1998 Sundancer 290 SINGLE 454

[JonE]

Good afternoon all!
I've searched this forum as well as Google and haven't heard see too many threads about the 1998+ SD with a single motor reviews.

I'm in the market for a new boat, and would rather deal with the maintenance of a single vs twins. I also love the fact with a single there's more room to work on it. I just recently had a Maxum 2900 SCR with the 6.2 and it was just fine getting up on plane even with 5 people and a full tank on board.

My boating style is simply pleasure boating around a local bay maybe rides as far as 30 minutes. Most rides would typically be 15 minutes out and 15 back from where I hang out.

My question is does the boat plane and stay up on plane with a single 454? I would assume so if it was the factory option from Sea Ray but would love to hear from other owners. I'm not concerned about docking and don't plan on taking it out into the ocean.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Getaway]

I have the exact boat you are inquiring about. We purchased ours in June of 2019 and have put over 500hrs on her since purchased.

In short, we absolutely love it!

We have the 1998 290DA with the 454 MPI Horizon, Bravo III dual prop outdrive. She sits on a 16,000 lbs BoatWheels tri-axle trailer when not in our slip. We have a slip in our home town and I also trailer it all over the state for salmon, trout, and walleye fishing.

This boat is very spunky, she gets up on plane easily with 4-6 adults (+ 3/4 tank of fuel), cruises on plane nicely at 25-26 mph and tops out around 34 mph (I've ticked 36 mph when light on fuel and just the wife and me).

Docking wise, people think I have twins, she backs down into the slip easily and maneuvers very well, wind or no wind. The Bravo III is very responsive and makes the boat respond quickly.

Maintenance wise, you can get down in the engine room without too much of a problem (I'm about 210 lbs and 6ft 3" tall). I can sit on the starboard stringer and change the plugs, swap the fuel filter and do the black water tank maintenance and work, etc. The port side has the batteries so I have to crouch around them, but it's still pretty easy access.

This boat is our summer cabin for the most part. I do a lot of salmon and walleye fishing on the Great Lakes so I put a lot of hours on the motor. The only real complaint is the v-birth bed. I think we finally got it figured out, but it's been a challenge. I removed the front bolster and added a 3" memory foam mattress topper. Now, it looks like we may sleep a lot better this year...LOL

If you have any other questions, ask away!! I'll post a couple pics too.

 

[Getaway]

 

[keokie]

I knew someone who ran that set up on a lake near me that I occasion. By the numbers, a single 454 is pretty low on the hp to weight ratio. But the one I'm familiar with ran pretty well. I think the BIII and hull design seem to work well together.

Hey Getaway, what props and gears are you running?

 

[Getaway]

I knew someone who ran that set up on a lake near me that I occasion. By the numbers, a single 454 is pretty low on the hp to weight ratio. But the one I'm familiar with ran pretty well. I think the BIII and hull design seem to work well together.

Hey Getaway, what props and gears are you running?

Hey! I'm not sure of the BIII's gear ratio, but the props are 14-3/8" x 20P

When I had our boat surveyed, the surveyor was really impressed with the power and handling of this boat. He actually noted in the comments that the boat was "amazingly spirited for it's weight and size"....LOL.

 

[JonE]

I have the exact boat you are inquiring about. We purchased ours in June of 2019 and have put over 500hrs on her since purchased.

In short, we absolutely love it!

We have the 1998 290DA with the 454 MPI Horizon, Bravo III dual prop outdrive. She sits on a 16,000 lbs BoatWheels tri-axle trailer when not in our slip. We have a slip in our home town and I also trailer it all over the state for salmon, trout, and walleye fishing.

This boat is very spunky, she gets up on plane easily with 4-6 adults (+ 3/4 tank of fuel), cruises on plane nicely at 25-26 mph and tops out around 34 mph (I've ticked 36 mph when light on fuel and just the wife and me).

Docking wise, people think I have twins, she backs down into the slip easily and maneuvers very well, wind or no wind. The Bravo III is very responsive and makes the boat respond quickly.

Maintenance wise, you can get down in the engine room without too much of a problem (I'm about 210 lbs and 6ft 3" tall). I can sit on the starboard stringer and change the plugs, swap the fuel filter and do the black water tank maintenance and work, etc. The port side has the batteries so I have to crouch around them, but it's still pretty easy access.

This boat is our summer cabin for the most part. I do a lot of salmon and walleye fishing on the Great Lakes so I put a lot of hours on the motor. The only real complaint is the v-birth bed. I think we finally got it figured out, but it's been a challenge. I removed the front bolster and added a 3" memory foam mattress topper. Now, it looks like we may sleep a lot better this year...LOL

If you have any other questions, ask away!! I'll post a couple pics too.

Thanks for the reply! That's a beautiful 290 you've got there.

I have to agree with you on the Bravo III it makes backing much easier. I never had an issue backing my Maxum 2900 SCR into my slip.

I was going to ask a few more questions, but you pretty much answered everything already lol If anything else, I'm curious... if you happen to know, what RPM are you running at around 25-26 mph?

 

[Getaway]

Thanks for the reply! That's a beautiful 290 you've got there.

I have to agree with you on the Bravo III it makes backing much easier. I never had an issue backing my Maxum 2900 SCR into my slip.

I was going to ask a few more questions, but you pretty much answered everything already lol If anything else, I'm curious... if you happen to know, what RPM are you running at around 25-26 mph?

JonE,
I want to say around 25-26MPH is right around 3300-3500 R's.. roughly. It's been a while since I looked and my memory isn't great...lol. WFO she's ticking right around 4800.

 

[JonE]

JonE,
I want to say around 25-26MPH is right around 3300-3500 R's.. roughly. It's been a while since I looked and my memory isn't great...lol. WFO she's ticking right around 4800.

All things considered that's not too bad with the weight

 

[cobras281]

I have a 1998 290 SD with the single. Im a simple man and thats how I like my boats, the boat def will not win races, well except to winterize and get maintenance done. we stay inland waters and the single has been great to us. have had 2 families on it (8 people) and half tank takes a bit to plane but always gets there. I decided to get the 4 blade props from hill marine to get it some more bottom end works like a charm. Im in NJ and will be selling Kids sports are now takign up all our weekends.

 

[techmitch]

I have a 1998 290 SD with the single. Im a simple man and thats how I like my boats, the boat def will not win races, well except to winterize and get maintenance done. we stay inland waters and the single has been great to us. have had 2 families on it (8 people) and half tank takes a bit to plane but always gets there. I decided to get the 4 blade props from hill marine to get it some more bottom end works like a charm. Im in NJ and will be selling Kids sports are now takign up all our weekends.

Your info. says you have a 99 with twin 5.0L's