1988 340 DA...advice

[FlyingBlind]

Hi everyone...looking for some advice. I currently have a 1998 Chaparral 260 Signature w/ 7.4 BIII setup (I know...wrong forum), but I am looking to move up to something with twins. A friend of the family is trying to get rid of his 1988 340 DA and it is mine if I want it and at a great price...free.

Here is the catch...the boat hasn't seen water in 5 years and been sitting in the boatyard shrinkwrapped. It was "winterized" when it was put away and one engine was out of commission (drank some water) which needed replacement. I believe the boat has twin mercruiser 7.4's, genset, newer electronics in 2005 (radar/chartplotter...), and was in nice shape 5 years ago.

It is a given that I would replace both engines (assume new/rebuilt 7.4's would be best option), but what else should I be looking out for?

I am going to take look at it over the weekend to see if it is worth having someone (mechanic/survey) take a more detailed look into to. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!

-JJ

 

[NorCal Boater]

The 340 Sundancers are a great boat and I owned one for 4 years. They have a very classic and traditional design with a wide beam and lots of room. We enjoyed ours very much but just outgrew it. the 7.4 engines is a good performance combination for this boat.

I feel there were a couple of drawbacks but you have to take the good with the bad. The engine room is a bear to work in. The engines are close together and I spent a lot of time laying on top of the engines doing work. One other thing is the swim platform. It is really narrow and barely usable. there are some replacements available that solve the problem.

There are many of these available and you could go to Yacht World and look to get ideas on value and how they are supposed to look.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[DanW]

While its probably not adding much to the conversation, I'll second what norcalboater said - the tiny swim platform and needing a contortionist to do any engine work are true for this boat. Having said that, I love my 1988 340. It's got lots of cabin space for the size. I particularly like the relatively large cockpit. It drives great.

Good luck!

Dan


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[FlyingBlind]

Thanks for the input guys. I saw that the swimplatforms were a bit small for a boat that size, but it is better than what is on my current boat. Same story with the engine compartment - the 7.4 takes up a lot of space in my compartment.

After sitting for 5 years, could there be any serious issues with the fiberglass? Hull? Wiring? Not sure if these are some problems that could develop...