Looking to buy this boat, Opinions

Spark600

Well-Known Member
Dec 28, 2013
460
South Shore Long Island NY
Boat Info
2015 Sundancer 410
Onan Generator
Mercury dinghy
Engines
Cummins QSB HO 380 HP
Zeus Pods
Here is the boat

https://www.boats.com/power-boats/2015-sea-ray-410-sundancer-7548379/

I am real close to putting a deposit on this boat, My big concern is the quality of the boat because of sea Ray getting in trouble and cutting back on everything.
All the surveys I talked to said just make sure you have a good survey and you will be fine.
Any known problems I should look for, How does the boat ride in heavy seas.
How is the quality and reliability of the Zeus pods with Cummins HO QSB 6.7 ( 380 hp )
Are this Zeus pods with the Cummins joystick reliable, Any known problems.
Does anyone have this boat or driven in one that can give me some knowledge about this boat.
Should I just stay away form Sea Ray completely after 2010, Others options are Yacht Cruiser 41' Cantius, Regal 42' Sport Coupe, Regal 42' Grand Coupe, Formula 40' PC, All in the year 2013 - 2017 ETC
I am Boatless please help
 
Don’t have any first hand experience, but haven’t heard great things about the Zeus pods. A lot of haul-outs for maintenance/issues...
 
No first hand knowledge, but do some searches on the Zeus pods then make your decision. Good luck
 
I do have first hand knowledge of pods.
PM sent
 
Beautiful boat!

But yeah... Zeus pods, I don't know.
 
Sounds to me like you may already have a bit of bias against Sea Ray. If you want that bias confirmed you'll need to hop on over to another forum not named after Sea Ray :)

You may not get a tremendous amount of feedback here regarding Cruisers, Regal, etc since most of us own...well...Sea Ray.
 
I get what you're saying Stee6043 and I've owned 4 different Sea Rays for 30 years continuously but I believe many here are pretty objective and can give some mostly unbiased advise.

I for one don't have the same opinion of Sea Ray's quality of their newer boats that I had of the older boats. In the past there was almost no cross-shopping when I looked at an upgrade boat. I'd buy Sea Ray and know I got decent quality and good resale. I don't take that for granted anymore. The Zeus drive debacle of early model and Sea Ray's lack of support put me off from ever considering one. If I had to have a pod boat I'd chose something with IPS. Just my opinion.

I'm actively considering selling my boat in Texas and upgrading my boat in Florida to a mid-sized newer 2015+ 30 footer that has some speed and efficiency and quite frankly Sea Ray isn't ticking many of my boxes in terms of product or perceived quality. Truly pains me to feel that way but I do.
 
DSC00218.JPG

If you are looking at various brands, add Tiara to your list. We have owned several SeaRays, a Boston Whaler and various sailboats. Our last boat was a Tiara. Hands down, it was the best of the lot. Many small details too numerous to mention save you money on maintenance (due to design), and it was the first boat that never, ever leaked water into the interior. Depreciation costs was also the best of the lot. Very good seaboat in rough Lake Michigan waters.
 
How do you get in boat with canvas in place. With it off boat looks like fair weather use only boat.
Being in NW and boating in the spring and fall this would be a cold boat underway I think.
I see TVs on the boat but did not see TV antenna or dish.
Engine room looks nice.
 
Spark,
We were in the same spot two years ago. Any of the Sea Ray models we would have considered were discontinued and it was clear Sea Ray’s business model had moved to concentrate on day boats. I had read the Sea Ray Zeus thread and came to the conclusion the real issue wasn’t the breakdown of the Zeus drives so much as the nearly complete abandonment of the customers by Sea Ray and Mercruiser/Zeus, aka Brunswick Corp. Interestingly other companies that also offered the Cummins Zeus package in the same time frame have not had the same customer backlash. No doubt because they have not abandoned their customers.

Quite frankly for what we paid for the Sabre we could have bought a much larger and newer Sea Ray but viewed the risk of significant value loss to depreciation greater with the orphaned Sea Ray line than other builders.

The short version is there are other boat builders out there that are not just as good, but better, than Sea Ray’s customer service. The Back Cove Sabre organization from personal experience stands out. When I had problems getting service from the local Volvo dealer, Sabre put me in touch with a Volvo factory engineer who sorted things out. Being a small community, BC Sabre owners have a couple very active FB groups and Sabre/BC have people who actively participate in helping.

Your alternative boats all seem to have a common thread, all seem to be Volvo IPS powered. Volvo controls who can work on their engines very closely and requires documentation. When we bought our boat with the IPS 450s, I knew what had been done to the boat in the way of major engine & pod service. I would expect the same should you choose one of the alternatives. And as SBW has suggested, a Tiara would be an excellent choice.
 
I considered the 410DA in early 2019. It's a very nice boat.

Here are some of my reactions to your concerns, in no particular order:
  • The SR quality of this model should not be feared; in fact, I'd say the boat itself is just as well built, if not better, than its predecessors. If you look at the cabin alone, SR really upped its game on this one in terms of the materials used (stone countertops, wood floor, higher end doorknobs and cabinet hardware, etc.).
  • It's important to distinguish the boat build quality and the transmission/pod quality.
  • Initially I wanted the pods. Then I read about the Zeus issues. I would be okay with a Zeus boat, I think, if I knew of a local mechanic who was familiar with them.
  • I believe a 2015 would have the latest generation of Zeus pods (I believe it's the 3rd), and most of the horror stories seem to be with 1st generation setups.
  • I have spent time on a 410 with V-Drives. It's a very solid boat and rides well.
  • The fully-opening roof was a non-negotiable for me; not only for my use, but for resale.
Other boats I considered were: Princess V39, Cruisers 390 Express Coupe (with Volvo IPS only), Formula 40PC and 45 Yacht, Fairline 38 Targa, and Jeanneau 40 Leader.
 
How do you get in boat with canvas in place. With it off boat looks like fair weather use only boat.
Being in NW and boating in the spring and fall this would be a cold boat underway I think.
I see TVs on the boat but did not see TV antenna or dish.
Engine room looks nice.
There is definitely a T.V. antenna on the hard top. My previous boat we drive with the canvas on never a problem.
 
I considered the 410DA in early 2019. It's a very nice boat.

Here are some of my reactions to your concerns, in no particular order:
  • The SR quality of this model should not be feared; in fact, I'd say the boat itself is just as well built, if not better, than its predecessors. If you look at the cabin alone, SR really upped its game on this one in terms of the materials used (stone countertops, wood floor, higher end doorknobs and cabinet hardware, etc.).
  • It's important to distinguish the boat build quality and the transmission/pod quality.
  • Initially I wanted the pods. Then I read about the Zeus issues. I would be okay with a Zeus boat, I think, if I knew of a local mechanic who was familiar with them.
  • I believe a 2015 would have the latest generation of Zeus pods (I believe it's the 3rd), and most of the horror stories seem to be with 1st generation setups.
  • I have spent time on a 410 with V-Drives. It's a very solid boat and rides well.
  • The fully-opening roof was a non-negotiable for me; not only for my use, but for resale.
Other boats I considered were: Princess V39, Cruisers 390 Express Coupe (with Volvo IPS only), Formula 40PC and 45 Yacht, Fairline 38 Targa, and Jeanneau 40 Leader.
Thanks for you honest opinion.
This boat is available in v drive, I am going to search this a little more to find v drive.
 
Thanks for you honest opinion.
This boat is available in v drive, I am going to search this a little more to find v drive.

Pleasure.

It seems to be about a 60/40 split - Zeus to V-Drives.
 

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