I started with a 15' then an 18' and then a 245 over about 25 years. I knew I was buying a high production, low cost boat. The upside was that we could afford to be on the water at a time when putting kids through school, buying houses etc. was sucking most of the money out of the pot. I never had a mechanical problem, they were reliable. I never had a leak I couldn't stop. They all did the job they were built to do and when it came to sell them they held their value well because I cared for the boat. If you are a minimalist boater, they are a good buy in my estimation. I don't own one now, they don't build slow roomy trawlers that use 2 gph at full throttle but I would guess they soon will. Tom