2002 versus 2003 SAN questions, please help

I am almost ready to purchase either a 2002 or a 2003 SAN correct craft and wanted to know if any of you hard nosed SAN fans could give me some insight into the differences between these two. They look similar to me, but I am sure there are differences....mainly price right now. Anyone got some words of wisdom? Thanks.

2003 is the best san by far imo. It doesn’t have the knee breaker latches on the cover 2004 up have this; it has the digital/analogue gauges which started in 2003. The 2002 has the digital LCD gauges which are hard to read in direct sunlight. The only negative that I can think of is the 03 is harder to put a sub under the driver’s console.

The gauges them self are worth going for the 03.
Also make sure the tracking fins have been replaced, or were not affected by the recall, I'm not sure how the warranty transfers

2003 for sure. They changed the location of the flow right valves and the stereo was moved to the glove box.

I had both and here is my list...
1)The analog gauges on the 03 are better than the digital in 02
2)Most (not all) 02's had the Ford GT-40 the 03's had the Chevy Excalibur. CC had the GT-40 dialed in on the 02's. Althought they have the Excalibur dialed in now, the 03 version didn't quite match the GT-40.
3) Stereo is moved to the glove box
4) The flow right valves are added on the 03's
5) 03's came with an optional (standard on team ed) composite swim deck, all 02's had teak
6) Stereo remote on the dash
7) Dash pod and buttons are moved around/redesigned.
8) Can remember on this one for sure but I believe the second battery was moved from the front in 02 to the back for 03.

The battery was moved mid year in 03. My 03 has a battery in the front, your 03 was in back.

www.planetnautique.com

I would buy an 05, if I could afford it.

No rear air intakes on the 02's by the side lockers (I have no idea where the 02's air intakes are, anyone?).

There is some sort of support rod under driver's side gunwale to the floor on '03s that is not there on 02's. Sort of looks like a kitty scratch pole.

The paddle wheel was placed behind one of the ballast intake scoopes on at least early '03s. I think it was the center tank intake, if the one you are looking at has that.

If you go with the 03, there was some sort of recall on the steering cable.

Second the comments on the gauges above.

Phil, I am pretty sure the second battery is in the nose on 03s?

Matt, thanks for battery clarification.

do you think it would be possible to switch out the 02 guages for 03 guages if i buy the 02 (would save money and have lower hours...).

Here is info on an '02 that had analog gauges installed:
http://www.planetnautique.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2958&high light=gauges

Here is a more detailed discussion on upgrading a '00 to analog gauges:
http://www.planetnautique.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2065&high light=gauges

Another thing you should take into consideration would be the trailer coming with the boat.

Early production models in '03 don't say "Super Air" on the side unless the decals have been replaced.

Early production models in '02 had 3 pop up clamshell seats for their rear bench.

The "air intakes" on the side are actually the air exhaust for the blower. The '02 has a single blower exhaust on the rear of the boat that blows on you as you get in from the platform.

The '02 has buttons to release the side storage covers from the rear of the boat and inside the boat near the back seat, '03 only has the ones in the boat.

Personally, I like the radio next to me, and not hidden in the glovebox.

I am not sure when the change occurred but a feature I really like about my 2003 SAN is that it has gas fills on both sides of the boat. It really helps to have the gas fill on the same side as the tow vehicle!

I like the stereo in the glove box instead of to the right of the driver. My SAN has a remote mounted on the left side of the dash, making it easy for either the driver or the observer to operate.

The battery in back is better. My 2003 also had a spot for a second battery.

My '02 has the fill on both sides.

My remote for the radio is on the right side, almost redundent since the radio is right next to me already.

My battery is under the rear seat on the left (port) side.

I think they changed how the fuel fill hose is routed in '03 so theer is a little more storage space between the rear lockers and under the rear seats.

At some time they put in bulkheads between the rear lockers and the underseat storage so skis and long boards won't fit in the rear lockers. I can get my temet 142 in the rear lockers, and can also get my pair skis and slalom ski in the other locker. This is with the wedge tanks.

Yes the the guages are interchangeable from 02 to 03 as long as the boat is not the base model signature. I agree those 02 digital guages suck.

No the gauges are NOT interchangable.

The '03 and later boats use faria gauges that have a control box that reads the sensors, and translates the signals to other electrical signls to move the nedles. They are digital-analog gauges.

The '02 and older boats have gauges that are purely digital. They recieve the signals directly from the sensors, and display the values.

Now there are some "conversion" gauges out there that you can replace the digital gauges with analog ones, but they are NOT the '03 faria gauges.

I am not sure if you could install the master control box for the faria gauges in an older boat and use the faria gauges. If that can be done, I am sure it would cost a lot, and you would better off just getting the conversion gauges or just getting the '03 in the first place.

thanks everyone for the imput, i still have some time to decide so keep the info coming.

I would buy the one with the GT-40 motor, it simply makes more power when needed. After driving my 211 with the Excalibur I nearly jerked my wife's arms out when I tower her behind my buddies 210 with the GT-40. Most of the other small differences can be changed but a motor is major.

I think the locker button change to only inside the boat must have been a mid-year change. The two 03s I spend time behind both have the rear locker buttons. They tend to have issues with water though...

Also just remembered that swimstep is smaller on '02s than '03s.

I have an '02. Great boat, I love it. the GT-40 engine is great for my needs, no complaints whatsoever.

The ONLY thing that would make me consider the '03 over the '02 are the gauges. You are absolutely correct that the digital gauges on the '02's totally suck. My tach went out on me twice.

I took my boat to west coast correct craft in Rocklin for service (great guys, great work)...they said that the '02 gauges are so bad that CC was (is) willing to sell upgraded Faria gauges for '02's at cost. Of course you still have to pay to have them installed, but I bit the bullet and had the Faria gauges put in. They work great...

how hard would it be to replace them yourself...i imagine it would be just taking off the consol, unscrewing them, unplugging them, then doing the reverse with the new.....

Yup, very easy job.

Remove the three or four thumb screws holding the dash pod on.

Remove the gauges.

Take wires off.

Install wires on new gauges.

Reinstall gauges.

Reinstall dash pod.

Should take no more than 30 minutes.

Hey ag4ever, I take it you did it yourself!? What was the price from CC? Did the bezels match?

Thanks,
John

Nope have not done it, but have seen pics of it done, and I have pulled the dash when I installed my dash defroster.

I have had both gauges replaced (and PerfectPass), so I will wait till they go out again, and just ask the dealer to replace them with the analog ones at that time. Fact of the matter, I really don't use either 99% of the time. I mainly use the PP display.

Alright, I'll be the lone wolf here. I haven't had any problems with the digital gauges in my '01 and I kind of like the fact that they're unique. Might feel differently if/when they finally croak, but so far I haven't had any problems.

If I were you I'd just go with the digitals until they fail, then do the replacement option.

Of course, some of the other updates on the '03 make it sound pretty appealing, although if the $$ is significantly different between them that could be the deciding factor. Good luck with either, as they both should be great rigs!!

joe, good to hear that you've had no issues, i think you're likely in the minority. My tach started freaking out, going all over the place. They replaced it, 3rd time out the same thing happened to the replacement tach. Never had any issues with the speedo.

Sounds as though the switch-out is pretty simple, just remember that you'll still need to calibrate the new speedo's...

Yeah, sounds like I am, although I've heard similar before. I'm kind of old-school and actually liked the old Air Guides. The newer analog gauges all the rigs are using look too similar to what you'd find in a Sea Ray or Bayliner, IMO. Another reason I'm partial to the digital dash.

Regardless, sounds like CC has a pretty simple fix/upgrade when problems eventually occur.