Nearly Decided on '05 420 Dancer

1000islander

1000islander

Member
Jul 9, 2007
115
1000 Islands
Boat Info
420 Sundancer
Engines
Cummins
I made an offer on an 05 Sundancer and we have been approved by the bank. Before I make the final leap from my 340 I would like to know if anyone has any advice. Things to checkout before I sign. The boat has 150 hrs on the 480CE diesels, it is stored inside heated storage and has been every winter. The previous owner took excellent care of the boat. It has many options: hardtop, Cockpit air, 9kw gen, bow /stern thruster, Raymarine c120.....just to name a few. I am paying premium $$ (high 3s) for it, but I htink it is worth it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Of course, you will not purchase any boat without a complete survey by a qualified, aggressive marine surveyor, a mechanical survey by a qualified Cummins technician, lube oil analysis, review of maintenance records, and a sea trial with the boat preferably loaded up and running in the conditions you will use her.
Basic stuff.
The 420 is a great boat with no bad habits. You will find you need no tab at all to come on plane. I only use my tabs to trim port and starboard. My average fuel burn at 24 knots is 20.5-21.5 GPH turning 2100-2150 RPMs. In steep chop of 4-6' slowing her down to 15-16 knots and tabbing your bow down a bit will produce a relatively comfortable ride.
At 150 hours in 2-3 seasons I would be concerned about the maintenance of the fuel system, though by the 1000 Islander sign in I am guessing this is a northern boat, so your diesel fuel system maintenance regimen is a bit less strenuous than folks who boat in high heat and humidity. PM me if you want to talk more 420 stuff.
regards
Skip
 
Skip,

The survey is underway. The boat is being purchased from our SR dealer and has a season warranty plus extended Cummins warranty through 2009. I know the previous owner from our Marina and it did not lack for ANY maintenance. The boat shows like new inside/outside and under the hatch. My dealer will make sure basic service is completed before I take delivery, they are really good about taking care of their customers.
 
Welcome to the club. I was wondering what the current value was of our 420's these days. FWIW, we paid $380k for an identically equipped (except SeaRay Nav instead of c120) and same amount of hours DA - 18 months ago so I don't think you're that far off.

I have to say this purchase has been a true joy without disappointments - hopefully yours will be as well.
 
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1000Islander, Sound like a nice boat, and one you may not want to get away. Your' in good hands here with all the 420 owners on the board. Welcome, you should add to your signature where you boat (what part of the country). You are going to love that cockpit air if you are up-north-some of the southern guys don't think it kicks out enough. Moving up from a 340 to the Diesel 420 is a great step-up to the whole "next-level" of boating. I just hope you didn't have to "step on the little people" to get there! (inside joke - here on the board). Good Luck.
 
If I was to buy a boat again - and want something in the range I got (420) i woul dhave no questions with my 420. Mine has been through a lot (look at the prop pic - that's only the beginning of that day) - and she runs great.

Make sure you do check for gel coat issues - I have found 2 spyders in mine - SR covered both though.

The 05 did have a recall on the head "waste" lines - if they haven't been fixed yet - make sure it's part of the deal - SR should pay for it - but it is a BIG project - takes about 3 to 4 days to do both of the heads - they have to rip all out to get to the lines. But, if you don't - they will collapse - and plug - and well, you get the pic.

The diesls on mine are great - and cummins is awesome to deal wtih.

I change my oil - change the filters - and away I go - no other problems.

It has the Raymarine system - which is good. I have the SR Nav 2 system - and have actually added in a second (and third) system - cause I am not a fan of the SR system - just not what it's cracked up to be.

Other than that - just like any boat - you will find things that you bitch about - but, hey, it's a boat!! But, for the most part of it - I am looking forward to less than a month from now - being back in the water!!!!
 
I never received any info about the waste line recall. Has anyone else on this thread heard of this and if so how serious is the defect. I would really hate to have our yard spend 3 - 4 days trying to take care of this issue since they are so busy.

10000 Islander, what Marina (if I may ask) sold you the 420. I was just curious since I believe you are form Canada. Did your dealer mention anything about the waste line recall?
 
Steve36 said:
I never received any info about the waste line recall....
Click to expand...

Neither have I. It would be nice to get this done with the boat out of the water. I suppose checking in with Sea Ray would be the logical next step.

I'm with you Cuttin' Edge...a great boat and its time for winter to be over. :thumbsup:
 
I really encourage folks to call 1 800 SR Boats with their HIN and get the complete warranty history of a used boat they are considering..I spent about an hour on the phone with Rusty when I was contemplating the 420 purchase, and it was a very, very wise investment of time. I discovered my boat had undergone less than $1,000 in warranty repairs in the previous owner's tenure, and had no recalls outstanding.

regards
Skip
 
Actually I am from A-Bay on the St. Lawrence River. My dealer did not mention anything about the recall, but I am sure that the previous owner had everything taken care of. The dealer was the orignal dealer that sold the boat new. I will be staying in the marina so I am very comfortable that any issues will be taken care of. The dealer made out pretty good on the sale of the boats....the owner of my 420 bought a 48, my old 340 was bought by my dock neigbor, his 260 has deposit on it. Not bad.... the dealer is a happy camper. 3 sales no money invested!

We close on March 20 !
 
1000ISLANDER,

Congratulations on the 420DA. Is the deal complete? A-Bay is a beautiful spot. We boated through years ago; looked seriously at a 460DA for sale there in the fall.
 
I dont want to pop anyone's bubble but u cant rely on the dealer to be forth coming or be proactive with recalls . When I traded in my 34 there were two active recall issues ... none were done while in the dealers posession. They never even fixed a seal leak. Just pushed the boat out the door. If the customer isnt educated and on the game there going to get hosed....

Rob
 
Thanks for the advice. I did contact SeaRay regarding warranty work and did ask about the head recall. They said the boat had minor warranty claims for mostly cosmetic items. Nothing serious. It was not impacted by the head recall. The head recall was to do with the hoses, if the host was labled Canada or Canadian then it had to be replaced.
 
Hey Guys -

Trust me - I don't come up wtih a head recall for fun!! I have better things to do!! And, trust me - when it first happened - I thgouth maybe it was the duck bills or something else - and I have LOTS of better things to do than check those and clean them!!! It wasn't a fun weekend...

I will say, SR has been VERY good on my warranty items. I think I mentioned the spyder'n in my gel coat - just got word this week - that is being covered under warranty... Not a big issue - but nice to know they are standing behind it!

April 3rd!! Can't wait!

Regretably, due to a quick start to winter - I didn't get my oil changed or my coolant flushed - so...I have to do that - then all is good!!
 
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