Paratus
New Member
- Dec 13, 2015
- 5
- Boat Info
- 1997 330 Sundancer, GMR18 Radar, Garmin GPS 4210 - 10", Autopilot, 8' Coleman dinghy w/5hp Merc
- Engines
- Merc 7.4 MPI, inboards
Newb here. Just signed a contract pending successful sea trial and survey on a 1997 330 Sundancer. I've been lurking on this forum for months, and am grateful for all of the great advice and information members share here. We were originally looking at 340's that were a little bit newer, but happened to stumble across a beautifully maintained 97 330. We are hoping for a survey this week and if all goes well we will bring her back across Florida to Sanibel on the ICW around the new year.
I don't have any specific questions... I've read dozens of "what should I look for posts and responses" here on the forum and have been around boats long enough that I can tell when the owner really cares about their boat. I brought my flashlight, poked around in every cavity I could get to, and was heartened by the current owner, who could not wait to show me every single thing he had done to and knew about his boat.
We've always had boats in the family, though mostly freshwater. I did spend a couple of years at the helm of an 82 foot USCG cutter in the Carribean, but that was a few decades ago, so I have a lot of things to brush up on for sure.
I'm hopeful that the mechanical survey doesn't unveil any surprises - or expensive ones anyway. The boat does have 600 hrs on FWC 7.4 MPI engines, and that's probably my biggest concern. Plan to do compression and oil analysis. The boat is close to bristol condition in other aspects (close as an 18yr old boat could be anyway) and has lots of upgrades. We looked at a 340 earlier the same day, and the admiral nixed it immediately, and I followed suit shortly after even though it had brand new reman engines and trannys. Too many red flags on that boat, and lots of things I could see without the help of a surveyor that I knew I didn't want to deal with.
Fingers crossed that we will be spending our weekends on the hook in the somewhat shallow waters that surround Sanibel sometime soon.
Jason
Sanibel, FL
I don't have any specific questions... I've read dozens of "what should I look for posts and responses" here on the forum and have been around boats long enough that I can tell when the owner really cares about their boat. I brought my flashlight, poked around in every cavity I could get to, and was heartened by the current owner, who could not wait to show me every single thing he had done to and knew about his boat.
We've always had boats in the family, though mostly freshwater. I did spend a couple of years at the helm of an 82 foot USCG cutter in the Carribean, but that was a few decades ago, so I have a lot of things to brush up on for sure.
I'm hopeful that the mechanical survey doesn't unveil any surprises - or expensive ones anyway. The boat does have 600 hrs on FWC 7.4 MPI engines, and that's probably my biggest concern. Plan to do compression and oil analysis. The boat is close to bristol condition in other aspects (close as an 18yr old boat could be anyway) and has lots of upgrades. We looked at a 340 earlier the same day, and the admiral nixed it immediately, and I followed suit shortly after even though it had brand new reman engines and trannys. Too many red flags on that boat, and lots of things I could see without the help of a surveyor that I knew I didn't want to deal with.
Fingers crossed that we will be spending our weekends on the hook in the somewhat shallow waters that surround Sanibel sometime soon.
Jason
Sanibel, FL
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