Looking for advice

[LetsRock]

Hey all, I might have an opportunity to trade my 1990 220 DA w/trailer for a 1982 Sea Ray 340 fly Bridge. This is very early stages but the person who owns the 340 is very interested. I havent looked at it yet nor had a mechanic check it out but here is some info of what I have so far:

draft - 2'6"
loa - 34' 10"
beam 11' 11"
fuel - 200 gallons
fresh water - 80 gallons
holding - 30 gallons


This boat is turn key and ready to go. It comes with everything you need to enjoy weekends or days out on the water. Has ice cold air conditioning, Onan 6.5kw generator (which runs but is not putting out power right now but havent had a chance to look into it yet), hot/cold water, dual helm stations, brand new bridge enclosure, full island vbirth, full head with shower, can sleep 6 and much more just ask

Engines : GM 454 Fresh Water Cooled, Starboard rebuilt less than 500 hrs., Port has approx. 100 hrs. sound proofing (sound down), water pumps fresh and bilge, water heater, salon sliding door.

I wanted to know is something like this worth looking into? Its 8 years older than mine and with mine I know everything about it and all the maintenance records. The size of this boat intrigues me and intimidates me at the same time.

Just looking for some CSR advice here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Summer Fun II]

Is He giving you any money with the trade ??.

 

[LetsRock]

Is He giving you any money with the trade ??.

We havent discussed the exchange of any money, just a possible straight trade. Do you feel I am giving too much. Just a basic search on NADA shows his boat is worth a little more than mine + trailer.

 

[Ididntdoit]

I dont know if you use your current boat or just sit at the docks but that bridge boat will literally burn 3-4 times the fuel your current one does and cruise much slower so your mpg will be dismal - probably why the other guy is interested - as far as the gennie is concerned, could be somthing simple or the back half could need to be rebuilt$$$$ - use caution, you know what you have right now

 

[Summer Fun II]

If I was trading newer for older, I would have him pay MY surveyor. :smt001

 

[Gofirstclass]

I'd be curious about why both engines were rebuilt and who did them. Also about why he's downsizing. I'd make sure I had a complete survey done on the engines and trannys, and also on the hull and all equipment on the boat. As part of the hull survey they will haul out the boat so the bottom can be checked. Only when the boat has a clean bill of health would I proceed with the trade. You will spend a few hundred bucks to get the surveys done, but it could save you thousands in the long run.

Then go have fun!

 

[northern]

There are losts of post on 454s. I have 2 and they work fine. If you want to go faster than 8 MPH get ready to burn lots of fuel. Some people call putting on new heads rebuilding an engine. Find out what was done to them. A generator is wonderful but if it does not work it could be very expensive you may find it hard to get parts and if you can, they can be expensive. I needed an end cap for the heat exhanger $400, new exhaust cast iron water to exhaust mixer before the exchaust went into the cool part of the exhaust system $450. I was lucky as any other part of the heat exchange was not available. If you can not get parts you may need a new generator. I would budget 2 to 3000 a year for up grades and 1500 for fall/spring work. You will also need a dock to keep your boat. Not sure if you can winter it in water, if not you will need winter storage.

 

[LetsRock]

Thank you all for the guidance. You all have raised a few points I hadnt even thought about.

Ididntdoit said it best, I know what I have right now and I like it a lot.

I am leaning towards passing on this deal for all the rea$on$ stated here.

 

[tdschafer]

Rock,

You will probably burn in the 30-40 gallons per hour range at cruise, which I imagine on that boat will be around 22 knots, just guessing. Look at Joe's (Havannah Shamrock) post on either the Liberty Landing or Long Island Rendevous threads about the burn on his newer 360 SD. I think he is in the 40-50 gph range!! That's the problem IMO with bigger bridge boats with gassers. If you only put across the bay to do weekends at Fire Island then fuel burn becomes less of an issue and space more of one. Also, there will be many other expenses ,by the foot, that will add up on a bigger boat. Just do your due diligence if you plan to move forward.

 

[IanBat]

There are several issues with moving from a trailer boat to a moored boat, and if $'s are a concern as I think you have allured to in your last post, then make sure you total up what it is going to cost you each year, and factor in a maintainence cost. Particularly as it is an older boat.
As others have mentioned have a survey done, cost up the repairs to get everything shipshape and add on a buffer.
With the trailer boat, I did all my own repairs, could tow it to my warehouse, to do major bits and pieces etc. with the moored I can do some, but if it needs to be out of the water, then I am dependant on getting on the slip. We don't winterize in Australia, so the boat is in the water all year round, as such all my maintainence needs to be done there, or I pay someone. Which I am getting used to.
I try to be on the boat every week, fiddling around, and I am pedantic that I am down there at least once a fortnight, and start both engines, run them up to temp, slip them in and out of gear, turn the steering lock to lock several times, flick every toggle switch on and off to check everything is operational, including anchor winch. I start the generator up, and run the air conditioner for 15-30 minutes.
All of this and a month ago, I had a boastful of people, put the nose out of the pen, and the starboard gearbox locked in reverse,!
My boat has been unoperational for around 2 months, whilst we organised a new propellor and then the gearbox, however I still did the weekly or fortnightly checks I layer out above.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Pyrojodge]

Well, I love my 80's 340. An 82 was early production. A lot of the parts are not going to be available like your 220. Now as far as living space... you will have much more space then in any new boat this size. They are big and heavy. As far as fuel... the boat is very heavy your full costs will double then since it is a twin boat double again. If you can't afford paying $100+ a trip (short trip less then 20 to 30 miles) then keep what you have and go boating!

 

[LetsRock]

There are losts of post on 454s. I have 2 and they work fine. If you want to go faster than 8 MPH get ready to burn lots of fuel. Some people call putting on new heads rebuilding an engine. Find out what was done to them. A generator is wonderful but if it does not work it could be very expensive you may find it hard to get parts and if you can, they can be expensive. I needed an end cap for the heat exhanger $400, new exhaust cast iron water to exhaust mixer before the exchaust went into the cool part of the exhaust system $450. I was lucky as any other part of the heat exchange was not available. If you can not get parts you may need a new generator. I would budget 2 to 3000 a year for up grades and 1500 for fall/spring work. You will also need a dock to keep your boat. Not sure if you can winter it in water, if not you will need winter storage.

Thats a great point about the parts. I hadnt thought that some might be difficult to find based on the age. All the more reason I am leaning towards declining.

 

[JVM225]

I've seen that boat listed several times recently on CL. It could be a pretty nice boat, but I would have it thoroughly checked out before I went for it. It is a completely different animal than what you have. The operating expenses are significatly higher, including dockage, winter storage, and winterization of the motors and systems. depending on how much you are capable of doing yoursef, and if the boatyard or marina you wind up in will let you do any of it, You can be looking at as much as 7,000 or 8,000 dollars a year to own that boat if nothing breaks. I can guarantee you that something is going to break.
The other side of that coin is that there are a lot of things you can do with a boat like that. Weekend stayovers and mini vacations on the boat are just two possibilities. If you can get dockage in a nice place it can greatly enhance your experience because you can spend time on the boat without always having to burn gas to get to a destination. I put a fair amount of hours on my boat, but I spend even more time just hanging out on it at the dock when time constraints or condtions keep me from going somewhere. If you tend to look at the expense in terms of recreation or hobby related, it might make it worth it.

 

[Subaru06]

Never seen a turnkey boat. Never seen an easy boat deal. Never seen a boat that you had to be careful about evaluating before the purchase.

 

[LetsRock]

Thanks to all for all the words of wisdom. I have notified the other party that I am going to pass. To me right now what I have is perfect. I have my boat in a slip but have the flexibility to trailer it and work on it in my driveway...etc. I obviously lose that with the other boat and become subject to the marin'as schedule, mechanic...etc. I will sit tight for now. Plus I use my boat 75% of the time for fishing and its a 12 mile cruise each way to the fishing area so I dont even want to think about the amount of fuel that would burn.

 

[just me]

Thanks to all for all the words of wisdom. I have notified the other party that I am going to pass. To me right now what I have is perfect. I have my boat in a slip but have the flexibility to trailer it and work on it in my driveway...etc. I obviously lose that with the other boat and become subject to the marin'as schedule, mechanic...etc. I will sit tight for now. Plus I use my boat 75% of the time for fishing and its a 12 mile cruise each way to the fishing area so I dont even want to think about the amount of fuel that would burn.

:thumbsup: