Why did you pick your current boat?

[Zach312]

never had the chance to go on a 390 with Diesels,
but from what i have been told there is really no difference between the HO's and Diesels in low speed maneuvering around the docks,
only difference is over long distance which from what i was told/researched is only about 30 miles difference,
prior to sea trial and survey, the owner took me out for "test drive",
the only thing i need to get use to is looking out the windshield vs looking over on other boats which is what im more comfortable with at night,
boat pulls right up on plane with no issue with the HO's and held on plane 22/2300 rpms @ about 15mph with no tabs while backing off the throttles slowly.
not very efficient, but was impressed to say the least, a lot of boats of that size fall off 2500 or higher with gas

very excited time, all paperwork is in for financing and ill know all the details by the end of the week..


Just curious whats your fuel burn like with the diesels?

We cruise around 2400 RPM burning 26-27 GPH. We have friends in the marina with the 2005 390 with the same engines. It really is a great boat and handling around the dock isn’t an issue. We noticed a significant difference with the QSB 425’s with low speed handling. The responsiveness is greatly increased. I have been very pleased with the Cummings engines the down side is you pay a premium for them up front I am just hoping to get that back in resale.

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

Admiral wanted to get a boat. YEA! I have had a couple boats in the past, and was looking to get back into boating (13 yr. hiatus). We wanted to be able to trailer the boat so we'd have the option of different locales. I wanted a sit down dinette that didn't require breaking down the V-berth. Also wanted another Sea Ray. We found the Wendy Lee in the local paper for sale from a fellow whose kids had grown up, and he had just lost interest in the boat. She needed a lot of TLC, but is generally a sound vessel. We have enjoyed her for 4 1/2 years now.

 

[GoFastr]

Hi all. Well...my dinghy isn't as big as the majority of the fantastic vessels I see on here but I love it.

I am moving up from my 15 footer so I bought a fixer upper which is why I know I've officially joined the Hole In The Water Club!

For the price I paid I know I will be spending some $ to get it going how I want it, but that was the plan.

The hull seems great aside from a rebuff and it needs all the seat cushions and upholstery redone which I have budgeted for. With my love for vehicles and amateur racing in the past this will definitely give me something to tinker with. I have always admired Sea Ray's whilst growing up and love the fit and finish of them. This boat has so many cubby holes and storage lockers where you are not tramping all over stuff when you're out on the water.

I now have to trace the wiring and electronics to try and get it started and may ask for some help once I start to check things out more closely. Battery > Master switch > Starter > Key > Ecm > Coil/Fuel pump > Distributor > Injectors/Spark plugs??? I think. After that is gauges, radio, lights, water pump, etc, etc....

With no winterizing needed here as we can go out every day this will mainly be used on weekends for a bit of fishing, snorkeling and tubing with the grand kids and a whole lot of fun. Thanks.

1999 Sea Ray 210 Sundeck with Mercruiser 5.0L EFI and Alpha 1 Gen II drive.

 

[Surftodd]

The 310 1999-2003 Sundancer has a tremendous amount of room and value ! I loved this model with having a family of four with two kids under 8Yrs old. They all loved the boat!

 

[Offshore57]

Between me and the Admiral we have had a lot of boats over the years...I raced for ten years in Offshore till 2010....and our previous boat, a Ring 21C with 200 Yamaha was good for nearly 70 mph....then we had a yearning for a motorhome to tow it to different places and we enjoyed that for a while....then on a weekend away we had a long talk and decided to sell both and buy a boat we could stay away on for days at a time and just be on the water....we looked at a lot of boats but just couldnt find the right combination of machinery, cockpit space and cabin quality. Finally we found our Sea Ray sitting on a tidal berth in Southampton UK, after a Sea Trial which highlighted some mechanical issues with one motor we decided to make an offer because the hull and cockpit and cabin were perfect having just been completely refurbed and we knew we could sort the rest out. A year later and she now has good engines, new controls from end to end, 2 new drives, 2 new transom and gimble assemblies and shes in better condition overall than she has been for many years...we love her to pieces.....shes 25 years old this year and still gets a lot of compliments (the boat)
Launched 2 days ago after a lot of work over the winter..

 

[Last Dollar]

We went to ta 4th of July show on the water with friends on their 290. We were rafted up with several boats and had a great time. The admiral was very intrigued with the ability to get out and relax away from it all, but did not like the small size of the 290. I was not confident that she would want to stick with is so I started my search for a larger boat that even if she did not continue boating would not hurt me financially. I settled on our 1990 310 and she was good with it for the first season and now has no interest at all. So now I have a boat that only I have interest in and I am sure will be for sale soon.

I have told my wife that I was a boater before she entered the picture and I would always own boats....get over it! As we have gotten older she has backed away from it but will occasionally join me. It's who I am. She was involved in the decision making to buy this boat and I will keep it. Don't let anyone steal your joy in life.

 

[alwhite00]

The 310 1999-2003 Sundancer has a tremendous amount of room and value ! I loved this model with having a family of four with two kids under 8Yrs old. They all loved the boat!

The only thing I dislike on that era 310 is the white/gold cabin interior. Wish there was an easy way to update that.

.

 

[Alex F]

Very interesting thread, indeed.



The short version of my story starts with mobility. Our desire for being on water had criteria of maximizing our destination options. It worked very nicely with the fact that we loved road trips and pulling our boats behind was a perfect match. This allowed us to explore all kinds of destinations anywhere from FL to Canada, 1000 Islands and Lake George, etc….


After upgrading to 240DA from 175BR, we continued the approach. As the family got bigger and we’ve realized that long trips became less frequent and we’re running out of room and comforts with newborn baby. This is when I called our 240DA a “transition to marina life” boat. We’ve made the decision to shift our approach from trailering to more localized and travel by water. It didn’t take long to realize that we needed to make a move and this is when we’ve upgraded to 320DA.


As for most, it felt like we have a huge yacht (compare to 240DA), which is self-sufficient allowing us go distances and spend the time off the dock with comforts of home. We thought that we could keep this one easily for 6-8 years. After enjoying our 320 for couple of years our love to cruising was growing more and more. Our kids were growing and our cruising trips were reaching more remote locations and we stayed out longer, by spending a week or more aboard. We were using our 320 as a floating condo that can take us to great destinations.


Like most captains here, I had the same wishes. I was hoping for my crew to enjoy boating more and more, so we can spend more time on water. OMG, only after short 3 years my wife and I started realizing that we need a bigger boat. This is something we weren’t anticipating when purchased our 320. But, this was another “transition into cruising life”, that how I referred to our 320. We started new search and the #1 model on the list was 420DA. As we were getting together during rendezvous and raft-ups with friends that had different models, we opened up our views. Our criteria, at the high level, was relatively simple:

• Larger overall for added comfort (40’-50’ range).
  
  
• Two staterooms with separate beds, as we have girl and a boy.
  
  
• Must have diesels for extended cruising, reliability and fuel economy.
  
  
• Must have two full heads.
  

After taking a closer look at few bridge boats, we started realizing that maybe DA is not our ultimate solution. Then, during one of the LI rendezvous we had a chance to spend the weekend with friends on 480DB and 44DB. It became clear to us how much room we’re gaining by switching to a DB. At the time the direction became clear, we’re moving up to a bridge boat and we just needed to find which one will fit the criteria between budget, size and style. In regards to the brand, we didn’t want to limit our choices and opened our options to any brand available. However, after doing extensive research, we saw that SR offered “the best package for the money”.



After a failed attempt on purchasing 400DB we knew in our mind that 420/44DB was the true dream boat at the time. When we saw the opportunity of purchasing an absolutely pristine 420DB, we didn’t hesitate for a moment. Almost 6 years later, I can tell you that my wish of getting my crew to love boating even more has reached a point beyond of what I had originally imagined. So, when a question comes up if we made the right choice, my answer is “without a doubt”.

 

[JimmyDubai]

This is a great explanation of how people jump from a Cruiser to a Flybridge. Well done Alex

 

[usmc2532]

My choice was strictly fishing Lake Michigan. Was kind of limited on days out with my fathers 19 foot river boat, since I bought the 30' weekender from a former charter captain we can be out in 2 to 2.5 foot waves and have no issues. Still can't take on the 4 footers without wanting to feed the fish with my breakfast. Another huge factor in choosing the boat I purchased was it was already decked out and setup for the big fish and I didn't need to spend any other cash to get out and start reeling in the hogs. It is also nice enough to take the family out on the lake and let them jump off and swim around or just be lazy out there. The captain I bought it from took me out 2 days in a row to teach me about the boat and do some fishing with him which made me feel even more comfortable about purchasing the boat from him.

 

[JC3]

Alex, Very good post! Thank you, JC