to buy....or not to buy

Steve Cellar

New Member
May 27, 2022
19
Ashland, Ohio
Boat Info
1989 Sundancer 250 da
Engines
7.4L Mercruiser with Bravo 1 outdrive
Have been looking for a little while. This would be my 4th boat. The largest I've owned is a 21" cuddy. Looked at an 89 Sundancer 250da this morning. Pros: It is powered with a Mercruiser 7.4L with Bravo one outdrive with 800 hours. As I said in another post, it has had all the bellows replaced, gimble bearing and shift cables done in 2020. A new impeller in 2021. Seems to run fine and started right up on the muffs. Everything seems to work....lights, bilge, trim, blower, wipers, fridge, fuel gauge, stereo and speakers, etc. The cuddy is pretty nice and upholstry is good. Comes with two Bimini's. Has shore power and it works. Hatches don't leak and has an air conditioner that fits into the large hatch (I'm personally not familiar with). Tandem axle trailer with good tires/bearings.

Cons: The trailer will need the brakes done. Needs bottom paint. Needs a cockpit cover for storage. Will need new isinglass, and would like to get a camper top. The two burner alcohol stove is clean and in place, but not sure if it works (he never used it). Also not sure about hot water heater (he never used that either). It will need a new toilet in the head. The dash board will probably need updated (just to suit me personally) Wiring seems fine so far but.... Probably needs an updated VHF radio and antenna. No GPS currently.

Owner asking $7,000 Owner is the third owner and he's had it three seasons. Reason for selling is that he just recently had a baby (3 weeks ago) and is preferring to use a smaller boat he already has due to trailering the boat. He never water slipped it while he had it, just trailered it. What are your guys' thoughts on this? Hold off or send it?
 
Have been looking for a little while. This would be my 4th boat. The largest I've owned is a 21" cuddy. Looked at an 89 Sundancer 250da this morning. Pros: It is powered with a Mercruiser 7.4L with Bravo one outdrive with 800 hours. As I said in another post, it has had all the bellows replaced, gimble bearing and shift cables done in 2020. A new impeller in 2021. Seems to run fine and started right up on the muffs. Everything seems to work....lights, bilge, trim, blower, wipers, fridge, fuel gauge, stereo and speakers, etc. The cuddy is pretty nice and upholstry is good. Comes with two Bimini's. Has shore power and it works. Hatches don't leak and has an air conditioner that fits into the large hatch (I'm personally not familiar with). Tandem axle trailer with good tires/bearings.

Cons: The trailer will need the brakes done. Needs bottom paint. Needs a cockpit cover for storage. Will need new isinglass, and would like to get a camper top. The two burner alcohol stove is clean and in place, but not sure if it works (he never used it). Also not sure about hot water heater (he never used that either). It will need a new toilet in the head. The dash board will probably need updated (just to suit me personally) Wiring seems fine so far but.... Probably needs an updated VHF radio and antenna. No GPS currently.

Owner asking $7,000 Owner is the third owner and he's had it three seasons. Reason for selling is that he just recently had a baby (3 weeks ago) and is preferring to use a smaller boat he already has due to trailering the boat. He never water slipped it while he had it, just trailered it. What are your guys' thoughts on this? Hold off or send it?

good boat, good price. If it’s the right size and suits you, go for it. It’s an old boat and probably has some moisture is some areas. For that reason I’d see if you can commission a surveyor to survey the stringers and Hull. If it’s structurally sound you’re good to go. He might turn up moisture on the deck and around the portholes/long windows . While that can suck and be very costly to fix the “right” way, many 1980-1990-2000’s boats run around just fine that way. If the stringers are good and it sounds like the mechanicals are in good shape…buy it
 
According to NADA, that could be a reasonable price for that boat. All the issues you point out a relatively easy DIY projects. As Strecker said, you issues may be moisture in the structural elements of the boat. If you can, buy a moisture meter to to some spot checking. And/or tap the transom and deck structure listening for "hollow" spots. Good luck.
 
That is a great price, my 91 250 has had all the upgrades over last 2 years, canvas, water heater, outdrive stuff, gauges, toilet, etc; and if (won’t) I sold I’d ask and get $15k.
 
Well, I decided to buy the boat. After careful inspection and a ton of questions we had our sea trial this evening and everything checked out well. So tonight I have a new to me Sea Ray sitting in the driveway. Can't wait to work on a few projects. This site has been very helpful and encouraging. I appreciate the advice online and off.
 
Congratulations, I hope you have a happy and safe season on your new to you boat. We look forward to seeing pics and posts of your season.
Cheers
 
I've had the exact same model for over 25 years. Been pretty much problem-free until this past season - never so much as a tow - when I hired a knucklehead to do the preventive stern drive maintenance and it's had problems ever since with the drivetrain - the stern drive failed and he told me he replaced it with a reman unit when it turns out it was just a pull-off. Now I know when a stern drive goes, just replace it with a new Mercruiser part or one of the SEI units which are a lot cheaper, unless you know exactly where a used unit came from and can "feel" it run before you buy.

The great thing about this boat is that the size makes things cheaper than the larger models. I had the canvas replaced with a full camper top a couple of years ago to the tune of $6000 but it was a quality job and well worth it. The interior cushions started to fade so had them reupholster for about a grand - easy since they all come out and you can do that in the off season when it's cheaper. The headliner is faded but I'm not going to mess with it, and the carpet is still in decent shape. The cockpit upholstery has held up well but the bench seat will be reupholstered this off season. The fridge died years ago, like most do, and the hot water tank is rusted out - I've never actually used the water system - both are easily replaced but not cheap if you buy new - I got a used fridge (I just used a cheap dorm fridge for years until I bought the replacement) and I'm in no rush to replace the heater since I never used it, but there's decent enough room in the bilge if I decide to replace it. I have the pump out head but I just replaced it with with a new porta potty instead of dealing with pump out but I left the pump out plumbing alone in case I want to use it in the future. No issues with moisture so far in all these years. The jump seats are uncomfortable and take up valuable room in the rear so I pulled mine out and I use deck chair which are much better and freed up a little more room. As far as the electronics, like you, I'd like to spruce things up but I haven't found a way to efficiently deal with the under dash access - I've had to stand on my head to replace the circuit breakers that have gone bad, but it can be done with patience.

I have the 260 with an Alpha 1 so it's no speed demon but it moves okay for me with a nice cruise at 20 mph and the gas mileage is decent until I really get on it. It's an easy boat to handle by yourself, except anchoring since the anchor is so far forward from the hatch. I planned on getting a windlass almost every year but never have so far - I just have folks climb up front. I've had it on Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie and St. Clair and it handles rough water well for a smaller (but relatively heavy) boat, but it's more of a "it will get your home safely" than a boat you'd deliberately take out in bad conditions. The v-berth is comfortable to sleep in and the aft bed is actually decent for kids - I use mine for storage now since they're grown now.

Whew, that's a lot - in short, I love this boat - never got "two-foot-itis" and with gas prices now I'm happy with a single engine, smaller boat - I notice I take mine out a lot more than the big boys. It's an easy and relatively cheap to work on boat, and has been durable and reliable for most of my time with it. If something happened to it, I'd try to find another one to replace it.
 
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I’m not really good with posting pics I guess, but I think you get the idea. Can’t wait to get the new bottom paint on. That’s soon.
 
Wow! Overall looks in great condition. Cabin looks clean too. The cabin on my 02 S/R DA was nasty. Now it has new carpet and new upholstery.

You got it at a good price just in time for boating season. Enjoy.
 
Great buy. You'll be surprised at how quickly a little TLC will transform that boat.

Back in the 89 I had a contract to buy a used 250DA contingent on my car being able to tow it. Salesman told me it'd be 'no problem'. I had an 86 Lincoln MVII LSC at the time. Paid $250 for the best hitch that'd fit and hooked up the boat. Almost blew out the rear airbags. Went around the block and bowed out of the deal. Was so disappointed as I loved the boat.

BTW, if you slightly crop your pictures before attaching them they'll stay right-side-up. No one really knows why this is.
 
Great boat, even it has some issues to work through.
I have an 89 220 Cuddy with the Merc 5.7 and Alpha One Gen 1. I have owned it for 13 years and have completely redone the whole boat, including engine pull, transom and stringer rebuild all done myself. I am nowhere near a professional mechanic, so I know you can do anything to that boat. Don’t get disappointed or frustrated if you find some issues, just press on through them.
Pre-computerization, so the drivetrain is very workable for non-professionals.

Great find!
 
Hello neighbor from Orrville she look pretty squared away. Have a great and uneventful season . One thing I would take a look at unless you've been told they have been replace is the hoses on the motor. They deteriorate from the inside out so they look fine on the outside. Just pop the hoses off and take a look inside.
 
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In this pic, it appears your table is lying on top of the vbunk. There is a white square under the table that appears to coming from under the vbunk.
On mine, we slide the table under the vbunk, so I am curious, on yours, what is the white square thing under the table?
in this pic you can see ow we slide the table under the vbunk...
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Pirate Lady, to be honest...I don’t know what it actually is for yet. I thought initially that it made up for the space that the table did not cover for the base of the vberth. That actual pic was not taken by me, but rather the previous owner. I did run across that piece while cleaning out the boat Sunday but never matched anything up to see how it fit with the table and everything. I figured I would investigate that a little further Wednesday when I’m off work while continuing to clean the rest of the boat up.
 
That is in fact what that smaller piece is. Fits vberth perfectly with the table laid in there.
 
You say that small piece stays there and the table lays on the runners behind it? I cant picture that, my table fills the space with no additional pieces needed. Not computing.
 
I cropped it a little
 

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