2010-2015 Sundancer

[almostenuff]

I have a 2005 390DA now and am looking to upgrade to a 2010-2015 450DA

I have the QSB 380 with V drives and want Zeus. Can any owners share pros and cons between years, Zeus issues, must have options, etc.
thanks!!


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[javenius]

We have thoroughly enjoyed our 450 for five seasons now. Ride is great and very comfortable accommodations.

I love the Zeus drives and there is plenty of room for maintenance in the engine room. Average 1mpg.

Major options: cockpit air, hardwood in the salon, cockpit TV, electric grill in cockpit, central vacuum.

Good luck!

 

[shinsr]

I have a 44da -07 w 500 Cummins vdrives. I am looking to upgrade to a 48/50da. After long discussions w my Cummins authorized mechanic, I am going to opt away from Zeus. Major factors for me are lack of qualified mechanics when traveling (including many sensors,etc which
fail and which are not stocked by dealers), significant increase in maintenance costs, and in case of a grounding (even soft) the cost can be 25k per side (even if covered by insurance - I didn't even check insurance rate differences). I also average 50 hrs per year in northeast, I was told roi on efficiency vs cost is much higher hours. Summer's up here are too short to lose time due to electronic code failures which can cause the boat immobile until fixed. With all these factors, I still strongly considered Zeus in order to get a later model boat, but ultimately concluded the benefits of Zeus did not outweigh the negatives for my type of boating.

 

[ShaneOnYou]

I have a boat with Zeus pods and I'm an extremely happy...


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[sandydlc]

We're new to Sea Ray and about a month ago we acquired a 2010 450 DA with 480 Cummins and Zeus pod drives. We just had a transmission fluid leak (on our first trip out no less...) but are hopeful that after we complete an apparently overdue service we'll be in good shape going forward. The previous owner of our boat didn't use her much and our understanding is that the less you use those pods the more maintenance issues you'll have. For the limited time we've had on the water so far we're really impressed with the maneuverability of the pod drives. Since we have the dual, counter-rotating props we also have really great maneuverability even when running on just one engine. It was disappointing to have to test that out so early in our time with this boat but I'm looking forward to seeing how she runs as we begin to learn all about her. There are so many great features about this boat and we continue to discover more and more features that we were missing in our previous boat. Auto-pilot, fuel flow meters, hard-top with heat/AC in cockpit and salon, central vac (!!), a huge galley, a shower!, and tons of storage everywhere. Even with the mechanical issues that we had to deal with, we are still super happy about our purchase.

Best of luck in your search!

 

[almostenuff]

Thanks for the input! Still deciding which way to go. Strangely, I found a 2013 with 380HP Cummins and Zeus. I didn't even know the 380s were an option 450 or 480HP). Seems a bit underpowered for a heavier boat than what I have now.


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[Blackgold]

Coming up on almost 2000 hours on my 2002 Sea Ray 410EC with straight inboards. The boat has been pretty reliable with one transmission replacement and one engine head replacement both on the port side. All mechanical systems have their failures but for the most part this boat has been very reliable. Looking to go a little bigger and newer and I’m hearing how great a boat with pods performs but I have heard about their high maintenance and problems. At this point I’m feeling a bit confused, should I stay away from Zeus? I really would like to stick with Sea Ray.

 

[Craig]

Run away!

 

[fwebster]

Our dealer refused to stock or sell either Zeus or Axxius because Mercruiser would not train dealer mechanics and because of parts availability. They now service Zeus drive systems primarily because a couple of long time customers bought used Zeus boats. Reliability has been horrible. In fact, one 2015 510DA has been in the boat yard with a drive that was damaged during Hurricane Michael almost a year ago and Mercruiser has yet to deliver the needed parts (gaskets/seals/anodes and one prop) which were ordered last October.

Also, this same boat has left here 2X headed for the Keys. The first time SeaTow brought it home from 60 miles away...the 2nd trip, he had to pay a dealer in Ft. Myers $50K to replace one complete drive.

NO THANK YOU ! Give me my trusty old Caterpillar powered 450DA....which is a bigger boat than the 510DA.....any day.