2015 510 Fly - thoughts/opinions?

[Shaps]

The admiral (and the lieutenants) want a third stateroom.

We have started to look and I have avoided looking at the last generation of L series boats (even though I find them very pretty) as I have heard all about hull delamination/voids issues.

A very very clean 2015 fly is up for sale not far from me. Low hours on QSM11-715HOs with V drives and bow and stern thrusters. Original owner, appears very well maintained.

I checked with searay and they said that the 510 fly was not part of the 510 dancer hull repair campaign.

Outside of this, any thoughts, opinions on either the boat or the engines?
Thanks very much in advance!
Shaps

 

[Shaps]

No one?

 

[techmitch]

No one?

@Capt. Rusty Higgins

 

[lawndoctor]

We almost bought one three years ago. We wanted a bridge and shafts in 50-55ish LOA, so the field was limited. Overall we liked the boat, but there were some things we were not thrilled about. We generally liked the layout. We liked the galley up and forward. We thought it made the salon space flow nicely. We did not like the single drivers seats at both helms. Aesthetically, we thought the three-stripes windows looked dated but not a big deal. Two things we did not like about the bridge. First, the helm is behind a lounge, so it felt like you were sitting farther back than you want, with less than ideal visibility. Second, the standard hardtop is short and strangely positioned aft of the helm, so it would not necessarily shade the helm seat. There was an extended hardtop offered, which seemed like a great improvement, but not many of the available boats had it when we were looking. It should have just been standard. The boat we had our offer on had a custom canvas extension forward of the hardtop, which sort of fixed the problem but seemed awkward. Also, the ones we looked at all had leaks from the salon windows. One we looked at was still under warranty and the owner was going back and forth with Sea Ray trying to solve it. Finally, the boat was offered with Cummins QSBs or QSCs (I forget which) standard, and QSM-11s as an optional upgrade. I'm not sure you're familiar with the issue, and I don't want to start a debate on it here, but some have reported an issue with the dry exhaust manifolds on the QSM-11s. Much has been written about that and I don't pretend to be an expert on any of that, I just note it for you to research and consider if the boat you look at happens to have them. HTH and good luck!

 

[Shaps]

We almost bought one three years ago. We wanted a bridge and shafts in 50-55ish LOA, so the field was limited. Overall we liked the boat, but there were some things we were not thrilled about. We generally liked the layout. We liked the galley up and forward. We thought it made the salon space flow nicely. We did not like the single drivers seats at both helms. Aesthetically, we thought the three-stripes windows looked dated but not a big deal. Two things we did not like about the bridge. First, the helm is behind a lounge, so it felt like you were sitting farther back than you want, with less than ideal visibility. Second, the standard hardtop is short and strangely positioned aft of the helm, so it would not necessarily shade the helm seat. There was an extended hardtop offered, which seemed like a great improvement, but not many of the available boats had it when we were looking. It should have just been standard. The boat we had our offer on had a custom canvas extension forward of the hardtop, which sort of fixed the problem but seemed awkward. Also, the ones we looked at all had leaks from the salon windows. One we looked at was still under warranty and the owner was going back and forth with Sea Ray trying to solve it. Finally, the boat was offered with Cummins QSBs or QSCs (I forget which) standard, and QSM-11s as an optional upgrade. I'm not sure you're familiar with the issue, and I don't want to start a debate on it here, but some have reported an issue with the dry exhaust manifolds on the QSM-11s. Much has been written about that and I don't pretend to be an expert on any of that, I just note it for you to research and consider if the boat you look at happens to have them. HTH and good luck!

Truly appreciated.
I think this one has that optional hardtop... I'll have to read up on QSMs...

Thank you!

 

[ttmott]

I've been on a couple. Take some time and simply walk around the boat - walk down the gunnel forward along the side of the boat - Wide enough? Do you like how the boat flows when walking around. Getting on and off?
Consider cleaning, waxing, and polishing the boat - those European designs have a lot of corners and sharp transitions that are almost impossible to get a polishing machine into.
Make sure all of the frames and supports exposed outside are stainless steel and not powercoated or anodized aluminum.
The 715 QSM11's may be a problem with the exhaust systems - the problem exists on the 630 HP ones and the issue is all load related. Look carefully at the engines for soot traces. That'll be the only issue/concern with the QSM powerplants and/or the ZF gears.
Pull up the seat cushions and look at the construction underneath. How the vinyl is attached to the backers.
Wasn't it these boats that had the window issues in the mid berth? That was a recall thing.

 

[Shaps]

I've been on a couple. Take some time and simply walk around the boat - walk down the gunnel forward along the side of the boat - Wide enough? Do you like how the boat flows when walking around. Getting on and off?
Consider cleaning, waxing, and polishing the boat - those European designs have a lot of corners and sharp transitions that are almost impossible to get a polishing machine into.
Make sure all of the frames and supports exposed outside are stainless steel and not powercoated or anodized aluminum.
The 715 QSM11's may be a problem with the exhaust systems - the problem exists on the 630 HP ones and the issue is all load related. Look carefully at the engines for soot traces. That'll be the only issue/concern with the QSM powerplants and/or the ZF gears.
Pull up the seat cushions and look at the construction underneath. How the vinyl is attached to the backers.
Wasn't it these boats that had the window issues in the mid berth? That was a recall thing.

Thanks Tom.
Appreciate the suggestions!
Not sure about the mid berth windows. I'll look into it.
Been reading about the QSMs on tony athens site. Any idea how many hours it would take for the warping to develop?

 

[ttmott]

Thanks Tom.
Appreciate the suggestions!
Not sure about the mid berth windows. I'll look into it.
Been reading about the QSMs on tony athens site. Any idea how many hours it would take for the warping to develop?

Good question on hours - I don't know. It's all about RPM vs fuel burn. On the 630 HP QSM11's fuel burn needs to be 16 to 17 GPH at 1800 RPM. Typically, we need to take pitch out of the propeller to get to the burn requirement. I seem to remember someone asking the same questions regarding the 715 QSM11 on the Seaboard Marine forum - check that out.
The thing to look at to see if the problem has manifested is soot traces around the exhaust manifold on the cylinder head, heat shields, etc. Correcting the issue isn't an inexpensive effort. The engines pretty much have to be stripped down to get to the manifolds. I did it. If the leaking hasn't occurred (yet) the first order of business is to get the props repitched to get the heat load in check. Other than the loading issue and dry exhaust manifolds the QSM engines are bullet proof - one of the best marine engines out there.
Here is a pic of my engines showing the soot to look for -

 

[Shaps]

Thank you @lawndoctor and @ttmott
This boar not for us.
Amongst other things, including showing the sooting that Tom described above., the boat's third stateroom only had a single bunk as the original owner opted for more storage and a separate washer and dryer.
Our search continues....