OFFICIAL - 450DA Owner's Thread****

JC3 said:
Well FrankW can answer this as a resounding yes! The VERY FIRST DAY we took possession of our boat in Ft. Lauderdale at 11:30pm the Blaring alarm went off. I called Frank and told him my new boat was sinking. I will never forget that night and will forever be indebted to FrankW. As it turns out the boat did not sink and the culprit was a faultity System Monitor. I disconnected the batteries to get the alarm to quit and the next day bypassed the system monitor till i could get a new one. GOD speed on finding a replacement. JC
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JC,

You have to learn to look for the bright spots in owning a complicated boat. One of my bright spots is the great friendships I've made helping folks like you find their own bright spots and discover why their boats aren't really sinking, despite the warning horn and lights telling them otherwise.

Also, I will never forget that late night call, primarily because every night I make it into the bed before my wife does, she still asks me "where is your cell phone". To which I answer "It is where I can hear it in case JC calls me........."
 
Frank, you are blessing for us all..
Thank you for your wise counsel as always...
 
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Well I will encourage you to offer only what you are comfortable with. When I bought my boat the engine room was in really good condition but the cosmetic side was bad. I did what FrankW suggested and got a certified %10 deposit and I also had cash on hand. Went to the broker got the owner on the phone and discussed the offer. It was WAY below the asking price but its all i felt comfortable offering. I was very apologetic to the owner but it was all I had for a boat at that time. I thought there was no way he would accept. 3 days later the broker called and he accepted. The survey had a few minor issues but all in all was ok. I did not go back to the owner for those things to be fixed! I owned the boat 9 years and the boat did better at times than me. The 450 DA handled wonderfully and survived three trips to the Bahamas with me as Captain. The only thing I really disliked about mine was the salon seating. Never got used to it. Wife insisted on the washer/dryer model. Good luck. JC
 
The 1998 450 DA had 2 models I was told. One had galley to Starboard (Washer/Dryer) and the other galley on Port side and no washer dryer. I think. JC
 
Well I don't think you would/could go wrong with either Cat engine 3116 or 3126. I never used the central vac so i can not comment. The coffee maker did a really nice job though. We also never used the blender.
 
I do not know. FrankW and several other 450 DA owners will probably know that. JC
 
I think you are asking what I think about the boat? Well I am certainly no expert!!! But a few thoughts. I really like Exterior canvas package and it flows really well with the Faux teak. Looks good IMHO. I have always been a sucker for the 450 DA model. I think it is sexy and timeless. I know others may disagree. The old electronics should be fine if they work properly. I had that exact garmin chartplotter on a Glacier Bay 2685. I really liked it. Old but good. I like the lighter interior. A lot do not but it gives it a "happy feeling"? I had a full size boat refrigerator and it came in handy. I think I like the salon seating? I would have to try it. The floor will be a personal taste thing. With out eyeballing the exterior and walking on it (soft spots etc...) I like it. The engine room needs work imho if the pictures are accurate? I never had soot or shadows in my bilge area. The rust will need to be addressed. Again boats can be deceptive. The Sea trail and engine survey with oil analysis will let you know what your really looking at. I also like that it has a thruster. Others will po po this but i disagree. It can only help after you get used to using it. Radar looks like it works which might be useful in the north? Just a few certainly not expert opinions. JC
 
The washer and dryer are typically called the "Wrinkle Master." Wash a knit shirt and a pair of shorts and you would be too embarrassed to wear them to a dockside restaurant. They are ok for drying the towels after an afternoon playing in the water.

I already told you my view of the Glendinning Cablemaster. Spent $100 and get a second set of travel cables and stow them in the trunk when you are traveling to a different marina. Dragging 150 ft of 50A power cable down the dock is a real drag, as is un-twisting the 50a cable after it becomes a twisted mess in the cable master drum.

We actually like the wal-vac on our boat. The implements store neatly under the aft seating/bunks and the Beam vacuum has good power and is easy to maintain. my wife does keep a Dyson hand held in the cabin for small clean ups because getting the central vac out is time consuming......we generally reserve it for the times we have been on the boat for a week or so.

My boat was ordered with the Furuno/B&G electronics package on it. I took the time to learn how to program and use it and found this set-up to be extremely accurate and fairly easy to use. I have gradually up graded to Raymarine Color MFD displays because both Furuno and B&G no longer support the OEM equipment. I just recently replaced the B&G VHF with an ICOM VHF.

The take-away on electronics here is older electronics packages will do a good job if you take the time to learn how to use them......if they won't power up, they are no more good than you stern anchor. If you just have to have the latest and greatest in electronic mfd's, radar etc. then order them and have them installed.....it is your money. One gotcha is older packages installed in the year the boat you are looking at are probably no longer supported by the manufacturer's tech services or parts departments. older systems were usually well integrated within the manufacturers' product lines. You may have a plotter, a radar and an autopilot and if your wish to upgrade to a color mfd you will probably have difficulty completely interfacing it to you existing AP and Radar.
 
fwebster said:
The washer and dryer are typically called the "Wrinkle Master." Wash a knit shirt and a pair of shorts and you would be too embarrassed to wear them to a dockside restaurant. They are ok for drying the towels after an afternoon playing in the water
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You can only dry 1/2 of what is washed at a time... Wife has it down to a science -lol.
 
JC3 said:
Well I will encourage you to offer only what you are comfortable with. When I bought my boat the engine room was in really good condition but the cosmetic side was bad. I did what FrankW suggested and got a certified %10 deposit and I also had cash on hand. Went to the broker got the owner on the phone and discussed the offer. It was WAY below the asking price but its all i felt comfortable offering. I was very apologetic to the owner but it was all I had for a boat at that time. I thought there was no way he would accept. 3 days later the broker called and he accepted. The survey had a few minor issues but all in all was ok. I did not go back to the owner for those things to be fixed! I owned the boat 9 years and the boat did better at times than me. The 450 DA handled wonderfully and survived three trips to the Bahamas with me as Captain. The only thing I really disliked about mine was the salon seating. Never got used to it. Wife insisted on the washer/dryer model. Good luck. JC
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so you gave a 10% deposit before the survey? when you presented the offer you gave the broker the check?
 
Yes. I wanted the seller/broker to know that I was a serious buyer and although the offer was light the money was there quickly and surely. It was FrankW idea. It worked as the offer was eventually accepted. I had all the money stuff and surveys ready to go. The seller knew I meant business even if the offer was light.
 
On another note. During the buying process I partially surveyed a mid 90's 500 DA. I loved that boat. It was a tie between the 450 and 500 in my mind. The 500 DA Widow would not let us borescope the DD engines so I walked but that boat has always stuck in my mind. Just food for thought. JC
 
We are considering selling our boat and doing something different. I looked a market prices for 450DA's and we found 14 of the most preferred models........1996 and 1997; hull # 554 and below; located east of the Miss river.

I would advise slowing down and at least seeing what else in on the market because there are obviously more boats available see. Just because it is a local boat and priced 25% lower than there average of other 450's on there market raises more questions for me than it ticks boxes on the list of attributes to seek in a 25 year old used, complex vessel.
 
I bought mine just over a year ago I have been going through the regular necessary maintenance. Having an engine and hull survey are absolutely necessary at this point based on its age. Having both done prior to my purchase provided me with a moderate level of comfort as I had no idea what I was getting into.
After a year of running I ran into the previous owner this weekend , 110 miles from home. I was excited to tell him that all Systems are running well, and that we have nothing but pleasure in our year of ownership.
Btw,, I live and keep my boat in the same waters as the one that was discussed as being for sale...
 
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fwebster said:
We are considering selling our boat and doing something different. I looked a market prices for 450DA's and we found 14 of the most preferred models........1996 and 1997; hull # 554 and below; located east of the Miss river.
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If you do Frank, you better stay on CSR or we'll hunt you down and find you !!! lol...
 
Mark,

That is just an opinion based as much on the quality of investment as anything. The 1997.5 and up 450's have Virticore interiors which are subject to delimitation and glue release. There is nothing wrong with the hull, engines configuration, performance or sea keeping ability on all the 450's.....they are all the same. Some people find the earlier boats with the larger capacity side by side freezers and refrigerators and larger salon seating area more utilitarian than the built in washer and dryer and smaller freezer/refrigerator.

I also think it is a moot issue now because the challenge is finding a clean well cared for boat and narrowing a search to a 1995-1997 because of Vitricore risk and the difference in layout will overly restrict the search for a clean well cared for 450.


Frank
 
Yes, we have the birds eye maple Vitricore, but have experienced none of the negative issues mentioned by you and we prefer the washer-dryer for extended trips when we are gone 2-3 weeks at a time, but this is all me being preferential to our boat... Others opinions may vary
 
I wonder if the vitricore issues were more prevalent in warmer higher humidity regions. Each boat I looked at south of New Jersey had significant delamination issues...
 
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