470 Sundancer-Hydraulic Swim Platform

[JamesT]

I'm considering adding one to my 470 this winter so I can carry a RIB or waverunner. Are there any 470 owners out there (model years 2009-2016) who have the lift. I know several 48/500 sundancer owners who have and love them, but looking to hear from 470 owners. Thanks!

 

[bblack]

Don't have one so can't add to this. Did you get a price on one? Curious.

 

[JamesT]

Don't have one so can't add to this. Did you get a price on one? Curious.

I got two (about 1.5 years ago). Both mid 20s which is why I held off for a while. Was looking at adding a Hurley Davit to my fixed platform but I really want the option to carry a waverunner. I really believe the hydraulic lift should have been standard on 470s.

Nice to meet another 470 owner. Not many of us on this forum.

 

[bblack]

Mid 20's is less than I thought. If I remember correctly it was a 47K option before discount. Do you remember what the weight limit is?

 

[JamesT]

Published weight limit for the lift I'm looking at is 900 lbs. I'm sure it can handle more, but at some point you begin to affect performance of the boat...

 

[bblack]

900 lbs, is a lot. If you pursue the install, please let me in on the details.

 

[Rocket]

UMT Marine sells a nice roll on system with a winch that I considered for my 48 da. If I recall parts were about $ 8k and install is a DIY. It can hold up to 600 lbs. I opted for a hurley and limited my tender to 250 lbs.

 

[cole33]

I have a 47 and I am also in the market for a lift. We met when you visited osprey point a couple years ago. I have done some research and worked on pricing. We are in the same general area so it may benefit both of us if we can schedule install at the same time. Let me know if you have interest. I appreciate the advice you have me on the cockpit lighting. Never had a chance to thank you.

 

[fwebster]

There may be more to this than the weight capacity of the lift. The OEM cost for the hydraulic platform is pretty high and that leads me to believe that there may be some structural changed needed to the transom support inside the hull to support the lift. Before you make a $25K commitment for a lift, I'd suggest you contact Sea Ray Customer Service and ask them to verify that no structural supports are needed inside the hull.

We have seen larger boats than the 47DA have the transom literally peeled off the boat when no internal supports were added for the hydraulic platform ......it isn't a pretty thing to see and is very expensive to repair.

 

[JamesT]

I have a 47 and I am also in the market for a lift. We met when you visited osprey point a couple years ago. I have done some research and worked on pricing. We are in the same general area so it may benefit both of us if we can schedule install at the same time. Let me know if you have interest. I appreciate the advice you have me on the cockpit lighting. Never had a chance to thank you.

Yes, I remember you (L&T right)?! Funny story.....we stayed at Osprey Point again this past July for 3 nights and we looked for you. We arrived Saturday, saw your boat there but no one on it. We went to pool, came back to boat because a God awful thunderstorm popped up, and we saw your boat was gone. It was at that point, we got really scared for ourselves because we thought you moved your boat because of the storm's severity. What do we know? We're from NJ and not familiar with that marina in a storm. Things turned to hell quickly. There was 2 foot chop inside the marina and awful wind. The sailboats docked were leaning 30 degrees! So the storm passed, we saw a stellar sunset as we walked to dinner, came back to the boat, slept, woke up the next morning at like 7:30 am your boat was back. It wasn't until later at the pool, we met all your friends. We asked about you and they told us you were ON YOUR BOAT during that storm rafted up with friends!!! OMG that must have been hell. Glad you guys were OK!!!!

So I pulled the trigger on the platform. Florida Bow Thrusters is installing it between 1/4 and 1/7 near Ocean City, NJ. I'm dealing with Tom the owner if you want to see if he can do you the week after and save some travel money.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

Curious to what Sea Ray told you about the transom? Is there work to be done on it internally?

 

[JamesT]

There may be more to this than the weight capacity of the lift. The OEM cost for the hydraulic platform is pretty high and that leads me to believe that there may be some structural changed needed to the transom support inside the hull to support the lift. Before you make a $25K commitment for a lift, I'd suggest you contact Sea Ray Customer Service and ask them to verify that no structural supports are needed inside the hull.

We have seen larger boats than the 47DA have the transom literally peeled off the boat when no internal supports were added for the hydraulic platform ......it isn't a pretty thing to see and is very expensive to repair.

Frank (& Havana Shamrock),

Thanks for your input here. Based on that, I spoke to my SR contact today (who has proven very effective since I first began fielding questions to him 3 years ago). He told me that SR built all 470 DAs with reinforced transoms intended for hydraulic lifts, regardless of whether or not the boat was factory ordered with that option or not. I then called FBT and asked him the same question without first divulging SR's answer, and he said the same thing. I also asked both parties if I could leave an 800lb PWC on my lift all summer long, 7 days per week, and both said absolutely that most people do that.

So I'm satisfied with that. Would still like to talk to another 470 owner to hear how the weight affects the ride. May go with a Sea Doo Spark or Yamaha's brand new answer to the Spark, their 590lb EX.

BTW, I also asked FBT if the cold NJ weather would impact their installation process. He said that if conditions warranted, his team will put up a structure around the boat, along with heat to control the elements. I asked if he was joking and he laughed and said he was dead serious. Installing lifts and bowthrusters he said, is "all we do, so we know what we're doing."

 

[Rocket]

Frank (& Havana Shamrock),

Thanks for your input here. Based on that, I spoke to my SR contact today (who has proven very effective since I first began fielding questions to him 3 years ago). He told me that SR built all 470 DAs with reinforced transoms intended for hydraulic lifts, regardless of whether or not the boat was factory ordered with that option or not. I then called FBT and asked him the same question without first divulging SR's answer, and he said the same thing. I also asked both parties if I could leave an 800lb PWC on my lift all summer long, 7 days per week, and both said absolutely that most people do that.

So I'm satisfied with that. Would still like to talk to another 470 owner to hear how the weight affects the ride. May go with a Sea Doo Spark or Yamaha's brand new answer to the Spark, their 590lb EX.

BTW, I also asked FBT if the cold NJ weather would impact their installation process. He said that if conditions warranted, his team will put up a structure around the boat, along with heat to control the elements. I asked if he was joking and he laughed and said he was dead serious. Installing lifts and bowthrusters he said, is "all we do, so we know what we're doing."

FBT installed my Thruster (old 420da) in January. They built a tent around the area and heated with propane heaters. No issues.

 

[sandydlc]

We have a 2010 450 with a Sea Ray extended swim platform and a Sealift hydraulic lift. When I called Sea Ray they recommended to keep the weight below the weight limitations of the transom. In our case the transom can handle over 1000 pounds but the dinghy we selected is only 550 pounds. We did have an incident where the dinghy got filled filled with water (about 1/2 way) and I know that we were pushing the limits of the capacity of the platform. I'm just glad that the dinghy didn't weight any more.

Our swim platform was installed by the original dealer in Ontario Canada. They're no longer in business so it was difficult to get information regarding our installation but with some persistence I was able to find it!

I will caution you that the boat's performance does suffer the more weight you add to the transom. Longer time to get out of the hole, more difficult handling in rough water, more worries about the dinghy being secured in rough water... that being said, we still love our center console dinghy! I have some pictures linked in my signature. Feel free to check them out. I know we're just in a 450 but I hope this information has been helpful.

Sandy

 

[JamesT]

We have a 2010 450 with a Sea Ray extended swim platform and a Sealift hydraulic lift. When I called Sea Ray they recommended to keep the weight below the weight limitations of the transom. In our case the transom can handle over 1000 pounds but the dinghy we selected is only 550 pounds. We did have an incident where the dinghy got filled filled with water (about 1/2 way) and I know that we were pushing the limits of the capacity of the platform. I'm just glad that the dinghy didn't weight any more.

Our swim platform was installed by the original dealer in Ontario Canada. They're no longer in business so it was difficult to get information regarding our installation but with some persistence I was able to find it!

I will caution you that the boat's performance does suffer the more weight you add to the transom. Longer time to get out of the hole, more difficult handling in rough water, more worries about the dinghy being secured in rough water... that being said, we still love our center console dinghy! I have some pictures linked in my signature. Feel free to check them out. I know we're just in a 450 but I hope this information has been helpful.

Sandy

Thanks Sandy. Your 450 has the same horsepower as me and spec sheet says I'm only 1,500 lbs heavier than you so we're pretty close. Before buying a waverunner, I'm going to borrow a friend's and run the boat with WR on the platform to see how much I mind the drag. My wife is pushing for a dinghy over a WR which would be a lot less weight, but I think a WR would be more fun, plus it's only 3.5 feet wide instead of 5+ with a dinghy. She originally didn't want a dinghy because of all the room it takes on the platform. What make and model dinghy do you have?

 

[sandydlc]

The best thing you can do is to call Sea Ray customer service to make sure that you know definitively how much weight your transom can handle.

I have to say that I agree with your wife. I actually don't know anyone in our area who has a waverunner instead of a dinghy. It really depends on how much you think you'll use either one. In my opinion a dinghy just expands the versatility of your cruise, even when the weather is not that great. We've taken ours to locations that are near the marinas we visit that we would not have been able to see from the boat because it was too shallow. When we were in Desolation Sound in 2015 we had to have a dinghy to be able to anchor out and have access to shore (and take the dog for a walk!). We have a 16 year old son and we're able to go crabbing with him because we have a dinghy. I see waverunners in Lake Washington but I can't say that I've ever seen them in the Puget Sound. Where do you do the majority of your boating?

Our dinghy is a center console and we love it. It's an Apex A12 Eurosport w/30 HP Tohatsu outboard. http://www.nwinflatables.com/A-12 TENDERLITE.htm It weights 550 pounds which is the most I would put on that swim platform. The dealer we purchased from also has a 10' version which honestly would have fit better on our swim platform however after tossing the options back and forth we decided that the difference in size/price weren't that much more so we went with the larger model, mainly because the performance is supposedly much better. It planes like a dream and is very sporty yet stable.

No matter what you purchase, make sure to work with your dealer or mechanic to install pad-eyes that will adequately and appropriately support the weight of your dinghy or waverunner. The pad-eyes should be located in such a manner that the straps are able to pull downward from the heaviest part of your dinghy/waverunner so that you don't have movement port to starboard or fore and aft. Ours are not in an ideal location so we're getting new ones installed this week to better balance the load. In rough water our swim platform gets buried at times (mostly when going on and off plane) and what happens is the dinghy tends to float, then the straps get loose - which is a recipe for disaster (read some of my other threads on our dinghy adventures!).

Best of luck and I'm happy to answer any more questions.

Sandy

 

[JamesT]

Sandy, Wow that Apex A12 is a great looking tender but it's almost 6 foot in beam. How do you fit it? Do you have a photo of your boat with dinghy on the back? I'm looking at Walker Bay 10' center console because it has a 5'1" beam.

 

[sandydlc]

Easy - we just lower the swim platform slightly and we can walk back and forth very easily. When we're under way and the swim platform is fully stowed in the up position, there is still enough room between the dinghy and the transom to squeeze by but it's tight. The reason it fits so well is that our chocks come up and extend aft so the dinghy sits a bit off the platform, not directly on top of it if that makes sense.

The beam on the A10 was 5'7" and the beam on the A12 is 5'10" so really didn't make sense to go with the smaller one. Ours is very roomy for 3 adults and one crab pot. We've had up to 5 adults in the dinghy with guests sitting on the pontoons and seats. It planes very easily and is really fun to drive. We previously owned a dinghy with an inflatable keel and it was horrible. This is like a Cadillac in comparison - or maybe a Porsche because it's so sporty!

Send me (PM) your email address and I'll be happy to send you pictures of the dinghy on our boat. We're still working out how to better strap it down because we used the existing pad-eyes instead of installing new ones and that was not a good idea. Other than that, our experience with the dinghy has been great.

Thanks,
Sandy