420DA C Series Cummins Estate Sale

Frank nailed it on a few points... I think this is the same boat that u cant STAND at the helm. If u do u have to stick ur head out the sun roof?? Kinda like on the old dancers ....

Was not a fan.

Rob
 
They moved the helm over so you can stand at the helm now. Changed midway through 2008.
 
rhoudini said:
Really guys I don't know what to do... sea ray do not have new 2009 44DA, only from 2008. Why this year they do not launch 44 DA?? the Marquis I loved But I will have to wait because they do not have stock here in USA... which is the best boat? what to buy?? I will keep making research on internet... If someone have some news please welcome! :D
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Robert, you make it difficult to address all these concerns as you have not provided information that would be helpful, such as where and how much you plan to boat. Now that I think about it, perhaps we all need to be careful what we say around here because it could very well end up in someone’s book.

Anyway, about 2 years ago I went through the process you are involved in. We thought a 390 or 400 with diesels would meet our needs but, unfortunately could not locate many in our area to look at and compare. That forced us to go larger and look at the 420, which is the same boat at the 440. This provided many more options and potential boats to select from. I know you are considering a new purchase, but to answer your question directly as to what is the best boat – in this market a well maintained, diesel powered, 3 or 4 year old 420/440 for us was an excellent bang for the buck.
 
I crawled all over the Marquis at the boat show. I thought it was pretty cool and the layout was interesting. Galley is worthless IMO. there was ZERO storage. my 280 has more galley storage than this boat. I asked if there was a different galley configuration and he said no. Also the helm just felt weird to me. you can stand up, but you can't see. You have these big ole' fat supports blocking half you view. The only way around it is stepping on this glass shelf so you can stick your head out of the sunroof. If fact there are two shin splitters, one getting into the helm, and a flip down one at the helm. It just felt that style won over functionality on this boat when they designed it.
 
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fc3 said:
I kinda like the Regal 4460 with IPS. Decent performance and layout. Decent performance meaning 25GPH @ 26 knots which slightly beats the 1 nautical mile per gallon benchmark -- IE: very good.
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I saw one of these at the boat show and was very impressed with the Regal. Only thing I have heard negative against it is that it seems they do not hold their value as much as Sea Ray does.

I think the Marquis is awesome from a design stand point. No idea of cost or quality, but I love the way it looks. Not your Grandfathers boat for sure.
 
price of boats is almost the same... I am looking for the best quality what I mean with this are I.E. how big needs to be the wave to damage the hull?, how stable is it. Size I like about 45 aprox. I really like the comfort of Sea Ray, I am between 44 sundancer 2008 or 43 sundancer 2009. because the 40 sundancer 2008 as we can see is not soo popular and I really can not find good review on Internet. There is also an Azimut 43 that looks nice too.

jrirvine1, I am located at Florida here I can find almost everything. :grin:
I prefer to buy new because of the service and guarantee I will relax to know that the boat I am on is new and is suppose do not have any problem :)

Frank - fc3: thanks for your help about the engine, the problem as I can see is not Mercury the problem is only Mercury Zeus right? or the hole thing?

I like the 43 DA because the interior space is much better than the 44 DA. Actually the interior of the 43 DA are very similar almost exactly as 48 DA.
 
Mercury uses Cummins diesel engines, which are quite good. It's the new zeus drive that has little history. Zeus may be as problematic in its first 5 to 7 years as other products from Mercury were when they were new.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Wave size isn't going to damage the hull of a 40-44 ft Sea Ray, Regal etc.......its the guy driving the boat that will cause damage. If you don't slow down in heavy seas, it isn't the hull that is the problem, its everything that is attached to the hull, in the cabinets, closets, etc. that slam around and cause damage. However, these are coastal cruisers not blue water boats; they are not intended to run for hours in 12-14 ft. seas.

As to the 43DA vs. the other boats.........I take it from your comments that you have not run one yet. There is a serious design deficit on the 43......the control station was designed by computer geeks, not guys who run boats. The joystick is behind the driver's right arm position so you must turn to the right to access it and that puts you where you are blind trying to see thru a fiberglass wall to dock the boat.....God help you if you hppen to be left-handed.

The mechanics are mostly solid....i.e. Cummins engine hooked to a ZF transmission, but from there on it is mostly new technology. As of last month, there were still some software issues on the one 43 in my area......I don't know if this is wide spread or just on this boat, but the joy stick gets into the Cummins throttle quickly. If you over react the engines can run up to 1800 rpm's (more than 1/2 throttle) on the joystick. If you had someone not seated, or on the bow or stern helping with lines and you over reacted with the joystick, you can throw them off the deck. From full deflection port to full deflection stbd, the 43 will lay the rub rails in the water. The Zeus drives are a cool idea, but this size boat isn't a computer game or exercise, and it shouldn't be an amusement part ride....the boat's design should give you a stable, maneuverable and safe platform. Sea Ray still says they are going to add "SkyHook" to the Zeus bag of tricks and that is another case of "because you can do it doesn't mean you should".......somebody's going to get hurt with that one.

If you like the 43DA space....great. But I'd pick a 420DA, or 44DA or a 48DA, even if they were used, any day before I'd write a $900K check for the 43. Maybe in a few years after they work out the bugs, but I have prior experience with Mercruiser's rushing product to the market long before it is consumer ready and I'm not paying to be someone else's R&D protype tester again.
 
rhoudini said:
...I like the 43 DA because the interior space is much better than the 44 DA. Actually the interior of the 43 DA are very similar almost exactly as 48 DA.
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If I had your boat budget I sure would have a serious look at the 48 DA, even if it is a used one (2007-2008). I believe you would still have warranty for a few years.
 
It sounds as if the original poster is unsure about what he wants, if this is the case a new boat is probably not the best option for him. I would look into a slightly used boat that has already taken the huge hit in depreciation so if you are unhappy about it you aren't dropping your pants and bending over.

There are plenty of beautiful boats out there 2006-2008 44's and 48's, even for that much money go for a slightly used 52 DA. Point being you can get a bigger boat that is still under warranty which has probably already had all the bugs worked for much much less, even half the cost of a new one.
 
Lefties always get the short end of the joystick.
 
I've quite a bit of experience running an 06 40da with QSB380's. What specific questions do you have about this setup?
 
I own a 42 diesel and I have a friend that has a 40 diesel. The 42 is much better balanced due to the increased beam, The 40 is a great boat but the 42 appears to be the better bang for the buck.
 
Frank, thanks for your support!! many of the things you said are the real true! I saw the same problems with the joy stick and Zeus system.
I use to ride a boat around 22' but in the Caribbean sea, as you know waves become a problem there and you need to care about your hull, as I can see in US there are many other different problems.
the last boat 44DA was from 2008 and I guess that one is the best because the fix almost all the problems over the years. Now they change the 42-44DA for the 43DA that we know the problems.
The best option will be a 40DA 2008 or 44DA 2008. I will try to test both and decide.
Robert
 
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Jerry D said:
I've quite a bit of experience running an 06 40da with QSB380's. What specific questions do you have about this setup?
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Jerry and Mor,
I am trying to decide what to buy, I really like how looks the 40DA diesel 08' but I can not find good reviews from owners. As we research many of the people who owns a 40DA trade it very fast for a big ones as 44 or 48DA. is there any problem with this boat?
 
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