100% Newbie under contract for a 2001 260DA 6.2!

dannygodeep

dannygodeep

New Member
May 13, 2014
19
Mountain House, CA
Boat Info
2001 260DA Sundancer
Lowrance 7 combo
Fish On Sports arch
Hoss triple axle trailer pulled by Ford F
Engines
Repowered to a Reman Mercruiser 383 Stroker 350HP & a Reman BravoIII and transom shield in 2017.
Get to look at it Saturday, mech. and overall survey next week. Crossing fingers that I'll be back here learning something from you guys and gals!

:smt024
 
Good luck and welcome to CSR!
 
Really enjoyed my 260. It is a great boat. Good luck and you can get great advice on this forum.
 
dannygodeep said:
Get to look at it Saturday, mech. and overall survey next week. Crossing fingers that I'll be back here learning something from you guys and gals!
Click to expand...


When you get the survey results, take them very seriously. If the surveyor says something "might need replacement soon" assume it needs it now and get the buyer to do it or take the estimated cost off your offer. Get the surveyor to give an estimate of all "potential" repairs and price it in your offer. If you are newbie, any estimate you have in your head about repair costs of something you think might be "minor" will be vastly low.


My last advice is to not let your emotions get the best of you. Boats are easy to buy and hard to sell. You have the leverage in a transaction. Don't buy a bad boat at a good price.
 
Thank you, everyone! The boat had been sitting idle at a Marina for 9 years. The gentleman who owned it got Alzheimer's, so there was very little maintainence done to it for a long period of time. It has since been hauled out to a shipyard where they tuned the engine and replaced fluids, etc. and refurbished the Bravo III outdrive. I looked at it today, and externally it looked great. The engine looked awesome (118 hours), but the instruments on the cockpit panel had fluid condensation in them. Apparently, other that being under cover at the marina, it never had a boat or cockpit cover on it, although there was a brand new cockpit cover stowed in the cabin. The cabin had a mildew odor to it, but other than that everything looked ship-shape. We're putting it in the water Monday, and I'm trying to scramble a boat mechanic to go with me on this, and then a survey out of the water. One thing that might be a huge issue...the vessel hasn't been registered since '05. The broker is going to help on this, but has anyone had any experience with this? I know with a car you have to file a non-op...not sure with a boat sitting at a Marina whose owner is incapacitated.

Anyway, I think getting the mechanical and survey out of the way will provide me with the best decision making tools. Freshing up this boat shouldn't be much of an issue if everthing else is copasetic. It's priced right, so I'm hoping it runs as well as it looks.

Thanks again!
 
Danny, my suggestion would be to sloooooowwwwwww dooooowwwwwnnnnn. If you're a 100% newbie right now you're running completely on testosterone and you've got it bad to get yourself a boat. Boats that have sat that long are likely to have a LOT of issues. Seals have hardened, things that should rotate don't, things that should slide don't, things that are supposed to work smoothly only work when you force them, etc.

If there is condensation in the gauges there are likely to be other moisture issues. Creekwood nailed it when he said to take the survey results very seriously. What I suggest is you sit down with the surveyor before you ever look at the boat and have a heart to heart talk with him. Tell him that you have ZERO boating experience and that you're counting on him to keep you out of trouble.

Ask him to do a survey on some of the items before the boat is put in the water, then others after it's running, then have him do a test of the hull to see if there are any spots/areas that show elevated moisture. If the boat has been on the hard for 9 years and shows moisture after a short sea trial, there could be lots of issues.

There are likely to be a LOT of Sundancers in that size range for sale. Take your time and remember two things.....

#1 "Fools rush in"

#2 the wrong boat at the best price in the world is still the wrong boat.
 
In terms of the engines, a visual inspection, compression test plus a good seatrial (at full WOT) will go a long way in determining the condition of the engines. I'd assume they will be OK but other issues will exist with a boat that hasn't been used/maintained for such a long time. Dry gaskets, leaking windows, water heater issues, AC, water pumps, etc. are all suspect when not regularly utilized and maintained. Since it looks like you already made an offer, I think then your goal is to hope for very few issues to come back from the survey. Post some of the comments/findings and you'll get a good sense of the extent of the damage and cost to repair from the many experienced Searay members here.
 
I'll add that on unused equipment those dry seals may not leak until you own the boat. You have been given EXELLENT advise here. Please take it...

MM
 
Thanks for everyone's input. Believe me, I am exercising my due diligence on this vessel. I water test today and have a full mechanical/ hull survey tomorrow. Only fools rush in to damn near anything.

Semper Fi
 
Welcome,,, and how'd it go????????
 
All seals and gaskets let loose and it sank during the sea trial. Now to find another boat. :smt043
 
The survey was completed Tuesday. I've had at length discussions with the surveyor and the partners that own the vessel. There were some issues, one very major, that the owners (one a broker, the other a shipyard owner) have agreed to address. I'll attach the survey here for your perusal and comments. One significant note: The surveyor valued the boat (with Hoss triple axle trailer) at $33,500 when all maintenance items are fixed. I offered $27,750 and it was accepted.

I tried to attach the pdf survery results here, but it wouldn't link. :huh:

* (edit May 27) Actually the offer was for $26,750 and was accepted. It's still at the shipyard getting a new transom seal, battery charger and shower sump pump. In all, there were 13 finding in the survey, 4 kinda nickel/dime. The shipyard will repair/replace 9 items and I'll take care of the 4 remaining. Upon completion of said repairs, the surveyor and I will take the boat out for a sea trial, hopefully by the coming weekend.



Semper Fi



10310618_10152586145989245_5571380486837070031_n.jpg
 
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She's been in the water a week now. Had her out on the Delta last Friday for a couple of hours and she ran great! Taking her out tomorrow, as well. So far, so good!
 
The boat has performed flawlessly! I've put 15 hours on it and am thrilled to death that the shipyard tuned the engine and replaced the transom seal. Busy exploring the 1200 miles of waterway here in the California Delta. Putting in new Corinthian Aqua Mats today.
 
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