1997 Sea Ray Sedan 400

Mav0810

New Member
Feb 12, 2018
6
Boat Info
Sedan 400
Engines
Cat 3126
im considering this boat. Hoping to learn about this boat...the good and bad. As an example, I’ve learned some years have had delamination issues. Also interested in the ride..how she handles in certain weather. I’m planning on spending most the time on the Chesapeake Bay. Thanks for your input
 
Nice! where on the Bay are you North or South? We looked around at the 400 Sedan Bridges as well. Looked hard at a 97 with 3116's for a low price. There were some engine issues with it that the broker was honest about up front and I did not want to tackle them in addition to some other work on the boat.

I would expect her to ride similar to mine as we share the hull, but I would expect the sedan bridge to run flatter with less bow rise and use less tab since you have straight drives. I liked the hinged access hatches in the salon.

I like the visibility from the forward helm on the bridge.

I imagine on a windy day you do get some spray up on the bridge. I get a nice spray on the windshield on mine on windy days.

I like the 99 forward bridge layout a bit better and prefer those captain chairs. Love the private master head. Love the cabin layout that converts to a double. Convertible sofa in salon is a nice addition. Too bad the dinette is not convertible.

Issues? Leaks around the front windshield are common. There is a spot in the cockpit as you enter through the door that can be soft. On one boat their fix was to put a support from the bilge up to the floor? Not sure how well that worked. Generator is nearly impossible to get to the back side.

They are nice yachts. Solid hull below the water line I believe.

Good Luck!!!
 
I have a 97 with the 3116 Cats. I love the boat. I am a large lake boater and not sure how it would do in a bay, but my guess it would be just fine. The boat will get up on plane very quick and ride nice and smooth in moderate/heavy white caps. I am not sure how that translate to "seas", but I would say two foot waves. I have been in waves were spray come up on the bridge.

I have not had any issues with delaminating. There had been some problems years ago with the Cat 3116 block. Caterpillar put out a notice that they replaced all the bad blocks (about 500 of them if I remember correctly). The blocks that failed were in the first couple hundred hours operation so you would know if you had a bad one by now. There are still guys running the 3116 into the ground, but most who talk bad about them.....never owned them. Their online posts usually start with "I have heard..."

The Sedan Bridge is a great boat. It has timeless lines and great functionality. The only boat I would consider changing to would be the 480 Sedan Bridge. I have my eye on one now and my only hold up is convincing the swabby that we need it.
Keith
 
I asked the broker to take a pic of the ac units. He said the boat only has one ac unit. Is that true?
 
No, that boat should have 2 and I believe some floor plans might have 3
 
There had been some problems years ago with the Cat 3116 block. Caterpillar put out a notice that they replaced all the bad blocks (about 500 of them if I remember correctly). The blocks that failed were in the first couple hundred hours operation so you would know if you had a bad one by now. There are still guys running the 3116 into the ground, but most who talk bad about them.....never owned them. Their online posts usually start with "I have heard..."

I have heard that there were some 3116's with bad blocks. ;) It was from a reputable source that I heard that, but I don't think I personally know of a 3116 with a bad block and I don't know how many 3116 blocks were defective. By-and-large, 3116 failures were from weak valves sourced from TRW. That failure was common in the mid/late 90's. The reputation of 3126's suffered from soft blocks cast in France. That was also a common failure often occurring around the 300 hour mark, but since hours are a lousy way to measure anything, some engines ran for twice that time before failing, while others failed in half that time. 3126 failures were sometimes doubly-painful because Cat was known to replace soft engines with another soft engine.
 
Reach out to or look for past posts by FWebster. He is extremely knowledgeable about these motors and has been very generous with his time to provide info and guidance.
 

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