I'm new to the Sea Ray brand. Looking to buy a 28' to 33' Sundancer. My budget is $100K or less. I know that limits me quite a bit. I am sure I have to stick with an older model. Any years I should stay away from? What engines should I look for? What is considered " A LOT" of hours on a boat? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Not sure which Sea Ray??
- Thread starter Cheedro
- Start date
Third Edition
Well-Known Member
Hi Cheedro, welcome! CSR is a great resource. To help get you some advice, let us know where you're located, what waters you boat in, how you used your last boat, how you intend to use this boat, and so on.
In that size range you're probably looking in the early 2000s range -- 2000-2005ish maybe. Lots of variety there in terms of beam, engines, drives, etc. As Third ed said, more details may help narrow it down.
I have owned older Carvers and Silvertons...28-33'. I have always preferred the bigger/more powerful engines. I guess I just wonder if I should spend a little extra and go for a little newer? Or are the early to mid 2000's still a great boat compared to the newer ones? Its going to be just a family boat to use in the Lake of the Ozarks. Are there any specific engines or years to stay away from? Thanks again!
Year model is far less important than how the boat was used and maintained. Best to figure out exactly what you want in the boat first and only then narrow your choices to the years that are available in your price range. As a working example, I knew I wanted at least 30 feet, must have a generator, must be fuel injected, must have HVAC, inboard as opposed to i/o, etc.. I then set out to find the best kept boat I could with all of the required bits within my price range.
Year model is mainly a factor with respect to replacement parts availability. Obviously an older boat is going to be more difficult to find exact replacements, but much of the hardware is generic, so it rarely becomes a big issue. Another point with respect to age, that should be factored in are model line changes. a 2010 310 DA, for example is significantly smaller than a previous year model because Sea Ray changed to using LOA in their model designations.
It may seem counterintuitive, but another factor to consider is too few hours, relative to the boat's age. A 20 year old boat with 50 hours, should throw up a huge warning flag. Engines need to be used or they atrophy and could be expensive to revive. On the other end of the spectrum, the engines do have a finite number of hours in them, more so for gas vs. diesel. A boat with virgin gas hours of a thousand or more would likely be borrowing time from the next rebuild. Lots of great examples out there of 20xx's in your price range with 3 - 400 hours.
As for driveline choice, you rarely hear it said that "I wish I had less power", so generally speaking bigger engines with more power do not use significantly more fuel, but do provide significantly more smiles. A V-drive (inboard) setup will be slightly less efficient than its i/o counterpart, but can be much cheaper to maintain, particularly if you boat in the salt.
Finally, factor into that budget any refit costs. An older boat , if it hasn't been upgraded will likely have somewhat obsolete electronics, which are living on borrowed time. So maybe look for an 80k boat, leaving you with a refit / oh shit buffer.
Year model is mainly a factor with respect to replacement parts availability. Obviously an older boat is going to be more difficult to find exact replacements, but much of the hardware is generic, so it rarely becomes a big issue. Another point with respect to age, that should be factored in are model line changes. a 2010 310 DA, for example is significantly smaller than a previous year model because Sea Ray changed to using LOA in their model designations.
It may seem counterintuitive, but another factor to consider is too few hours, relative to the boat's age. A 20 year old boat with 50 hours, should throw up a huge warning flag. Engines need to be used or they atrophy and could be expensive to revive. On the other end of the spectrum, the engines do have a finite number of hours in them, more so for gas vs. diesel. A boat with virgin gas hours of a thousand or more would likely be borrowing time from the next rebuild. Lots of great examples out there of 20xx's in your price range with 3 - 400 hours.
As for driveline choice, you rarely hear it said that "I wish I had less power", so generally speaking bigger engines with more power do not use significantly more fuel, but do provide significantly more smiles. A V-drive (inboard) setup will be slightly less efficient than its i/o counterpart, but can be much cheaper to maintain, particularly if you boat in the salt.
Finally, factor into that budget any refit costs. An older boat , if it hasn't been upgraded will likely have somewhat obsolete electronics, which are living on borrowed time. So maybe look for an 80k boat, leaving you with a refit / oh shit buffer.
Last edited:
Espos4
Well-Known Member
As far as what to avoid, there was an issue with water reversion on older model engines, I believe it was the 7.4L motors. The fix was a retrofit to the exhaust. I’m no expert on it, but others here are more knowledgeable.
Cap'n Scuba Steve
Active Member
Since you’re going to be boating on LOTO, there are LOTS of options for Sundancers that are already on the lake. If you look on Boat Trader right now, there are a number of 320 and 340 DAs available and everything in between.
Do you already have a slip identified where you will keep the boat? This can be a limiting factor often times for beam width. Are you located in the LOTO area? A good survey will be key and a lot of people highly recommend a gentlemen by the name of Dave Davis. Bottom paint jobs in LOTO seem to be treated more like a Maaco paint job as opposed to a high end job, so be mindful of that. They usually won’t last as long as a good bottom paint job.
Do you already have a slip identified where you will keep the boat? This can be a limiting factor often times for beam width. Are you located in the LOTO area? A good survey will be key and a lot of people highly recommend a gentlemen by the name of Dave Davis. Bottom paint jobs in LOTO seem to be treated more like a Maaco paint job as opposed to a high end job, so be mindful of that. They usually won’t last as long as a good bottom paint job.
Thanks everyone for you’re input! I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by this whole deal!!! We do have a connection at a dealership called performance in the ozarks. I just wanna learn as much as I can before I buy. As one comment above mentioned docking/slip/etc. does anyone know average annual costs of docking in the ozarks for a 30’ boat?
Cap'n Scuba Steve
Active Member
Are you looking to buy or lease? For leased slips, you're probably looking somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500 - $3000 annually depending on marina. Buying can be all over the place - though there is a 2-slip dock with a 14x36 and a 10x36 slip for $55k. I've seen 10x28 slips go for $45k here on Table Rock Lake...
