1982 270 Sundancer

[Boatless-n-KC]

Pending a sea trial, and mechanical survey, I’ll be buying this boat. It has twin 3.8L v6 OMC. It looks to be GREAT shape. Fresh water use only, always stored on a lift. I’d like to hear any thoughts on the OMC motors and drives.

Any tips or links on driving the older twins, caring for and maybe updating the boat would be appreciated.

Thanks

Boatless-n-KC

 

[Cap10Pat]

I can't help you much with the OMC stuff. It was once much more popular, although most Searays were mercury powered. I'd be concerned about the condition of the engines, which you will find out one way or the other. And, parts may not be too readily available.

Those boats have nice hulls, which should provide a good ride. And, you've already seen the wood on the inside. Well maintained it looks great.

Let us know how you make out.

 

[keokie]

I think you will be WAY ahead of the game finding one with twin 350 Mercs. The 3.8's are a little light on power. More importantly, those OMC 800's are trouble. I (and several others I am close to) have extensive experience with those drives. They break often, are hard to find parts for, and expensive to fix. In short, they are an absolute deal breaker for me.

They were smoother, quieter, turned sharper, and tilted higher than the Mercs or Volvo's. So, in the early years they were popular. But they did not hold up, and gained that reputation. In the end, they were re-designed similar to Merc and Volvo.

 

[penbroke]

Avoid OMC Stringer drives. If it has a big rubber bellows on the transom around the entire drive just turn around and walk away.


Frank

 

[fwebster]

I would avoid anything with OMC outdrives of any type.

After years of financial woes, the outboard part of OMC was sold to Bombardier several years ago, then spun off as a separate company. The outdrive business was liquidated. When they were in business parts were hard to get. Now, after the drives not being made for several years, there is no dealer network and the new company is not producing drives at all, so OMC powered boats usually sell real cheap because you are pretty much on your own when it comes to parts and service.

Good luck with this one................