Comments on 2000 460DA

fwebster said:
Please forgive me if I've missed something, but Rob, what the heck are you talking about?
Click to expand...

Frank:

These are new devices that you wear and they are water activated. Along the lines of an EPIRB. They are called Life Tags. They wear like a belt. If someone goes in the drink who is wearing one of these devices, they transmit a signal back to the mother ship so that you can do a SAR......I believe they work with Raymarines new C and E series. The wearer shows up on the screen with the location and coordinates......but I'm not that sure....
 
I think Frank's point was more along the lines of: How is that related to the actual topic of this thread??? :smt017
 
I know I'm risking a full-blown debate on boat building philosophy, but here's the update on this 2000 460DA.

Despite assurances from the seller that this boat is solid glass below waterline, a check with SR revealed that it is indeed fully balsa cored, including hull bottom.

Obviously SR is not the only builder with fully cored boats of this size and the issues encountered by SR owners in the past are probably equally shared by other owners (and mainly maintenance-related) but, would you walk away or continue with the deal ?

I think I understand the risks associated with coring and resulting need for very diligent maintenance (if small issues come up) and I think I understand how to survey the boat to assure it is not waterlogged.

IF I decide to move forward with the deal, my hull survey plan is as follows:

1. get it hauled out at least a week before hull survey to let the bottom paint dry out
2. wait until we have a couple days of warmer weather to make sure there is no frozen moisture spots (they are not detected by moisture meters)

Unfortunaltely the number of strikes against this one is growing. I think I am still prepared to move forward but only IF I can get a very attractive deal.

Comments and other advice ?

Thanks
 
Aquadancer, This is a question for Frank and others with more knowledge than i, but with that being said, When i was looking to purchase my new to me 98450 DA i read everything i could about this hull. After not much time i decided it was not an issue for me. I knew if the boat had a problem it would get picked up during the survey and i also know how i will maintane it. I checked with boatus-Carolynn board. There is, as you have already found out some very knowledgable people who will answer this question for you. Again, I feel i researched this issue pretty good and it ended up not being an issue for me. My 2 cents. JC
 
UPDATE

Finally reached an agreement on this 460DA! Thanks to all of you on this board (with special thanks to Frank W!), I believe I got a very fair deal on this boat and my trade.

She was hauled out and blocked today, hull survey is scheduled for next Tue with CAT engine survey and fluid analysis to follow on Wed. I will have two full days to crawl around the boat.

If everything goes as planned and surveys don't uncover significant issues, we should be able to close by the end of March with a proper punchlist and holdback (closing by quarter end was important to the dealer and I was willing to concede this point).

Then we're off to Exuma for a week to do some celebrating while the punch list is getting done. Should be able to take delivery by mid-April. I am looking forward to a spring boat ride from Long Island to the Chesapeake. How's the Fire Island Inlet these days?

Any specific advice for the surveys?

Thanks again to all who offered their insight so far. I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.
 
Congratulations.....almost....good luck with survey and closing.

Let us know when your heading south.....My home is between the Manasquan and Barnegat Inlets on the west side of the Barnegat Bay. I have some extra Dock space if you need a place to pull in....you have a PM....

Hope to see that new 460 at the CSR BIH get together in July.... :thumbsup:
 
AquaDancer, Thats great news. I was telling some people last night that of all the big Dancers i went on, the 1999-2003 46DA was one of my favorites. Good luck with Survey! Keep us posted and get some pic's up when you have time. JC
 
Congratulations !!!! I hope everything shakes out ship shape for you. I know you will be very happy with the CATERPILLARS :grin: Best of luck .....
 
Well, I am back from the surveys after two cold, long days crawling around the boat with the pros.

Overall, she checked out in better than average condition both cosmetically and mechanically. Sea trials showed 2850 WOT at just over 31 kts with slightly dinged wheels, 4 people, full fuel, and 3 toolboxes worth of CAT tools and gauges. It was one cold and loud boat ride (temp in the low 40s and open hatch).

There are a few major and many minor issues, but nothing that can't be properly fixed or is inconsistant with age. Still waiting for fluid analysis results, but if nothing further comes up, time to finish the deal.

One question to the board: we found some standing fresh water trapped against a stringer in the aft most floor storage compartment (just in front of the fridge). Could not trace the source at this time, with fresh water system being winterized. There are some waterlines running through there, but no fittings. There was no visible trace of pink stuff in the water. This one has me stumped. Any ideas? (see pic #3)

Thanks ! And thanks to Frank W. for all his off-line counsel!

New pics:
 
All i can tell you is this.

We had a 290DA that we traded into MM on our 380DA. In the cockpit storage areas, we had plastic dishes, some towels, and some linens. We only had the boat 4 months, but we had it in a;; sorts of conditions in that time.

We had forgotten about that stuff. When twe took delivery of the 3809, we remembered, and they said no problem, it's over there, go get your stuff.

When we opened that floor storage compartment, there was water in it, mildew on all the stuff, and we ended up throwing it all away.

We figured they had left a port open or something, and let rain get in.

SO, that storage was always dry when we had the boat, and somehow had water in it when they had the boat.
 
Aqua, dry it out and have them check it with moisture meter after it's dryed out. If the water looked slightly brownish thats into some wood, it may be a loose water supply connection but that's odd there-the water tank is in the aft cabin under the sofa. It's hard for me to tell but it's not anywhere near the shower sump is it? You know those sumps are always causing problems like that, the 46 sump overflow is aft under the sofa. Check those all the time, we clean our sump and monitor it frequently(not always a fun job). As far as the noise - Your going to need a set of Headphones (I hang mine from the engine room steps), keep extra ear plug packages in my tool box for guys who just want to hang out and listen to the "Thundering.......You know". Sounds like your getting close-good luck.
 
One of the most suspect area's is with the shower sump box's, they sometimes overflow, then the problems begin. If water is allowed to sit down there, not only mildew is a concern but water intrusion problems into the bulk heads and stringers can be expected.

If you have a good surveyer, that can be detected.

Good Luck !!
 
Well, I am restarting my search for diesel power.

Survey of this 2000 460DA uncovered an issue which at first looked pretty easy to fix. After a more detailed evaluation, proper fix would require substantial amount of work and MM is not willing to tackle it at this time.

MM actually handled the situation professionally. They didn't dispute my findings or attampt to push the deal. They offered to pay for hull and engine surveys (by my own guys) on a next potential MM purchase.

Bad news - I am back to square one.

Good news - money is still in my bank account and I averted a potentially big problem.

Next steps - get my 370 in the water and go boating.

Anyone know of a nice, clean 460DA under 300k?
 
Good news - money is still in my bank account and I averted a potentially big problem.

Next steps - get my 370 in the water and go boating

That's the way to look at this- Everyone can see the importance of doing their due deilegence on these boats.
 
Aquadancer.

Sorry to hear it didn't work out. You seemed to have your heart set on the 460....better to have found out now rather than later....

However, it begs the question, regardless of what the problem is, it appears as if it were a major issue. I wonder why MM didn't repair the problem. After all, MM has acknowledged the issue and they are now well aware that the issue exists. I would think that they would have to divulge that information to any future buyer...... :smt017
 
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