Looking to purchase 1993 Sundancer 370DA

[jjdrummer]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are interested in purchasing a 1993 Sundancer 370DA that we recently came across. The boat has always been in the Great Lakes and that's where we'd keep it.

I guess I'm risking the wrath of the forum gods in asking such an open-ended question but what is the "typical" opinion on buying a 27-year-old boat. Based on what we've seen and know it has been well maintained, has around 800 hours on the engines, and overall looks in pretty good condition. Understanding that we'd need a survey, compression tests, etc... to really get a better sense for the overall condition of the boat before we invest in those, is there a general "no-no" in buying boats this old? I'm not so much interested in making money on it say in 5 years from now, but were we to decide to want to sell it in 5 years would we be able to recoup any of the costs? Would there be a market for it?

Again, I understand that's an open-ended question but would like to know if we have options for potential resale down the line once the boat is past the 30 year-old mark.

Thank you for your time and responses in advance.

 

[JimG]

I have good friend that has this boat... he is very happy with it and will probably have it till he gets out of boating (he's 67).
Iv'e been on the boat numerous times and have drove it several times... drives like a dream! My biggest complaint is that the helm/canvass is made for short people (i'm 6' but he's 5'.8"). His has 454 gas engines with V-Drives.

Some reading for you:
http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/official-370-sundancer-thread.13055/

Best of luck and welcome to CSR!

 

[Golfman25]

Just remember, the only thing that works on an old boat is the owner.

But those oldies but goodies can be good values. Just make sure the hull, deck and stringers are sound and you're good to go. Everything else is "easy."

 

[Avenger]

Great boats for the money. Survey will be a must but be prepared for some level of moisture to be present along with other issues associated with a 27 year old boat. That model is pretty much bottomed out depreciation wise so assuming you buy it right and its in good condition you shouldn’t take too big of hit from the initial investment. If it has newer canvas and electronics that is a huge bonus considering an enclosure alone could cost near 10K. I never expect to recoup the cost of upgrades but they will usually set your boat apart when it comes time to sell. IMO, That boat 5 years ago on average was a mid 30K- mid 40K boat and now is a mid 20k- mid 30k and there always seems to be a market for this model. These are just my opinions so take them with a grain of salt. Good Luck!

 

[Stee6043]

Lot's of 90's Sea Rays out there. Keep 'em clean, updated and running well and there will hopefully always be a market.

But they'll surely never make you money

 

[jjdrummer]

I have good friend that has this boat... he is very happy with it and will probably have it till he gets out of boating (he's 67).
Iv'e been on the boat numerous times and have drove it several times... drives like a dream! My biggest complaint is that the helm/canvass is made for short people (i'm 6' but he's 5'.8"). His has 454 gas engines with V-Drives.

Some reading for you:
http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/official-370-sundancer-thread.13055/

Best of luck and welcome to CSR!

Thank you very much JimG, I appreciate the input. Glad to hear you've had good experiences with this boat.

 

[jjdrummer]

Just remember, the only thing that works on an old boat is the owner.

But those oldies but goodies can be good values. Just make sure the hull, deck and stringers are sound and you're good to go. Everything else is "easy."

Right, definitely part of the plan going forward if we decide to conduct the necessary checks.

 

[jjdrummer]

Great boats for the money. Survey will be a must but be prepared for some level of moisture to be present along with other issues associated with a 27 year old boat. That model is pretty much bottomed out depreciation wise so assuming you buy it right and its in good condition you shouldn’t take too big of hit from the initial investment. If it has newer canvas and electronics that is a huge bonus considering an enclosure alone could cost near 10K. I never expect to recoup the cost of upgrades but they will usually set your boat apart when it comes time to sell. IMO, That boat 5 years ago on average was a mid 30K- mid 40K boat and now is a mid 20k- mid 30k and there always seems to be a market for this model. These are just my opinions so take them with a grain of salt. Good Luck!

Awesome info, thank you Avenger. As you said, not looking to make money on it but good to hear that there should be an opportunity to get something back were we to sell it in a few years. I plan on investing into proper maintenance knowing that this is the best way to extend its longevity.

 

[jjdrummer]

Quick update.

We had requested a mechanical check on the engines which was completed today and our results are listed below. The engines are both 1993 MerCruiser 7.4 V8 (carb). Not sure what the expected ratings should be, but to my untrained eyes the port side engine appears to show readings that are more consistently near each other vs the STBD engine which is showing numbers all over the place.

STBD Engine #1 140 #2 125 #3 110 #4 110 #5 100 #6 120 #7 135 #8 125
PORT Engine #1 150 #2 145 #3 145 #4 150 #5 145 #6 140 #7 140 #8 145

Any help/input on these would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance

 

[JimG]

Yep, the STBD engine has 1 maybe 2 good cylinders. I think the PORT number are fairly good.

 

[Golfman25]

Maybe a gasket issue on the stbd?

 

[Steve S]

Quick update.

We had requested a mechanical check on the engines which was completed today and our results are listed below. The engines are both 1993 MerCruiser 7.4 V8 (carb). Not sure what the expected ratings should be, but to my untrained eyes the port side engine appears to show readings that are more consistently near each other vs the STBD engine which is showing numbers all over the place.

STBD Engine #1 140 #2 125 #3 110 #4 110 #5 100 #6 120 #7 135 #8 125
PORT Engine #1 150 #2 145 #3 145 #4 150 #5 145 #6 140 #7 140 #8 145

Any help/input on these would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance

From the Mercruiser Service manual. You are within specs... barely. 140/98 would be the high low allowable per Mercruiser.

https://d3gqux9sl0z33u.cloudfront.n...nloads/224953/Mercruiser_v8_7.4_8.2_litre.pdf

 

[scoflaw]

From the Mercruiser Service manual. You are within specs... barely. 140/98 would be the high low allowable per Mercruiser.

View attachment 88853

https://d3gqux9sl0z33u.cloudfront.n...nloads/224953/Mercruiser_v8_7.4_8.2_litre.pdf

That's fake news. Disclaimer from Merc. If you have numbers like that it's done.

 

[Steve S]

It's right out of Service Manual #23 Page 3A-85 from Mercruiser....

 

[Avenger]

How long have the engines been sitting prior to this test and did they run and warm up each engine equally before doing the compression? If a water test was done did they make it to full operating rpm for a period of time? Starboard shows lower numbers but its not like they are wildly different from one hole to the next. A leak down test would give you a better indication of what’s going on if anything.

 

[jjdrummer]

Thank you all for your responses to my compression test results post. Looks like the STBD engine is "tired" and close to needing an overhaul of some type. Two questions base on that assumption:

1. If we were to take this out on a sea trial and find the engine running "clean" and sounding good is there a way to estimate when the necessary overhaul might be required? 6 months? 2 years? I know that's a very open-ended question but figured I'd ask anyway.

2. Assuming the most extreme overhaul would be a rebuild are my current estimates for parts and labour of around $5000-$6000 correct (we're in Ontario)? I'm sure there are many factors that play into that but I'm hoping this is a decent estimate to work with.

Again, I appreciate everyone's input. It's great to know that newbies like me have a good source of information through these forums and the involved members.

 

[Golfman25]

Thank you all for your responses to my compression test results post. Looks like the STBD engine is "tired" and close to needing an overhaul of some type. Two questions base on that assumption:

I don't think you can draw that conclusion, yet. Do a leak down test. It will give you clearer picture.

 

[Stee6043]

My two cents - there are lots of 90's 370's out there. I would not buy a boat that gave me the feeling of imminent engine failure.

Keep shopping!