Landlubber about to get his feet wet

Marvin Gardens

Marvin Gardens

New Member
Oct 14, 2007
103
Atlanta, GA
Boat Info
340 DB
Engines
8.1
Greetings Everyone!

Well, I've got to admit it - 4 weeks ago, I would never have thought that I would be on a forum discussing ~35ft Express Cruisers, but, here I am.

My family and I live in Atlanta, GA and have been thinking for years about getting some kind of place to "get away". We've looked at lake property, mountain property, beach property - you get the picture.

So, we're visiting our local Costco recently, and they're having a boat sale and I decide to drop by. I had NEVER considered a boat. Took a tour of a 2007 320 Sundancer and was hooked. Since then, I've tried to get as much information as possible - what brand, model, size should I get, where's home, how much for a slip?

Here's where you come in:grin:

I've looked at several, Cruisers, Four Winns, Carver (a little off base) to name a few and think I've boiled it down to either a used '07 340 (100 hours) or a new '07 320. Most probably will dock it on Lake Lanier and transport it from time to time down to the coast.

Can anyone steer me to either an older thread on these subjects or should I start a new one? :huh:

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Lewis
 
Hi Lewis, welcome to the board, although I can't help you on details of those boats, I wanted to say I was hooked by the same type of deal so I'm guessing it was MM (Marine Max) at the costco. Same thing happened to me but we bought smaller but are already wanting to go bigger.

Also from reading here and research buying used is the way to go just make sure you get a very good survey done of the boat and the engine (sometimes two different people) and go for a test ride but since your new to it all you might consider having someone on the board help you out with the sea trial since they will know what to look for.
 
Morpheus, you're spot on. Marine Max was the host of the event. Since then, I've been down to West Palm and visited with the people at Trio Marine and tried to do a little research on MM.

Did you wind up buying the boat from MM? If so, how was the sale and service thereafter? I'm wondering if their sales pitch equals reality.

Also, the wanting bigger thing is just what I'm trying to avoid while, also, staying in my price range!
 
Welcome Lewis. If it's between those 2 boats you mentioned I would go for the used 340DA. (make sure it has the 8.1's) That boat is 1 of Sea Ray's best. Going used will also save you the 30-40K depreciation hit that first year. As far as MM. I have had great customer service with my Marine Max dealer up here in New Jersey. Good luck, Brian
 
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Marvin Gardens said:
Morpheus, you're spot on. Marine Max was the host of the event. Since then, I've been down to West Palm and visited with the people at Trio Marine and tried to do a little research on MM.

Did you wind up buying the boat from MM? If so, how was the sale and service thereafter? I'm wondering if their sales pitch equals reality.

Also, the wanting bigger thing is just what I'm trying to avoid while, also, staying in my price range!
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First, they say here get your wallet around the BIGGEST boat you can because that will help with the itis (itis = the desire to go up in size ie: 2 foot 4 foot 6 foot itis) but it doesn't completly ellimnate it just curbs it. Going as big as you can and going used will save you as much as 40-50% off buying new. I saw a 2007 48 Sundancer with 18hrs being sold for 600k and something like that new would be in the 1million + range.

As for MM. The SALES experience was great I had tbe best sales guy I did trap him in getting a better deal but other then that he's been great. The Finance Lady she is the DEVIL and snoby and stuck up I will never talk to her again. Service for me for the Local (Clearwater, FL) MM has been TERRIBLE but that doesn't mean all are like that. You can search for my posts about the DRAMA I've had with my boat and MM.

I've gone to alot of boat shows and been on alot of boats and for me SeaRay is the best for it's value. SeaRay also has great customer service and will stand behind their product and make sure your happy. My next boat will be a searay, as for size that all depends on what I can afford at the time but it will be used and it will be a 320 Sundancer or bigger. If I win the lotto I'll be getting a 48 dancer for sure. :grin:

One thing to keep in mind is maint costs and Insurance costs. I don't know what insurance is like in GA but in florida I page $1000 a year for my 240SD boat the bigger boats are are paying ALOT more.

You sound like someone who has done his homework but remeber GAS is not cheap either everytime I go out I spend atleast $100 just in gas and sounds like you'll be keeping it in the water so you'll be paying 1 to 1.50 more per gallon then at the local gas station.

Anyways this board is LOADED with information you'll find just about any answer to any question and if you don't post it because there are some top notch boaters here that know their stuff.
 
Just an observation.......teenagers, particularly girls, are pack animals. You may think you have 2, but just wait until the boat is in the water and each of yours has to bring along 1-3 friends. My point is to buy as much boat as you can get your pocket book around and you won't regret it.

In the 32' and up express/Sundancer syle boat, Sea Ray has been at it long enough that they don't make mistakes so the only thing to avoid is buying a boat that is too small or is missing some of the needed equipment that will be hard to add later.

welcome to CSR
 
Marvin,

Welcome aboard. Where do you plan to boat? I agree wholeheartedly with Frank about the teenage girls. Having been there and done that.:thumbsup: As far as MM goes my dealer network has been great to work with. Who are you dealing with. We've been on a number of the get-aways with MM and has been great. (Golden Isles, TN River, Shoot-the-Hooch, Lanier, etc). Being a realtor in North GA Mountains, where did you look for a mountain place?
 
Everyone, thanks so much for the words of welcome and advice! I've obviously stumbled on the right place for information.

Your comments on getting as much boat as can be "afforded" have definitely hit home. To be honest, that's why I started expanding my range past the 320. BUT, with very little boating experience, I want to make sure that I get a new enough boat that we can go through the teething issues together - that's how I have come to the conclusion that the 340 is a good starting point - perception is that there is a little more room midship.

As far as where I've looked in the mountains - everything from Blue Ridge, GA all the way up to Wolf Laurel, NC. We've found several places, but, I keep coming back to the idea that it has to be close enough that I'm not spending all my time on Friday's and Sunday's getting out of and back in to Atlanta. That's how the whole boat thing came about. We figure we can keep it on Lanier (if it doesn't dry up!:smt009) and move it around to different spots if we get tired of the scenery.

Also, thanks on the words of assurance on MM. They seem like pretty decent people - I'm working with Matt out of the Buford office.

Will let you guys know as soon as I pull the trigger!

Lewis
 
Yep, I've dealt with a bunch of the MM guys. I personally started my SeaRay adventure with the 340DA. I ended up with a 240SD. I never could come to grip with giving up the trailer option. Plus the wife really likes the hotel/resort we stay at:lol:. How much boating have you done?

Everyone, thanks so much for the words of welcome and advice! I've obviously stumbled on the right place for information.
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Yes there is some great people on this board ready to help you get the most out of the Sea Ray boating adventure you've started on. We are planing a TN River Rendezvous for next summer. I hear you about the lake not having any water. MM does a poker run / low county boil in November on Lanier. Not sure if I'm going to go this year due to the water levels.

As far as where I've looked in the mountains - everything from Blue Ridge, GA all the way up to Wolf Laurel, NC.
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If you did the 575/515 route in and out of the mountains you came right by my office many times. I'm on main street GA515/US76 in Young Harris. Small world.:thumbsup:
 
Lewis

If you want to test the waters on how much boat your budget dollars will buy in the used market, I might suggest you try a search on Boat Trader. http://search.boattraderonline.com/search/

You can enter any parameters you want but I would suggest you start your search by specifing just a few parameters. Enter Sea Ray in the box labeled of this Manufacturer, keep the years confined to maybe starting around 2000 and up, and in the parameter marked with these keywords enter Sundancer and in this area use Any Distance.

These parameters will pull up used Sea Ray Cruisers for sale all around the country in your price range. I think you will be quite surprised to see how varied the list will be in terms of the boats that are available and how much boat you can actually get for your budget dollar.

Let us know what you think.
 
Lewis,

I just wanted to say welcome to CSR, looks like you are getting some great advise. Again welcome to the board, you have stumbled into the right place. Do not be afraid of how big the boat is (this coming from a guy in a 185). Most on the board will tell you the bigger the boat, the easier to operate. Good luck with your search and do not be afraid to ask questions. There are some great people on this site and they enjoy helping others get the fever for boating (they may even save you a dollar).

Wesley
 
So, firstly - Chuck, haven't done much boating in quite some time (had a 4 Winns bowrider in college) and I've got to admit, all the talk about battery switches, prop tuning, diesel vs. gas(and the list goes on) has gotten me a little overwhelmed.

As a matter of fact, when we first starting thinking about the boat thing, the idea was to set it up in Destin (or thereabouts) and start the "adventure". Since getting a little more education, the idea is start off a little slower - dock the boat at Lake Lanier or Hartwell, learn the ins and outs of cruising and then SLOWLY think about taking on bigger water.

I will definitely lean on you all for experience there!

Dave, thanks for steering me to the boattrader online site - it really helps and I've already spent a couple of hours this evening.

One quick question for anyone who might know - How much should I expect someone to come off the price of a boat under brokerage? 10-20% (more)? I know the market is down (as are water levels) and of course, there are contingencies etc... and the survey. Also, I may very well be asking these questions in the wrong area - so please let me know if I should post this kind of question elsewhere!

Finally, thanks again for the warm greetings! Can't wait to get a boat and join the crowd.
 
One quick question for anyone who might know - How much should I expect someone to come off the price of a boat under brokerage? 10-20% (more)? I know the market is down (as are water levels) and of course, there are contingencies etc... and the survey. Also, I may very well be asking these questions in the wrong area - so please let me know if I should post this kind of question elsewhere!
Click to expand...

Do a search for Franks post on the subject(Come on Wesley:smt100) or PM Frank (fwebster) he has some great info on the subject.:thumbsup:
 
I was going to let some others with experience in your size range give there opinions but you may also want to use the search feature. I would use MSRP as your topic. You may also want to do a search for the size boat you are looking at example 340 but only do search for topics, if you do post you will get all the post with people who own a 340 and that is not what you are looking for.

Hope it helps. As for new boats the rule of thumb earlier in the year was about 25% off MSRP.

Wesley
 
Dave S said:
Lewis

If you want to test the waters on how much boat your budget dollars will buy in the used market, I might suggest you try a search on Boat Trader. http://search.boattraderonline.com/search/

You can enter any parameters you want but I would suggest you start your search by specifing just a few parameters. Enter Sea Ray in the box labeled of this Manufacturer, keep the years confined to maybe starting around 2000 and up, and in the parameter marked with these keywords enter Sundancer and in this area use Any Distance.

These parameters will pull up used Sea Ray Cruisers for sale all around the country in your price range. I think you will be quite surprised to see how varied the list will be in terms of the boats that are available and how much boat you can actually get for your budget dollar.

Let us know what you think.
Click to expand...
You will also be frustrated with the 26' (260) who wish to list as 280/290........ and so fourth up the chain. I'm set to close on my 28'...... YES 280DA not 28.5' 260DA...and the boattraderonline proved to be a bit of a frustrating experiance, while wading through those wishing to sell a bigger boat than they own.... Frustrating but manageble. Other than that if the seller is not so short sighted as to list a 70k boat with only a brocheur photo then you will be able to see good information on the boat. Many many many years of understudy in sort-of a Yoda-esque apprentiship on Boattrader has given me the understanding of the boat I am currently contracted on and a full comprehension of what is out there for comparrison. All in hopes of finding the best boat for my application and $$$$$
 
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