Did you take a look at the one at Marine Max? When my wife and I where there this fall to look at 48 sundancers we where on the one they had. We where more impressed with the layout and aft seating than we thought we would be. Ultimately the admiral has her heat set on a 48 sundancer. These have been very challenging to come by

 

I like the aft seating of the 500 better but want the ability to close the door on the salon.We are moving to FL in the fall and feel that it would be nice to be able to close ourselves in if in inclement weather.

 

Good Luck, Haven't heard to much negativity around the 510. Pods shouldn't be an issue if you are in FL. We have been cautious of PODS in the Midwest due to lack o certified techs.

 

What part of Florida?

Makes a big difference on service and on the chances of a bottom strike.

 

Destin area for 4 years unless we fall in love with it and then to Marco. Daughter is headed to Univ of AL and the admiral wants to be within a 5 hours drive.

 

Well, you will love NW Fla. We are in Panama City Beach. Destin is a little too crowded for us with everything clustered around the harbor and bridge area. The anchoring spot is behind t he bridge in an area called Crab Island where you will be anchoring with 5000 of your closest friends. We chose Panama City beach, no longer the ******* Riviera, about 25 years ago because of the barrier island and Gulf access. We can anchor inside a 12 mile long barrier island and walk across to the Gulf on the windiest of days. The city, PC Beach is actually 18 miles long so traffic isn't the nightmare that Destin has.

As far as the boat goes, There are decent independent mechanics in Destin, but there is no Zeus trained service in NW Fla. Treasure Island Marina is a Sea Ray Servicing dealer in Panama City and they do everything on a Sea Ray (mechanical, bottom work, fiberglass, canvas/upholstery, interior work, Sea ray warranty repairs) except Zeus Pod repairs. They can do routine servicing but they do not have a Zeus certified mechanic. The reason is that pods are not popular here.......way to much shallow water and a general lack of service for both IPS and Zeus. The inboard 510DA would be a great boat in this area.

 

Thanks for the info. We are looking at different areas in or around Destin. Just have to be within 5 hours of Tuscaloosa to go see our daughter perform at the Univ of AL. Any recommendations of areas would be appreciated. Have to have the boat in my backyard though. Good to know about the water depth. I actually just received info on a 2013 51da with v-drives and synchronized bow/stern thrusters. At first I thought "who orders a 2013 without pods?' but then I started thinking about maintenance, service, etc. Now I'm even more interested.

Well, you will love NW Fla. We are in Panama City Beach. Destin is a little too crowded for us with everything clustered around the harbor and bridge area. The anchoring spot is behind t he bridge in an area called Crab Island where you will be anchoring with 5000 of your closest friends. We chose Panama City beach, no longer the ******* Riviera, about 25 years ago because of the barrier island and Gulf access. We can anchor inside 12 mile long barrier island and walk across to the Gulf on the windiest of days. The city, PC Beach is actually 18 miles long so traffic isn't the nightmare that Destin has.

As far as the boat goes, There are decent independent mechanics in Destin, but there is no Zeus trained service in NW Fla. Treasure Island Marina is a Sea Ray Servicing dealer in Panama City and they do everything on a Sea Ray (mechanical, bottom work, fiberglass, canvas/upholstery, interior work, Sea ray warranty repairs) except Zeus Pod repairs. They can do routine servicing but they do not have a Zeus certified mechanic. The reason is that pods are not popular here.......way to much shallow water and a general lack of service for both IPS and Zeus. The inboard 510DA would be a great boat in this area.

 

The only issue I've heard about the 510 is a generally shorter range that other Sea Ray boats in this size range. I don't recall if that thread was on a Zeus or I/B 510. Probaby only matters if you're looking to do 200 miles or more in a day.

 

I have run a 2010 510DA with Cummins QSC's and v-drives a good bit. I ran the boat for an in-water show and must have docked it 15 times in a tight corner slip at the marina. I never once used the joystick or either of the thrusters, other than to see how they work. This is a great hull design with v-drives, handles loads extremely well (up to 15 full sized adults all moving about while underway), a dry ride, and a real sweetheart in tight spots. The one comment we heard repeatedly was about the open space at windshield and the potential loss of privacy. Absolutely love the boat and how it handles, but in the "new" measuring method, it is actually a good bit smaller than my old 450DA.

From my standpoint, form and function over gee-whiz, the potential problems with Pods and the difficulty/cost of trained mechanical assistance, the v-drive 510DA is a winner over the Zeus version. The minor performance and handling plus for the Zeus version certainly are not worth giving up the simplicity and low maintenance of the "get service anywhere" v-drive version, particularly since the v-drive boat is so easy to handle.