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