- Oct 6, 2006
- 12,155
- Boat Info
- 1996 450DA
- Engines
- 3116 Caterpillars
Add 17 ft. to yours and you see why my wife considers my boat a mistress.
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I know exactly where you are coming from as the 70 footer I am involved in is killing me as I bring her up to specs!!Add 17 ft. to yours and you see why my wife considers my boat a mistress.
Sea Rays are built for the harsh salt water environment.........the difference between a freshwater boat and a saltwater one is all in the care and maintenance it has had. You cannot discount a saltwater boat just because it is parked in Florida. Many inland and northern boaters move boats to Florida and list them with Florida brokers to sell them because of the 12 months a year selling season. The other side of that coin is that a freshwater owner moving his boat to Florida usually has no clue how to avoid the sun/saltwater potential damage. You just have to look at the boat in person to know it if it one worth pursuing.
My boat is not for sale, but it has been in salt water its whole life and we work hard to keep it fresh and current, plus it is waxed 4X a year. I am often asked by prospective buyers walking the docks if its new because they cannot find that model in the catalog (its 15 years old!). The older the boat is, the harder its going to be to find a nice one, but they are out there. A documented maintenance history and obvious care is important to making a good choice. Cosmetics.......vinyl, canvas, carpeting, etc. can be easily replaced, neglected maintenance particularly on diesel engines is hard to get current without a major investment after the sale.
Salt water isn't acid.........it won't eat a boat up. Poor or neglected maintenance will, however, certainly eat the value out of one.
The flipside of the coin is, I highly doubt that if your 450 was for sale it would be at bottom dollar pricing.
That 410 at 135K seems to be a good deal, if it all checks out and you are getting a nice discount off that shes probably worth pursuing. If I were buying as far away as you were though I would have somebody do a preliminary check of the boat first.
Had a 2000 380DA with 7.4's, and a 2003 410DA with the 8.1's. I would NOT get the 7.4's in a 41. The 8.1's have more torque and less issues overall. It is just a better engine setup, and if you get them with smartcraft (2002 and newer?) you will be happier yet again.
I'm curious as to the performance you got with the 8.1s. I am now looking at a 2003 410 DA with 8.1 motors (350 hours). This is my preferred set-up, but I was having a hard time finding one in my price range. Given the boating I do, gas makes more sense for me. I don't care about burning fuel because I don't go that far on a regular basis (longest trip is a 35-mile one way trip each year). How are the 8.1s around the dock? What is your average fuel burn and cruising speed?
Thanks!
....There's no doubt the gassers aren't as fuel efficient or responsive as the diesels but if your doing short distance boating and anchoring up most of the time then they're a real alternative and can save you a lot of up-front cash. Resale will vary widely depending on whether you're selling into a coastal vs inland lake market.
Since we have so many 410DA owners contributing to this thread I have a question that goes to Bryan's original inquiry a couple months ago regarding the aft cabin and sleeping capacity. I'm in the process of purchasing a 2000 410DA with diesels and I'm wondering how people setup for overnight trips. I know the boat is listed to have 6 births, but is it realistic to expect that it will sleep 6 adults? In order for this to work I would think you'd have 2 in the forward cabin, 2 in the salon area using the extension cushion and 2 in the aft cabin (1 person on lower sofa extended and 1 person on upper bunk). Also, during the course of my research of this model I've heard some comments that the aft cockpit area has additional cusions that sit on top of the lowered table to set up a sunpad area...can anyone confirm or deny if this is in fact true?
Even though this is "our" first boat we couldn't be any happyer with the diesels.
We stayed at Champlins for labor day weekend with four adults and three big teens.
Adults in aft kids in cockpit, just lowered back canvas to floor it worked great. People can still crawl over boat with canvas on
Since we have so many 410DA owners contributing to this thread I have a question that goes to Bryan's original inquiry a couple months ago regarding the aft cabin and sleeping capacity. I'm in the process of purchasing a 2000 410DA with diesels and I'm wondering how people setup for overnight trips. I know the boat is listed to have 6 births, but is it realistic to expect that it will sleep 6 adults? In order for this to work I would think you'd have 2 in the forward cabin, 2 in the salon area using the extension cushion and 2 in the aft cabin (1 person on lower sofa extended and 1 person on upper bunk). Also, during the course of my research of this model I've heard some comments that the aft cockpit area has additional cusions that sit on top of the lowered table to set up a sunpad area...can anyone confirm or deny if this is in fact true?
I'm curious as to the performance you got with the 8.1s. I am now looking at a 2003 410 DA with 8.1 motors (350 hours). This is my preferred set-up, but I was having a hard time finding one in my price range. Given the boating I do, gas makes more sense for me. I don't care about burning fuel because I don't go that far on a regular basis (longest trip is a 35-mile one way trip each year). How are the 8.1s around the dock? What is your average fuel burn and cruising speed?
Thanks!
Pretty close to coping. But your boat is two years newer.