robert64
New Member
- Jun 14, 2010
- 21
- Boat Info
- 2003 motoryacht w/ cummins 480 c-e diesels
- Engines
- cummins 480 c-3 diesels
looking to purchase 39' sea ray motoryacht diesel. any information would be helpful. bob!
sea ray 39 motoryacht
- Thread starter robert64
- Start date
jmunro123
Member
What year are you looking at ?
We have a family of 4 and love the boat. Some people will tell you it has alot of 'roll' in the seas but that is just wrong. It handles well, its comfortable, it had great living space and likely one of the best family boats Sea Ray ever built as far as I am concerned. We love the hardtop and the lack of canvas. the bridge area is awesome and provides excellent living and entertaining space.
The only thing I don't like about it is how it looks when you are looking straight from the bow. But hey , unless I am on the jet ski I never see that angle. From the side its a good looking boat.
We have a family of 4 and love the boat. Some people will tell you it has alot of 'roll' in the seas but that is just wrong. It handles well, its comfortable, it had great living space and likely one of the best family boats Sea Ray ever built as far as I am concerned. We love the hardtop and the lack of canvas. the bridge area is awesome and provides excellent living and entertaining space.
The only thing I don't like about it is how it looks when you are looking straight from the bow. But hey , unless I am on the jet ski I never see that angle. From the side its a good looking boat.
osd9
New Member
I don't know....I think it looks good from the front or the side...
Kidding aside....I also like the motoryacth. BUT....not for the looks. I liked it because the admiral doesn't want to have anything to do with a bridge boat and this is kind of a 'tweener'
When I was looking:
I love the NO CANVAS issue....I love the room the boat offers....I Love the bridge area. I actually like the look.
I didn't like the smallish swim platform with little to no room to carry a dink flat.
I was on two but never drove one.
The earlier diesel models came with the 8.3L Cummins. The later models ( I think 2003 or 2004) came with the smaller 5.9L Cummins.
Kidding aside....I also like the motoryacth. BUT....not for the looks. I liked it because the admiral doesn't want to have anything to do with a bridge boat and this is kind of a 'tweener'
When I was looking:
I love the NO CANVAS issue....I love the room the boat offers....I Love the bridge area. I actually like the look.
I didn't like the smallish swim platform with little to no room to carry a dink flat.
I was on two but never drove one.
The earlier diesel models came with the 8.3L Cummins. The later models ( I think 2003 or 2004) came with the smaller 5.9L Cummins.
jmunro123
Member
The boat is also known as the 40MY after 2005, but it's the exact same boat. Here are some reviews about the 390/40 family that are still up on the web:
http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=671#bt-Overviews
http://powerandmotoryacht.com/boat-tests/sea-ray/0702searay390/
http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/article/Sea-Ray-390-Motor-Yacht
I can second the previous comments. I think she is a little bit more tender than boats with more hull below the waterline but is certainly fine in up to a moderate seaway and not unsafe beyond that. Compared to my previous aft-cabin motoryachts, she tends to get blown around while mooring much less than those with a split-level cockpit/bridge albeit with considerably less topside people room than those designs afford. I think John makes a great point about this being a great family as opposed to a party boat: if you want to entertain dozens at a time this is not a boat for you but it's wonderful for family and small groups.
I'm not sure they even sold any without it, but I would make sure the boat has cockpit air, that really enables the hardtop/full windshield/minimal canvas concept and I find it adds at least a month on either side of the comfortable boating season in addition to knocking down the summer heat.
I have the QSB-425's and they have performed perfectly to date with no smoke and not a lot of noise. I cruise at 22KTS burning 28 gals/hr and WOT speed is about 28KTS. The engines and other mechanicals are very accessible for routine self maintaining although sometimes you have to lay on top of an engine to get to something on the other side.
Good luck in your search.
http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_video.aspx?ID=671#bt-Overviews
http://powerandmotoryacht.com/boat-tests/sea-ray/0702searay390/
http://www.yachtingmagazine.com/article/Sea-Ray-390-Motor-Yacht
I can second the previous comments. I think she is a little bit more tender than boats with more hull below the waterline but is certainly fine in up to a moderate seaway and not unsafe beyond that. Compared to my previous aft-cabin motoryachts, she tends to get blown around while mooring much less than those with a split-level cockpit/bridge albeit with considerably less topside people room than those designs afford. I think John makes a great point about this being a great family as opposed to a party boat: if you want to entertain dozens at a time this is not a boat for you but it's wonderful for family and small groups.
I'm not sure they even sold any without it, but I would make sure the boat has cockpit air, that really enables the hardtop/full windshield/minimal canvas concept and I find it adds at least a month on either side of the comfortable boating season in addition to knocking down the summer heat.
I have the QSB-425's and they have performed perfectly to date with no smoke and not a lot of noise. I cruise at 22KTS burning 28 gals/hr and WOT speed is about 28KTS. The engines and other mechanicals are very accessible for routine self maintaining although sometimes you have to lay on top of an engine to get to something on the other side.
Good luck in your search.
Sea Wolff
New Member
We have a 2004 and are very happy with her. She is designed more for marina's and docks than cruising long distances. At first I thought there were a lot of stairs - but now don't even notice them - just consider them exercise 
we have the 8.1l gas and at 8 knots burn 6.5 gph. at 18 knots burn 46 gph. for a boat with loa of 41' 9" there is a surprising amount of room inside. I am 6' 2" and I have plenty of headroom in every room - I love the engine room - [of course I can't stand up there :] but I can get to everything easily - outside of the main engines, gen - batteries - vacuuflush units, a MM mechanic and i were in the engine room one time and he commented - wow you could out a keg in here and still have room to work we boat in the Sacto delta and don't have the cockpit air - don't really need it - would be nice if the swim platform was longer - don't know what they were thinking of when they designed the platform. we added a 'sea wise davit system for our 10.5' walker bay dinghy - fits just fine. we have the 50/240 system - wish the boat had a cable master or the 2-30 amp system. kohler 10kw gen runs everything just fine. we were sitting on our boat last weekend in our marina [marina has 700 slips] some 30 somethings were slow cruising in a ski boat and commented to each other while looking at our boat - 'that is the nicest looking boat in the marina' made me feel good we added a 3kw xantrex inverter and 6 golf cart batteries. we can go about 24 hours on the inverter before needing to run the gen or plug in to shore power. when sterning in I can open the transom door and see the starboard corner of the swim platorm - so that makes sterning in much easier. the view from the helm is fantastic as is the hardtop. as mentioned above not having to deal with the canvas is a plus. we had screens made for the front window and side windows and side door entrances. the front screen is only in place when anchored or tied to a dock. one time at a raft up it was 115 degrees. the 40 sedan bridges on either side of us were running their gens to run their ac. since we were higher up what little breeze there was - we caught and did not need to run the gen. it is a model that is definitly worth looking at closely.
Best,
we have the 8.1l gas and at 8 knots burn 6.5 gph. at 18 knots burn 46 gph. for a boat with loa of 41' 9" there is a surprising amount of room inside. I am 6' 2" and I have plenty of headroom in every room - I love the engine room - [of course I can't stand up there :] but I can get to everything easily - outside of the main engines, gen - batteries - vacuuflush units, a MM mechanic and i were in the engine room one time and he commented - wow you could out a keg in here and still have room to work we boat in the Sacto delta and don't have the cockpit air - don't really need it - would be nice if the swim platform was longer - don't know what they were thinking of when they designed the platform. we added a 'sea wise davit system for our 10.5' walker bay dinghy - fits just fine. we have the 50/240 system - wish the boat had a cable master or the 2-30 amp system. kohler 10kw gen runs everything just fine. we were sitting on our boat last weekend in our marina [marina has 700 slips] some 30 somethings were slow cruising in a ski boat and commented to each other while looking at our boat - 'that is the nicest looking boat in the marina' made me feel good we added a 3kw xantrex inverter and 6 golf cart batteries. we can go about 24 hours on the inverter before needing to run the gen or plug in to shore power. when sterning in I can open the transom door and see the starboard corner of the swim platorm - so that makes sterning in much easier. the view from the helm is fantastic as is the hardtop. as mentioned above not having to deal with the canvas is a plus. we had screens made for the front window and side windows and side door entrances. the front screen is only in place when anchored or tied to a dock. one time at a raft up it was 115 degrees. the 40 sedan bridges on either side of us were running their gens to run their ac. since we were higher up what little breeze there was - we caught and did not need to run the gen. it is a model that is definitly worth looking at closely.Best,
bwhitney01
New Member
Do you have other pictures showing the extended swim platform? Was the install difficult or not?
Full House
New Member
Do you have the installation manual? I tried to get it from sea wise and they want $150. I am not sure the used system I am looking at is even going to work.
becnme
Active Member
I am looking for the same boat only in Florida. Just missed a beautiful 2006 with the 5.9's last week. Be very careful of the 480CE engines. If not propped correctly they drop valve seats. I have personal experience with 3 different boats over the years where this has happened. Much has been written here and on other sites about this problem.
I am actually going to put an offer on an 03 soon and am making the offer with the plan to have the heads replaced with the Cummins upgraded heads right from the start.
Good luck in your search.
