advice on buying 2015 510 sundancer

D

dream

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Mar 15, 2015
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Looking at buying 2015 510 sun dancer. Wanted to know what sea ray owners thought of the 510 and any advice on making this purchase. Also where can you find information about what would be a good price to pay for a 510. Thanks for you help. Dream
 
dream said:
Looking at buying 2015 510 sun dancer. Wanted to know what sea ray owners thought of the 510 and any advice on making this purchase. Also where can you find information about what would be a good price to pay for a 510. Thanks for you help. Dream
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I toured one pretty extensively at the Miami boat show. I like the layout but didn't love it as much as at least two others. First, the Tiara 50 Sport Coupe was a home run in my opinion. Very solid boat too. There was a Sea Ray 510 owner touring that boat with me, and she was considering trading it for the Tiara already. The Sabre 48' Express was another show stopper for me. I really like the Sabre inside and out, and was the ONLY boat I saw in this size range with a full size door at the helm. As for price, I forget what they were asking for the new SR 510, sorry. If you must buy new, go for a 2014 and try to get it for 40% off MSRP.
 
JamesT said:
I toured one pretty extensively at the Miami boat show. I like the layout but didn't love it as much as at least two others. First, the Tiara 50 Sport Coupe was a home run in my opinion. Very solid boat too. There was a Sea Ray 510 owner touring that boat with me, and she was considering trading it for the Tiara already. The Sabre 48' Express was another show stopper for me. I really like the Sabre inside and out, and was the ONLY boat I saw in this size range with a full size door at the helm. As for price, I forget what they were asking for the new SR 510, sorry. If you must buy new, go for a 2014 and try to get it for 40% off MSRP.
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I don't own a 510 DA but have been on them a few times in my own market search. Love the looks from the outside, quiet boat and smooth. Unfortunately not as wild about the layout inside. If I'm going to spend $1M+ on a boat...I had better be able stand up in the master stateroom. I'm 6'1" and the ceiling height in the 510 master stateroom is not adequate. No chance of me buying that model despite the external appeal it has for me. The fly version is different....it has a inside layout that accommodates my height.

A 48 Sabre Salon Express....really sweet boat. Stately inside and out. Very quiet and smooth. Completely different curb(dockside) appeal than the 510. 2012/2013 models with low hours going for 800 to 900. Some used 2013's at the $1M mark.

Another vessel I've sea trialed is the 48 Cruiser Cantius. Plenty of headroom downstairs for me. Clean layout inside. Smooth ride with it's Volvo Penta IPS drives. Looks a bit boxy and bulbous outside....but I could get use to it. I worry about it being a bit underpowered....but I'm not sold on that just yet. Quiet and smooth ride. 2014/2015 models can be had for less than 1M and it seems cruiser is motivated to push market share exactly against Sea Ray's 510.

All told, my preferences would be Sabre 48, Cantius 48, Sea Ray 510 DA. Sorry to say, I think the 510 comes up short on inside layout...even the guest stateroom bed is shorter than I'd like. 510 fly...different story.

Tom
 
I've run the 510DA several times. All were QSC powered conventional drive boats.

The first one I was on was at the Sea Ray homecoming in Knoxville and the boat had about 15-16 people on her and she handled very well for that much load. This is the first larger boat I had see with "Quiet Ride Technology" and I'll have to say Sea Ray did a masterful job of quietening every aspect of the boats operation.

The second and 3rd boats had only a couple of folks on board and lighter load was obvious, but the boats were not appreciably faster, just a little quicker to get on plane. I loved the running attitude which was flat in all situations. All of those boats had electronic single lever controls with joysticks. I've been on a few Sea Rays with joystick controls that were figity and would run out from under you sideways, so not being familiar with the boats I was on, I docked them with throttle/transmissions only and they are very docile around the dock and in tight places.

I didn't spend a lot of time poking around the interiors, but I was struck at how much smaller the cabin on the 510 is compared to my boat with is an older 450DA. The "skylight" open dash is different and would take some getting used to, but it does as an airy feel to the salon.

All 3 boats had the optional retractable cockpit sunshade which for me would be a must-have.

Finally, Sea Ray has had the mid cabin cruiser design figured out for a long time. That tends to make their designs look sort of homoginized and like fruit pulled from the same tree, but it also means they don't make mistakes when they offer new models for sale.
 
We are currently considering moving up to a 2015/2016 510 Sundancer from our 2010 450 DA. I realize this is an old thread but thought it might be useful to ask current CSR members for any feedback now that a few years have passed and the 2015 510 is no longer brand new. We're familiar with pod boats and the inherent issues that can come up but for now the 510 layout and price point is attractive to us. Any feedback from current or former owners? Thank you!

Sandy
 
sandydlc said:
We are currently considering moving up to a 2015/2016 510 Sundancer from our 2010 450 DA. I realize this is an old thread but thought it might be useful to ask current CSR members for any feedback now that a few years have passed and the 2015 510 is no longer brand new. We're familiar with pod boats and the inherent issues that can come up but for now the 510 layout and price point is attractive to us. Any feedback from current or former owners? Thank you!

Sandy
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You're really going to buy another boat with pods for use in our log infested NW waters? I thought you learned your lesson with the mishap in DS last year? :p
 
M Prod said:
You're really going to buy another boat with pods for use in our log infested NW waters? I thought you learned your lesson with the mishap in DS last year? :p
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To be fair, we didn't hit anything when we lost our prop blade last summer. It was a failure of the prop itself and it would have happened on any boat, not just one with pods. In an ideal world we would be getting a boat with Volvo IPS drives but the boats we like are still above our budget. What I really need is to strike it rich on Shark Tank or something to supplement our boat budget! Ha ha!
 
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