looking to buy a 94 sea ray 330 express cruiser. Its been at a marina on coast the last 5 years. What questions do I need to ask as far as maintenance? What can I expect for yearly maintenance cost? Bottom scraped painting? What parts would need to be change yearly with boat being in salt water?
Yearly Maintenance costs
- Thread starter Dicarroll
- Start date
CaptRonn
Well-Known Member
- May 25, 2016
- 1,550
- Boat Info
- 1999 Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge
- Engines
- Convert fuel into noise
There is no way to answer those questions. Could go from a low figure to a price that exceeds the value of the boat.
Todd320
Well-Known Member
- Jul 21, 2016
- 1,508
- Boat Info
- 2007 Sea Ray 320DA
- Engines
- Twin V-drive 5.7L 350 Horizon
I spend 6k per year on storage for my 320. 50 hours per year (min) = 30gallons/hour * 50 =1500gallons *4$/gal = 6k in gas, (only 3$ gallon right now, so better). Maintenance/repairs, 4K this year, sometimes 2, other times 8, but I pay a tech for some work, and do other repairs myself. Upgrades, at least 2k this year. I keep my boat in dry storage, so no bottom cleaning, no bottom paint upkeep, so add that in. Insurance, 1k, don’t forget payment if you have one. Easy to pay out 24k/year on a 32 foot boat.
sbw1
Well-Known Member
- Oct 10, 2006
- 8,185
- Boat Info
- This is listed in my signature
- Engines
- This is listed in my signature
We spent 3-4K a year doing the routine maintenance on our 32 Open. Used the open checkbook approach and a yacht service known for quality work. Work was done by the book on all of the systems. Some years were more when, for example we replaced electronics. That was about 22k so the years varied. Always figured on 3-4K for routine stuff. The advantage to this approach is the boat always works and there are no expensive surprises. We kept all the records and when we sold the boat we got top dollar. The only con is some see this approach as needlessly expensive. If you read boating blogs you see many threads about stuff that does not work and people ask for advice on how to fix things that suffer from deferred maintenance, no maintenance or work that has been done by folks who don't know what they are doing. That is the other side of the story. In West Michigan I would expect a 330 Express in excellent condition to cost about the same to maintain as our 32 open if you use a similar approach. If you do the work yourself, it could be cheaper if you know what you are doing, or more expensive if you are a novice. Mistakes can be very costly.
The biggest costs are operating costs. We spent 25k or more for fuel, slip fees, insurance, storage. We did spend weeks at a time on our boat and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have yet to see a 2004 that sold for a higher price than we got on the first day it went onthe market.
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Todd320
Well-Known Member
- Jul 21, 2016
- 1,508
- Boat Info
- 2007 Sea Ray 320DA
- Engines
- Twin V-drive 5.7L 350 Horizon
2007...
M Prod
Well-Known Member
- Oct 6, 2017
- 1,438
- Boat Info
- 2005 Sundancer 340
Zodiac Cadet w/FCT console Yamaha F20
Kohler 5KW Genny
- Engines
- 8.1 Horizons /V Drives
It all depends how handy you are. If I paid someone to do everything I do on my boat yearly, it would be close to $10k/season plus marina fees. Since I do most all my own maintenance short of an engine rebuild, I spend far less. Plus marina fees and insurance. Biggest yearly cost is typically fuel which adds up quick with twin 8.1’s. And then the occasional bigger ticket item. (Replaced all manifolds and raw water pumps 2 years ago to the tune of $5k). This winter I’m having props reconditioned and tuned and shafts inspected (maybe replaced). That will likely be a few boat bucks.
Thanks
sbw1
Well-Known Member
- Oct 10, 2006
- 8,185
- Boat Info
- This is listed in my signature
- Engines
- This is listed in my signature
Just remembered one of the benifits of having an ongoing relationship with a good boat mechanic. I was checking my boat the day before we were to take off for a 10 hour run up to Harbor Springs. I plugged in the waypoints for the trip and decided to fix a big glass of ice water. Opened the ice maker and the ice was just beginning to melt. I thought I had accidentally turned a breaker off. No cigar. It had just stopped working probably earlier in the day. So, I called my guy and explained we were going on vacation. He came over to my house and installed the part. Told me the module I needed was a known issue and he stocks them for just this occasion. He really saved the day, and his price was reasonable. Service like that makes boating fun.
Oh.. how much?...a lot ..... and that is never enough
- Apr 26, 2009
- 5,819
- Boat Info
- '97 330 Sundancer, Raymarine C80 suite with radar, Mercury 310 Hypalon w/8hp Yammie 2stk
- Engines
- 2X 454 carbs w/ vDrives
Here is a link to a post I did earlier about my total cost of boating for the last 10 years with a 97 330DA in Ontario. This is fresh water so I have not had to replace manifolds at all in that period and our bottom paint lasts years with no hull scraping or cleaning. Here is the link:
http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/real-cost-of-owning-this-boat.95912/page-4#post-1098437
JimT
Well-Known Member
- Jul 7, 2009
- 1,910
- Boat Info
- 2010 330 Sundancer
- Engines
- T-350mags w/BIIIs & Axius, 5.0 kw Kohler
Maintaining relationships with service providers is key. Right now on our lake if you don't have a connection service is 6 weeks out. Find a few good techs and build relationships. Do you annual maintenance in the off season.
