The 400DA was introduced as a new model in 1996 as a 1997. It was in full-production through '99. A few were produced into 2000, but by then the 410 began to replace it. The 400DA filled a void in the Sundancer lineup between the 370/380DA and the 450DA and was a sibling to the narrower, less-tall, lighter, straight-shaft 400EC. The 410 has essentially the same dimensions: roughly 41 ft in length and slightly over 44' LOA with the extended swim platform. (very few 400's were sold with the short platform, but they do exist)
Standard power were Merc 7.4's. Early models had 340 HP Bluewaters, later models got the 380 HP Horizons. Contrary to popular opinion, gas-powered 400's perform very well. Planing is their strong-suit, getting to plane quickly and easily with very little bow rise and a respectably-level attitude, in spite of the v-drive configuration. They are sensitive to load. I've found that an “economical" cruise speed while half-loaded is between 22-23 knots at 3400-3500 RPM with little or no tabs. Deploying tabs makes planing easier, but there's very little fuss getting up and going even without them. In fact, you could almost use the term “hole shot" – I rarely encounter similar-sized cruisers that jump up as readily as the 400 can.
The gas engines have some downsides. As good as they are at acceleration, by the time you're doing as much as 27 knots, you're being too mean to the big-blocks in my opinion. Close quarter handling is sluggish to say the least. Deep prop pockets don't help matters any, so a few approaches in tight areas with a good cross-wind will really test your skills. Lots of people apply the “4-barrel" method when running these boats and run them slow enough to HURT economy. 3100 rpm requires tabs to stay on plane and she'll plow along sucking much more fuel than necessary. Trimmed and throttled correctly, she can return up to .8 mpg and average somewhere in the .7's. The Merc manifolds and risers are a constant source of concern. The routing of the shifter cable is questionable too, but the internals of big-blocks are well proven. The 400DA has the SeaRay underwater/side exhausts. They're quiet and the 400 is not known to ingest water.
The diesel option was the Cat 3116. The 400DA was produced smack in the middle of the Cats edible valve days, so many of them have been repaired or replaced. The Cat powered models are easily identifiable in a marina. Aside from the tell-tail lunge when put into gear, the heavy diesels make the 400DA sit stern down and bow up, where-as the gas versions sit bow down and stern up. SeaRay never bothered to bottom-paint according to weight/engines, so a gas version might have 4-6 inches of painted freeboard at the stern and a diesel might have bare gelcoat under the waterline.
I've cruised with (ok, raced) a few diesels up a river. I found that I could jump up faster with less bow rise than a diesel (I attribute that less weight and no turbo lag), but then once on plane, they'd race by us as their cruising speed is at least 5 knots higher – maybe more. I've never measured myself, but I hear that the diesels return 1 MPG or better.
The cockpit sole raises hydraulically for engine access, as it does in so many SeaRay's, but what IS unusual is that almost NOTHING is hard to reach. The classic catch-22 of the electricity-dependent battery access exists, but a jumper-pack plugged into the cig lighter or shore power and the converter will get you access dead batteries. Once you're in, the 400's engine room is hard to beat. If you're willing to climb over/under the main exhaust tubes, everything you can think of is within reach, with the exception of the generator oil filter and spark plugs. Batteries, bilge pumps, dipsticks, belts, impellers, seacocks, strainers, duckbills, the 5 fuel filters and main oil filters stare you right in the face.
The gas generator is a Westerbeke 7kw. It's well-sized for the demand and seems durable. It has never burned, or even discolored it's oil, but it's fussy. If it's run without a load for more than 20 minutes, it'll foul plugs. It starts instantly when warm. It'll want to crank for a while if it's cold, and if it sits for too long, I have to open the hatch, crawl down to it and manually prime it before cranking. The remote switch is supposed to prime, but it doesn't, at least in the early models.
The helm sits high (to accommodate head-room in the mid-cabin below), so visibility is great, but watch the first and only step – it's about 5" higher than most people expect. The dash is setup as a 3 tiers: Gauges are far-forward, maybe too far, but it allows for a handy chart area. A row of rocker switches is next, and while they're all close and look good, it's downright funny to see someone new try to find the switch he wants in a hurry. I've leaned fwd in the rain to get a better view, and mistakenly shut-off an engine… The next row accommodates instruments and the radar display (too vertical) is to port. SeaRay redesigned the dash for the 410. They eliminated the chart area to bring the gauges closer and improved the angle of the display mount, and while the switches are still lumped in a row, they're moved down where they're hopefully less-likely to be accidentally bumped.
The 400DA can be boarded from the stbd stern gunwale, but it's not pretty. A seat cushion has to be removed to expose a non-skid corner of the bench. The 410 has an integrated step on each side.
The fuel-fills are logically placed in each corner. The waste fitting is on the port side deck at the base of the arch. The 100 gallon fresh water tank is located under the mid-cabin berth, the fill for it is on the deck just aft of the port-side portholes. Early models may suffer from a fresh water leak. The L-shaped tank is often blamed, so many owners only partially-fill their tank to avoid a wet mid-cabin sole, or worse, replace a good tank only to find wet carpet again. I've only seen 1 case where the tank itself was actually compromised. The leak is actually somewhere upstream – near the top of the fill hose or the vent line. I fill the tank slowly, and if I don't overfill, can get it to 100%, but this winter I plan to remove the fridge to find and fix it once and for all. IF ANYONE HAS ADDRESSED THIS LEAK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
The fresh water pump is mounted to near or on the transom. It provides plenty of pressure, but sounds like a jackhammer and can be heard by neighbors. It's a possible upgrade candidate…
Two CruiseAir units keep the cabin comfortable under any circumstances. One is located under the master berth, the other under the aft end of the salon sofa. The SMX controls were standard. The condensate and shower run-off drains to a pair of the notorious Attwood sumps (another upgrade candidate).
Standard power were Merc 7.4's. Early models had 340 HP Bluewaters, later models got the 380 HP Horizons. Contrary to popular opinion, gas-powered 400's perform very well. Planing is their strong-suit, getting to plane quickly and easily with very little bow rise and a respectably-level attitude, in spite of the v-drive configuration. They are sensitive to load. I've found that an “economical" cruise speed while half-loaded is between 22-23 knots at 3400-3500 RPM with little or no tabs. Deploying tabs makes planing easier, but there's very little fuss getting up and going even without them. In fact, you could almost use the term “hole shot" – I rarely encounter similar-sized cruisers that jump up as readily as the 400 can.
The gas engines have some downsides. As good as they are at acceleration, by the time you're doing as much as 27 knots, you're being too mean to the big-blocks in my opinion. Close quarter handling is sluggish to say the least. Deep prop pockets don't help matters any, so a few approaches in tight areas with a good cross-wind will really test your skills. Lots of people apply the “4-barrel" method when running these boats and run them slow enough to HURT economy. 3100 rpm requires tabs to stay on plane and she'll plow along sucking much more fuel than necessary. Trimmed and throttled correctly, she can return up to .8 mpg and average somewhere in the .7's. The Merc manifolds and risers are a constant source of concern. The routing of the shifter cable is questionable too, but the internals of big-blocks are well proven. The 400DA has the SeaRay underwater/side exhausts. They're quiet and the 400 is not known to ingest water.
The diesel option was the Cat 3116. The 400DA was produced smack in the middle of the Cats edible valve days, so many of them have been repaired or replaced. The Cat powered models are easily identifiable in a marina. Aside from the tell-tail lunge when put into gear, the heavy diesels make the 400DA sit stern down and bow up, where-as the gas versions sit bow down and stern up. SeaRay never bothered to bottom-paint according to weight/engines, so a gas version might have 4-6 inches of painted freeboard at the stern and a diesel might have bare gelcoat under the waterline.
I've cruised with (ok, raced) a few diesels up a river. I found that I could jump up faster with less bow rise than a diesel (I attribute that less weight and no turbo lag), but then once on plane, they'd race by us as their cruising speed is at least 5 knots higher – maybe more. I've never measured myself, but I hear that the diesels return 1 MPG or better.
The cockpit sole raises hydraulically for engine access, as it does in so many SeaRay's, but what IS unusual is that almost NOTHING is hard to reach. The classic catch-22 of the electricity-dependent battery access exists, but a jumper-pack plugged into the cig lighter or shore power and the converter will get you access dead batteries. Once you're in, the 400's engine room is hard to beat. If you're willing to climb over/under the main exhaust tubes, everything you can think of is within reach, with the exception of the generator oil filter and spark plugs. Batteries, bilge pumps, dipsticks, belts, impellers, seacocks, strainers, duckbills, the 5 fuel filters and main oil filters stare you right in the face.
The gas generator is a Westerbeke 7kw. It's well-sized for the demand and seems durable. It has never burned, or even discolored it's oil, but it's fussy. If it's run without a load for more than 20 minutes, it'll foul plugs. It starts instantly when warm. It'll want to crank for a while if it's cold, and if it sits for too long, I have to open the hatch, crawl down to it and manually prime it before cranking. The remote switch is supposed to prime, but it doesn't, at least in the early models.
The helm sits high (to accommodate head-room in the mid-cabin below), so visibility is great, but watch the first and only step – it's about 5" higher than most people expect. The dash is setup as a 3 tiers: Gauges are far-forward, maybe too far, but it allows for a handy chart area. A row of rocker switches is next, and while they're all close and look good, it's downright funny to see someone new try to find the switch he wants in a hurry. I've leaned fwd in the rain to get a better view, and mistakenly shut-off an engine… The next row accommodates instruments and the radar display (too vertical) is to port. SeaRay redesigned the dash for the 410. They eliminated the chart area to bring the gauges closer and improved the angle of the display mount, and while the switches are still lumped in a row, they're moved down where they're hopefully less-likely to be accidentally bumped.
The 400DA can be boarded from the stbd stern gunwale, but it's not pretty. A seat cushion has to be removed to expose a non-skid corner of the bench. The 410 has an integrated step on each side.
The fuel-fills are logically placed in each corner. The waste fitting is on the port side deck at the base of the arch. The 100 gallon fresh water tank is located under the mid-cabin berth, the fill for it is on the deck just aft of the port-side portholes. Early models may suffer from a fresh water leak. The L-shaped tank is often blamed, so many owners only partially-fill their tank to avoid a wet mid-cabin sole, or worse, replace a good tank only to find wet carpet again. I've only seen 1 case where the tank itself was actually compromised. The leak is actually somewhere upstream – near the top of the fill hose or the vent line. I fill the tank slowly, and if I don't overfill, can get it to 100%, but this winter I plan to remove the fridge to find and fix it once and for all. IF ANYONE HAS ADDRESSED THIS LEAK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
The fresh water pump is mounted to near or on the transom. It provides plenty of pressure, but sounds like a jackhammer and can be heard by neighbors. It's a possible upgrade candidate…
Two CruiseAir units keep the cabin comfortable under any circumstances. One is located under the master berth, the other under the aft end of the salon sofa. The SMX controls were standard. The condensate and shower run-off drains to a pair of the notorious Attwood sumps (another upgrade candidate).
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