1999 Sundancer 310 with a soft deck?

[John Allison]

We are anxiously looking to purchase a 1999 310 Sundancer and have scheduled a survey next week as a condition to our purchase. However, I have two friends who noticed while walking on the deck of the boat that the deck felt soft and did not feel hard like my 2006 Vista deck. I was wondering if anyone owns a 1999 Sundancer 310 and can confirm if this is OK or something I need to run away from. It this a defective issue with this model boat or something that was intentional and deemed OK. Hope to hear from someone soon.

 

[magstang1]

A soft deck is not normal. The survey will determine exactly what is going on.

A common point of water intrusion is the row of snaps at the base of the windshield for the cover and the screws at the base of the windshield itself. The snaps or fastners should be removed and resealed every few years. If you don't reseal them, you just have a bunch of holes for water to run in and cause delamination.

 

[Troy M]

I had the same issue with my deck. Delamination by the windshield. My surveyor told me that it will not sink the boat and most owners just sell it with this issue at a discount. It was not a deal breaker for me since the rest of the boat was in tip top condition and I saved a few thousand on the purchase. When I walk on the deck about 2 feet past the windshield it's a little flexible but not a soft, sinking feel. However, the meter detected a high moisture reading. I'm not overly concerned about it and glad I went forward with the purchase. If all the stringers, transom, etc. check out dry, then I would not run too far. Good Luck!

 

[mwph]

John, welcome to CSR! Good luck with your purchase wether it be this boat or another.

Mustang and Troy, you guys both used delamination in your description of the soft deck. My question is, are we not talking about a softened core as opposed to delamination? I am not questioning the root cause of the problem which is water intrusion, or even the source/location ie; windshields base, canvas snaps and least we forget the hatch(s). Just want to make sure I'm on the same page.