Our 'new' boat... an '06 40 Sundancer !

[gerryb]

Well, it finally happened... after making several offers on various boats the last couple of years, we finally found the 'one'... a well-maintained, 160 hours, 2006 40 Sundancer with Cummins QSBs. We actually 'owned' 2 boats for the last month but sold the 280 this week. I already miss the 280.. but the 40 is one sweet boat. We purchased the '04 280 in 2005 and she has been great - no major issues and very reliable for 7 years. Our daughter was 5 then... and 12 now.. so we needed more room as she is in the 'can I bring a friend' stage of life. We spend our weekends on the '40 and with pocket door and separate shower, it makes it much easier on all of us.

Impressions on the 40 are generally very positive. Great design and excellent build quality. Lots of space and all the amenities you could want. With the diesels and 20,000 lbs, it handles the open water sooo much better than the 280 did. It does need a few things - bottom paint is shot and one dripless is dripping, but nothing major. One of the first projects was to replace all six duckbill valves in the vacuflush system (All I can say is.. what an experience..).

Only major negative I must mention is that this boat is slow. I realize I'm coming from a boat that hits 50MPH, but the 40's top speed of 24-25kts is something that is gonna take some time for me to adjust to... Also getting used to the massive amount of metal in the engine room compared to 'gas' boats... but the sensation of those turbo's kicking in may become a truly joyful albeit expensive addiction...:smt043

 

[saopm]

Looks great! Congrats!

 

[mwph]

Congratulations. Well deserved I'm sure.
Nice signature pic too! Very nice!

 

[mrclark321]

Congrats and enjoy

 

[Tonka Boater]

Wow! Nice upgrade....only 24-25 knots though? I wouldn't expect 40 mph from a boat that size but 25 knots is less than 30 mph. That would take some getting used to.

 

[fwebster]

You get over the "I need speed" thing pretty quickly. Never once have I said my boat is too slow, but that comes after you realize that boating at this level is a completely different animal. With smaller boats that run 40+ mph you tend to concentrate on the destination, but with larger diesel boats your enjoyment come more from the trip than the destination. You will also find that your boating weather window gets much larger because squalls aren't much of a problem if you have good electronics. Additionally, 4-5 ft seas will keep a 280 tied to the pilings, but with a 40 ft boat, you just pull back the throttles a bit and keep trucking.

Enjoy the new boat.............

 

[osd9]

First off congrats on the new boat...she's a beaut!!!

I agree with what Frank says, but, 24-25kts top WOT speed seems awfully slow....slow enough that I would consider having things checked. For comparison, a 410DA (heavier boat) with 350HP CATs will reach 30KTS WOT and cruise at 23-24Kts. Not trying to make CAT vs Cummins issue here...

 

[eauty]

I have looked at this style boat for a long time and my wife and I love this and the new 410SDA. A friend of mine owns a 2009 40 SDA with QSB 380's and although his boat isn't "fast" he certainly cruises faster than what you are stating your boat does. Your description states QSB 580's/vdrives but I think that boat either cam with 8.1 liter gassers, 8.1 H.O. gassers, Cummins QSB 380's or QSB 425's.
But whatever you have for power, you still have one sweet boat. Congrats.

 

[HUMPH]

First off congrats on the new boat...she's a beaut!!!

I agree with what Frank says, but, 24-25kts top WOT speed seems awfully slow....slow enough that I would consider having things checked. For comparison, a 410DA (heavier boat) with 350HP CATs will reach 30KTS WOT and cruise at 23-24Kts. Not trying to make CAT vs Cummins issue here...

Is that with your extra 35 HP per side or the base 350HP? I can't sniff 30knots and cruise is 20 to 21 knots at 2400RPM even with the propscan. I have not verified the tachs yet though. Or is it maybe that your hatch lift repair added that much extra speed?

 

[Dani-Lu]

I have the 375hp cat 3126's with WOT at 27kts at 2825 rpms and Cruise at 21 kts at 2350 rpms. This is with half tanks or full tanks of fuel and full water, not mch difference how boat is loaded.

 

[Crushin It]

Congratulations!! Just beautiful...

 

[Carpedmman]

You get over the "I need speed" thing pretty quickly. Never once have I said my boat is too slow, but that comes after you realize that boating at this level is a completely different animal. With smaller boats that run 40+ mph you tend to concentrate on the destination, but with larger diesel boats your enjoyment come more from the trip than the destination. You will also find that your boating weather window gets much larger because squalls aren't much of a problem if you have good electronics. Additionally, 4-5 ft seas will keep a 280 tied to the pilings, but with a 40 ft boat, you just pull back the throttles a bit and keep trucking.

Enjoy the new boat.............

Congrats on the new boat!
As always, Frank has the right words. Having made the jump from a 330 Dancer that was a 45mph boat, to the 460 which is a 23-25 knot boat, these larger boats just have you slowing down and enjoying the ride. Our first year we put on 200hours and my guess is our average speed would be around 10 knots.
Enjoy!

 

[Gunn]

Congratulations! I'm in a similar situation to how you started with your 280. I've had it almost two years now with an 8 and 10 year old. I just had to read your post aloud to my wife...is the 40DA in my future in a few years? I sure wouldn't mind!

And I agree with Frank; I always enjoy just cruising in my 280 and wish sometimes it took longer to get to where we usually go, just so I could continue to enjoy the ride. I guess we just need to go on longer destination trips. But also as Frank said, we do have to keep an eye out on the weather, more so than you'll have to do now. Have fun!

 

[gerryb]

Thanks all for your responses. I'd love some other 40DA owners with the 5.9 Cummins to give me real-world data on speed, fuel burn, load and RPMs. I have the tech sheet from Cummins/Searay and need more time on the water to get a better feel of speed and RPMs on this boat. The speed listed in my post were at approx 85% load. A little reluctant to pin the throttles but will do so in the interest of research.

 

[osd9]

Is that with your extra 35 HP per side or the base 350HP? I can't sniff 30knots and cruise is 20 to 21 knots at 2400RPM even with the propscan. I have not verified the tachs yet though. Or is it maybe that your hatch lift repair added that much extra speed?

I have the 375hp cat 3126's with WOT at 27kts at 2825 rpms and Cruise at 21 kts at 2350 rpms. This is with half tanks or full tanks of fuel and full water, not mch difference how boat is loaded.

I don't want to rob the thunder from this thread....some one REALLY needs to start one of those specialized 410DA threads. A few attempts have been made in the past....but nothing official....at least not that I have seen.

Humph....I owe you those pics BIG TIME.....bar keep...put up a round on me for being late.

For the record...last weekend, on the way to "THE CSR rendezvous", I was making 24.3 knots at 2380 RPMS....AND....a heavy ass asterik asterik asterik 410DA was right on my tail!!!!

 

[MasterFab]

Dom, sounds to me like Rick had a heavy hand on those throttles!! He must have burned a lot of ***...

Dale

 

[HUMPH]

Humph....I owe you those pics BIG TIME.....bar keep...put up a round on me for being late.

For the record...last weekend, on the way to "THE CSR rendezvous", I was making 24.3 knots at 2380 RPMS....AND....a heavy ass asterik asterik asterik 410DA was right on my tail!!!!

Thanks Dom, I believe I need to invest in digital tachs since at those RPM's I am right around 20 knots. My engines are still detuned to 350HP though.

 

[rondds]

Hey Gerry
Congrats on the new boat! You still at Seaview Harbor?

 

[Bottom Line]

Congrats on the new boat!!

 

[Hitchinpost]

Our 40DA is 2007 model, but same QSB 425's... Have routinely gotten a favorite cruise speed of 24kts at some 2700rpm, ~78-80% load, and burning right at 28g/h. On the pins (3050rpm) with typical load and mild conditions, she'll hit 31kts (35mph) and drink fuel at 42g/h.

Just had cooling system and transmission serviced (was starting to run hotter at higher rpm) and on sea trial was disappointed with her performance out of the hole (she always jumped up on plane) and with getting rpm and speed back up. Hitting 99-100% load at only 82-85% throttle. I know it's time for bottom paint... She'll be fine after her visit to the yard.

Good luck with your new boat!