comments and congratulations on your Regal 26 XO. Yes I agree reference the fuel tank however, all boats are a compromise in one way or another. Even the 100 foot boat we had was a design in compromise. I don’t think you ever, solve that issue in any boat. Thanks for your comments, and thanks so much for supporting the channel.
Hey Kevin, thanks so much for watching the channel and your support. If you note at 8:55 time stamp in the video, Shorty gives us permission to video him. We take everyone's privacy seriously, he was initially shy about answering questions on camera.
Sorry we missed you on your return pass of Chesapeake City. Hit us up, we are berthed there and grew up there.....happy to show you around. A cool museum within walking distance and PLENTY of restaurants. Safe travels! (Chris and Renee 38 Carver SS)
My first boat was a 94' Regal 233 Commodore purchased in 1999. Back then, it was a really good first cruiser. Then I purchased a 2000 Doral 270 SC in 2003. Great boat! Then in 2021 I purchased a 2018 Regal 28 Express meticulously cared for by the owner and selling dealership. My opinion of Regal Dealership service I have experienced has been very substandard. I know good technicians are difficult to maintain but boat owners should not have to fix problems encountered from dealerships. The cost of service and repairs to my boat recently has been less than the damage by the servicing dealership. Unacceptable!
Thanks for your comments and support of the channel. Having purchased numerous boats new from several different manufactures, I would say it is all about the dealership you purchase from that can make or break an experience. For us we have had terrible experience with other manufactures, however our experience with Regal and our dealership AMPM Marine and been nothing short of amazing.
@@From100to26 Love your boat, we are thinking about upgrading to the 38 Fly. you videos have been very helpful. Tom and Lisa at AM/PM are pretty amazing too.
@@Blwarthen That is so awesome! The 38 overall is a great boat, so excited to hear about your upgrade! I cannot say enough good things about AM/PM marine.
Enjoy your videos. I own a 2022 38 XO. I was curious what house bank batteries you have? We have 2 Deka 9d starting batteries. It seems strange to have a starting battery for house banks.
Thanks so much for the comments.... have not really thought about it but it is a little strange. Let me think about this, I think I have a battery for each engine (as I have 4 battery switches, 3 engines and house). but will check when I am at the boat today. Thanks again for your comments and your support! Also congrats on the 38XO!!
My only thought is the house bank is used to start generator and operate bow thruster- may need higher cranking power over deep cycle battery. I could not get a good answer from Regal. When on the hook the house banks will not last long without generator. Just got back from a 5 week trip to Florida keys. Generator actuator failed on last day but Regal is repairing under warranty.
@@NOLAMG Ok so checked our boat. We have 3 4D batteries (smaller) for engine starting and 2 8D batteries for the house, for the stabilizer and the bow thruster. Now one of them could be for the house and the stabilizer and the other for the bow thruster and the gen start.... have not dug into that much. We do have the ability to parallel them all if necessary to support one or another if one of the batteries fail. Not sure if that helps you are not. Will ask my tech about if the house is split or not...
Sounds like we have same set up. 3 starters and the 2 Deka 908D for thruster, seakeeper and house. I was just surprised they are all noted as starting batteries
Ok first time tiller driver. You would normally drive with your left hand. Notice the throttle/steering arm is off to one side. Its so you can sit in the middle and drive. Great videos!
Hey Rob! Thanks so much for the tips. I felt it more comfortable to sit on the inflatable part of the boat rather than the seat but will try that next time! Also one issue I was having is that this engine does not have reverse, in order to "go in reverse" you have to spin the engine around, I don't have the longest of arms so in order to do that I had to sit on the side. Have you run an engine like this before and do you have tips on that (from a novice tiller driver :-). Thanks again for your support and your comments, we really appreciate them!
I totally agree. Boats that aren’t used are usually boats that have the most problems. We actually don’t have the gas generator, we have the very reliable Fisher Panda diesel generators, Regal switched to them or made them an option several years ago. What I failed to mention in the video was that it was just a loose connection. We’ve put 100 hours on it now with no other problems. Thanks again for watching the channel and your support, it really means a lot to us.
Hey Jeff.. They are FenderTex made by PYI, I covered them on this video (see link at the end of this comment) if you want to see the three type we purchased! Thanks again for the support and comments! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dgDIUWfBGjQ.htmlsi=qASWwdUBa0GwzShL
Could be that we just really like our boat.... We are not sponsored by Regal at all, paid retail, in fact all of the products we feature on the channel we pay full retail for (I would recommend you watch the upgrade video as we cover this in that video). We are not afraid to point out issues that we think could be improved (pointed out several in our videos), that said, what we wanted to do is walk people though building a boat, taking delivery of it and doing several trips. I hope that answers your questions and thanks again for your support!
Enjoyed the video. You mentioned you were experiencing a slight generator problem -- did the tech figure out what was causing it and fix it? The Regal seems to have better-than-average access to components. St. Michael's is a lovely port and town. Bought a Panama hat there that I've worn for years. The maritime museum fascinating.
Hey John.. whoops.. forgot to include that. It was a loose connector that was causing the problem with the generator. Yes I agree that Regal does have better than average access to components except those that I have pointed out in previous videos. Thanks again for watching the channel and your support!
I have a Regal as well and they seem to always put important parts in places that make no sense at all. Almost as if they put it in a place that’s convenient for them and let the customer figure it out. I also wish they would be more detailed with the parts of the boat you don’t see. With that said, great video!
Overall I would say that they are fairly well organized in terms of systems, but sometimes as I have pointed out, they could do a better job. I know sometimes it is a space issues like putting the port side AC system behind the refrigerator... but I don't disagree with your comments. Thanks again for your support and watching the channel!
I am a new viewer to your channel and I'm really enjoying it. I must say I love your boat and have so enjoyed the journey to your getting it. For me the addition of your precious pups is the main draw. They are precious. Please, if your don't mind; could you please tell me the breed of your precious baby's and their names. Thank you so much, from a very grateful 77 yr old great grandma.
Thanks so much for watching the channel and your support! Charlotte and Charley are both Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and are eight years old! Charlotte is actually eight months older than Charley and they are not from the same breeder. We had two Cavaliers prior to Charlotte and Charley. Their names were Maverick and Goose, we got Charlotte when Maverick was 10 years old and Goose was 6. Goose passed away at the age of 9 and Maverick was 13. We decided to adopt Charley from a rescue group as he was only 4 years old, the same age as Charlotte. We wanted her to have a brother as we knew she was hurting from losing her big brother Goose and knew Mavericks time to cross the rainbow bridge was near too.
Thank you so much. Your baby's are precious and I can tell they are a perfect match for each other. They seem to be very happy with their lifestyle. Looking forward to seeing more of Charley and Charlotte in your upcoming videos. Safe travels and fair water ahead to you. 🧓
Hey Mike! So sorry for causing the confusion. Yes you are correct, the Regal 38XO has Gas outboards and a diesel generator. So sorry about that but excellent question! Thanks again for watching the channel and your support!
Thanks so much for your comments and supporting the channel. Fractional Ownership is a great idea but also has many downsides, like if all the fractional owners want to use the boat on the same holiday week. That said there are some definite benefits to the idea.
my rule is 10 failures and then sell/trade out of the brand... been through 4 boats (regal, formula, pursuit, etc). All these luxury cruisers are just not great build quality. Or poor component selection/quality.
Thanks so much for your comments and your support of the channel. I don't have any hard and fast rule as a lot of these issues are component issues. Having owned very large vessels like Bravo, I can attest to the fact they all have the same issues... just more expensive to fix.. and more of them.
My 2018 Regal HVAC system has failed twice in the last two years. My 2000 Doral Cruiser HVAC system never had a problem during the 15 years I owned it. With HVAC boat tech availability in increasing short supply, reliability and service is critical for the boating community!
Since Regal does not make AC systems, it is probably just a coincidence and since there is a two year difference between your Regal and Doral the systems could have been upgraded. Every year AC manufactures are coming out with newer and newer systems, that are more efficient. The systems we have in our boat was the first 5 Dometic installed on boats, so hence the issues. That said they are the best running AC units I have dealt with ever........ this includes our duel 12 ton chiller systems on Bravo.
There was an 18 year difference between my Doral and 2018 Regal. Certainly Regal outsourced many systems to other companies. My point is, as you experienced in your video, the newer Dometic HVAC systems, are not particularly reliable. If you were to review the Regal 28 Express FB group the HVAC system has been very problematic. With all of the new technology, modern boat HVAC systems should be reliable. My boating experience is since 1999. You deserve much credit for bringing this problem to the boating public. Please consider that many/most cruisers cannot afford to purchase large new boat like you. I am enjoying your videos. Thanks and safe boating!
@@bobcathey8903 Thanks again Bob for your great comments and supporting the channel. It was interesting to hear that only 5 Regal boats received the new AC system..... so far, we really love this system because of how quiet it is and powerful. Time will tell!!
Dogs do not make decent pets on a boat. My experience is that their barking and mess seem to ruin the peaceful boating experience for most cruisers. In my particular experience, I resigned from my boating squadron for this very reason. Too bad some cruisers can make other cruisers cruise so miserable. Otherwise, your videos are interesting. As an owner of two smaller Regal cruisers, your ability to switch to several different boats in a short amount of time is unique! Have fun!
Wow Bob.. not sure where to go with this one. We got into boating so we could take out puppies with us, and as more and more people do the exact same thing I guess your boating destinations will become very small. At our home port literally every boat has a dog. We have never had any bad experiences with other boaters with our dogs nor have we had with other peoples pets, in fact we have had marinas call us and ask us when we were coming back with the puppies because they miss them.
Nice video, thanks for sharing. Interesting to hear about the pluses and minuses of Dometic A/A units. Surprising their user interface was not planned well. Your one-day run from Baltimore to Cape May shows how wonderful it is to be able to run at 30 knots -- it would have taken two very long days for a 10-knot boat. A comparison of your 38-foot Regal to a 39-foot Back Cove 390 would be informative.
Hey John! Thanks so much for the support and watching the channel. Yep I agree regarding Dometic, but it is also nice to see a company step up when they know they don't have things right. Reference the comparison of the 38XO and the Back Cove 390, well the Back Cover is a significantly larger boat, looking at their specs the Back Cove is almost 4 feel longer than the 38XO which is a lot. But my overall impression of the Back Cove is one of form over function, keeping with the downeastern type boat. There seems to be a lot of sacrifices for the design over the creature comforts. In Regals case they seems to put function.... well they seem to prioritize function. I would recommend watching my 38XO walkthrough .. and I think you will see what I mean: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-his63yEYEWo.html
That is correct… I usually run between 34 and 37, and we get .6/NM per Gallon. If I slow down to 28-30 I get .7/.8/NM per Gallon. Thanks again for all of the support and watching the channel
@@ross6343 We are at 4500 to 4700.. but yes all outboards will have similar burn rates depending on what they are pushing.... some less.. some more. Looking at the Regal 50SAV with triple Marc 600's they are at .5NM/G running in the low 30's.
Thanks so much for your comments.. correct, we maintained our speed, the 38XO runs best at 30 knots, below that you start to squat which would have started to significantly decrease my forward visibility and decrease my maneuverability. In addition having hit logs (submerged) in the 38XO before, it is best to hit them running as they will bounce off the bottom of the keel toward the stern rather than taking them blunt force on with the bow. Thanks again for the comments and the support watching the channel.
Sir, I'm an aviation buff. Would be very interested to know what your background in aviation is. If I may ask, are your businesses in the aviation industry? Enjoying your videos. Safe travels.
Thanks so much Todd for the support and your comments. We actually did break the trip down into two episodes.. second one will launch in a couple of weeks. The first videos we went non-stop from Baltimore to Cape May in 3 hours, so not really a lot to cover!
Thanks so much for your comments and your support watching the channel! From Baltimore (Inner Harbor) to Cape May took about 3 hours at 34 knots which is our cruising speed.
@@flyinjeeper90 Yep.. it makes a lot of difference hence why we decided to go with the 38XO, we love the speed. Where on our 100 footer destinations were measured in days and you had to really watch out for a weather window, the speed really helps. It was 3 hours 33 minutes to be exact. We ran between 33 and 38 knots. Thanks again for all of the support and watching the channel
Great video series. Probably one of the main things that turned us onto upgrading to a regal 38 from our regal 27. If you know anyone looking to sell by owner, please forward my contact.
@@From100to26 We're looking to purchase a 38. We actually just sold our 27 Regal. We are now zero boat owners on the hunt for our next family boat. Keep the videos coming. Would love to hear more about the differences you noticed between the 2024 model and prior years. Anything significant? We're looking for early 2020s grand couple models. It would be a huge upgrade for us. We hope to find a deal in the off-season.
Hey Chuck, thanks so much for your support and your comments. Yes we have looked at the Sharrow props, at 15k for our boat, it is not an investment to take lightly. For us we have to look at the reward vs cost, if you look at the higher end where we tend to run (30+ knots) the performance/fuel efficiency gains are rather negligible. However where the Sharrow props shine is at the lower RPM and keeping the boat on plain. We wanted to gain experience in how we would be running our boat before deciding on the investment... also if we were going to move up a size ....
@@chuckvogt899 Thanks again! Working on the next video... we took the boat out for a month long trip.. so sorry I have not put something up recently...
I own a 2018 Regal 28 Express and have had problems over the last two years. Fresh water boat mostly dry stack stored like my 2000 Doral 270 SC. Rarely had a problem with the Doral but my newer Regal had an intermittent HVAC problem which eventually failed. A new control board fixed it until I I took it in for service and maintenance at a Regal Dealership for power steering ram and bow thruster failures. Now the HVAC system has again failed. Not enough qualified techs in the industry. Love my Regal but reliability and service problems make my third cruiser probably my last. Good luck with your issues. 🛥
Thanks Bob so much for your comments and supporting the channel. Issues with components are really not a Regal issue, rather an industry issue. At the end of the day, the components that Regal install in their boats are really no different than any other manufactures, I am so sorry you have been having problems with your boat. That said I agree with you 100 percent about not enough qualified techs in the industry, I have been seeing that for years. For us we are lucky because of dealer has an amazing tech support staff!! The dealer makes or breaks an ownership experience!
I was just going to say, 'it all comes down to your dealer or local selection of shops. One thing I quickly learned is that I tended to NOT have issues with service folks. Why? Because I am incredibly nice to them. Sure, I'm firm about pointing out things they did wrong, but because of the goodwill I'd built, they would be very apologetic and jump me in front of others to keep me happy.
@@stratolestele7611 I totally agree.. we always tip our techs very well and when we had the big boat, our main service companies we used to keep a retainers with them (always maintained cash on our account, never a debit), so we never had any issues. That said, things are changing, the largest and best company that service the Baltimore area is shutting down as the owners are retiring. Why, because they can't find good techs...... Thanks again for all of the support and watching the channel.
Glad you explained more about the head for the ladies. I would not want to upset my wife. 😂 . Great heads up size fellas it will probably save you in many ways 👍 😀.
Hey Gary... you have the new units? There is 1 correction available and that is for the temp of the water. They are also working on another update that will take care of a lot of the fault messages I get.. that should be out in about 2 weeks or so. I am working with them and feeding them information. We just got back from our 21 day trip
Fascinating stuff! Have driven past their Orlando HQ on numerous occasions in my job, neat to see what takes place inside! Got another sub, will be following along in your adventures with the new boat!
