Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Re-Power Options

This is another one of the options the outboard is considered because I can have the pod built to take the upgraded engine but start by running a couple of say 40-60's for my basic Cruising needs. And I have to be honest the idea of swapping out an outboard if it goes wrong or I fancy more power is much easier
 
thesaintlyone said:
Thanks Bruce I'm looking at the single Engine option as the same boat was sold with either twin or single Engine Conversions the single being a 7.4L Mercruiser 300hp so I am presuming with a few modifications it will be okay

Guys I am listening to your arguments but they are based on one glaring thing which is Resale. I didn't buy this boat to sell it a d I didn't buy this boat to make a profit I bought it to stay on it use it at the weekends on the river Medway as far as the Thames estuary and enjoy it if I sell it later in life then so be it but please stop suggesting that the worse reason for doing something is resale value
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Well said. Many people on here are obsessed with resale value. I buy loads of stuff but hardly ever sell anything. Once I have bought it I consider the money gone.

So do what you think is best ignoring resale value
 
FlowerPower said:
Okay, let's remove the word "resale" and "profit" from the above paragraph.
Even then, you're left with "value", which still stands, I think.

e.g. What's the value of a boat that needs £15k worth of engines and can be bought with engines for £20k?
It's not all about the numbers, I agree, but it does help to be realistic about where the money is actually going when you are weighing up the options.

.
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He has bought the boat and now needs to power it. Selling it is not what he wants to do and value has nowt to do with it. It amazes me that people cant understand this. It is so simple
 
Bigplumbs said:
He has bought the boat and now needs to power it. Selling it is not what he wants to do and value has nowt to do with it. It amazes me that people cant understand this. It is so simple
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they are just trying to give good financial advise, so as not to lose any money on the deal, we all make a profit out of our boating .....
 
Bigplumbs said:
He has bought the boat and now needs to power it. Selling it is not what he wants to do and value has nowt to do with it. It amazes me that people cant understand this. It is so simple
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Where did I mention selling it ??

Of course you can ignore "value".
You can also put several thousand pounds into a washing machine and put it on a boil wash.
Doesn't mean it's a great idea, though.

.
 
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simonfraser said:
they are just trying to give good financial advise, so as not to lose any money on the deal, we all make a profit out of our boating .....
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It is not about a deal or loosing money. I say again he has bought the boat now wants to put an engine or engines in it. Yes for the best price he can. That was what his questions were about, Not basically telling him he has made a stupid decision and should think about something else completly
 
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If People were to listen to all 'the good financial advice' proffered on here no one would ever renovate anything.

How many of us will kark it with pots and pots of money in the bank................... Remember you cant take it with you.
 
FlowerPower said:
Where did I mention selling it ??

Of course you can ignore "value".
You can also put several thousand pounds into a washing machine and put it on a boil wash.
Doesn't mean it's a great idea, though.

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And who said it needs to be a great idea. Half the stuff people do is stupid to others but if they are happy doing it why stick your ore in and make them unhappy.

Once again people don't read the questions people ask and answer those questions. I wonder if any of these people ever passed an exam
 
The idea of renovating, to me, is get something back to the way it was meant to be originally.
A Sea Ray 290 was meant to be a sea boat ... big engines, V-hull, 30+kt performance.

There are different boats that are more suited to river or estuary use, which is why buying a sea going cruiser with no propulsion was a bit of a left-field decision in the first place.
The phrase " If You Want to Get There, I Wouldn't Start From Here" comes to mind.
 
Although I’m not a fan of messing with a boats design from factory in such a way, if you are thinking of going single engine...See if you can find a good used 350 mpi. What an engine. So fuel efficient, so powerful. So reliable (once the known usual mpi issues are dealt with) and so cheap to service.
The 7.4 is rediculous on fuel and only slightly more powerful than the 350 mpi. Think there is only 20hp in it.
Problem is getting a hold of an mpi used. Everyone wants them.

If money is no object, I’d be putting two 5.0 mpi or even 4.3 mpi in it with alpha drives.
 
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thesaintlyone said:
This is another one of the options the outboard is considered because I can have the pod built to take the upgraded engine but start by running a couple of say 40-60's for my basic Cruising needs. And I have to be honest the idea of swapping out an outboard if it goes wrong or I fancy more power is much easier
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Why two engines?
 
FlowerPower said:
The idea of renovating, to me, is get something back to the way it was meant to be originally.
A Sea Ray 290 was meant to be a sea boat ... big engines, V-hull, 30+kt performance.

There are different boats that are more suited to river or estuary use, which is why buying a sea going cruiser with no propulsion was a bit of a left-field decision in the first place.
The phrase " If You Want to Get There, I Wouldn't Start From Here" comes to mind.
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Well said. If the starting point had been "I have a pair of good engines and drives would this be a suitable boat to put them in as it is going cheap" then it could be a good project.

As it is the question is "I have bought a boat that has no engines, is totally unsuitable for what I want a boat for - what could I do with it?". Perhaps the OP should also have added "I have not got a clue what is involved".

To my mind spending £5k on an unsuitable boat with no idea of what is involved in getting it functioning nor what it might cost is not a good starting point for a viable project.

The only winner here seems to be the happy seller!
 
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