Decision time between two 260's...my first boat and opinions welcome, please.

Nick70

Nick70

Active Member
Apr 20, 2016
206
New England
Boat Info
2006 Searay 260 DA 496 mag
RAYMARINE stuff.
Engines
496 Magnum
Bravo III
I'm ready to make a purchase and its between two 06 Sundancer 260's.
first one: 220hrs, 5.7L, generator with 17 hours, full camper, Bimini, windlass, snap in carpet, spotlight, with a sexy grey hull. Trailer included. It's being sold by a small used car dealer owner who-as the story goes-bought it without knowing it didn't fit under the bridge needed to go through to get to his lake.
i haven't finalized a price but should be just under $40k

the second boat: 300hrs on a 6.2L, generator with 70hrs, same options minus spotlight. This one also has the sunbathing bow pads, no painted hull..plain white. Trailer included.
final price may be $41,500.
being sold by a legit boat/yacht dealer, which to me is a plus.
im leaning to the second one mostly for the bigger engine, and also the fact it's at a actual boat dealership.
the price difference is not set yet but could be in the range of $3500.
thoughts?
 
Who your buying it from makes no difference. I would base my purchase on the survey.

The difference in performance from the 5.7 to the 6.2 is going to be negligible. It's the same motor, the 6.2 is just bored out. To achieve that greater HP you are running at a higher RPM.

From your description you like the grey hull better but you are hesitant because of the seller. Get a survey and if the boat checks out you have saved $3500. That will buy you a lot of fuel.
 
White hulls are easier to maintain than colored hulls.
 
The 6.2 (383) is a based on a stroked 5.7 (350) not a bored out one. It uses a crankshaft designed for the 400 chev small block. It has quite a bit more hp and torque than the 5.7.

The price difference today for a better boat will be the price difference when you sell so don't think of it as throwing the extra away. Buy the best boat of the two based on a survey and what you want.
 
All other things equal, get the bigger engine.

My 2006 270 AJ is the same hull as that year's 260 DA. I have the 350 MAG MPI engine. There are times when I wish I had the bigger engine, like when I'm on a trip with a full load of fuel, water, and family. But I traded that off to get the seating layout and a big discount for and end-of-year sale.

The difference in hours is not significant (in my view).

The grey hull is sexy, but harder to maintain.

Either configuration is good. I'd say look at which one is in better condition overall. If they are comparable focus on the one with the bigger engine and let the survey results guide you.
 
All else equal, I'd go with the white hull. I've done a colored hull before and I'll never do it again unless i have the means to have someone else wash it weekly and wax it monthly on my behalf.
 
If both boats checked out with an identical survey, I would say boat 2 all day long. Bigger motor, white hull, traditional seller, reasonable hours. But survey is critical.
 
I'm in the "bigger motor" camp. Although we have the older hull, I've often wished for more power when loaded down with fuel, water, and family.
 
Not to add to your plite but I'm selling my 05 280 Sundancer and am in New England. PM me if you want some more details.
 
This just got easier.. Buy the 280.. Always go bigger..

Being the owner of a colored hull be ready for extra maintenance. If our blue hull isn't washed weekly it looks ruff. I am super picky and hate water spots when I get to the boat on Friday.
 
Zach312 said:
This just got easier.. Buy the 280.. Always go bigger..

Being the owner of a colored hull be ready for extra maintenance. If our blue hull isn't washed weekly it looks ruff. I am super picky and hate water spots when I get to the boat on Friday.
Click to expand...

Love my blue hull. I keep it shining by hitting it with carnuba detail spray. On the 280 vs 260...my wife and I went down the same road. In our case bigger was better as we overnight a lot and the 260 would be just too tight. I am looking to upgrade to a 340...that's the only reason I want to sell. I love my boat and have put a lot of pride in the ownership of it....and it shows.

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/boa/5610193749.html
 
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HAHA Me 2.. my 06 260 is for sale as well... and its got the BIG motor :) PM me if any interest!
 
It seems like size is one of the few things most folks around here can agree on! Buying "the bigger boats" and/or moving up to bigger boats.

I want nothing more than a 380 right now. And when I bought my 340 just a short year ago I thought "holy crap, this thing is huge". We overnight nearly every weekend with three kids. It's amazing how quickly a big boat gets small...
 
Oddly enough, I just found out the white hull bigger motor boat does not have a windlass, or spotlight or a cockpit cover, and the snap in carpets are deteriorated..
kind of a bummer.
im now at 41k for the white one, 38k for the pewter one with the 5.7..
very tough decision.
First world problems lol
 
Nick70 said:
Oddly enough, I just found out the white hull bigger motor boat does not have a windlass, or spotlight or a cockpit cover, and the snap in carpets are deteriorated..
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity... were you lead to believe that these items were present? This would be a major red flag for me.
These are huge items dollar wise and, for me, change things dramatically. Not just for the dollars but what else is "missing", "deteriorated" or otherwise undisclosed.
 
mwph said:
Out of curiosity... were you lead to believe that these items were present? This would be a major red flag for me.
These are huge items dollar wise and, for me, change things dramatically. Not just for the dollars but what else is "missing", "deteriorated" or otherwise undisclosed.
Click to expand...
No. Definitely not. No complaints at all as to how it was described. I just had to ask about each item. I asked if it had the snap in carpets, and was told it did, and that they were serviceable but didn't look good enough to be in the pictures, installed.
as the boat has a generator, I wanted to assume it has a windlass..and also I didn't see a spotlight. So I asked about both and was told it did not have either.
i was about to put a deposit on it right then. I still may...I'm just having a hard time deciding about going with the 5.7 vs the 6.2 with no windlass, cockpit cover,..spotlight etc..the 5.7 has EVERYTHING I want, including the pewter hull and less hours. For 2-3k less money.
 
Two more of my cents:

-My spotlight never gets used (I assume you know this isn't useful when underway?)
-Cockpit carpet is pretty affordable in the grand scheme and new is nice
-Canvas/covers can be very expensive. This would definitely concern me
-Windlass is now on my list of things I'll never want to live without
 
Nick70 said:
No. Definitely not. No complaints at all as to how it was described. I just had to ask about each item. I asked if it had the snap in carpets, and was told it did, and that they were serviceable but didn't look good enough to be in the pictures, installed.
as the boat has a generator, I wanted to assume it has a windlass..and also I didn't see a spotlight. So I asked about both and was told it did not have either.
i was about to put a deposit on it right then. I still may...I'm just having a hard time deciding about going with the 5.7 vs the 6.2 with no windlass, cockpit cover,..spotlight etc..the 5.7 has EVERYTHING I want, including the pewter hull and less hours. For 2-3k less money.
Click to expand...

Survey results are the key, of course. Then comes the deal/options/etc.

FWIW, it sounds like you are really leaning towards the 5.7 boat, and its less money to boot. That is the boat you should get. Honestly how much are you really looking to lose in resale 5.7 vs. 6.2? My thought is not too much, especially when you consider that the 6/2 boat doesn't have a windlass or spot light. We're talking about a 10 year old boat... even if you only keep it for a couple of years I doubt that you'll lose more than the 3K your saving now; so in essence you'll "lose" nothing and have the boat that has EVERYTHING you want. The 5.7 is not under-powered by any means. That is what I had in my 260 and I easily cruised in the very high 20's (usually in the 28-29 range depending on conditions), while running ~3500 RPM and burning 13 gph. If I wanted (or needed) to push a bit harder to keep up with others, she didn't have any issues running low 30s.
 
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