400 sundancer

J

Jmackin32

New Member
Mar 4, 2017
16
Lake Erie
Boat Info
1997 400 sundancer
Engines
Cat 3116's
Looking to purchase probably a fresh water 1996 to 2001 Sundancer or possibly a 40 express. Pros and cons of each? Anything to look for in these years? Diesel power would be worth the $ and make that big of a difference? Pretty new to the cruiser thing, thanks for any input.
 
Hello,
Boy as simple as your request is and as much as these boats between the 5 years look very similar, you'll find dozens and dozens of refinements leading up to 2001. From sand none skid to diamond plate none skid, from folding steps to gunwhale to molded in steps, from 7.4 to high tech 8.1S in 2001. Transom size changes to changes on the dash configuration. In 2000 the master head get two entry doors vs one. These are just a few. It takes time but best to see these boats to see the key differences and what flips your bill. If you go gas, study up on the exhaust system on the gassers. 8.1S fixed a number of exhaust water ingestion issues. The 8.1S performs as well as the CAT diesel, however the CAT will deliver 1mpg vs.70mpg.

You'll get more great input and any of these boats will be a great choice! The style is endless!

Mark
 
You will find little argument the hulls are one of the best Sea Ray ever developed and they are not cored. I prefer the Sundancer over the Express as the layout is more people friendly and useable. Remember the Express and Sundancers are entirely different boats and even different hulls. Some say the Express is a better handling boat but I find little difference between the two for normal use. The debate between Gasoline and Diesel power continues but I'll say this:
Diesel Power is a safer boat.
Diesel power is more economical to operate
Gasoline power is a cheaper boat from a non-recurring aspect
Fewer problems with the Diesel generators than gasoline
More flexibility in the engine room for modifications in a diesel boat from an electrical aspect.
The 8.1 engines were available in 2001 unless retrofitted.
Diesel may be more difficult to find in inland lakes
Diesel cost per gallon is significantly cheaper at marinas than gasoline (at least in Florida)
 
I spent a year looking in this class before buying my 410 this past December. There are some differences from year to year in the 400's/410's and we would have ultimately been happy with any of them. They're great boats. Being a coastal boater the diesels were a must once we decided to go this big. In the end, I came up with a hard line budget and then got the most boat I cloud get for that money.
 
Jmackin32 said:
The maintenance much more costly with the diesels?
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Not for the lifecycle or even over several years.
There is more engine oil in the diesel but there is no ignition system or carbon steel exhaust risers as there is on the gasoline engines.
The Cat 3116 and 3126 engines as said earlier are mechanical engines so engine management systems and all of the electrical wiring and components are not there. The Cat raw water pump is gear driven the Gasoline is belt driven. But the real benefit is the diesel lumps along at less than 2400 RPM cruise while cruise in a gasoline is more like 4000 RPM; The rotating lifecycle is obvious.
 
Here is the amount of oil used to change my Cat engines and transmissions. $300 in oil alone plus filters. 15 gallons of oil plus 4 gallons for transmissions.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have a 1997 freshwater 400da that has been under cover since new. 1500 hrs on Cat 3116. All maintenance up to date and just serviced. New Main salon naff , updated water tank, bottom paint and zincs recently done, new upholstery in cockpit, new smart charger and batteries this winter , has all instruments including radar. Lots of other stuff to but if interested I will fill you in on the rest. Probably would want to get 85k at the least.
 
As for quieter. We chose the 8.1 because we didn't care for the whine of turbo kicking in at cruising speed.
 
mtnandy said:
I have a 1997 freshwater 400da that has been under cover since new. 1500 hrs on Cat 3116. All maintenance up to date and just serviced. New Main salon naff , updated water tank, bottom paint and zincs recently done, new upholstery in cockpit, new smart charger and batteries this winter , has all instruments including radar. Lots of other stuff to but if interested I will fill you in on the rest. Probably would want to get 85k at the least.
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$85k?!?!?! That's a $110k-$120k boat in our geographic area. For the sake of the rest of us on here, raise that asking price!! :thumbsup:
 
Z-Worthy said:
$85k?!?!?! That's a $110k-$120k boat in our geographic area. For the sake of the rest of us on here, raise that asking price!! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
There is a 450 in LOTO for $95k. Another 400 in Mi for $97k. So deals are out there, these are definitely priced to sell.
 
Jmackin32 said:
There is a 450 in LOTO for $95k. Another 400 in Mi for $97k. So deals are out there, these are definitely priced to sell.
Click to expand...

One can ask whatever they want for a product, but the value is determined by what someone else is actually willing to pay for it.
 
Also, I read somewhere about how these were built with cored hulls and solid glass hulls. Is there an easy way to tell? thx
 
Jmackin32 said:
Also, I read somewhere about how these were built with cored hulls and solid glass hulls. Is there an easy way to tell? thx
Click to expand...

You can try calling Sea Ray customer service. If you have the HIN they can tell you, if not, they can probably tell you which plants made solid hulls in what years and you can be guided by that.
I called them with the HIN for the boat I eventually bought while I was considering it and they gave me the info right away. They also sent me a copy of the original order sheet for the boat.
 
Jmackin32 said:
Also, I read somewhere about how these were built with cored hulls and solid glass hulls. Is there an easy way to tell? thx
Click to expand...
The 400DA built at the MI plant (HIN starts with SERF) were not cored.
 
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