1990 270 Sundancer...advice...

[Brancieri]

It's been a while since I've been here, but I sold my 225 Express Cruiser and I'm upgrading to a 1990 270 Sundancer.

The boat lives in Long Beach water for the past few years, but I intend on trailoring it. It does come with a galvanized trailer. The price for the boat and trailer is going to be $9500.

I put a deposit on the boat today. It seems fine and the seller is very honest and up front about issues, which are:

1) A/C does not blow cold. This is OK with me...more concerned about heat and that does work.

2) The vent cover on the Starboard side of the boat is missing, I can order from Sea Ray.

3) The headliner below the windows is stained....Is this just from the windows leaking, most likely?

4) Hot water heater has a slow leak....can be fixed/replaced.

5) Macerator pump does not work...can be replaced.

6) He told me that when traveling to Catalina and or back a puddle of sea water accumulates in the aft cabin. He's not sure where it is coming from???

The engine runs great and the out drive was replaced with a rebuilt last year/ 2008.

Anything I should consider before the final purchase?

Thank you,

Ed

 

[katricol]

A survey and having a mechanic check out engine?

 

[Brancieri]

Yeah, I guess I should. I gave him a $500 deposit yesterday and said I'd be back Monday to pick up or take posetion of the boat. I'm thinking it may be implied that I was not going to have the boat inspected so I may lose the deposit?

What will a survey check and does the boat have to be out of the water?

Thanks,

 

[MarkD]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and get that survey done! I have owned this boat prior and although it is a wonderful boat that has lots of features and amenities, is prone to have issues in a few areas. They are:

- Blisters, espeically along the chines or lifting strakes.

- Gelcoat cracks, especially along the waterline and sometimes up the hullside. This is indicative of bad layup. This was a changeover year for Brunswick and they are hit and miss. Yours may be different.

- side windows are not leaking, although the gaskets is probably cracked. The real issue is the bedding of the window to hullside. This needs to be taken out and rebedded. It is a decent sized job.

- leaking &/or stained headliner indicates that the hatches need to be resealed or there is a leak in the rail to deck fitting. The boat is old, so some items are bound to wear out.

- water tank leaks with age. The water tank is located under the midcabin berth and is succeptible to leaks. Mine went and caused the cushions to get wet. This might be the cause of your water leak in under way??? not 100% on that. There is also a shower sump that is under your midberth and that has a sump pump. It might be bad and that small bilge full and leaking out from the top.

-windshield can leak over time. Taylor made might have some replacement gaskets for yours. They did for me. It might also have some corrosion and can peel the anodizing off. Not a big deal, but still.... more work for you.

- The boat is big for a single engine and you will need to wind up the motor to move at a good clip. My typical cruise rpm would be 3200-3400 at 25 mph with the standard 15 1/4 x 17 prop. I did way better when i replaced with a 4 blade. When heavily loaded you will be in the secondaries all the time.

FWIW, I am not criticizing the boat... I had one for almost 7 years and loved it alot. but when i went to sell it, there were issues that needed to be addressed and I had to lower my price a bit. Heck, even when I was looking, I saw alot of sad examples and found out what was a good specimine and what was a dog. More of the latter around sadly.

If you take any advice from someone on this forum, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get that survey done!! and yes, you will need to haul it out to do it correctly and also do a sea trial with the surveyor. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Brancieri]

Mark,

Thanks for the information...it is extremely helpful.

I'm not sure what to do. I can have it surveyed, but I think I should also have a mechanic look at the engine. Another thing I think about is the fact that the boat is always in the water and is cooled by that water, hence there is always salt water in the motor. It's been at least 4 years or so that it's been at the marina, so it may need some engine work. The seller recommended I get the risers serviced/replaced...

Part of me thinks I should pass on this one, but without it surveyed I'll never really know. The main thing is I plan on trailering it and it may be a bit big to lug around to different marinas and lakes.

Sort of stuck on this one. The seller is a really nice guy and I don’t think he’s had any other offers. He accepted my offer for $9500.

 

[MarkD]

Look at it this way, there are lots of these to choose from so dont think you'll never see another good deal. As far as the surveyor goes, they will look at the engines too, mine did. You should get a compression test and take readings of the riser temps with an infrared sensor gauge. If the boat is raw water cooled, meaning it gets its cooling ONLY from the water itself and NOT with a heat exchanger with radiator fluid, and it is in salt water, you will have to look more closely. However you mentioned that it had a new-ish outdrive. That could be a plus. I guess the engine is original. I am not sure what a surveyor costs by you.... I have heard anywhere from 10-15 per foot. But I cant be 100% on that. All things considered, that money is cheap, especially if it stears you away from a lemon. In your case that is only $270-400 That is money well spent for piece of mind.

As far as the size, you are spot on. That is one big 27'er. It is almost 31' LOA with platform and pulpit. It is also fairly heavy at 5800 lbs dry. Load it with fuel and gear and you'll be pushing 7000lbs. now include trailer and your 8000. If you have a big diesel truck, your golden. if you dont its just another thing to consider.

Good luck whatever you do.

 

[Brancieri]

I do have a diesel truck, but you are correct.

I called the owner this morning to find out that it would not start. I guess there are a few teeth missing on the flywheel and the starter was locked in and would not turn. He said he would have it taken care of and split the cost totaling $1100.

I have changed my mind completely and do not want the boat at all. I asked him for my deposit of $500 back. I know he didn't have any other offers since Saturday, so he did not lose anything by me giving the deposit. I'm waitning to hear back from him.

He seems like a really nice and honest guy so I hope to get it back or at least most of it.

Thank you all very much for your help. Even if I lose the deposit, I feel much better with the decision to pass on this one. And, as always, I learned a lot from fellow boaters.