1995 450 Sundancer with Cummins

I appreciate everyone's feedback.

Frank, I talked to the surveryor, and his opinion of the boat was dependent on use. He said that if I were to approach it as a floating condo, the interior is in great condition and perfect for that use. If I were to go out there and blast through 4-5 footers routinely, he would be a bit more concerned. At the time we talked, he didn't identify a point of ingress, but I can reach out to him tomorrow to pick his brain more.

As a 25 year old boat, I expected some moisture in the hull. I would have been ok with some higher reading near problem areas, but I'm not sure I have the stomach to remediate the entire side of the boat.

This boat does have the underwater exhausts, not the waterline exits as others may have. I think my next step is going to be to see if the seller will agree to drilling some sample holes to better determine what we have. I am expecting to hear from him today. Hopefully I'll know more shortly.

Jon
 
I see an Ohio registration sticker on the boat so depending on where you end up going with this, I thought I might add that the owner of the boat that I posted about above got his ideas from a business in Michigan, which may not be too far from you. Dryboat.
I know nothing about them and know very little about the process, just thought I'd throw it out there for you in case you need to look into it further.
 
Jon, Frank as always, has given you some great advice. I ran into this same problem on a survey of a 400DA. I walked and ended up with the 450DA. As Frank and the surveyor told me all those years ago, the only way to know (within a reasonable probability) was to drill core samples to see what was what. In my case the owner did not want to do that. Frank told me give it more thought and keep it in the back of my mind as the seller would probably get back with me with a significant counter offer. The seller did indeed eventually get back with a really attractive offer but by that time i had fallen for the 450. Good luck and I hope it works out for you. JC
 
There were a few early 450DA's that Caterpillar 3208's installed at the factory. The 3208's were 435hp 3208 TA's435 hp engines and that engine moves a lot intake and exhaust air. Out of probably 15 450's that were sold here, none had 3208's so I've never seen one, but I suspect if someone saw one with the 500DA style exhaust outlet, it was likely a 3208 version.
 
I talked with the surveyor today, and he said that the moisture was so prevalent on the port side that he couldn't begin to guess where it came from.

In addition to the wetness on the hull sides, there were some dings in the running surface, on chines and above the propellers that gave him concern. Due to the bottom paint he wasn't able to use his moisture meter on the hull, but he feels that overall, this boat is wet. He has been leery of cored hulls from the get go, so that may be affecting his opinion, but he said that this moisture either something that you live with or the boat is scrapped.

I've broached the subject of core samples with the seller. We'll see what comes of that.
 
Jon, Sorry to hear the surveyor feels the boat is wet. Having owned a 450 for 9 years I am some what surprised by this. Food for thought. When we did our boat search we looked and surveyed many boats. 2 of the boats I really liked beside the 450 was the 400DA and the 500DA. The 400DA really handled well and the 500DA interior space and bilge area were very nice. Just some other models to think about. GOD speed. JC
 
Ok so long story short you 'Think' you may have surveyed a wet boat. At this point you really have only one decision and that is to move forward or not. So... My thought process works like this, although you can definitely repair a wet core and its not the end of the world, why would you with a boat at this price point when there are others without the issues? So if you're in that camp, then it's up to the seller at this point to prove to you it's not wet.

I also think this, it's pretty significant for a surveyor to say it's wet but he/she can't figure out where the intrusion started or looks to have started, so this could all end up being a surveyor who is just flat wrong and yes it does happen.

All in all there are 2 450's in Texas for sale. One is on the forum and has a very nice boat so...

Josh
 
I have no ideas about moisture in the hull of boat. But we looked at a 56 foot boat recently and we had high moisture reading in the hull. I did not know how the meter worked; but if it measured density in thick glass areas the readings would be higher. On the boat it was in most areas. In retrospect I should have had him check a few spots on the hull on the inside. If readings were the same I would have known his readings were correct.
 
Welcome aboard Jon. I highly recommend sponsoring the site, at which point you will be able to access the "Ask the Captains forum and get some solid answers from both frank and Capt. Rusty.
How do I join this thread. We have a 1995 450 SD
 
It's been a bit of back and forth with the owner, but we came to an agreement on the boat and made a deal. The owner (now previous owner) had a local fiberglass company come out and survey the boat, he came to a similar conclusion that the port side was wet. I've talked with Dryboat and they think they can dry it out.

I took some core samples and the balsa was still in good condition, even if a bit wet. I'm going to spend the rest of this season sealing any and all fittings I can. I want to pull the rub rail off and inspect the hull to deck joint too.

I spent the last 2-3 weeks working on and painting the bottom. The dings in the bottom of the hull were largely lamination voids in chines and hard corners where they managed to shoot the gelcoat, but didn't fill with the chopper gun. We launched the boat last Saturday and drove it home 3+ hours. It appears to need thermostats on the port side since it never made it past 130-140F, and I intend to replace those this weekend. Otherwise it ran well. There are a bunch of small items that I will address throughout the season and I will continue to post here.

Also, I have a strange leak on the Tides Marine Strongseal on port. After a run, it will leak a small stream, and then after a few hours slow to a drip, and then after a day stop all together. Were the Strongseals a factory item, and if so, how have they performed for others? There is a spare seal on the shaft that I might be swapping this coming weekend if I can summon the courage to swap it at the dock. If I decide to head to the haul-out slip, it may happen next week.

Thanks all for the feedback to date.
 
Glad to hear it all worked out for you. Once you get the boat lined out to your satisfaction it will indeed be really nice. GOD speed, JC
 
Look forward to seeing and hearing the progress reports. Just done a shaft seal on our port after a slow leak got worse. Complete new Tides as the old appeared to be original. Not particularly happy as still leaking very slowly when underway only. Mechanic addressing in a couple of weeks. Hopefully they can sort. Loaded shaft with extras.
Good luck with everything.
 
Paul,

About the only things that can cause a leak after a seal replacement are:

1. A scored shaft where the lip seal doesn't seal with a water tight joint. The fix is to reposition the shaft bellows fwd or aft a bit so the lip seal mates to an unmolested area on the shaft.

2. Failure to replace the entire seal housing and lip seal assembly. An old seal housing will allow the seal to wobble on the shaft and the run out will prevent the lip seal from sealing against the shaft.
 

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