380 Sundancer purchase

HarryW

New Member
Sep 19, 2019
7
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
Hi folks, my first post to the forum. My wife and I are looking at 1999-2005 380 Sundancers. We have found a 1999 repowered in 2017 with 7.4 mag mpi 380 hp motors with less than 50 hours at an attractive price. How does the performance with these motors compare to the 8.1? Hp is similar but I believe the 8.1 made more torque. Thanks!
Harry
 
Last edited:
Cant respond about the difference between 8.1s and 7.4s but I have to say we love our 380.
if at the time i could have found an 01 or newer we would have went that way, the separate shower would be a nice option to have.
 
Cant respond about the difference between 8.1s and 7.4s but I have to say we love our 380.
if at the time i could have found an 01 or newer we would have went that way, the separate shower would be a nice option to have.
Thanks jz, we knew about the shower. Any other differences between these years?
 
the dash layout changed at some point, as well interior cushions changed with a smoother look.

I dont know of any other major changes aside of the 8.1s, the 7.4 Horizon do work amazing if we still have her when it's time to repower I would do 8.1s though.

Jamie
 
I have a 2000 with the separate shower, which is awesome. Also have the 7.4 horizons, run great. I can't imagine the 8.1 doing that much more. I think the design of the motor was to avoid inversion with the exhaust, you will love it regardless of being a 7.4 or 8.1.....
 
I have a 2000 with the separate shower, which is awesome. Also have the 7.4 horizons, run great. I can't imagine the 8.1 doing that much more. I think the design of the motor was to avoid inversion with the exhaust, you will love it regardless of being a 7.4 or 8.1.....
Jamie and Chris, what rpm/ speed do you cruise at? And can you estimate the fuel burn? Thanks!
 
I am not an exact guy on it but usually 3400 rpm which is low 20’s mph. Perfect conditions, mine gps’d at 36.6 mph for my sea trial

i don’t have a way to keep track of actual burn, but I used 1000 gallons this summer for about 60 hours on my engines, if that helps at all

edited to show the last fill up, i was close to empty...
 
Last edited:
Chris, not bad at all. I'm assuming a fair amount of low speed cruising?
 
Some idling, but really Mostly 3200-3400, besides the nowake zone around the marina. It's not as bad as I thought. I can check my receipts, I could be off a little, but nothing crazy maybe 100 gallons
 
I am not an exact guy on it but usually 3400 rpm which is low 20’s mph. Perfect conditions, mine gps’d at 36.6 mph for my see trial

i don’t have a way to keep track of actual burn, but I used 800 gallons this summer for about 60 hours on my engines, if that helps at all
800 gallons for 60 hours would be about 13 GPH that's exceptional!

I'm Burning 25-28 GPH depending on sea conditions 86 390 ec with 454's
 
Last edited:
800 gallons for 60 hours would be about 13 GPH that's exceptional!

I'm Burning 25-28 GPH depending on sea conditions 86 390 ec with 454's

That’s pretty good for a boat that size. What is the speed at that burn rate?
 
Low 20’s mph, usually pretty smooth, I will get my receipts out and double check I didn’t miss a fill up....

Hmm...I'm going to bet you missed a receipt...and I bet it was a big one! Even the hardcore diesel fanatics around here aren't getting those kinds of #'s in a boat this size. I'd have to be sitting at the dock to burn 13gph :) Maybe it's possible if you ran hull speed 98.6% of the time?

FWIW I've bracketed your boat in terms of size (I had a 340 previously), same engines in both, and mid/upper 30gph is a pretty good score for us gassers at cruise. I'm assuming you could drive it closer to 30 but it would have to be pretty much ideal conditions. Something like downhill, following seas, 20kt tailwind and/or getting a tow from BoatUS :)
 
Low 20’s mph, usually pretty smooth, I will get my receipts out and double check I didn’t miss a fill up....

My average cruising speed for my diesels is about 24 mph and I burn about 24 GPH, or about a mile per gallon, at that speed measured on long trips.
I don’t try to compute fuel burn on shorter local runs because the numbers would be skewed with the time spent at idle or no wake speed.
I had fuel flow sensors on my old gas powered boat and was able to maximize fuel efficiency. They were a great return on investment item.
 
Last edited:
I haven't tracked fuel burn yet, It really likes to cruise at 3400 RPM .
I can get away with 3100-3600 but 3400 seems to be the best for speed vs RPM.
Usually see Low to Mid 20's depending on conditions.

Jamie
 
19-20 MPH at 25-28 GPH is pretty impressive on a boat that big with 454’s.
Just ran out to Watch hill the end of Sept and checked it. One thing i did was install new Atna Digital tachometer's that are extremely true and accurate I'm seeing a big difference worth the money !
 
Hi folks, my first post to the forum. My wife and I are looking at 1999-2005 380 Sundancers. We have found a 1999 repowered in 2017 with 7.4 mag mpi 380 hp motors with less than 50 hours at an attractive price. How does the performance with these motors compare to the 8.1? Hp is similar but I believe the 8.1 made more torque. Thanks!
Harry

Hi Harry,

I'm guessing they should already have the spacers to raise the exhaust elbows on the 7.4s given the repower, but that's probably an "i" you want to dot to just to make 100% sure. See here for more info:

http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/water-ingestion-motor-problem-need-help.5959/
 
Markhpc, the 99 boat we are looking at is on its third set of motors. The first repower was done in 2003 with all of the exhaust upgrades, water lift mufflers, risers etc. The second set of motors had 1400 hours on them before the recent repower. Should I still be concerned with water ingestion/reversion?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,948
Messages
1,422,814
Members
60,930
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top