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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Meridian 368 Motoryacht
What the published record establishes about this model, what owners report,
and the questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page is about the
MODEL — a specific hull always gets its own homework.
A capable ~36' Loop platform — shallow draft, manageable length; the Bayliner-lineage wet-stringer question is the survey item that defines the buy.
A 2007-era ~36' aft-cabin flybridge motoryacht sharing Bayliner construction. Packs full-size amenities into 36' (full-beam master, two heads each with a separate shower), and the shallow ~3'6" draft makes it a natural Loop boat. Air draft is routinely misstated on these listings — confirm it per hull. The one model-defining survey item is a moisture test of the stringers and hull core.
How to read this: 🟢 Fact = confirmed against a document, spec sheet,
or owner. Everything else — Claim, Pattern, Question, Context — is not yet
verified: things to check, not settled truth. Sources are linked where published.
The hull — the #1 survey item
PATTERN
Wet stringers / core moisture is THE Meridian survey item.
Meridian shares Bayliner construction, and reported wet-stringer / core-moisture issues are common enough that a specialist repair company (DryBoat) exists specifically for it. Sellers disclose it and it turns up in surveys.
src:
Meridian owners of a 490 PH, a 459 and a 408, January 2025
Your move: Have the surveyor specifically moisture-test the stringers and hull core — a clean, dry bilge is NOT the core.
QUESTION
Is the wet-stringer issue a production defect, or maintenance/care?
Contested — both sides. Owners push back hard on 'inherent defect': 'it's basically a Bayliner; 40-year-old Bayliners still going strong; moisture allowed to build up is an issue on ANY boat.' Others treat it as common enough to be a production problem. Honest read: a real thing to check, disputed as to whether it's inherent — maintenance and a good survey are the deciding variables, not the badge.
src:
An owner of a Meridian 490 PH, January 2025
Your move: Weigh it as a check item, not a badge disqualifier; freshwater life + documented maintenance lower the risk.
CONTEXT
If moisture IS found, DryBoat is the known specialist — and 'repaired' is not a red flag.
Process: drill the stringers, air-dry, then pump epoxy to solidify; ~6 weeks. One owner's extensive two-area repair ran ~$50k. Surveyors have signed off on DryBoat-repaired boats. Documented DryBoat work often reads as a selling point (done, transferable), and one buyer negotiated the price down to cover found repairs — so 'already repaired' can be the opposite of a red flag.
src:
Owners of an '05 459 and an '05 408, January 2025
CONTEXT
Distinguish structural from not.
Moisture in the pulpit is not structural (common on any boat); the structural concern is the stringers/core. Don't let a minor non-structural reading kill an otherwise-good boat.
src:
An owner of a Meridian 490 PH
Builder and support
CONTEXT
Brunswick announced on June 26, 2018 that it would discontinue Sea Ray/Meridian yacht production and wind it down in Q3 2018.
Meridian is a defunct brand, not an independent company that went bankrupt. It was a Brunswick Corp. line (grouped with Sea Ray) whose production ended in the 2016–2018 window; Brunswick formally killed the yacht/sport-yacht models on June 26, 2018 after failing to find a buyer, winding production down that quarter. No new production or revival has occurred since. On support: this is genuinely bet
src:
Corporate status: Boating Industry, Trade Only Today, and Brunswick/MarineMax's own FAQ, all June 26, 2018 (discontinuation announcement, Q3 2018 wind-down, Palm Coast closure). Support: MarineMax FAQ
Reading the boat right
CONTEXT
Air draft is routinely misstated on these listings — measure it.
Listings on these misstate air draft: this listing shows air draft = 13'7", identical to the beam — a copy-paste tell; real air draft on a 36' flybridge is usually higher. The real number decides whether the tighter routes (Erie ~15'6", downtown Chicago ~17') are open to you.
src:
listing + owner (Howard Robertson)
Your move: Measure the actual air draft on the hull; don't trust the listing's number.
CONTEXT
Strong space utilization for its length.
Packs full-size amenities into 36': full-beam master (queen) + guest (island berth), two heads each with a separate shower stall, a real galley. A model selling point — 'seems bigger than it is.'
src:
listing + owner
CONTEXT
Common equipment to expect.
Bow AND stern thrusters ('good insurance'), 9kw genset, reverse-cycle heat/AC, electric windlass. Meridian's 'underwater exhaust' is a model feature (quieter — note it exists).
src:
listing + owner
CLAIM
Engine options varied — verify per boat.
This boat has twin Cummins QSB 5.9 diesels (330 hp) — a modern common-rail diesel. Other 368s may differ (including gas). Verify engine type + make per hull.
src:
this boat: listing + owner
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