requesting 50ish feet flybridge info

Richie89

Richie89

Active Member
Aug 20, 2012
599
Miami Beach, FL
Boat Info
450 Sundancer
Engines
Twin Cummins 480 Zeus
I'm have footitis again. I am probably a year or so out from getting bigger. Boating is in Miami, lots of going to dinner and anchoring, lots of on and off rain, lots of hanging out at party sandbar spots. we want a flybridge to have all the outside areas, but also have an inside top level in rainy times and while underway traveling around. the flybridge in a 40-55 foot range seems to be by far the most common boat in Miami. it seems to be the right combination. i bought my current boat new, but am having (it seems) about as many small maintenance issues as with a used boat. I don't want to pay for a new 50 ft flybridge, so I'm asking what issues should i be aware of buying a used one, and how old is too old for still low maintenance? and what are the main areas of maintenance?
 
i didn't say, but another main reason for footitis is we want to always have onboard our bikes, a jet ski, and paddle boards, and room for lots of storage of all our junk.
 
I would say it is less about age than how the boat as been maintained. We bought our 47 Sedan Bridge this past March and passed on a lot of before that. Spent 5 months traveling the country looking at boats. I am still surprised how few people take care of their boats and keep on proper maintenance schedules. Really well cared for boats aren't easy to find but when you find it they are a far better deal than new.

Also keep in mind there will always be some small maintenance items....

Take a look at the 47 sedan bridge. It was a unique build for Sea Ray. My wife and I were very skeptical but know that we have owned it and put 80 hours of cruising on it we couldn't be happier.

Good luck.
 
What years are you considering? New boat?
I've been looking at 2005 - 2008 sedan bridges between 50 and 58 for over a year now. The plan is to make the move from the 400DA to one of the DB's this coming spring. I really like the full beam mid cabin in the 58 but don't want the MAN power due to recurring costs. The domestic 500/50/52's all have the Cummins QSM-11 engines which as long as the first major service is completed per the manufacturer's requirements have very few issues and are economically reasonable to maintain, operate, and repair. The Cummins could have some corrosion issues in the aftercoolers but as long as proper maintenance is done the corrosion is kept in check. One other issue that was brought to my attention by another DB owner is the Cummins arrangement has a dry exhaust element in the boat and can suffer from high EGT's due to loading at low engine speeds. The tell tail sign are traces of soot at the exhaust mating elements. The fix is taking some pitch out of the props. Access to the outboard sides of the engines in the 50's is challenging but the 58's is very good. I understand the 50's hulls are not cored but don't know about the 58's; still trying to verify this but not having a cored hull is a real plus for me. As you know the big challenge here in Florida is the marine growth below the water line. The 2005 500DB has a davit but they went to an optional hydraulic swim platform in 2006 which has a lot of the mechanism under water and consequently increases the due diligence in cleaning the bottom every three or four weeks in the summer. I don't think a davit was available in any of the 58's.
 
You also didn't say whether you were only looking at Sea Ray or are you entertaining other makes as well. Since you boat in the Miami area you know there are many brands of boats in that size range. I would think budget is going to be the deciding factor. When I went from an '89 340da to over 50' my main non-negotiable was to find the newest boat I could with the least amount of decorative teak and the best electronics package. Unfortunately the Admiral fell in love with a 30 year-old Taiwanese 52' CPMY with a full teak interior, teak hand rails and teak decks. On the plus side it was stabilized and had a 4 year-old Raymarine networked Nav system, at both stations, with all options. It was a really good boat and very dependable and reliable. But there was going to be a lot of maintenance in the future. We sold that boat before moving from California to New Orleans last year.

My point is you are going to have to decide the budget and then look at what fits in that budget. At that point, what are you non-negotiables and trade-offs. We are going to be looking for another large boat in the near future and we are going back to a Sundancer/Express style which we like better for the Gulf Coast. For me, I look for a boat that has near perfect engines and mechanicals. Next I would like the latest electronics and lastly, the cosmetics. I can easily make it look pretty and in my style but major mechanicals needs an expert and buying electronics can really add up fast and on a bridge boat with 2 stations you may be buying some stuff in twos.

I will say the search was a blast. We were living in Northern Cal and combined mini-vacations to Seattle and Los Angeles/San Diego to look at boats. From Miami, I think you have the Gulf Coast and the entire Eastern Seaboard as a market area. Lots to choose from.

Good luck and let us know how the search progresses.

Shawn
 
We stepped up from a Sundancer 330 to a Sedan Bridge 520 this spring. Really love the boat, and have spent most of the summer on it (I'm on it right now!). We looked at several before buying her, including doing a sea trial on one we didn't buy. My wife and I are very picky, and we wanted a boat that didn't have a long list of issues and would last our family 10 years. This of course cost more.

Some thoughts:

in 2008, Sea Ray did a slight redesign of the 520, which make the cockpit bigger, added hydraulic lift (which is 100000x better than davit), lengthened the bunk beds, and slight changes to the galley. My wife really liked the updated layout.

Have Cummins or another qualified professional check out the motors. On the first boat we tried to buy, a 2006, Cummins came back with a huge list of problems on both motors, that would require the motors to be removed from the boat to be fixed. The boat had numerous other problems as well, but that really put me off. I didn't want my first experience with my new boat to be watching the boat dismantled.

The 2nd one we looked at was a 2008 - we were excited as it had all the items we wanted. As soon as the broker opened the cabin door, a horrid smell came out, and we soon discovered rust and oxidation in the cabin, and a huge amount of black mold below the waterline. Walk. Away.

Our next stop was Texas, and we bought that boat. It had 300 hours on the motors, was in fresh water, covered marina, and was well taken care of. It cost more, since it was newer, but since it was in much better shape than the other 520s we saw, we felt it was worth it.

Insist on service records. If the seller doesn't have them, that's a red flag. In this case, all the maintenance was done by Marine Max, and they had detailed service records. Not everything was fixed, or fixed properly, but at least I knew what I was getting into. I also keep detailed service records (this helped in selling our Sundancer).

So far we've had minor issues, which came either from the transportation process (things not reconnected, or shaken loose), or from the fact that we are using the boat way more than the previous owners. On the engines, our mechanic did a full baseline -- hoses, fluids, filters. The starboard motor had a slight oil leak, and we replaced the oil pan gasket (looks like the original Cummins gasket was cracked on install), and the leak stopped.

I replaced the house batteries, as we spend a lot of time on the hook, and I had a dedicated battery installed on the generator.

I agree with the Shawn, you should look at a wide array of boats in your budget. We started with the belief that we wanted another Sea Ray, and our broker insisted on showing us other boats -- which confirmed that the 520 was the boat we wanted. I also really wanted pod/Zeus drives, and he talked me out of it. I can't thank him enough for that, since everyone we know with pods has had a lot of problems (before anyone flames me - I am sure a lot of people have no problems, this is my experience). We have a ton of stuff and logs floating in Puget Sound, and I think the straight shafts are a safer bet.

One last comment. On our first boat, we didn't use a broker. She was good boat, and we got a good deal (actually sold it for more than we paid for it). But a boat like the 520 is a bigger investment, and a more complex machine. So we used a broker, and we found one who was not pushy and aggressive, and also who is well known in the Seattle area. It made a big difference - he knew the back story on a lot of boats; he has a huge network of service providers; he helped resolve issues (like when the yard in Texas stripped off the bottom paint). He also found a great transport company (Russell Marine Transport). We know other people who had bad brokers, but if you're going to have to move a boat, there are a ton of details.
 
How old is too old for still low maintenance? Well, brand new is too old. All boats with multiple house systems and multiple engines take constant attention to assure oneself that your next trip will be flawless. Especially in salt environment. Even with that, stuff happens. Buying a boat that was well maintained is still going to have the same regular maintenance as the crappy one. You just won't have the initial catch-up cost to get the crappy boat to a starting baseline. And if you buy a boat in the 12-15 year old range you can plan on replacing everything except the propulsion system within a few years (of those things that havent already recently been replaced).

That's my story and I am sticking with it.
 
Thanks so much for all the info. I am agreeing with ZZ13 in that our current boat was bought new, and i still have constant maintenance issues. small issues, but constant. wife and i are believing we don't have to buy new as maintenance issues are just part of boating. down in Miami, it is true we see a half dozen brands regularly that have really nice looking 50 ft flys. Azimut is the other brand we are interested in as they seem to be the most popular brand down here. at this point, i am limiting my searches to 2008 and newer boats as my budget can handle that. my must haves at this point are a joystick and hydraulic swim platform, and want diesel. and more info will be very much appreciated as we start this process. wife's must have is that it must have a high swank factor, so no trawlers or anything like that haha!
 
I have a friend who has a gorgeous 2008 470 Sedan Bridge for sale located in La Crosse, WI.
 
Hi Richie - In addition to Azimut we see a lot of Prestige and Galleon fly's in so. fla too.....Did you end up with a slip in Mystic Pointe?
 
ZZ13 said:
And if you buy a boat in the 12-15 year old range you can plan on replacing everything except the propulsion system within a few years (of those things that haven't already recently been replaced).
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Really? And what are you basing that on? Our boat is a 1995 so it's 22 years old. We have owned it for 7 years and, other than one malfunction with a runaway starter, we have not replaced anything except for batteries and impellers, and I figure that's part of routine maintenance.
 
Hey ididntdoit, yes, we moved over to Mystic Pointe and love it! we are renting, but i'm trying to buy a slip in there. i've seen the Prestige boats and they look awesome, but the Galleon's are confusing to me as they are much cheaper. are they a good boat? also like the Absolutes. One guy (who owned an Azimut) told me that the Azimut boats have too many bells and whistles and give more maintenance issues. Not sure if that's true or if he was just out of patience with his boat having issues.
 
Gofirstclass said:
Really? And what are you basing that on? Our boat is a 1995 so it's 22 years old. We have owned it for 7 years and, other than one malfunction with a runaway starter, we have not replaced anything except for batteries and impellers, and I figure that's part of routine maintenance.
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Personal experience and experience of many others I know.

That's great that you have had no issues since you bought at the 15 year old mark. Does the boat still have the factory installed TVs, stereos, speakers, a/c units, refrigerators, microwaves, duckbills, bowl seals, bellows, sea water pumps, trans oil coolers, aftercoolers, shaft seals, fresh water pumps, battery chargers, nav systems, alarm systems, etc?
 
Gofirstclass said:
Really? And what are you basing that on? Our boat is a 1995 so it's 22 years old. We have owned it for 7 years and, other than one malfunction with a runaway starter, we have not replaced anything except for batteries and impellers, and I figure that's part of routine maintenance.
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You've seen the benefits of buying a freshwater Great Lakes boat.:D
 
We have an 07 52DB with 800 MANs. We are the second owners. We bought it in 2013 with 190 hours. We are at 650 hours now. Love the boat. We traded up from an 03 420DA, also purchased used. We put 900 hours on that boat. Happy to answer any questions on the 52DB
 
I am also in the hunt for a Sedan, we are looking at 44s and 52s in the 2007-2011 range. For those of you who have gone through the process why did you/would you pick one over the other? The obvious differences are number of staterooms, size of the bridge and cockpit and most of all cost to purchase.
 
Jeremygavin said:
I am also in the hunt for a Sedan, we are looking at 44s and 52s in the 2007-2011 range. For those of you who have gone through the process why did you/would you pick one over the other? The obvious differences are number of staterooms, size of the bridge and cockpit and most of all cost to purchase.
Click to expand...

First, we wanted/needed 3 staterooms. Really liked the layout from the cockpit into the salon, being mostly 1 level. Having moved up from a Sundancer, I really wanted the flybridge. It provides more space, both on the bridge and below, gives more visibility, and is a more social space. Larger engine room is nice too.

We looked at 10 or so different boats, and always came back to the 520.
 
J98052 you must have bought Boiling Oil. That looked like a great boat. I was still a few months from being ready to pull trigger on a 52 when that came up. Looked liked beautiful boat. I'm looking at 52 this weekend and hoping it's as advertised. I also like the 08 and newer design. We have been looking at 54 Sundancer and love the ride but can't get away from the space the 52 provides. We don't have lake house or condo so must have livability.
 
anyone have any knowledge or experience with Prestige boats? They are a French boat and look awesome with a unique layout. the 500 flybridge is very interesting.
 
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