Newbie to boating 260da questions

skolbe said:
The inverter in my opinion was a nice simple setup. Marine Max did the install - Sea Ray designed it. The cost is less than an installed generator - more than a portable. It is a nice safe setup.

So this worked well for you? Could you go in to more detail on your boating habits and how well it worked for you? It will be some time before we buy a condo where we boat, so we will be crashing at night on the boat, so shore power will come in handy. BTW, I live in Wildwood and have run in to your ad while looking around boats.com and others... good luck selling your boat!
 
It was great for a an afternoon on the water. I traded the boat - Marine Max has a deposit on my 260. But it is currently frozen in the marina. I have the hoist sold. So - just waiting for it to thaw. The boat is here in St. Louis.
 
devilrays said:
Just had my rep contacted me about a trade in coming in for a '04 Searay 260da with 200 hours on it. Their looking for 49,000. Does this sound like a good deal? What i'm trying to find out is it doesn't have a generator, so how do I run things on the boat without draining the batteries on the hook?

That seems like a good price.

Does the boat have a/c? I don't know if they can retrofit a generator, or how much it would cost to do so. I also am not clear on whether you can run the a/c w/o a generator while underway. I would check on these issues more.

I can tell you this - with no a/c, your cabin is useless in Florida from May to Sept. In the Tampa Bay area, it will be way too hot to survive in there during the day. At night, it will take hours for it to cool off.

The above is predicated on not being able to use the a/c whilst underway w/o a generator. Maybe you can, I don't know.

Maybe Ken can jump in, but that is my opinion.

I thought almost all cabin boats sold around here had generators.
 
Thanks for the info and yea I liked the price, but was going to offer less. The big hold up is the no generator issue. As far as using the ac while underway, I have no idea. I would think you could as long as the motors were running. How much does an after market generator cost and how much to install?
 
From memory of what the rep told me….there were 4 reasons.

The higher weight in the new 206DA’s were because the previous model weight assumed no arch (-360#) open swim platform (-240# ) lower gunwale towards the bow (-200#) lighter engine cover and no integral seat (-500#)

Also the new 260DA’s swim platform was engineered to reduce the amount of water spray when you take off and come back off plane.
 
Without either a generator or an inverter, the A/C will not work while under way. It does not run off of the main engine.

Installing a generator is expensive. Sea Ray installed a Kohler 5E in that boat, and that will run you about 5-6K, plus installation. Probably 8,000-10,000 total unless you can do it yourself.

You really need to look at how you want to use the boat. If your plans are to cruise from point A to point B and not really stop along the way, you may not need the added expense of a generator. On the other hand, if you plan to spend a lot of time on the hook, having the generator will be well worth it, since it will give you a cool cabin to use. I enjoy swinging on the hook, personally, but most of the boat owners at my marina are point A to point B people - even the big boats.

Buy a boat that you will enjoy, which may or may not be the boat that the dealer wants you to buy.
 
Thank you very much for the information. I'm just now starting to look and I appreciate all the help I can get.
 
yeah I went through the whole genny/ac or not thing when deciding on my 260. I decided that this is my first boat, I've got enough things to worry about without having more on my plate. I also found that the price difference was about $8,000 for boats with them. So I decided to see what it would be like without it and go from there. I can always add one if I wanted, or not. Your price seems to be inline with what i've looked at. I decided to go with a 2005 or newer as I liked the design changes and that pretty much ate up my budget so the genny went.
 
Presentation said:
Also the new 260DA’s swim platform was engineered to reduce the amount of water spray when you take off and come back off plane.

Well they might have acheived that objective but my whole transom area picks up spray big time while underway. Passengers in the rear seat have to be prepared for a very "misty" ride because they will feel it. :smt043 :smt043 :smt043
 

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