410 Sundancer rode

Dice

New Member
Aug 18, 2014
6
Lake Erie
Boat Info
2003 410 Sea Ray Sundancer , 2010 Mercury 310 with 9.9 Merc
Engines
3126 Caterpillar
Hi all new to forum and finally have my Ray! There is so much infomation on this site very impressed. I'm looking to do a few upgrades one being changing rode to all chain. I have figured out I need 5/16" G43 chain but not sure how much to put on. What would factory length be I have 3126 Cats so weight is not a issue.
 
Mine came to me with 200’ of an all chain rode. Not sure if that’s what Sea Ray put on it, or if that’s the length the previous owner installed.
I’d rather have more though. There is still plenty of room in the anchor locker for another 50’ or so, and she rides bow high anyway so the extra weight shouldn’t be noticeable.
 
Thanks for reply ordered half a drum which is 275' . Should add some weight as I understand they ride bow high .
 
I was told to take your average anchorage depth, multiply it by 7 and add 10%.....so I ended up with 175' on my 370 and the 150' on my current boat. So far it's worked perfectly, the additional weight up front has proved beneficial and I couldn't imagine not having an all chain rode.
 
That’s a lot of weight, scope with chain is usually 5 to 1. Add the bow height when you calculate the scope. If you have high winds/storm increase the scope to 7 to 1. You have 3 shots of chain(1 shot is 90ft) that is good for 55 feet of depth (including the bow height from the water). Remember, the lighter your boat the less load on your engines. More load, more fuel and less speed. Too much load more maintenance and repair. Good luck with your new Searay,

Bow Tie
 
That’s a lot of weight, scope with chain is usually 5 to 1. Add the bow height when you calculate the scope. If you have high winds/storm increase the scope to 7 to 1. You have 3 shots of chain(1 shot is 90ft) that is good for 55 feet of depth (including the bow height from the water). Remember, the lighter your boat the less load on your engines. More load, more fuel and less speed. Too much load more maintenance and repair. Good luck with your new Searay,

Bow Tie

Actually, I beg to differ on that. Let's look at the physics going on here. Normal is really not normal. Bow riding high even with tabs down the butt of the boat is dragging. That's normal but the drag means more HP or Torque is needed. Now add say 1000lbs to the bow. The bow now sinks say 2" then the stern will rise say an inch. On plane that's less drag. Thus slightly easier on the running gear.

You can actually test this without the chain. Empty your 100 gallon water tank and look at the stern. It will sink about 1-2" as the bow rises. Hence more drag at cruise because of a high bow. Full tank of water and the stern boot stripe is now about 2" above the water line while in place. So less weight in the bow will cause more work out of your motor and tranny. Now more doesn't mean a lot, just following physics. However at some point to much weight on the bow will work against you but I think the chain locker isn't big enough for that amount of chain.
Mark
 
Hi LG111, you can beg but reality is more weight more load, check with your mechanic, (if you have one), physics is one thing but actual experience is another. The bow rides high for a reason, to allow the boat to plan easier. When your bow is low(stuffing) the engines are under more load, hence more fuel burn and more wear on the engines. That’s why there are tabs, to allow and compensate for different conditions and weight. Example: rough seas: raise the bow and stay dry or more people weight: lower the bow. At any rate thanks for your input.

Bow Tie
 
Bow Tie, I agree with extreme weight but I just can' see 500lbs to 1000lbs making much difference. I have that between additional house batteries and my 11ft 25hp dinghy and the boat only settles down a 1/2 inch at the dock with no change to performance with 8.1s. Cats have even more torque. Yes bow plow is bad!
 
Bow Tie, I agree with extreme weight but I just can' see 500lbs to 1000lbs making much difference. I have that between additional house batteries and my 11ft 25hp dinghy and the boat only settles down a 1/2 inch at the dock with no change to performance with 8.1s. Cats have even more torque. Yes bow plow is bad!

My point exactly, every 500-1,000 pounds all add up. When my boat was built at 38,500 lbs and tested with the factory props (pitch) it reached 2350 RPMs without breaking a sweat, now add to that 560 gallons fuel, 170 gallons of water plus a couple hundred pounds for my tool box, spare parts, and everything else. I’ll bet my boat weighs in at 44,000 pounds now, still gets up on plane using the tabs occasionally when I have 4-6 people on board. That’s what tabs are for, but taking off 1-2” of pitch is what was needed to be done or lighten up the boat. With the reduced 1” of pitch the engines are much happier, and hit 2350 easier with less load using less fuel (1.5 GPH). Engines under too much load won’t last as long as they should and are not “happy”. I’d reduce the chain to 200 feet on this boat, most times we don’t anchor in deep water anyway. I do all of my own mechanical and electric work and by making sure my M11’s are happy, I’m happy.

Bow Tie
 
Bow plow is bad, but it’s going to be hard to get bow plow on this model 410. I’ve got one and with 200 feet of chain, 100 gallons of water under the forward bed, and tabs deployed she still rides bow high.
So high that visibility when running the boat while seated at the helm is not great.
I usually lift the bolster and lean so I can see over the bow unless I’m in the ocean with nothing around me.
My water tank is almost always full because I never really use the dockside water hook up.
I doubt that more chain would make a big difference.
I’ve noticed that the bow design in the next model 420’s (basically same size as my 410) has the bow taking a deep slope down. I’ve wondered if that was on purpose to overcome the high riding bow on my era boat.
My friend can stay comfortably seated when running his 2005 420 and have great visibility because of the slope down shape of his bow.
 
Last edited:
Bow plow is bad, but it’s going to be hard to get bow plow on this model 410. I’ve got one and with 200 feet of chain, 100 gallons of water under the forward bed, and tabs deployed she still rides bow high.
So high that visibility when running the boat while seated at the helm is not great.
I usually lift the bolster and lean so I can see over the bow unless I’m in the ocean with nothing around me.
My water tank is almost always full because I never really use the dockside water hook up.
I doubt that more chain would make a big difference.
I’ve noticed that the bow design in the next model 420’s (basically same size as my 410) has the bow taking a deep slope down. I’ve wondered if that was on purpose to overcome the high riding bow on my era boat.
My friend can stay comfortably seated when running his 2005 420 and have great visibility because of the slope down shape of his bow.

Exactly!
 
Bow plow is bad, but it’s going to be hard to get bow plow on this model 410. I’ve got one and with 200 feet of chain, 100 gallons of water under the forward bed, and tabs deployed she still rides bow high.
So high that visibility when running the boat while seated at the helm is not great.
I usually lift the bolster and lean so I can see over the bow unless I’m in the ocean with nothing around me.
My water tank is almost always full because I never really use the dockside water hook up.
I doubt that more chain would make a big difference.
I’ve noticed that the bow design in the next model 420’s (basically same size as my 410) has the bow taking a deep slope down. I’ve wondered if that was on purpose to overcome the high riding bow on my era boat.
My friend can stay comfortably seated when running his 2005 420 and have great visibility because of the slope down shape of his bow.
Next time you take her for a run try this. Get to normal cruise at 2400 RPM at full tab and let her settle in. Note your RPM and speed over ground. Now lift the bow a bit and note speed and RPM. You will find that full tabs will slow you down. Easier to see but worse performance. Sit on a pillow rather than use full tabs, find your sweet spot!
 
That’s correct Humph, the less boat hull out of the water the less drag. With the bow up a little it forces the water to “lift” the hull. I do exactly what you are saying when trimming out. I could be that some folks do not adjust their tabs? Anytime you change weight, sea conditions, fuel up, etc you are changing the way the boat sits.

Bow Tie
 
Next time you take her for a run try this. Get to normal cruise at 2400 RPM at full tab and let her settle in. Note your RPM and speed over ground. Now lift the bow a bit and note speed and RPM. You will find that full tabs will slow you down. Easier to see but worse performance. Sit on a pillow rather than use full tabs, find your sweet spot!
Thanks Ken. Yes, I do that but at 5’11” I have to use the helm seat as a leaning post to see over the bow.
I’ve seen where a couple of guys have swapped out their seat base for a taller one and that might ultimately be in my future.
 
I installed 275' (half drum) of chain on my previous 2000 410 DA. Never had bow plow issues at all. Boat handled like a dream. With CAT 3116's, they were extremely efficient before and after I switched to chain.

Only problem I had was that the chain piled in the middle of the anchor locker. All the way up to the bottom of the windlass. When reeling it in, I had to push the pile over with my foot in order to pull it in completely.

We would commonly anchor in 50' - 100' of water at the lake so had to use a lot of chain(occasional wind, no current). But, for those that are boating in shallow water, this may be a first time occurrence then forever resolved.
 

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