John,
All boats have stringers that are molded to the bottom of the boat on the inside and run the length of the boat The bigger the boat the bigger the stringers. Limber holes go through the stringers sometimes at several points along the bottom of the stringer to allow water to get to the inboard side of the stringer and into the bilge where it can be pumped overboard by the bilge pumps. A proper Limber hole should be glassed in to the stringer to prevent moisture from getting into the wood stringers. This can be very bad if not done this way. In many of the early Sea Rays as well as many other brands the limber holes have just a short length of pvc tubing and they are often not sealed. It sounds like that was the case on SBW's Sea Ray. The soft deck he was referring to was around the windlass on the foredeck of the boat. Most foredecks are 2 layers of fiberglass with a layer of balsa in between. If the balsa gets wet the deck can get soft and a repair would be needed. All of these boats have wood in them and how much can be exposed to water depends on the boat and the care it has received.
My last boat was a 1989 340 Sundancer. I had no soft decks, rot, blisters or limber hole issues. Others on the forum have posted volumes about the rot they have had to repair on their late 80's 340s. BTW there are still some of those boats around that are in very good shape and that was also a pretty roomy boat but an older design. While I don't mean to minimize the issues SBW had with his 350/370 I'm sure you will find mainy more 350/370 owners on this forum who love(d) them. A good surveyor will find these issues and if you are concerned simply ask the surveyor to pay extra attention to those areas of concern. Also don't be afraid to walk if a survey turns up more that you or the seller are willing to repair. Before I bought my current boat I paid $1600 for surveys on another boat that looked OK but didn't do well in the survey so we walked and ended up with a much better boat.
It's not really too hard to tell if a boat has had care. If it's clean and neat inside and out; the engine room is clean and uncluttered; boat is shiny and appears to have a good coat of wax the PO most likely took care of needed items. The pics of the 310 in your last post didn't impress me much.
Yachtworld lists 42 2000 340 Sundancers in the US with prices from $99k to $47,700. There are a few in Annapolis and Baltimore in the high $60s to low $70s. Keep in mind that the 2000 340 has a beam of only 11'5". Those engines are really close together. My '89 340 had a beam 6" wider and I could not stand between the engines. The 350/370 has a beam that is 11" wider and beam makes all the difference. There is one other model you might consider and that is this one. http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1994/Sea-Ray-440-Sundancer-2318160/Annapolis/MD/United-States This is a 44' Sundancer and it has Cat diesels. With a beam of almost 14' this a really a roomy boat. The asking price is a bit higher but there is really a lot of boat here. You might want to check that out at least for comparison. And remember, these are just asking prices and you can offer anything you want.
Enjoy the search and keep us informed on how its going.
Shawn
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