How I became a 2009 270 Sundancer owner... Done Deal.

Finally, this story (links to the first, second, third and fourth posts) is coming to a conclusion. However, it should be noted that this is not the end but really the beginning of a whole new story. Without dwelling on this further, Monday rolled around and "cough cough" I took the day off of work.

Obviously, you can see where this is leading. The Sunday before I spent the afternoon pitching to my wife why we needed the 270 by presenting a cost benefit analysis. I've used this technique before to smooth over the sticker shock of any large purchase. In this case, I presented the following:

1. If we get the 270, we can have the life style you want without the stress or worry of wake waves. We can use it every day after work to decompress, and we won't be messing up the house (big selling point).
2. Also, I'll do all the work which will be good for my health and with all the extra activity, I'll lose weight. (Hard to say that one with a straight face. )
3. We'll have more family time and activities for the kids, especially for my youngest daughter who plays WoW practically 24/7 (another big selling point).
4. AND the clincher was: we'll stop eating out (fast food) and I'll do the cooking (I'm actually a good cook). This is what clinched the deal since in the month of August, for example, we spent $872.65 on eating out/fast food. (No, I'm not kidding!)

So that was my case but, of course, my wife mulls it over and decides to ask her father for advice on what to do. My heart pitched up and sank to the depth of Davy Jone's locker. My father-in-law is an old fashioned Portuguese who believes in saving money for family and nothing else. He doesn't speak English so as I was listening in to my wife's conversation with him, I had no clue how this was going to play out. I swear that I've never been so nervous, dreading the final outcome. With all that happened, will this be the end? How will I go back to my lowly 175 Sport knowing how close I came to a cruiser? Time seemed to tick by at a snails pace. Finally, my wife addressed me, "my dad says that if we put the money in a cottage, we'd probably spend more and pay more taxes. And if you look at my cousin, whose cottage flooded this year, it's not worth it." I was bewildered since I didn't even think of that, probably because I think that if you have a house it should be as good as you can make it; a cottage is a waste. My wife finished with "this boat can be our floating cottage." At that moment, I swear that I heard the sound of clearing trumpets.

So on Monday over my wife's lunch break, we found ourselves in Hurst's business office inking the deal we made on Saturday with a few additions. First, our 2009 Sea Ray 175 Sport with the installed electronic package was traded in for $3000.00 over what I paid for it, essentially I got full value for it. Second, the artic white 270DA Sundancer had about 20K worth of manufacturer incentives applied to the invoice. Then finally because of it being late in the season, Hurst threw in the complete winterization, shrinkwrap, and storage (a $2500 value) for free. Of course, there was still a month left before the Rideau Canal officially closes so there was time to commission the 270, do the water test, and enjoy the symphony of fall colors on the Rideau. Of course, I was given another slip that could easily fit the 270.

Now I could write about how, for me and my wife, this was the best possible decision. But instead, I'm going to show some pictures I took of our [Canadian] Thanksgiving weekend out on the Rideau. So now the REAL story begins...

My beautiful 2009 Sea Ray 270DA Sundancer.


Heading out on Thanksgiving weekend, the trip was eventful since getting to know a new boat certainly bound to have some surprises.

A picture of putting anchor at a spot close to the Rideau Provincial Park; while we enjoyed ice cream from the Ice Cream Float (his last day open).


Serenity... pure serenity.


Some practical shots... And yes, I couldn't wait to customize my 270 with wireless/wi-fi and Sirius satellite radio with a temporary installation.


A shot from the stern, for its size there is a lot of room. And yes, I love the double seat helm since it's roomy and I like having my wife sit next to me. Notice the Ericsson W35 3G router on the helm dash and the external antenna duct taped to the arch.


Cheers,
Kaoru

Posted by Kaoru [Boating] ( December 06, 2009 04:06 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

How I became a 2009 270 Sundancer owner... Really!

So as the story (links to the first, second, and third posts) continues to unfold, my life as a boater began to settle down as summer vacation was winding to a close.  My wife and I really began to enjoy ourselves especially after work, when the canal is quiet, and we could enjoy dinner and a sunset cruise.  On weekends, we took advantage of Hurst Marina's clubhouse and facilities to enjoy some family/friend time.  Of course, both me and my wife got to know some of the other boaters.  Before I knew it I was invited to the season end potluck put on by the Hurst Marina Boaters Association.  Now the importance of this is only because I had the chance to mingle and get some valuable information.  One excellent piece of information was the ease of "trading up" to a larger boat at Hurst.  The second piece of information is that new stock had arrived and that there some factory incentives available by Sea Ray.  I filed this information, not really expecting to act on it any time soon.

Then another fateful but fortunate event occurred on the following day.  Basically, my wife decided that entire family, including her mother and father, are going to have a picnic.  The weather was beautiful and it seemed to be an excellent Saturday.  We packed up a cooler and headed out.  However, being such a nice day so did a lot of other people.  This was especially true for some wake boarders who trying squeeze as much time on the water before the end.  Unfortunately, they were ruining the day for everyone else as they ignored the posted signs and were being complete *ss*oles.

So let me paint the picture, we're anchored in a nice scenic spot, away from the main navigation passage, having our picnic on the boat.  Being such a small boat, picnicking is an exercise in patience.  Then out of no where these wake boarders, with flanking sea doos, decided to churn up the water in front of us.  My wife just lost it.  Her exact words were "Ed, we need a bigger boat".  I did a double take and couldn't believe what I heard.  At a loss of words, the ones I found were "do you mean right now?"  I did a triple take when the reply came back "yes, now!"  That's when my mind started to work on automatic (like it does when my wife is ordering me around) and before I knew it we were in Hurst's showroom staring at three brand new 2009 Sundancers, a 350DA, a 310DA, and finally a 270DA.

Three Sea Ray Sundancers, all artic white and lined up which made for a very interesting picture but excellent in comparing the size differences.  Me and my wife scrutinized all three but basically fell in love with the 270.  It's a big boat, though obviously smaller than the other two, it held its own with a 28' 8" length and a 8' 10" beam.  But the dimensions are just part of it, the use of the space was well thought out.  This made the 270 seem larger.  A good example of this is the cabin entrance being on the port side instead of center like the other two.  Apparently, this design change is new for this year and I can see how it's an improvement.  The cabin seems quite large for the size of the boat.  And the cockpit seems to rival the cockpit of the other two boats.  The deal clincher was that this 270 was fully loaded with 350 Mag/Bravo II, generator, hot/cold water systems, transom shower, vacuflush head, fully appointed galley, HDTV/DVD, Sony Stereo/iPod dock (and sat. radio ready), Raymarine C70 GPS/chartplotter, SmartCraft, windlass, snap-down carpets, full camper top, electric grill, and more.  That's when my wife said "we won't buy it now but come back Monday after we check our money situation..."

So the story continues...

Cheers,
Kaoru

Posted by Kaoru [Boating] ( December 06, 2009 01:10 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]