410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread**

fwebster said:
Injector failures are rare on 3116/3126 Caterpillars.

What isn't so rare is the injector seat leaking (allows cylinder gasses to pass the injector and causes air in the fuel gallery which kills all the cylinders after the failed injector seat).....@ 1500 hours, the engines have probably already had that issue. Once it occurs, the injector seats must be reamed and the injectors reseated.
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Exactly Frank! It was the #1 injector on the engine and when the tech removed it it fell apart in his hand. I have no idea what might have caused. Age? Lack of attention from the PO? The engines have 1800 hrs on them...
 
JVM225 said:
Ordered a set of Wiper Technologies WT6-24 blades from RVAutoparts.com for 18.13 each. Shipping to me in NY is a little over 8 bucks, but not a bad overall price.
Hopefully they work out.
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Received and installed. Perfect!
 
Probably been asked and answered but I don't know what they are called to do a search. Can anyone recommend a source or part number for the supports that hold up the transom locker? Mine are rusty and weak... Thank you!
 
Cocktail Time said:
Probably been asked and answered but I don't know what they are called to do a search. Can anyone recommend a source or part number for the supports that hold up the transom locker? Mine are rusty and weak... Thank you!
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I matched mine up with on off the rack at west marine.
 
Upgrade anchor- trying to see what might fit bow pulpit on my 1999 400 dancer- wanting to get more chain and a new anchor - anyone switch to a rocna Vulcan or Manson supreme or other that fit and worked well- thanks
 
Cocktail Time said:
Probably been asked and answered but I don't know what they are called to do a search. Can anyone recommend a source or part number for the supports that hold up the transom locker? Mine are rusty and weak... Thank you!
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I haven't had to replace the ones on my 400, but I did on my 310 and I took them off and found a replacement at the local auto parts store (Autozone I believe).
 
Has anyone had experience repairing blisters on the hull? Just had a 400 hauled for survey and found about 10 blisters, some as large as 1 1/2 inches across. Broker downplayed them but my surveyor said it might be $10k to strip all the bottom paint and repair everything.
I'm wondering what your experience has been.
 
Yep.........

Ten 1.5" blisters is about $300 worth of grinding, filling and fairing. If it were me, I'd sand or soda blast the hull ($1800)and barrier coat the bottom then repaint the hull ($75/ft) with your bottom paint de'jour. Costs are what we would pay on the Gulf coast. This is considered a cosmetic repair and it isn't serious, however, it is a problem that needs to be addressed. I'd let t he broker know how concerned you are and try to get the seller to pay for the blasting, barrier coat and bottom paint.......or at least agree on splitting the coast with him .
 
No. Sea Ray uses a vinylester resin that is very resistant to blistering. You might get an occasional blister, but if you barrier coat as I mentioned, future blisters shouldn’t be a problem.
 
My hull blistered. The new blisters would dry up and disappear within a day or two of a haul-out. We had them all marked, ground out and repaired. Blasted the whole hull, applied a barrier coat and repainted. No issues since.

The total cost was MUCH closer to Frank's estimate than your surveyor's, but my first estimate was about double what it should've been, so choose carefully.
 
Thanks Frank and RollerCoaster! Frank, your advice about how to approach to remediation (and the negotiation) was exactly what the surveyor said as well. He also said that fixing them isn't an urgent issue and can wait until the end of the season, then maybe shop around to have the work done.

There are a few more survey issues we need to work through (low power on the generator, CAT RPM's falling a little short) but I'm waiting on the oil analysis so we can have the whole conversation at once. Hopefully I'll be posting pictures shortly.

Thanks to all - this forum is really helpful for those of us just learning our way around these boats.
 
Launched the boat today after a long winter. Did a few updates this year including removing top stripes, changing lower stripe to black and silver, updated round sea ray logo, "express" and "four ten", and updated "sea ray" oval from the original scripted sea ray. I'm pretty happy with the results and feel like it has little more updated look.
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Trying to get through all this thread but lots of post. Quick question on the 410s. Did anyone have there hearts set on the DA and buy a EC or vice versa. And if so why. What was your deciding factor on one vs the other.
 
I looked at a couple express versions, but felt the layout didn’t work as well for our intended mission. Both are good boats but you need to buy the one that fits your intended use.

The difference is the express is a strait shaft boat , vs the Sundancer with V-drives, hence the different cabin layout. I felt for a family, the aft cabin was desirable. As I recall, the Sundancer has 2 heads, vs the express having 1 was also a factor. That could be a pro or con depending on how you feel about unclogging heads.
 
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I think the DA fits us because I'm hoping to have family stay with us from time to time and the aft cabin would be a better fit for my parents vs the bunk beds on the EC. I know the EC has a filler but it still looks cramped. Plus we like the idea of 2 heads. Just was wondering if I was missing anything on the EC over DAs
 
s022mag said:
Trying to get through all this thread but lots of post. Quick question on the 410s. Did anyone have there hearts set on the DA and buy a EC or vice versa. And if so why. What was your deciding factor on one vs the other.
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We liked the express as it’s just the 3 of us (young daughter and wife and me) so the bunk beds were good. The couch pulls out into a full bed as well but I don’t like non family guests staying over. It also gives us a bigger seating area and more open feel below. Generally straight drives are also more efficient and it seems to be a common opinion the express runs quicker than the dancer as well. The engine room also has much easier access for repairs and matienance which I really appreciate. The Sundancer is a great boat too and I can see why some people (likely more than less) want an aft cabin and two heads. You just have to decide which suits you best. There a lot more dancers on the market than express as they sold quite a few more new I believe. That’s my 2 cents.
 
I agree with member BOP on the advantages of the Express over the Sundancer. You just need to keep those items in mind when shopping. For use the layout suited our needs since the kids always want a friend down over night.

BOP outstanding updates on the boat. My Sundancer wants to be like your boat when it grows up!! Again I have to hide your posts from my son, once he see your tender and my wife sees your canvas, that is all they talk about!!

Take Care!!
 
Your boat looks fantastic BOP. I’ve got to do my stripes too. I’m planning to replace the navy blue boot stripes with exactly the same as original next off season. My boat is a Monaco edition with the big painted Navy stripe under the rub rails down the sides and the navy boot strips look good with it. I’m still torn about the stripes on the cabin sides. They’re currently navy blue. I was thinking of mixing in at least one other color there but I like the way your boat looks without them.
 
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