Anyone familiar with this 2002 Sonic 358 Diablo in New Jersey?
07-20-2020, 09:45 PM
#3
VIP Member
I don't know the boat, but looking at the transom, it has a squared transom, no notch cut into it. That's a good thing.
The 358 Sonic was developed by just putting a dam in the 386 mold. As such, it's lifting strakes aren't perfect for a 35' boat. Sonic had a notch cut in the transom so the props could run in cleaner water, and help carry the bow a little bit better. But in flat water, the lifting strakes, and the notched transom always contributed to most 358 owners complaining about "hop" or porpoising on flat water.
The fact that boat has a square transom means it will run a little bit better, and shouldn't have such a tendency to hop. The 386 and the 358 are identical boats from the steering wheel forward (FWIW).
Sonic made their mistakes in the 2002/2003 model year boats when they were figuring out vacuum bagging. As such, about a half-dozen boats didn't get the best gelcoat work, and had blistering issues. HOWEVER, they were all 31 or 386 to my knowledge. By the time vacuum bagging made it to the rest of the models, they had their shlt figured out.
It does look pretty rusty, looking at the bilge, the stain out the back of the boat, and the hardware on the motors. 500EFIs were not fresh water cooled. It would be imperative for the previous owners to have had a RELIGIOUS flushing routine for those motors to be in good shape inside. I'm not sure how much of that your surveyor is going to dig into, mechanicals that is. But be prepared for some salt rot in heads, headers, and possibly worse going by the looks of the boat in the pics you posted.
The 358 Sonic was developed by just putting a dam in the 386 mold. As such, it's lifting strakes aren't perfect for a 35' boat. Sonic had a notch cut in the transom so the props could run in cleaner water, and help carry the bow a little bit better. But in flat water, the lifting strakes, and the notched transom always contributed to most 358 owners complaining about "hop" or porpoising on flat water.
The fact that boat has a square transom means it will run a little bit better, and shouldn't have such a tendency to hop. The 386 and the 358 are identical boats from the steering wheel forward (FWIW).
Sonic made their mistakes in the 2002/2003 model year boats when they were figuring out vacuum bagging. As such, about a half-dozen boats didn't get the best gelcoat work, and had blistering issues. HOWEVER, they were all 31 or 386 to my knowledge. By the time vacuum bagging made it to the rest of the models, they had their shlt figured out.
It does look pretty rusty, looking at the bilge, the stain out the back of the boat, and the hardware on the motors. 500EFIs were not fresh water cooled. It would be imperative for the previous owners to have had a RELIGIOUS flushing routine for those motors to be in good shape inside. I'm not sure how much of that your surveyor is going to dig into, mechanicals that is. But be prepared for some salt rot in heads, headers, and possibly worse going by the looks of the boat in the pics you posted.
Last edited by Sydwayz; 07-20-2020 at 09:49 PM.
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