Sea Ray Sundancer and Bayliner look alike

El Capitan

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2014
3,828
Chicago IL./Vero Beach, Fl
Boat Info
1970 SRV 180 w 2.5L Mercruiser.
2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer
Engines
120HP Mercruiser
I thought this looks more like a Bayliner than Sea Ray. Seems they're consolidating the lines. But that thing looks like a Bayliner

image.jpg
 
I'm not a big fan of the new Sea Ray designs, but if they came out with a 260 Sundancer with a Mercury 300 hp outboard I could tolerate them. :D
 
El capitan is being too polite saying it looks like a Bayliner-----it looks like Doo Doo. Probably very functional but ......
 
SeaRay lost me with some of their designs a few years ago. The smaller boats still look good, but the larger ones with the European look don't do it for me. I liked when a SeaRay had the same general lines whether it was an 18ft bowrider or a 50ft Sundancer.
 
Why did they stop making cabin cruisers and Cuddy cabins under 30ft? Everything seems open at that size and smaller.

Also when I build out and price 19-21 footer my teeth almost fell out. Geez! A boat payment looks more like a mortgage.
 
Why did they stop making cabin cruisers and Cuddy cabins under 30ft? Everything seems open at that size and smaller.

Also when I build out and price 19-21 footer my teeth almost fell out. Geez! A boat payment looks more like a mortgage.
Just consider that price is MSRP. There tends to be a hefty discount for new Sea Rays. There were some various factors involved, but the list for my 270 AJ was about $105k, and I got it for $65k.

I think they have moved away from traditional express cruisers because of the market trends. Larger center / dual consoles for day use have been very hot. Add in the trend to outboards too.

Consider the current 320 DA: they changed it from a true cruiser to more of a hybrid deck boat with a sparse cabin. It's an interesting layout but to me not a Sundancer. It's sad to me that Sea Ray seems to have a generic look now, and it widely varies from model to model. The 350 DA and the 350 DA Coupe are ostensibly the same model but look way different to me. I love the solid glass idea but the design of the 350 DA seems better executed. The design of the coupe makes the bow look short and droopy.
 
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Consider the current 320 DA: they changed it from a true cruiser to more of a hybrid deck boat with a sparse cabin. It's an interesting layout but to me not a Sundancer. It's sad to me that Sea Ray seems to have a generic look now, and it widely varies from model to model. The 350 DA and the 350 DA Coupe are ostensibly the same model but look way different to me. I love the solid glass idea but the design of the 350 DA seems better executed. The design of the coupe makes the bow look short and droopy.

We checked out the 320 at the Minneapolis boat show. Although it 's a neat concept at the bow, you're correct, the cabin is very sparse. I'm 6'4" and could barely fit in it. The Admiral didn't care for it either.
 
I think they have moved away from traditional express cruisers because of the market trends. Larger center / dual consoles for day use have been very hot. Add in the trend to outboards too.

There’s no doubt the center and dual consoles are very popular. I see the same trends. But, as I search for a replacement Sundancer for my 09 310, I note the 11 of the 15 2010-2016 330 Sundancer for sale in NA are pending sale on YW. And, I think a majority of those have sold in the last 30-45 days. It’s anecdotal, but still...

Either there’s a lot of new boaters joining in or there’s still some latent demand remaining for the mid-size weekend cruiser...
 
Brunswick should have sold the brand. They have ruined Sea Ray IMO. They where always the best looking boats. The last 10 years they fell apart, build wise and styling.
I do not see Sea Ray surviving if they continue the way they are heading with their design.
 
Brunswick should have sold the brand. They have ruined Sea Ray IMO. They where always the best looking boats. The last 10 years they fell apart, build wise and styling.
I do not see Sea Ray surviving if they continue the way they are heading with their design.

Well I’ll admit I’m partial to the classics 70’ & 80’s but what specifics can you give please?
 
Well I’ll admit I’m partial to the classics 70’ & 80’s but what specifics can you give please?

Fit and finish problems, dated designs. There where a few other build quality issues also that I have been told about from reputable people. The European styling is not to my liking and many others. IMO they are just plain UGLY. The other thing that killed Sea Ray was they tried to build boats bigger and loaded down with more electronics and bigger engines moving them out of the market that made them the leaders in boat sales for so many years.
 
Most people who are willing to spend $2 million on a boat are not going to buy a Sea Ray. It would be different if Sea Ray had Viking quality( for example) then maybe. They more or less priced themselves out of the market.
 
This seems to be the case w their sport lines as well.

I’m comparing Yamaha boats, Hurricane, and Bayliner. All in the 19-21ft range and Sea Ray is 30%-50% higher in price.

Not sure where to look for the incremental value in SR for their price premium.

Yamaha offers their product in a complete package ie trailer, canvas etc. Hurricane has better specs ie wider beam in the sport boat lineup and far more layout options including color scheme options.
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the increasingly widening gap between new boat buyers and used boat buyers. Anecdotally speaking, the only people I know who bought “new” Sea Rays between 30-45ft in the last 5yrs were first-time boaters who had NO CLUE what they were doing. They had the means and wanted all the electronics and gadgets and joystick docking, etc. Unfortunately, boat manufacturers have to sell brand new boats. That means building boats designed for the people who are buying them. I wager that 95% of the users on this forum would never buy a brand new 30-45’ Sea Ray, so we aren’t their target market anyway.

Now I’m sure there exceptions to my hypothesis, but by and large Brunswick doesn’t care about the family buying the 10yr old cruiser for $150k. They only care about the family buying the showroom model for $500k. Those two families have very little in common. ‍♂️
 
They build what people will buy. Marketing is winning right now. 15 week backlog pre COVID, 26 week plus backlog now.
The majority of new boats sold are pontoons by volume, then center consoles. Large day boats then cruisers finish out the recreational line.
The 320 is a very functional layout for the way the buyers with money boat. Lots of above deck entertainment space and functional cabin. We looked at a new one and sea trialed it. If was the outboard version we would have purchased it. Not looking to go back to an IO for now. It does not have the aesthetics of the older SR, but when you are on it you can’t see it....
I am a 30 yr boater veteran so I know exactly what I want, need or simply like.
But design is art and all of our eyes are different.
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the increasingly widening gap between new boat buyers and used boat buyers. Anecdotally speaking, the only people I know who bought “new” Sea Rays between 30-45ft in the last 5yrs were first-time boaters who had NO CLUE what they were doing. They had the means and wanted all the electronics and gadgets and joystick docking, etc. Unfortunately, boat manufacturers have to sell brand new boats. That means building boats designed for the people who are buying them. I wager that 95% of the users on this forum would never buy a brand new 30-45’ Sea Ray, so we aren’t their target market anyway.

Now I’m sure there exceptions to my hypothesis, but by and large Brunswick doesn’t care about the family buying the 10yr old cruiser for $150k. They only care about the family buying the showroom model for $500k. Those two families have very little in common. ‍♂️


I would like to argue with this just a bit. I see people who buy Sea Rays 30-45' are previous Sea Ray owners moving up. We are a prime example of that. We started out with a 30' boat and moved up from there ( for the exception of the 25' but that was because my parents where building a house on the lake and didn't feel they wanted a big boat but then realized they where wrong). I am in the market for a 45-50' boat and I have always been partial to Sea Rays up until the last couple years of their sport Yachts and Yachts. I would like to find a shaft boat as I am not a fan of outboards or pods.
I know quite a few people on lake Erie who buy new boats about very 5 years and they move up in size usually. Now center console and outboards being the most popular right now, yet you still have your yacht buyers who prefer inboards. Now if they still Made the 09-13 470 DA with shafts I would buy one tomorrow.
 

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