260 Sundancer Sea Trial

A

A'Boat

New Member
Jul 18, 2016
3
Central Florida Gulf Coast
Boat Info
2002 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer
Engines
Single remanned 5.7 MPI w/Bravo III Drive
I'm looking at a 2002 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer, and am going on a sea trial tomorrow (July 19th). The boat has a single 260hp 5.0 MPI with Bravo IIIs.
I've owned a few larger sailboats in my past life, but never a powerboat. Does anyone have suggestions on what specifically to watch out for?
Does anyone have experience with the 260hp Merc engine? Does it have enough power to plane if loaded to its 10 person capacity?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
I would bring a few friends to simulate how you would most use the boat. You don't necessarily need enough power to plane 10 people, as I can't imagine having that many on a 260, but you will likely have a few on board as well as gear, food, fuel, water, etc. My gut says the 5.0 is borderline for that boat but I haven't ever driven one. It may be plenty of power for your usage.
 
My dockmate next to me has one and its a good motor for normal cruising with 2 to 6 people aboard. 10 - you need to look at a bigger boat, or learn to play twister without the dots.
 
It would be VERY RARE to have that many people on board. However there appears to be decent seating for 8 (3 on forward facing rear bench, 2 on aft facing rear bench, 2 beside the captain, and of course the captain).
The boat's use will be split between days at the sandbars with lots of friends and weekend cruises with 2 or 4.
I know I confused the question by mentioning the 10 people, but what I'm mostly interested in as a first time power boat owner, is what should I be looking for in the sea trial. The boat just had a full engine service including risers, manifold and water pump (engine is just under 500hrs). Should the boat be run at WOT, and if so, for how long? All suggestions appreciated! Thanks!
 
A'Boat said:
It would be VERY RARE to have that many people on board. However there appears to be decent seating for 8 (3 on forward facing rear bench, 2 on aft facing rear bench, 2 beside the captain, and of course the captain).
The boat's use will be split between days at the sandbars with lots of friends and weekend cruises with 2 or 4.
I know I confused the question by mentioning the 10 people, but what I'm mostly interested in as a first time power boat owner, is what should I be looking for in the sea trial. The boat just had a full engine service including risers, manifold and water pump (engine is just under 500hrs). Should the boat be run at WOT, and if so, for how long? All suggestions appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes it will be run at wot. Are you having a survey done? They will do all this for you, and encourage you to come along.
 
I have the 350 Mag. Fully loaded and my wife and I, I never use tabs, it planes nicely, and I like the way it performs and handles. Add 2 more average sized people and fully loaded and I will use the tabs to get on plane and then retract them. More than 4 people with full gas and water, and it takes quite a while to get it on plane.

IMHO, you would be much happier with a 5.7. Personally, I would not be interested in a 5.0. Even though the 2002 model is like 1,000 lbs lighter, that would not be enough to make me want it. I wish I had the 8.1!

This is my $0.02 and that is all it is worth.

Bennett
 
How did the sea trial go? I also just purchased a 2002 260DA with a 5.0L. We take delivery in a few days. On our sea trial, we had four adults, a full tank of gas, a full water tank, and an empty holding tank. The boat does not have a gen set but is otherwise loaded. At WOT (Merc spec is 4600 RPM for this engine) I saw between 4800-5200 RPM and 32 mph. I suspect we can get to the mid 30's with a lesser load and by playing with the trim a bit. She got on plane quickly though I didn't time it. Like you, we were sailboat owners and were thinking of moving to a trawler. Moving at over 30 mph is a lot more fun than sailing along at 5-6 knots!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
How did the sea trial go? The 5.0 won't have the torque that a larger engine would have but the Bravo 3 should make up or it with the dual prop.
 
WE had the 260 with the 8.1 and highly recommend the big block. Dock mate has the same boat with 5.0 and the trade off is power for fuel economy..............
 
Bennet, it looks as though we have the exact same boat lol..very nice. I've had the same experience. Took a total of 8 people out. Once. Won't do it again. She did get on plane but it was a struggle. Add some chop and a headwind, even tougher. I had a couple people move towards the bow and she got evened right out. But still, I didn't like how it felt like I was really almost abusing the power train.
 
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