First time out 31 Sundancer some impressions

[Richd]

Hello again everybody.. So My girl and I took delivery of my new 15' 31 Sundancer from Marine Max in Brick NJ. 2 Saturdays ago. The boat was presented beautifully however there were a few cosmetic items that were overlooked.

Marinas are very busy this time of year so no big deal. My salesman Mitch from MM Lake Hopatcong was there for our orientation and a nicer guy youll never meet. He told me I have the record for holding off on a purchase (3 years) cause I wouldnt settle! Yet Mitch worked with me staying in touch and sending me boats to consider. Gave me boat show passes to AC and NYC for 3 years running, and just told me he didnt even care if I got a boat from him, it was the hunt and the chase that he loved. I wanted a trailerable 28 or 9 footer, but most came under powered for my taste, usually a single 300 I wanted at least a 380 and was holding off until Regal offered the 430 Volvo in the 28,but that didnt happen.

Anyway, when I put it all together, and added up what I was getting, and for a great price (they kept lowering it) I said OK.

So it is a 31 with twin 300's, with Axius, Heat and air, Generator, grill , skyhook, auto pilot, full camper canvas and the cherry wood interior, with 2 TV's and 2 refrigerators, windlass, spotlight, It really had everything! At the end, I said I would make the deal but I couldnt see a boat like that not having a chart plotter so they gave me a Garmin 7400 .

We named the boat Luna Sea. Because I am nuts and went and bought the thing right after getting a bone marrow transplant, without knowing the outcome. When you go thru something like that you can come out either afraid or emboldened.

They gave us a Captain for the first time and to show us how to run it. Cap Harry, he knew everything! Took hours just to leave the dock but finally we were underway. The steering is very light almost too much so. Power is very impressive and makes the boat feel lighter than it is. It tracks nice on plane but cruising at idle has to be constantly corrected.

Garmin worked great, as did skyhook but a warning light came on that spooked my girl (and the Cap) it said "starboard motor compass", "non critical"?? happened each time he gunned it so we turned around and went back in.

At the dock I tried the Axius and it was a bit weird. First it is sensitive and clunks the gears I thought it was some kind of electric thing didnt expect knocking like that. It was getting late so I stopped using it and just backed the boat into the slip. We stayed a bit longer hooking up shore power and going over the circut board a bit confusing but I managed to get it right last weekend, when my girl and I spent the night.

Thats when I noticed the bilge running every half hour. I thought that aint normal we didnt take on any water, but just didnt know for sure.

Anyway, it still happens and I told MM and they will look into it, I think it may be from the new transducer from Garmin install??? Can anyone tell me if thats normal or not?

Sorry for long post I just wanted to share my experience I am a very grateful fellow that I can enjoy such a nice boat.

Rich

 

[Steve195]

Water leaking into the bilge (from any source) on a brand new boat is certainly not normal.

 

[RichardS]

Water leaking into the bilge (from any source) on a brand new boat is certainly not normal.

No it's not and I think your guess about the transducer for the Garmin (I'm assuming you had a thru-hull installed) is your culprit. That's one of the downsides of thru-hull transducers, underwater lighting, etc, etc.....they are drilling holes into the BOTTOM OF YOUR BOAT! It's not supposed to leak, of course, but you'd be amazed at how many leaking installs I have heard of or seen over the years. By "certified techs" too!

I'm sure MM will take care of it, but I'd be on them like white on rice until they do......running the bilge pump constantly is NOT something you should tolerate.

 

[Sous]

No it's not and I think your guess about the transducer for the Garmin (I'm assuming you had a thru-hull installed) is your culprit. That's one of the downsides of thru-hull transducers, underwater lighting, etc, etc.....they are drilling holes into the BOTTOM OF YOUR BOAT! It's not supposed to leak, of course, but you'd be amazed at how many leaking installs I have heard of or seen over the years. By "certified techs" too!

I'm sure MM will take care of it, but I'd be on them like white on rice until they do......running the bilge pump constantly is NOT something you should tolerate.

Agreed. If you've got a bilge pump that is turning itself on every 30 minutes, that is a pretty substantial leak. I don't know for sure, but that has got to be gallons of water. For comparison... when I "wet wash" in the bilge my pump rarely if ever turns on due to the water level. When I'm done I'll use my shop vac to clean up the water and I'll usually fill it at least once (5 gallons).

 

[Gofirstclass]

Rich, congrats on the new boat. You will soon learn to handle it like a pro and learn to enjoy the fact that you went with a Sea Ray. I looked at a couple of Regal's when I bought my first 330 Sundancer. I don't know what it was that turned me off about Regals, nothing that I could point to and say "I don't like the way that was done", but there was just something about the SR's that I liked better.

Every new boat, like new cars and trucks, has some issues. Give MM a chance to fix them and take care of your concerns. When you are completely satisfied with the boat you will start to love it even more.

Now, you gotta know that we have one big rule on CSR--without pictures, it just didn't happen. We all like to see pics of boats and of people using them and the waters they use 'em on.

 

[Richd]

will post pics soon. The new long portlights on the side ddi it for me. I went back and looked at the regal and it is a little angular by comparison. Yea I wonder about the wisdom of drilling holes in the bottom of a boat.

 

[dpmulvey]

Is it the bilge pump or the sump pump from the AC?

 

[Bridog]

Rich. it's not normal for your bilge pump to be running like that. I'm sure that, and the other electrical issues, will be handled promptly. We bought 3 boats at MM Brick. All good experiences. You will have a few glitches with any new boat. Is Chris K still there at the service department? He's a great guy. I'm sure they'll take good care of you. Captain Harry V is great too. He did our orientation on the 300DA. Glad he's still there. Good luck and congrats on a beautiful boat! I can't wait to see some pictures. Brian

 

[Bridog]

Oh, and my brother lives in Sparta.

 

[Bugsy24]

Brian and Rich, Chris K is still the Service Manager at Brick! Rich make sure you become friends with Chris and Joe and Tom and Don and all the others at MM in Brick. Good people!!

 

[Bridog]

That's good to hear Marshall. Chris always had my back.

 

[Richd]

still waiting to hear the verdict on bilge. Dana is the warranty mgr and says they are working on it. So far everyone has been nice to deal with a MM. But ya do learn a few things about a few things.. Like for instance when checking out marinas and slips , you notice things that you want and dont want. Marina "B" was too close to the highway and the drone of traffic would have taken from the whole peaceful experience of waking up on a boat. Marina "C" was way up the river, lots of slow no wake to get thru every time you want to go out,, and Marina "M" , well theres alot of maintaince going on just above the docks and your trudging thru oil slicks, sanded fiberglass, and muck in general, the day I was making my decision (we looked for 2 months ) they were powerwashing a 40 something footer and the wind was blowing and spary that smelled like fish was getting all over, and us walking, so we passed on that one!. Some too small, some no parking, so you live and learn. MM has sent me a survey I told Mitch Im not filling it out until boat is fixed.