The 470 or 475 Sundancer from Sea Ray, open back, coupe style cruiser, what's good about it and what could be better.
What is it?
48 feet long, US built from Sea Ray, powered by twin Cummins diesels with Mercruiser Zeus pod drives and joystick control. Twin cabins, twin heads, coupe style sports cruiser.
I would like to start by saying I am not usually a great lover of closed in sports cruisers, I live in the Mediterranean, I like the open air, there have been a few of this type of boat though that I have to admit to liking, this is right at the top of the list, lets delve in and see why.
Lets start by the way it looks, a lot of the closed in style sports cruisers are strange looking, they are bubble shaped, have odd sized windows and some have notorious blind spots where visibility from the only helm is severely restricted, added to which, a few I can think of do not have much headroom, you end up forced to sit down or open the roof to see where you are going, this 475 is the exact opposite.
The windows are large, the cockpit roof height is great and visibility is reassuringly good, the amount of light that comes in is amazing. Some features here deserve special mention;
Electric windows on both sides of the wheelhouse
Electric opening vents in the windshield, very typical of Sea Ray.
Twin electric sunroofs, one per side with Oceanair blinds.
All these add up to a great air flow and overcome one of the problems with this style of boat, too much heat. The cockpit is divided up with a lot of seating and tables on the starboard side, wet bar and optional grill to port, then forward and raised up on the port side is another seating area opposite the helm.
Aft of the seating area on the starboard side is a huge sunbathing pad with storage underneath the bench seat facing into the cockpit and also the aft facing the platform, the backrests open up, if you leave the opening mechanism unused for a long time, they do tend to seize up, its not a difficult job to free them off, it is time consuming though as the upholstery on the backrests needs to be removed to reach them.
The shorepower connection is in the transom, quite low down and more or less in the centre of the boat, can be difficult to get to if you have a dinghy on the platform. On the subject of shorepower, Sea Ray fitted isolation transformers from Charles Industries on both inlets to the boat, they isolate parasitic corrosion via the shorepower cable, they are very effective and also very expensive, a very high end addition.
Bathing platform.
I have not seen this model without the hydraulic bathing platform so cannot comment what it would be like without it, I will say, you will want the hydraulic one supplied by General Hydraulic Solutions, it will easily lift a tender or smaller jet ski such as a Sea Doo Spark, the platform usually comes with a set of adjustable chocks to fit most dinghies, the jet skis might need some custom ones made, bathing ladder is incorporated into the platform.
There is a sturdy transom gate, the door behind it contains the wired remote control for the platform, a lot of the GHS installations also have wireless remotes so you can operate the platform them from the tender.
Engines and propulsion
Twin Cummins Mercruiser diesels with Zeus pod drives, 480 hp per side. This is quite a heavy boat, although the inherent hydrodynamic efficiency of pods allows Sea Ray to use smaller engines, this boat is still no fireball when it comes to speed, think of it more like a suet pudding rather than a soufflé, low twenties is about the right cruise speed. The pod drives have automatic trim tabs built onto them and they actually work quite well, they can be overridden and out into manual mode.
The motors are controlled by Mercruiser electronic control heads which are very nice to use, the star of the show is the joystick control, the pods can work independently on each other, allowing you to move the boat laterally sideways, at oblique angles or spin it on the spot. Skyhook is another feature of this boat, it is a geostationary anchor of sorts, switch it on and it will automatically keep the boat where you told it to, well sort of, the boat moves a few metres and the Skyhook feature puts it back where it was, it does work well and I have used it many times when waiting my turn for the fuel dock. Autopilot is another feature of the Mercruiser Zeus system, when navigating, push auto to maintain heading, rotate the top of the joystick to change course by ten degrees or tap it sideways for one degree at a time.
The Cummins engines are very sturdy and reliable, if looked after they should give many hours of trouble free use. They are not the quietest of motors however, A little more sound deadening in the engine room would not go amiss. The Mercruiser joystick is also not the most delicate of controls, it looks like a tractor tyre and is just as brutal in use, it needs a lot of gentle practice when maneuvering at low speeds. When you compare it to its direct competition from Volvo, its the difference between a cudgel and a scalpel, the Mercruiser system has no low idle feature, so you have a lot of power available all the time, it takes quite a bit of skill to get the most from it without overcooking it and developing so much thrust is makes all the boats around it bob up and down like their experiencing the tale end of a tsunami.
The Mercruiser Smartcraft gauges and Vesselview screen do work very well, the analogue readouts have been placed on a small dashboard on the ceiling above the windshield, they are easy to read and do not obstruct the view out. The Vesselview screen with its simple menus and clear graphics is in a more conventional position at the helm.
Engine room
The access to the engine room and machinery space is via a huge hatch, very easy, there is a ladder that drops you down between the motors. The batteries are all on the port side and are accessed via a separate deck hatch, nicely done, although they are a bit low down, they are readily reachable.
The raw water baskets are about halfway along, easily reached for service, the seacocks for the main engines water feeds are built into the pods, they are a bit of a reach, but doable, maybe a tool of some kind would come in handy in case of an emergency. The black water discharge seacock is a difficult one to reach, its all the way back in the port side corner, it is however, fitted above the water line. Fuel pre filters are easy to check for both engines and the generator. As usual with Sea Rays of this age, they did not skimp on the quality of the fittings, Groco supply the seacocks and raw water baskets, that's good, generator is from Cummins Onan, installed in a soundshield box, servicing the generator requires reaching over one of the motors, its doable, but could be better, the manual pump for the hydraulic bathing platform is installed in the aft portion on the engine room, I have never known anyone actually need to use it.
One howler I must draw attention to is the anchor winch main breaker, it is fitted in a waterproof electrical box that needs a screwdriver to get to it, to me this is a really bad installation. An anchor winch breaker is not something you want to have to spend time resetting, let alone removing covers to get to it. Other than that everything else is very good. The main electrical breakers are located on the forward bulkhead of the engine room, very typical of a Sea Ray installation, everything clearly identified, there is also a duplicate set of battery disconnect switches on the panel, they operate remote solenoids and are useful to mechanics and technicians to isolate the batteries when working without having to leave the engine room and go to the salon.
Interior
I have only ever seen the darker wood interior, it is really well done, all the lockers are lined and there is masses of storage, lockers above the starboard side sofa, the furthest forward contains the stereo and DVD player for the salon. Galley with full sized fridge freezer is to port. There are huge cupboards and drawers underneath the granite look galley worktop, locker above the fridge has the mains electrical panel, above the worktop is the DC electrical panel.
There are two cabins, the master cabin cabin deserves particular praise, walk through a sort of short corridor and the master head is to port and the separate master shower to starboard which is very large.
The guest cabin with en suite head is aft of the salon, there is an awkward small step down from the salon to the aft cabin so be careful. The large doors for the cabins are beautifully finished in high gloss wood. The boat is fully air conditioned throughout, the salon TV drops down from the ceiling above the galley. Its quite plain, nothing flashy, just high quality materials very well laid out, keeping it simple really works well, it is quite square, no curves or rounds to be seen. There are wooden slatted blinds (possibly optional) that cover all the windows and the dark wood coupled with a wood salon floor can make it a bit dark, there are some overhead windows below the windshield that allow some natural light into the salon, the dark interior is most noticeable when you are an a typical Med style berth with boats either side.
Navigation
With its excellent visibility, slow speed and close quarter maneuvers are easy enough, one thing I have though of a few times is the absence of a bow thruster, I know the pods do an excellent job of sideways movement but from time to time a bow thruster would be handy, especially, given the high freeboard in the bow. Moving around whilst moving is not an issue, the side decks are wide, the guardrails a good height, not too low and they are very strong, the port side cockpit has a step from the side deck down, starboard means stepping onto the seating, there are good strong cleats where you need them, this model year was at the pinnacle of Sea Ray quality, you have to try very hard to find anything that does not appear like it was built to last.
When cruising at planing speeds there is not a huge amount of noticeable bow rise from the helm position, the trim tabs left in their automatic setting do a good job of helping this heavy boat onto plane. The glass does an excellent job of keeping the breeze off, whilst, if you open the windshield vents and side windows, plenty of fresh air passes through to keep you cool.
If the weather turns nasty, you will be protected by the glass but also it will need to be kept free of spray, you must absolutely ensure the automatic windshield wiper system is working correctly and sweeping the right area on the screen and not hitting the edges of the glass or worse swinging outside over the corners of the hardtop supports, the wiper blades must also be perfect, in a sunny climate they will degrade and perish quicker than you think. I would probably used a glass protectant spray that leaves a film behind to stop water from sticking so easily to the glass and give the wipers a hand, something like RainX for example.
This is not really a sporty sort of cruiser, where a Sunseeker would heel in more, the Sea Ray sort of turns slowly, again those automatic trim tabs working, keeping the turn much flatter than you would imagine, it still leans into turns but not in the same way as an outdrive equipped boat, I would say it is more eager than the equivalent shaft driven boat though. Its all very easy, if not especially quick. I can not remember the exact figures for fuel consumption but the twin tanks hold a combined 1325 litres of diesel, the range is not huge. Whilst talking about fuel tanks, this boat has something interesting, Sea Ray installed a fuel transfer pump, this is easier than their previous efforts of switching vales and returns, a lot of boats have balance bars between the tanks, which is fine, providing you can reach the the valves, the fuel transfer is done from the helm with a rocker switch, to port or starboard, could not be easier.
Upgrades
There is not much really, the original navigation electronics will probably have been supplied by Raymarine, if you want the latest navigation screens and features this is a good place to start, there is space on the dashboard for twin screens. The Vesselview system has various converter boxes that would allow you to view engine information on the new navigation screens.
There are a lot of lights on this boat, the original, mostly halogen bulbs are real energy hogs and develop a lot of heat, swap these out for LED replacements and get different bulb colours for the different areas, whiter lights are better suited to heads and shower areas for example, galley task lighting also works better on the cooler, whiter end of the spectrum.
The battery set up is considered old fashioned now, with no dedicated house bank, but it does work quite well, I would not mess with it, i would go with AGM batteries over the original lead acid ones though, a battery charger upgrade to go with it, the original charger is okay but only adequate in its power output.
Some boats had cockpit carpet, other had teak, both of which might need refinishing or replacing, SeaDek is another option, although I would not have it around the whole boat, cockpit and platform is fine, the side decks and bow not so much, I think it would cheapen the look of the boat.
Sound insulation, it might need replacing by now anyway, but by changing the material for one of the higher end types that do a better job it would make a huge difference to the boat enjoyment.
Move the anchor winch breaker to a more convenient location.
Install a passerelle. A lot of Sea Rays did not make provision for a hydraulic passerelle, the finger or alongside moorings in America make it unnecessary, it most of the Mediterranean though they are common, especially if you are berthed stern to against a fixed concrete dock and not a floating one. On the starboard side on the transom, there is a very deep locker that would work well for a passerelle, it might need a bit of custom work for the locker lid, but a telescopic type should fit in there nicely, not quite sure how well it would interact with a dinghy on the platform though.
Televisions, if these are the original ones, they will probably want replacing by now, digital broadcasting and streaming are the new norm and its probably easier to get new televisions than to try to make the old ones compatible.
Stereo, the original stereos were usually supplied by Sony, they are actually very good, but they were made before the time Bluetooth became the norm, a Bluetooth dongle or head unit replacement is common, the newest stereos can be hooked into the NMEA2000 system of the navigation equipment and be controlled from the helm screens.
Summary
- Well built
- Good looking
- Good visibility
- Nice interior, especially the salon and master suite
- Bit noisy
- The getting used to the Zeus pod drives, especially at low speed
- Not that quick
- Not very long range tanks
- Some breakers and thru hulls too hard to reach
- No bow thruster
This boat is easy to like and I would say its easy to live with, I do not know how many were made, I have only seen two or three on this side of the Atlantic. The pod drives probably kept purists away, they have proven to be quite reliable but be in no doubt, not every Mercruiser workshop is capable of servicing or repairing them.
A good looking boat with a beautiful interior and practical cockpit, tracking one down might not be that easy, for me this is one of the best of this type, better than some larger models, the unashamedly luxurious interior was a good move by Sea Ray. If you are in no need to have a particularly fast boat and happy to cruise at a more leisurely pace, plan your fuel stops and get used to how those drives handle at low speed, then this is the for you.
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