1999 340 Sundancer

[Off Course]

My boat owning back round is 1st boat was a Carver Monterey 23' Single engine, My second and current boat I actually went smaller but newer to a Sea Ray 215 Express Cruiser 5.0L/Bravo III and simply fell in love with the Sea Ray hull.
We do allot of cruising around the Bay of Green Bay and the Lake Michigan Shoreline from Door County down to Kewaunee.
I am currently looking at a 1999 340 DA,7.4L V drive, 500 hours on engines, 500 hours on genny, the boat shows real nice and has been well maintained, the owner is asking $79,000.00.
First of all does this seem like a fair asking price for a boat with this many hours, my concern is if in the next 3-4 years I have 700+ hours on it will it even be salable and if so how big of hit should I expect.
I know this is a big jump from the 215 to the 340, one engine to 2 engines and a heck of allot more boat and I have been fully briefed on this forum in respect to the ongoing cost of owning, running and maintaining a vessel of this size, but I turn 52 in a month and I feel that it is now or never and it seems like this is a good time to buy.
I have to be honest, when buying my first 2 boats I new nothing about hours or surveys or risers or water ingestion, I just saw what I liked and bought it, I never even Sea Trialled either of them, how naive I was and how very fortunate I was to never have had a problem.
I will probably hire a captain to give me a few lessons, especially around the docks and hopefully after a few summers earn the respect of my fellow Marina mates.
If you have anything that you know about this boat or have any sound advice I am hear to listen and appreciate your time spent.

Regards,

Tracy

 

[artswarlock]

Tracy, I think the 340 is a great choice. We have had a blast with ours. Maneuvers easily, cruises slow with ease and when you want to get somewhere in a hurry will do that as well. It has all the comforts you would want for overnights. I sent you a PM with some more info. Good Luck

 

[VinceR]

We have a friend with a Carver 36 with 454s. He has 2300 hours on them and still run good. We have 530 hours on our 2001 340 with 454s and they are tight and strong. Who knows what these boats will be worth tomorrow? Boats are a complex piece of equipment that requires they be maintained to enjoy. They are not an “investment”. The 340 is a good choice of boats. We love ours.

 

[Searay Chuck]

I owned the 2000 340 Sundancer that is for sale again on this site on page 3 of the classifieds. The person who purchased it from me 2 years ago used it less than 50 hours. He loves the boat but just doesn't have the time to use it. It is a good overall boat and would still be in it myself but always wanted a 38 Sundancer. If your looking seriously you might want to check this one out. His price is negotiable and he really wants to get out of it. I went thru it when I bought it and was in need of nothing.

 

[chumbley]

Agree - the 340 is a great boat. We've loved ours (though we are now thinking of a different path).

It's not apples to apples - but if you figure the overall average speed for a car is around 40 miles per hour - then 20,000 miles would be about 500 hours.

Ratio of generator hours to engine hours is going to vary wildly based on owner habits. My generator has way more hours than the engines - probably 2 or 3 times. Reason - we don't cruise long distances here on an inland lake. We go somewhere and stop and raft up. But we do run the generator the entire time we're out (including overnight) due to the heat.