flybridge (sedan bridge) vs. Sundancers

fwebster said:
Henry.........

You just like the woodwork on the Hinkleys!

In a perfect world I would have a Hinkley day boat and a Rybovitch for cruising. The joinery and finish work in both are museum quality.
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Sabre has pretty nice woodwork.
 
No question that Frank W is THE MAN when it comes to offering excellent advice, willingly and capably to prospective boat buyers. His knowledge and his generosity in sharing it are second to none.

That said, and I love you Frank, he is just a tad bit biased towards the Dancer arrangement. There are more benefits of bridge boats over Dancers than just the elevation of the driving position for spotting shallow water. And there are benefits of Dancer over bridge boats too. As has been stated many times here it comes down to personal preference and intended use. EVERY boat ever built is a collection of tradeoffs.
 
Kathy and I are in the same delimma (though a few years away)
our next case of footitis will take us into the 50s
She loves the 500da I would lean more toward a 52-54DB
I love the cockpit area of the DA but with plans to go to much larger water and to be a liveaboard the DB
would suit my taste better and it is in our plans to do the great loop.
She says the bridge boats are old people boats and she hates heights.
In Knoxville we rode in the Meridian 341 and she absolutely hated it..fit finish..sound quality..and ride in general even on the river.
and the ladder to the bridge freaked her out.
Whatever the decision ...she will win
I have a few years to nudge her my direction but....she will win.
 
moparlvr4406 said:
Kathy and I are in the same delimma (though a few years away)
our next case of footitis will take us into the 50s
She loves the 500da I would lean more toward a 52-54DB
I love the cockpit area of the DA but with plans to go to much larger water and to be a liveaboard the DB
would suit my taste better and it is in our plans to do the great loop.
She says the bridge boats are old people boats and she hates heights.
In Knoxville we rode in the Meridian 341 and she absolutely hated it..fit finish..sound quality..and ride in general even on the river.
and the ladder to the bridge freaked her out.
Whatever the decision ...she will win
I have a few years to nudge her my direction but....she will win.
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Wouldn't the bridge clearance be close on a 50+ footer for the loop?

As to the ladder situation, I hear you. That's a deal/knee breaker for me as well regardless of the boat or brand.
 
dpmulvey said:
Wouldn't the bridge clearance be close on a 50+ footer for the loop?

As to the ladder situation, I hear you. That's a deal/knee breaker for me as well regardless of the boat or brand.
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That I do not know...good point to look into
If nothing else I could make it from Kentucky to the gulf...AND BEYOND !!
 
wow! thanks so much for all the insights and experiences!
i've been all over the internet and visiting different boats. more than boat shows, i like to visit areas where we plan on boating and asking owners about their particular boat. the reason we first chose our Sundancer a few years ago was the amount of them we saw on the Intercoastal in S FL. we are heading to the keys next week (without boat) to find and visit marinas and to check out other people's boats.
after reading all this i'm back thinking Sundancers. we will still use the boat for day trips with family and the big cockpits are attractive. and after looking at so many Sundancers i'm back to leaning towards the 370 Venture.
it's not as big, but seems like it is. since it's not a walk around like the 380, you don't miss the less 1'beam in cockpit seating. and without an engine room, the 'cave' seems really big.
the real seller is that i love outboards. my granddad sold boats on the coast, and i grew up thinking they were the only option in salt. i'll be leaving the boat in a slip and the ability to raise them out of the water is really attractive to me. i will probably get to boat for a week, sometimes 2, each month. with the boat sitting the other times.
i wish there was more firsthand experiences with this model. as i would LOVE to talk to an owner of one of those.
thanks again, and please keep experiences coming as i'm not 100% sold yet.
 
Having been in the 370 venture... it's a nice boat.
Not asthectically pleasing to me but still nice.
IMO you might miss that extra beam in rough water...my experience it felt a little top heavy in cross wakes
Beam = stability
 
You really need to get on a 410DA or a 450DA and look around. I have nothing against the Venture, but it is turning out to be a cold boat on the coast. You have to consider depreciation when you buy, and there is very low demand for the Venture which forces prices down and depreciation up. While it may be quicker than a 40+ft Sundancer, it is a very high maintenance boat when you consider after warranty service. Spending as much time on the boat as you describe would make me discount anything that wasn't a diesel inboard, particularly with the price differential. I have Cat diesels and v-drives and there is nothing under water that salt water can hurt. Other than a few shaft seals and straightening a dinged prop I have spent $0 on maintenance/repairs and corrosion issues on running gear in 16 years.
 
Depending on the year you require, they are about giving away 90's vintage 50 DA's in the mid atlantic. Ditto a mid 80's 460 express. Those are massive boats. Some folks were keeping the 460's for the long haul before the economy tanked and really updated the interiors and cockpits.


I knew of a 1997 44 Trojan express in pristine condition. Don't know if it's still available or not. The fellow got transferred to the west coast and the transport costs were prohibitive.
 
Just when I thought I knew ...
thanks, gonna give the 410 some serious thought. So you think I'm better off with that than being able to lift the engine completely out of the water?
 
Absolutely. With an inboard or v-drive, there is nothing below the waterline that you have to worry about being submerged on salt water all the time. No gear cases running under water, nothing to flush, nothing to raise out of the water, nothing to wash off, no salt-away, just tie up the boat, hose off the topsides and go home.

The real reason has more to do with future maintenance and repairs than anything else. Last week I was in Florida and walked past one of the mechanics at the marina who was tearing down a new Verado powerhead. I asked about the motor and what he was doing and it seems it is a commercial fisherman's boat well out of warranty and he was replacing part of the fuel system. There was a gasket leaking fuel and Mercruiser doesn't sell the $1.50 gasket because it is "an emissions part"; instead, Merc requires replacement of the whole unit to the tune of $1500 for parts only. Verados are great, but they are complex beasts and it takes a factory trained mechanic to do most anything to them, and you are controlled by Mercury for parts availability

I may be old school and this may be old technology, but I prefer mechanical diesels with inboards. They just work too well in a saltwater environment not to be a leading contender for an absentee owner. All it takes to run my engines is one 12VDC connection to open the fuel solenoid.....and enough battery to crank the engines.
 
so glad i asked on this site! thanks all and especially Frank.
i'll narrow my choices back to a diesel Sundancer. trying to close on a 45' slip on GA coast. after that's complete, i'll start looking more serious at specific boats. i like the layout on the '06-'08 380's with the center entry as it gives huge storage on either side of entry. and with just wife and i when cruising, don't need second head (but it would be nice). and with a boat this size, i assume i won't have any trouble with my light Sea-doo Spark PWC on the back platform.

and with a side issue, i've also been researching the davit systems for the spark. the thing is so light that a hand crank and roller system is all that's needed to pull it up on a platform. it's easy, and a lift is not necessary at all. a few companies make a system. and i've now had my Spark since about April and it's awesome .
http://
 
The 38DA was only built from '06-'09 for a reason....it wasn't nearly as popular as the 40DA, with a very similar price point. You will have a much easier time finding a quality 40DA with the Cummins QSB (a common engine) vs. the 38DA with the Yanmars (although the QSB was offered in'09)...just my $.02, good luck in whatever you choose.
 
Richie89 said:
Just when I thought I knew ...
thanks, gonna give the 410 some serious thought. So you think I'm better off with that than being able to lift the engine completely out of the water?
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Absolutely! And we've had both.
 
Henry Boyd said:
Yes, you can find a Hinckley for under $200 k. There's a 1970 Bermuda 40 in Seattle
At $ 189 and one in Harpswell, Me for $245 HD
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Sailboats? Nevermind.... Frank can have them.....
 
If I didnt have the fishing requirement. This layout would be our perfect design. All living, up on one level, down to the cave only for the head and bedrooms. No Flybridge. Riv make 4 models 36, 44, 50 and 60

http://www.riviera.com.au/3600-sport-yacht-gallery.html

And in a flybridge, this is the nicest layout Ive seen in a 50 (53'). The intrnal staircase to the bridge, which does not impede on space. The kitchen is at the back of the saloon with a bench straight onto the cockpit area, the cockpit is huge, and there is so much space in the whole boat. There was enough joystick controls fitted in 2 - 3 locations, that we decided we could have fished it 2 up...................Just didnt quite have the $1.3M yet.

http://www.riviera.com.au/53-enclosed-gallery.html
 
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