Neptune by Sunbird

[Michael Giuffre]

I am looking into purchasing a 1997 23' Neptune by Sunbird Walkaround i/o
with 215hp Volvo. I have not heard much about this boat and am curious as
to its seaworthiness and quality of construction. Any help is greatly
appreciated.
mgiu...@worldnet.att.net

[Lee Bell]

I can't speak about the Neptune, but a couple of years ago I purchased a 15
foot Sunbird dual console. I got a deal on a boat I had never heard of
before and have been very pleasantly surprised at it's quality and
seaworthyness. It actually likes 2 foot seas and prefers fast to slow.
It's an amazing little boat which turned out to be a great deal. Of course
one good boat does not guarantee others by the same manufacturer are as
good, but at least one Sunbird owner is pleased with his choice.

Lee

PS: I've been boating for more than 40 years and presently own 7 boats of
various sizes and uses. This is not exactly an newbie testimonial.

Michael Giuffre wrote in message <77r68e$j...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...

[Idakrules]

I had a Sunbird Cuddy a few years ago, I belive it was a 1990 model. It was ok
for an entry boat, but I was not impressed with the quality of it. When I got
rid of it the floor was sorft in several areas and a lot of stress cracks all
over the place.

Bob

[Jim Fisher]

Michael,

I have a 1994 Neptune 202 WA, that I bought new in 1995. For the money
it's a fine riding boat and seems to be made pretty well. They skimped a
little on the hardware, and I've had to repair a few small blisters on the
bottom, but really no big deal.

Sunbird is actually no longer in business as a separate company of OMC.
They've moved the Hydro Sports manufacturing into the old Sunbird plant in
NC, and several of the Neptune series walkarounds are now under the Hydro
Sports banner.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Michael Giuffre <mgiu...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in article

[Bob Dewey]

Sunbird/Neptune is a low cost OMC boat. I believe that 1998 was the last
year they were built. As a matter of fact I believe that the plant in
Columbia is now producing HydroSport's.

Lee Bell wrote:
>
> I can't speak about the Neptune, but a couple of years ago I purchased a 15
> foot Sunbird dual console. I got a deal on a boat I had never heard of
> before and have been very pleasantly surprised at it's quality and
> seaworthyness. It actually likes 2 foot seas and prefers fast to slow.
> It's an amazing little boat which turned out to be a great deal. Of course
> one good boat does not guarantee others by the same manufacturer are as
> good, but at least one Sunbird owner is pleased with his choice.
>
> Lee
>
> PS: I've been boating for more than 40 years and presently own 7 boats of
> various sizes and uses. This is not exactly an newbie testimonial.
>

> Michael Giuffre wrote in message <77r68e$j...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...

[CaptSchark]

The Sunbird plant in Columbia, SC is still producing the Sunbird / Neptune line
for OMC.

I have no experience with the boats other than giving them a onceover at some
boat shows. They seem to be decent entry level boats, however the finish
quality does seem to be inconsistant.

If you have to have one, I would hand select one off of a dealers lot to make
sure it was a decent one. Contrary to popular belief, there is a wild variation
in quality of identical models from manufacturers.

Stand by the rule of, "You get what you pay for."

But remember, even the top manufacturers still build some real dogs now and
again. The low cost manufacturers build even more bad ones, so be carefull.

CaptSchark

[Jim Fisher]

Capt.

I spoke with a Hydro Sports rep last week who told me that the Sunbird name
is history. The Neptune series are now part of the Hydro Sports line,
produced in the old Sunbird plant in SC. They had a 21 and 23 walkarounds
there and they definety are the same boat.

Jim (owns a 202 WA)

CaptSchark <capts...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19990120223404...@ng-fd1.aol.com>...

[Jeff]

On 21 Jan 1999 04:58:57 GMT, "Jim Fisher" <jtfi...@erols.com> wrote:

>Capt.
>
>I spoke with a Hydro Sports rep last week who told me that the Sunbird name
>is history. The Neptune series are now part of the Hydro Sports line,
>produced in the old Sunbird plant in SC. They had a 21 and 23 walkarounds
>there and they definety are the same boat.
>
>Jim (owns a 202 WA)
>

The old Sunbird Neptune line of boats is now the current HydraSports
"Seahorse" line of boats. The old HydraSports line is now the
HydraSports "Vector" line. I think they also added a new bay boat in
the 20-22 foot range.

The Seahorse line is marketed to value buyers, and come equipped with
Johnson motors, which are also marketed to value buyers. The Vector
line comes with Evinrude Ficht motors, marketed to high-end buyers.
If I'm not mistaken (it happens frequently), the Seahorse comes with a
year hull warranty and the Vector comes with 10.

Jeff

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