420 DA Thread

the years when they were called 420 and 440 were early 1990 to 1996 . 90, 91 were 420's then the exact same boat no changes other than finishes and it was changed to 440 for a few years. I am not positive about the actual years they changed.

I own a 1990 420
 
I love my '05 420 with the hard top and the interior fit and finish is awesome!
 
Only know that it was for sale when I was looking back in June/July, but for whatever reason I didn't bite. Might have been under contract. I was warned to about those years and that color being problematic.
 
Do some research about valve seats cracking on Cummins motors of that vintage. Not sure exactly what years and what motors but a friend had the problem last summer in his 05 420, and there was at least one other member here who knew someone that it happened to shortly after that. It's a known problem and Cummins has redesigned the head a couple of times because of it. From what I understand, the final version of the head is OK but if the boat you're looking at has the original problematic heads you may want to factor replacement in the cost.
Other than that, my friends 05 420 is a beautiful boat with what I consider to have several clear advantages over my model (which is also a fantastic boat with what I consider to be a slightly nicer cabin for my needs).
The hardtop alone is great and the tons of extra room in the bilge due to the way the hatch lifts on the 420 make access to the motors, genny, and waste tank so much easier than in my 02 410.
I think maintenance on the Cummins is a bit easier than on my Cats too. Although they run fantastic, the zinc replacement alone on the Cats is a huge PIA.
My boat rides kind of bow high making it a bit tough to see over it sometimes when running on plane, but the slope shape of the bow on my friends 420 addresses that nicely. His boat feels a bit faster than mine too.
He has the pewter colored hull and while it still looks good from a distance, it is less impressive closer up. I think that Sea Ray failed to master the colored hull back then because it seeks to be a problem in all their colored hulls of that era.
Overall, I absolutely love the 420's and 440's of that era. They are fantastic boats. But if I were in the market for one I would try to avoid the colored hull if at all possible (although not a deal breaker if it was a mint boat with a well cared for hull) and would definitely look in to the thing with the heads.
 
I have a 2006 44DA with a pewter hull.

The 06 listed above has the QSC 500s and, to my knowledge, are not subject to the valve seat issue. I am religious with maintenance (especially aftercoolers and all sea water components) and the motors have been fantastic with never an issue. Many reliable, long trips to the Keys, Exuma, Abacos, etc.

As far as the pewter hull, it does require significant maintenance, but it holds up much better than the blue hull boats of that era. My Florida boat gets the hull waxed four times a year, but looks as good as new. People are shocked when I say it is nearly 12 years old.

So, I would not be scared of a QSC powered, pewter hull 06 44DA!
 
Yes valve seat issue was with the 480CE only, that is why it's recommended to prop the 480CE like the 450C.

All three engine variants need religious care of the sea water cooling system especially the aftercooler. The aftercoolers should be disassembled, inspected/cleaned, lubed and reassembled at least every three years in Salt water, but two years is more recommended.

Other than that the boat looks good. Nice that they replaced the Sea Ray Navigator already.

Post some current engine room pics if you can. Also get maintenance history. If no history available I would budget or negotiate at least 10k off the price to get up to date on sea water system. You can do it yourself for well under $1000 in parts (mostly gaskets) but it takes 6-8 hours or so per engine just for the aftercoolers. A new cooler is about $2,500.
 
FYI, I had to replace, as a condition of purchase, the after cooler element on 2004 6CTA-8.3s. Cummins has raised the price on these. Essentially doubling the cost: $3,400.
 
Mystic, i have cool pics of my 44 being assembled . If ur interested shoot me a private message with ur email . i also think i posted them in this thread...

Rob
 
Rob, was that sub in the couch an option? Glad you mentioned the pics. Last I read that far back was when I was shopping for the 44. Makes so much more sense now.
 
Has anyone ever replaced or need to replace their windshield screw cover trim? In heavy rain I've got water streaming into the boat along the inside windshield channel. The water winds up running toward the sink then onto the floor. I strongly suspect the forward windshield screw cover trim as the culprit. It's grey foam and it appears to have a few gaps (about 1/2 inch just below the forward vent for example.)
 
You talking about the cockpit sink? Mine comes in around the windshield vent gasket and flows down the drain channel and out the side. If the drain channel isn't clean and if the hole under the window gets gunked up, it'll flow onto the cockpit sink and then down on to the floor in heavy rain.
 
I replaced the vinyl screw cover boot gasket around the windshield and re caulked where the frame meets the fiberglass. No more leaks
 
Last edited:
importmonkey said:
You talking about the cockpit sink? Mine comes in around the windshield vent gasket and flows down the drain channel and out the side. If the drain channel isn't clean and if the hole under the window gets gunked up, it'll flow onto the cockpit sink and then down on to the floor in heavy rain.
Click to expand...
First, Is it supposed to flow into the boat at all??
 
brewster16 said:
Rob it’s available on Flounder Pounder. Is your’s leaking same as mine?
Click to expand...

I am also wanting to replace the black "gasket" material for the screw rail. Mine has shrunk at the vent window and collects water???
any part numbers for the strip from flunder?
 
Robski97 said:
Where did u gasket for the windshield channel. Marine max told me no longer avail ??

Rob
Click to expand...
Which gasket are you guys talking about?

The "gasket" material for the screw rail... I want to replace as well ...same thing it shrunk..

So please post source and part numbers
 
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