Official 510 DA Owners Group

I really appreciate your advice. Wow you really had to dig into yours to get to those sending units. Mine has the original carpeting so I wonder if I have access without removing carpet to the center tank…

And I also appreciate the advice on the drop tabs from Bennett. I plan on doing that immediately while it’s still out of the water. I’m also considering putting 12 x 12 additional tabs right above the prop tunnels, with independent controls. Any thoughts on that?


One thing I might mention about adding trim tab surface is the resultant over spray; roster tail what have you. Additional down force makes the water flow coming off the back side of the tab a bit more dramatic. Not bad with just the tabs on my 510; adding all that tab area plus the tabs on my 400 was pretty messy. On that boat the water was coming up around the hinge and shooting up throught the space between the swim platform and the stern of the boat. Made it a bit messy for those wishing to sit on the beach seat. I finally figured some thing out but just know that SeaRay did some pretty good figuring on this boat so any alterations might create a few issues as well.
 
I really appreciate your advice. Wow you really had to dig into yours to get to those sending units. Mine has the original carpeting so I wonder if I have access without removing carpet to the center tank…

And I also appreciate the advice on the drop tabs from Bennett. I plan on doing that immediately while it’s still out of the water. I’m also considering putting 12 x 12 additional tabs right above the prop tunnels, with independent controls. Any thoughts on that?


Here's another little addition which I am sure you should do. Came into use a great deal on out Bahamas trip. 510 is great boat but SeaRay was kind of skimpy on the 110 outlets. So I
added three 110 ac plugs over in the galley. Pretty easy to do
 

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So overall had a great experience so far and am very happy with the new boat. Next stop is Stockton CA, then to Willow Berm Marina.

Once I get the boat to Stockton and on the hard, I am considering adding the drop-down trim tabs. Anyone have any thoughts on that idea, and does anyone know what the size of my trim tabs are? Forgot to measure while I was back in Illinois.

And another upgrade would be underwater LED lights…thinking Lumitec full spectrum, But not sure if I should just do three or four lights. Has anybody installed these lights?

Can’t wait to get her home, I feel like a 7 year old a week away from Christmas!
Looks great, and nice job securing the hardtop and wrapping her up. My tabs are 15” X 28”. I originally ordered the Bennett drop fins from Defender but ended up making my own that were just a larger version of Bennett’s 12”. They do make a difference on how the boat planes. I would be interested to know how tunnel tabs would work on the 510. Best wishes getting your 510 back to Cali and hope you have a great time with it. JG


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Question for the owners here. Looking at various boats and the 50/51 DA could be in the running. My main concern is how functional and comfortable is the second state room? Looks to be just bunk beds? We've looked at the 42/44DB, a 480DB and the sleeping quarters are pretty nice and accommodating. I'm worried the 50/51 second stateroom is really uncomfortable? Two boys and next summer they will be 13 and 17. The aft section of the Dancers really is second to none but we also need a comfortable place for everyone to sleep. If the couch pulls out that is a huge bonus!
 
Haven’t spent much time on the boat yet as I’m having it shipped to Ca from WI…
Here’s why we went with the 510DA…
We had a 450DA for 18 months, loved loved loved it but too small. It’s my wife and I and our 12y/o who usually brings a friend, and the our 2 older children, one married with 2 babies. So the right boat was a challenge. The 540 and 550 with the 2 staterooms was tempting but wouldn’t work. Plus, the galley and living areas are much smaller. The galley and living area are HUGE on the 510. The aft portion of the very large L shaped couch slides out and makes a nice bed, especially with a nice foam topper, plus there is a privacy curtain that pulls out from a hidden cabinet and entirely closes off the living room While leaving the galley fully functional, essentially an optional stateroom. Plus, we have seen others utilize the fold out sun bed on the aft of the cockpit for additional sleeping in a pinch.
My 26 y/o son, 6’2” 200 lbs spent a week on the bottom bunk while we were prepping the boat, no complaints.
Hope that helps.
 
Roboise, congratulations on finding a 510. I'm in Spring Lake at Keenan and just listed mine. I did a complete gold to polished chrome redo on my 510 as well as switching out all the gold cover plates to brushed nickel. It really updates the interior. I also redid all the gold badging in the cockpit to chrome. The best prices I found on these items are listed below:
3 module Vimar diecast brushed nickel cover plates: $37.10 each from ledsmarine.
Hafele solid brass chrome knob 229.10.220 $4.99 each from Modern Hardware in Grand Rapids.
Hafele solid brass chrome rosette 229.11.220 $3.49 each from Modern Hardware in Grand Rapids.
Note, you need 59 of each of these.

Out of curiosity, did you look at my 2000 510 I have listed? Idle Hour. It’s a hardtop. It just went into storage today.
Bbrinks, thanks for the info. We will definitely check out the hardware.

Yes, we did look at your boat. Nice listing. We ended up finding one in Muskegon and got a very good deal (for this market). Had her in Spring Lake for about a week and just brought her back to Muskegon today to be hauled out. Can't wait for spring.
 
So overall had a great experience so far and am very happy with the new boat. Next stop is Stockton CA, then to Willow Berm Marina.

Once I get the boat to Stockton and on the hard, I am considering adding the drop-down trim tabs. Anyone have any thoughts on that idea, and does anyone know what the size of my trim tabs are? Forgot to measure while I was back in Illinois.

And another upgrade would be underwater LED lights…thinking Lumitec full spectrum, But not sure if I should just do three or four lights. Has anybody installed these lights?

Can’t wait to get her home, I feel like a 7 year old a week away from Christmas!
I replaced the halogens with lumitec and went from 2 to 3 lights on our 44 with a 14.5 beam and it looks good
 
So overall had a great experience so far and am very happy with the new boat. Next stop is Stockton CA, then to Willow Berm Marina.

Once I get the boat to Stockton and on the hard, I am considering adding the drop-down trim tabs. Anyone have any thoughts on that idea, and does anyone know what the size of my trim tabs are? Forgot to measure while I was back in Illinois.

And another upgrade would be underwater LED lights…thinking Lumitec full spectrum, But not sure if I should just do three or four lights. Has anybody installed these lights?

Can’t wait to get her home, I feel like a 7 year old a week away from Christmas!
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HardRockin, The stationary tabs on the boat definitely help bring the nose down. I didn't even think about playing with the adjustable tabs at all today when we brought the boat up to Muskegon for storage today. I was warned about how the 510 likes to ride nose high but not with this add on.
 
Question for the owners here. Looking at various boats and the 50/51 DA could be in the running. My main concern is how functional and comfortable is the second state room? Looks to be just bunk beds? We've looked at the 42/44DB, a 480DB and the sleeping quarters are pretty nice and accommodating. I'm worried the 50/51 second stateroom is really uncomfortable? Two boys and next summer they will be 13 and 17. The aft section of the Dancers really is second to none but we also need a comfortable place for everyone to sleep. If the couch pulls out that is a huge bonus!

Wife and I spent a month on our boat, very comfortable for the two of us. Have had guests on board for 3/4 days and that got coosy. The main salon couch makes a comfortable bed. The big advantage of 510 is having two complete stand up heads and having the beam to comfortably acomidate more than just 6 plus guests.
 
Is the 03-05 50DA the same boat as the 51 referenced in this thread? I assumed so but not so sure when I see the info and pics on here.
 
HardRockin, The stationary tabs on the boat definitely help bring the nose down. I didn't even think about playing with the adjustable tabs at all today when we brought the boat up to Muskegon for storage today. I was warned about how the 510 likes to ride nose high but not with this add on.

Roboise; so that’s a 510DA and you have the stationary tabs over the tunnels? I was thinking about doing adjustable over the tunnels. I’m thinking that might work for me…
 
Roboise; so that’s a 510DA and you have the stationary tabs over the tunnels? I was thinking about doing adjustable over the tunnels. I’m thinking that might work for me…
HardRockin, yes they are stationary. I am not sure if they are custom built or not. We were on Lake Michigan in 3's yesterday and I never even thought about adjusting the regular tabs. I will be more aware next year.
 
HardRockin, yes they are stationary. I am not sure if they are custom built or not. We were on Lake Michigan in 3's yesterday and I never even thought about adjusting the regular tabs. I will be more aware next year.
They do look custom. Do you happen to know how wide they are? What I think I might do is add a set of electric trim tab above the props tunnel that I can control separately from the hydraulic tabs I currently have. And I’m also thinking about adding drop fins to the original tabs.
I figure that adding additional tabs of the top tunnels, if I run into issues where I don’t like the results I can just trim them all the way up. But I don’t want to mess with the existing tabs that I know work.
 
They do look custom. Do you happen to know how wide they are? What I think I might do is add a set of electric trim tab above the props tunnel that I can control separately from the hydraulic tabs I currently have. And I’m also thinking about adding drop fins to the original tabs.
I figure that adding additional tabs of the top tunnels, if I run into issues where I don’t like the results I can just trim them all the way up. But I don’t want to mess with the existing tabs that I know work.
Shoot, I just left the boat. I will get measurements next time I go out to the boat barn.
 
Just an update. I talked to Bennett about adding an extra set of trim tabs over the prop tunnels. They advised me against it, said they would be concerned that that configuration could potentially be ripped off by the force of the water exiting the props. That sounds reasonable enough for me. They did advise that I could upgrade my existing system to their premier line, which would be larger tabs and stronger actuators. But now I’m thinking that I’m going to just go with drop fins, and upgrade the helm indicator. Wish me luck.
 

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