340 SUNDANCER THREAD

New to us 2005 340.. Brought her home yesterday, Shake down cruise 3hrs... Stanford, Ct to NJ.... Nice ride back love the feeling of putting her on Plane for the first time again... Not sure why my pics are sideways gotta look into that....
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Got all the cables and engines programed for VesselView mobile today. Cabling was critical to get the new ds3 software to program port engine. Next step is to get the nmea2000 gateway and the fueltank sensors wired and I think I have techno modified my 2001 as far as its non-dts self needs to go for the year. (Yes the ecm got fried in the past on my port engine)
 
Hi
I am buying a 340da with 8.1 S 375hp horizons done 323 hours how much are these motors worth to sell on the market nothing wrong with them
Swaping out to diesels in uk

This will be a very regional question and there's not a lot of folks from the UK here.

I don't know that anyone around here has done a diesel swap on a 340. That's a $$$$'s money upgrade. I hope you never plan to sell that boat!
 
Hi
I am buying a 340da with 8.1 S 375hp horizons done 323 hours how much are these motors worth to sell on the market nothing wrong with them
Swaping out to diesels in uk

Brand New Horizons 8.1s are about 20K a pop. If they are OK, why the swap. New Engines, new Exhaust, new electrical, new fuel system and tank mods plus install.

If those 8.1s are V-drives... It wont even be an option due to the shaft angle...

Its find a different boat time
 
Brand New Horizons 8.1s are about 20K a pop. If they are OK, why the swap. New Engines, new Exhaust, new electrical, new fuel system and tank mods plus install.

If those 8.1s are V-drives... It wont even be an option due to the shaft angle...

Its find a different boat time

I looked into it when i repowered my 2001 340. The cost was around 100k-ie, prohibitive. Went with mercury 8.2s
 
John,

I'll make a guess on the prop thing.........

Your props are counter rotating. Your engines are not. Counter rotation is achieved by turning one transmission in forward and the other in reverse. There is a very slight difference in the forward and reverse ratios. For example, and I didn't look up the 600 series gear in your boat, but a 2.0:1 Hurth has a 1.97:1 in one direction and 1.93:1 in the other. To make your boat run as smooth as possible and to make it where it is easier to get in sync, Sea Ray probably adjust the prop size to make up for the fact that one side runs at a slightly slower speed than the other.

And, no your props are not reversible....that would be like switching the left and right props on a King Air.

Several years ago in a rush to get a boat in the water for the Bill Fish Tournament at Bay Point, a 54 Hatteras was out of the water at Lighthouse for paint and to have the props checked. At about 7 PM the yard guys got the props back and stuck them on the wrong side. They splashed the boat and the captain fired up the big Detroits and put her in reverse to back out of the haul out slip. With the props on the wrong side, reverse became forward and vice versa. They fished the tournament with with the shifters reversed as well as with a huge divit right on the nose where the big Hat slammed into the head wall.
I have a 1988 350 day with twin 454 with velvet drives. My port engine runs backwards rotation.
 
Mercruiser stopped producing counter rotating engines sonetime in about 1988 or 1990. When the inventory of counter rotating engines was depleted, Sea Ray began supplying transmissions that had virtually the same ratio in both forward and reverse so they could achieve counter rotation by just turning one tranmission in forward and the other in reverse.

Prior to then, Mercruiser produced counter rotating engines so many Sea Rays like yours came with port engines that ran backwards.
 
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Hello,

I'm shopping for a 340 Sundancer. I'm interested in both the 1999-2002 and the 2003-2008 versions. Are there any areas of concern or things to look out for on either of these models? I definitely want V-drives and either 7.4L or 8.1L engines. The 6.2L seems like it would be a bit underpowered.

A friend was shopping for a 1999-2002 340 a couple years ago and had two fail survey due to moister on the deck around the hatches. He ended up going with a 320 Sundancer for this reason. Not sure if this moister problem is a common issue or if he just had bad luck.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I have 08, 340. Love it. Water pumps go pretty regularly on the 8.1's. I do put on about 400 hrs a year and replace every 3 years or so. The 08 and I assume older have wood stringers wrapped in glass. Then they drill holes to drain from one area of the bilge to another. These holes are sometimes not sealed well by Manufacturer and thus new stringers will be needed eventually. $15k project on mine.
 
Hello,

I'm shopping for a 340 Sundancer. I'm interested in both the 1999-2002 and the 2003-2008 versions. Are there any areas of concern or things to look out for on either of these models? I definitely want V-drives and either 7.4L or 8.1L engines. The 6.2L seems like it would be a bit underpowered.

A friend was shopping for a 1999-2002 340 a couple years ago and had two fail survey due to moister on the deck around the hatches. He ended up going with a 320 Sundancer for this reason. Not sure if this moister problem is a common issue or if he just had bad luck.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Not to be flippant but I think your budget would likely decide which of these models you're searching for :) The 2003+ 340 has the newer lines, newer body style, sexier looking and they are generally priced as such. The 99-02 is more an extension of the legacy 330 than a "new model".

The moisture problem is pretty common in the 90's vintage of Sea Ray and it's not specific to the 340. I found two wet 330's before I found my 340 which had already been repaired.

If I were going to do a 340 again I wouldn't avoid the 6.2's. In fact I would have killed for a few more inches between those motors. It's not like you're pulling tubers with these things. As long as she planes, you're golden...

And hey - if you're moving up from a 310 you may also want to look at the 370/380's. More bang for the buck if you're okay with late 90's, early 2000's.
 
A friend was shopping for a 1999-2002 340 a couple years ago and had two fail survey due to moister on the deck around the hatches. He ended up going with a 320 Sundancer for this reason. Not sure if this moister problem is a common issue or if he just had bad
Thanks!

water intrusion around upper hatches is a common issue on the 2000-ish year group.
I had a survey fail for same reason.
Eventually found one that was dry and my first project was re-bedding those hatches (did the windlass at the same time)
Windshield area is another are to watch.
A good surveyor is worth his weight in gold to identify these problems.
Moisture isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, just adjust offer price accordingly.

Exhaust risers are another area of concern. If they are more than 5-7 years old, again, adjust your offer accordingly.
 
Thanks for the good information on the moister issues. I would definitely have the boat surveyed.

My budget falls right in between what the 1999-2002 and 2003-2008 are going for now. My first choice would be the 2003-2008. I definitely like the more modern styling and the extra beam. I would need to find a deal though. I also like the looks and layout of the 2002-2007 320 Sundancers, but the beds are really small in those boats. I don't think it would work for my family.

I do like the 370/380s. The problem is that my well is only 13 feet wide, so I'm limited on beam. If I move to a larger well in my marina, the cost goes up significantly. I also have very good neighbors where I'm at.
 
Thanks for the good information on the moister issues. I would definitely have the boat surveyed.

My budget falls right in between what the 1999-2002 and 2003-2008 are going for now. My first choice would be the 2003-2008. I definitely like the more modern styling and the extra beam. I would need to find a deal though. I also like the looks and layout of the 2002-2007 320 Sundancers, but the beds are really small in those boats. I don't think it would work for my family.

I do like the 370/380s. The problem is that my well is only 13 feet wide, so I'm limited on beam. If I move to a larger well in my marina, the cost goes up significantly. I also have very good neighbors where I'm at.

Is your well exactly 13' wide? I slip next to more than one person with only a couple inches of width to spare in the slips, total. Makes it easier to dock. Just jam it in there!
 
It's 13' nominal. I'd have to measure to get the exact width. The well is also 35' in length and the marina won't allow you to stick out more than 4'. So, this means a 39'x12.5' boat would be about the maximum. My neighbor has a 360 Sundancer that has these exact dimensions and he's pretty tight. I've always liked the late 90s 370 Sundancers, but they're about a foot too long overall length.
 
That's a tight slip IMHO, too tight for me. I want a good 1.5' - 2' on both sides to allow for movement (tide, wind, etc.) and putting a bumper in if I want to.

Otherwise, if I were you on your budget I'd go for a well kept 2002 with the 8.1s. Or spend a little more and get a 380 with diesels (this is for @Stee6043 ) ;)
 
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Hello,

I'm shopping for a 340 Sundancer. I'm interested in both the 1999-2002 and the 2003-2008 versions. Are there any areas of concern or things to look out for on either of these models? I definitely want V-drives and either 7.4L or 8.1L engines. The 6.2L seems like it would be a bit underpowered.

A friend was shopping for a 1999-2002 340 a couple years ago and had two fail survey due to moister on the deck around the hatches. He ended up going with a 320 Sundancer for this reason. Not sure if this moister problem is a common issue or if he just had bad luck.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
I have been looking for quite a while and have to say the majority has moisture issues. One I had surveyed the foredeck was gone. Another, the broker sent me a survey after the buy backed out -- again, too much damage for me, and the seller wasn't willing to negotiate. One I looked at was fixed. It was a very common problem on the ones I saw, so I bot a moisture meter to save wasted survey fees. Good luck.
 
I looked at a 2005 340 a couple of years ago that had had most of the foredeck replaced because of the moisture issue.
 
Good Morning,

New owner of a 2000 Sundancer 340 and wanted to solicit "to do's" to bring the boat up to snuff. Looking at this as a ~3 year learning step towards a larger boat (The Great Loop) and want to make sure value is preserved for the next owner.

What would be your priority list of things to do (upgrades) to bring the boat to life? Thanks in advance.
 
Good Morning,

New owner of a 2000 Sundancer 340 and wanted to solicit "to do's" to bring the boat up to snuff. Looking at this as a ~3 year learning step towards a larger boat (The Great Loop) and want to make sure value is preserved for the next owner.

What would be your priority list of things to do (upgrades) to bring the boat to life? Thanks in advance.
I guess the first question is did you have it surveyed and are there any moisture issues in deck structure? If so, I would address those issues first -- rebed hatches, windshield frames, etc.

Then updated electronics are always nice. Do you need upholstery? Cockpit carpet/sea deck, etc?
 
I posted in a older tread as well... But was curious if anyone knows how to remove the covers from the speakers in the cockpit as I'm updating them to JL Audios.... Also updating to a fusion Head unit... Has anyone added a sub? If so how hard was the wiring and what kind of amp did they use?
 

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