Take a look at the pics and give me your thoughts please

DaltonGang

Member
Aug 11, 2020
104
Boat Info
1995 SeaRay 370 Sundancer
Engines
8.1 Horizons
Interested in this boat and did a seatrial today. (1995 370 sundancer) Engines are 8.1 with just 150 hours but its not because they are new, they are just not used often. See the picture. Does anyone know what the green (corroded) part is in that background? Also, notice some of the rust. Is that problematic?

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Just had one like that tonite, its the neutral safety switch . If it fails, motor will not crank
 
Just had one like that tonite, its the neutral safety switch . If it fails, motor will not crank

ok thats good to know on that smaller one. But look at the back side (more top right) and notice the bigger green section. There's a hose connected to it. Any idea what that is?
 
Pay the 5-600 bucks and get a professional survey, worth the money,

looks like an oil cooler or transmission cooler leaking to me. But I am far from an expert....
 
Pay the 5-600 bucks and get a professional survey, worth the money,

looks like an oil cooler or transmission cooler leaking to me. But I am far from an expert....

I'm going to spend about $2k and get a full boat survey with haulout. They are all about 2 weeks out because things are so busy (to my disbelief) so I was just curious about this in the meantime.
 
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The rust indicates that this 15 year old boat has lots of deferred maintenance and will require thousands of dollars to make it ship shape. i'll bet if you ask to see the complete file of preventive maintenance performed over the life of the vessel you will be told the records do not exist. If there is a little alarm going off in the back of your head, listen to it.
 
If that boat is a saltwater boat, it may be just bad maintenance. If that is a freshwater boat, that is way too much rust. That would look like it was submerged. Either way, is there any evidence of water staining up high in the bilge?
 
DG, The boat looks like it is in salt water? 150 hrs on a 1995 boat requires extra diligence. By NO means does this by itself mean it can not be a good boat in the future. The survey will tell the tale on this boat. Full engines survey with complete oil analysis should help form your decision. Also the price should reflect the boats current state. Good luck and enjoy the process. JC
 
ok thanks everyone. It is a salt water boat (in calif). The engines were installed about 10 years ago so basically 15 hours per year. Hardly used! Which I know could be just as bad as used a lot. The surface rust I see looks more like salt water spray (like a hose broke at one point) with no indication of salt water filling up. The picture I posted is the worst of it. I know it's bad maintenance as the current owner (whos had it for 3 years) just uses it as a weekend single guy hangout. He does spend money fixing things but i think its not preventative, its more fixing when something is broke just from lack of knowledge perhaps. I'll find out more soon enough. I'm gonna go with a mechanical survey first, then the haulout boat survey if that does ok.
 
By the way, I think that part in the background that turned green isn't an engine part. After looking at more pictures I think it's something else thats been on the boat since it was made. I may go back tomorrow and check into it more.
 
I'm going to spend about $2k and get a full boat survey with haulout. They are all about 2 weeks out because things are so busy (to my disbelief) so I was just curious about this in the meantime.
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That's a lot to spend for a boat that has been obviously neglected. You are very likely going to get a very expensive education on what it's like to own a vessel that has not been properly cared for.
 
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That's a lot to spend for a boat that has been obviously neglected. You are very likely going to get a very expensive education on what it's like to own a vessel that has not been properly cared for.

The mechanical survery will cost me about $800 and if it doesn't do well then I'm out. If it does well then I move on to the rest of the survey. The only thing I'm concerned about is the engines and hull/fiberglass health. Most work I do myself and this would be my 6th boat. I'm not a stranger to this & I'm not worried about bilge pumps, sumps, radio, fridge, etc etc. That's all easy stuff (although everything works). But I'm new to these motors & SeaRay which is why I posted the pic asking what that was.

So I'm doing 1 step at a time with caution but my gut is saying this is a solid boat with a lot of potential for the money. If the engines need a little basic help (preseason stuff like impellers, etc) then I'm good with that. If the oil comes back in the red then I'm not good with that. What I don't want is a $70k boat with 1000 hour engines.
 
The bigger green thing in the background appears to be a raw water strainer. They are brass and if the PO opened it to clean out the mesh filter, salt water would have splashed out in the process. I'm not a salt water boater, but even using a small outboard on my Florida dingy involves washing it all down with fresh water before putting it away. Looks like some careless neglect here, but the actual strainer itself isn't a big deal.
 
The bigger green thing in the background appears to be a raw water strainer. They are brass and if the PO opened it to clean out the mesh filter, salt water would have splashed out in the process. I'm not a salt water boater, but even using a small outboard on my Florida dingy involves washing it all down with fresh water before putting it away. Looks like some careless neglect here, but the actual strainer itself isn't a big deal.

yeah this is what I figured it was. I spotted 2 strainers inbetween the engines towards stern but this one is probably the gen strainer. Thanks for replying!
 
The bigger green thing in the background appears to be a raw water strainer. They are brass and if the PO opened it to clean out the mesh filter, salt water would have splashed out in the process. I'm not a salt water boater, but even using a small outboard on my Florida dingy involves washing it all down with fresh water before putting it away. Looks like some careless neglect here, but the actual strainer itself isn't a big deal.
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More likely it is bronze. Brass does not hold up in a marine environment. The blue is an oxide that coats all bronze fittings in salt water boats no matter how they are cared for. Its presence does not indicate neglect. There are plenty of other signs in the photo, however, that do indicate the boat has had little care.
 
View attachment 90306
More likely it is bronze. Brass does not hold up in a marine environment. The blue is an oxide that coats all bronze fittings in salt water boats no matter how they are cared for. Its presence does not indicate neglect. There are plenty of other signs in the photo, however, that do indicate the boat has had little care.

Yeah I agree. If this boat was full price I wouldn't be considering it but its $20k lower than any other. It's a trade off, I could look at more expensive boats that need very little but have 1000+ hours on the engines or one like this (150 hours 8.1 engines). It mostly just needs TLC. I've seen too many pulling motors or doing rebuilds near 1000 hours so I'd be paying the going price plus possibly a lot of engine work in the near future. With this current one, I'm hoping the engines are fine and a few maintenance things need to be done with a lot of clean up and little stuff. Mostly stuff I'd do myself.
 
Interested in this boat and did a seatrial today. (1995 370 sundancer) Engines are 8.1 with just 150 hours but its not because they are new, they are just not used often. See the picture. Does anyone know what the green (corroded) part is in that background? Also, notice some of the rust. Is that problematic?

View attachment 90270
No 1995 boat had 8.1 liter engines, so you are re-power. I assume you know that already. When was the re-power? Why? (but I already know that answer, I am on set #4), finally, are you ready to invest 100% of what you paid for the boat? You will, if you buy it. we all have.
 
No 1995 boat had 8.1 liter engines, so you are re-power. I assume you know that already. When was the re-power? Why? (but I already know that answer, I am on set #4), finally, are you ready to invest 100% of what you paid for the boat? You will, if you buy it. we all have.

Yeah I knew which is what got me interested in this one.
It was done 8-10 years ago and I'm assuming the old engines were just shot and it was time. Then another guy bought it 3 years ago and I think he let it go. Used it as a "condo" and ran it rarely. He did just put $5k into some engine work (exchangers, fluids, etc). Maybe impellers and that sort of thing, I'm going to find out.

I don't want worn out engines which I need to repower or rebuild. My plan is only to have this boat 5 years and actually use it several times per month all year around. Then I'll sell it. I'm not trying to make a slip queen or the shiniest boat at the dock. It's gonna be a mule and just get us around. Not sure if I wrote this already, but this will be my 6th boat. My last was a 1999 46' Maxum with twin cummins & it was much more boat than this 370. I had that boat perfect with under $5k invested (did it all myself including a turbo and risers) and it was a $170k boat. Kept it 3 years and sold it for a small profit. So I don't believe the rule "invest 100% of what you've paid" because I've never done that with a boat....out of 5 boats. Maybe I got lucky.

So basically, I would get this boat cheap, put maybe $10k or less into it and sell it in a few years when I'm done with it. After this one I may be done with boats & move out of state/retire/get some property. So I'm looking at this one as "the last one" which I will use until I'm done or its done.
 
Yeah I knew which is what got me interested in this one.
It was done 8-10 years ago and I'm assuming the old engines were just shot and it was time. Then another guy bought it 3 years ago and I think he let it go. Used it as a "condo" and ran it rarely. He did just put $5k into some engine work (exchangers, fluids, etc). Maybe impellers and that sort of thing, I'm going to find out.

I don't want worn out engines which I need to repower or rebuild. My plan is only to have this boat 5 years and actually use it several times per month all year around. Then I'll sell it. I'm not trying to make a slip queen or the shiniest boat at the dock. It's gonna be a mule and just get us around. Not sure if I wrote this already, but this will be my 6th boat. My last was a 1999 46' Maxum with twin cummins & it was much more boat than this 370. I had that boat perfect with under $5k invested (did it all myself including a turbo and risers) and it was a $170k boat. Kept it 3 years and sold it for a small profit. So I don't believe the rule "invest 100% of what you've paid" because I've never done that with a boat....out of 5 boats. Maybe I got lucky.

So basically, I would get this boat cheap, put maybe $10k or less into it and sell it in a few years when I'm done with it. After this one I may be done with boats & move out of state/retire/get some property. So I'm looking at this one as "the last one" which I will use until I'm done or its done.
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I'd be nterested in hearing how you replaced turbos and risers on Cummins diesels for less than $5,000. What did the parts cost for starters?
Did you notice the non standard wiring on the 370?
 
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I'd be nterested in hearing how you replaced turbos and risers on Cummins diesels for less than $5,000. What did the parts cost for starters?
Did you notice the non standard wiring on the 370?

I didn't do both turbos, just 1. I think that was $2k. I found the company that makes the risers for that boat and had them in stock. I didn't need them custom made even though it was a 1999. Those were about $600 each. I also replaced the raw water pumps from seaboard marine which are the really good/well built ones. I got those for $700 each. Thats about $4500. Then I did a few little things it needed. I also added a valve and T in the strainers so I could flush with fresh water at the end of my day. i'd do the same with this 370. (keep in mind, I did all of this myself so no labor)

No, I didn't notice the wiring on the 370. This is my first SeaRay if i get it.
What do you mean? is it messy?
 

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