more questions about water in bilge

[mquiet]

I am in the ever so slow process of acquiring a 2000 340 dancer. How do you know if you will get water in the bilge during the sea trial. I can't imagine that the surveyor would pick this up. Any thoughts? BTW what is a "real" price for a 340 in today's brave new world. The pricies seem all over and I can not seem to get a handle on what would be acceptable for a 340 gas with 280 hrs.

Soon to be Sea Ray owner

 

[Alegria]

My experience on both survey's/sea trials I've down with two different surveryors. The engine hatch is up and they are actively looking at the engines, bilge, etc for any signs of an issue... They should notice any sizeable leaks. Both times they found issues, on the second there was a pretty serious leak on my rudder. If they are not doing the sea trial with the hatch open then that is not right. Also they should be checking the integrity of the engine mounts too while on the sea trial...

 

[rondds]

The surveyor should be in the bilge with the boat running at cruising speed and WOT. With v-drives and engines 5 inches apart in a cramped ER (like in a 340), it'd be pretty tough to spot dripping shaft logs without getting scalded by an exhaust manifold. They also should have a IR temp gun and should shoot and note temps at various points on the engines and transmissions.

As for price, that's hard to say. You really have to do your homework. Do a search on boats.com or yachtworld.com and pull up every 2000 340DA out there, compare prices and options. You'll get a good sense of how fair the asking price is after about 1/2 hour of scouring. Prices vary greatly based on options. Example: there's a guy at my marina selling a 340DA (2001) himself (no 10% cut for a broker) and his asking is $69K. Low hours, minimal electronics, maple interior (yuck, but that's just my opinion) and short blocks (6.2L). Considering these factors, this boat should be on the low end of the spectrum. Found another on boats.com with 7.4s and cherry and 250 hours for $79K. I'd go for the $79K boat assuming they are in similar condx and no horrible survey findings.

 

[dane507]

Tom,

Looks as if you have the same model boat as me. I get a little water in an otherwise dry bilge when I go up on plane. Appears to be about a gallon easily handled by the bilge pump. I've always "assumed" it was some dripping around the shafts on the V drives. Do you have a similar experience?

Thanks

 

[mquiet]

thanks for the insight. I will definately have the surveyor down in the bilge if possible. Noting the room down there, I was wondering about visibillity to rudder and v-drives.