2001 340 da

[see ray]

Hi ,im looking to buy a 2001 340da, it is powered by 454 mpi, the owner is telling me it has 350hp, i believe its only 310hp, i know they offered the 454 horizons with 380hp( more horses is always good), I would like to know how well does this boat plane with these motors(310hp) and is there anything i should check/look at myself before i hire a suveyer, if i by this boat i will have it surveyed, but a educated ,preliminary ,personal ,survey will help me decide to go further(get the surveyer)

thanks jim

 

[VinceR]

Jim,
We love our 2001 340. We have owned it for 2.5 years and cruised over 300 hours. We have the 454-310 HP engines. We run on plane at 3500 to 3600 RPM at about 27 MPH burning about 33 gallons per hour. We run on plane with the tabs full down. We have run on plane with 8 adults on board and full fuel and water. Our 340 is dry stored so we always have a clean bottom. “Cocktail Speed” is 1200 RPM and 6.5 MPH on about 4.5 gallons per hour. The boat handles very well around the docks in the marina.
Wife and I normally will spend 5 to 7 nights on board with no problems. We use our 340 as our “condo” on the coast.
Vince

 

[see ray]

Jim,
We love our 2001 340. We have owned it for 2.5 years and cruised over 300 hours. We have the 454-310 HP engines. We run on plane at 3500 to 3600 RPM at about 27 MPH burning about 33 gallons per hour. We run on plane with the tabs full down. We have run on plane with 8 adults on board and full fuel and water. Our 340 is dry stored so we always have a clean bottom. “Cocktail Speed” is 1200 RPM and 6.5 MPH on about 4.5 gallons per hour. The boat handles very well around the docks in the marina.
Wife and I normally will spend 5 to 7 nights on board with no problems. We use our 340 as our “condo” on the coast.
Vince

Thanks for the info Vince, On the trim tab deal !! do you mean up(fully retracted bow up)? or down(bow down position full deployed ?? what is top speed ? im not sure about going to the new body style with the 8.1 horizons 370hp. of course its more cash . but boating is my relaxation i my just have to water test both models i guess

 

[mquiet]

Hi Jim,

I have 2000yr with 7.4's. We cruise every weekend with amy family (4) and usually friends (4), so with 8 people she does great. I add some trim down doing hole shot and boat will plane at 3500rpm and I can usually retard throttles to about 3200 and stay on plane. I run with full water, and usually about 3/4 fuel. Very happy with boat. I believe the model years are very similiar. I also have genny which adds to weight. 8.1's are great, but I can say that we have done well with 7.4's.

Best of luck with purchase,

Matt

 

[VinceR]

Tabs full down. Bow down.

 

[see ray]

thanks all for the info, im just not sure, i just sold my boat that i didnt like because of how it ran/handled (it was a great looking high quality, 07 formula cruiser) i was just unimpressed with how it ran/handled, this 340 imlooking at is like new well taken care of , I would already own it if it had the horizon 370hp motors, i like the boat but just dont want to get another boat im not enjoying with that the owner did say it rode bow high so is that a characteristic of the boat itself or will the 370hp motors run better also these motors were replaced completely with update maifolds and otherstuff from the factory under warrantee it has 7.4-mie(L29)-gen VI motors are these the 310hp, hes telling me they are 350 hp, well im going to take adavntage of his offer to water test ill let you,s now whats up thanks

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Try not to get too hung up on Hp numbers. Torque is the real prop turner. For heavier cruisers like the 340, the regular (vs high performance) engine is often more efficient for normal cruising speeds. Too bad they don't publish torque figures at 3000-3500 rpm.

 

[terminaldegree]

Try not to get too hung up on Hp numbers. Torque is the real prop turner. For heavier cruisers like the 340, the regular (vs high performance) engine is often more efficient for normal cruising speeds. Too bad they don't publish torque figures at 3000-3500 rpm.

I agree completely with the above post-- you're not going to see any difference with the horizon vs std. motor for cruising speed, only top speed (and that's mostly because of the higher redline). GM powertrain used to publish the hp/torque curves for the blocks they supplied to the marine industry. The big block V8's in "standard" guise usually made peak torque at 3200 rpm, while the High Output version was in the high 3000 rpm range. The torque difference between standard and high output was almost nil, only peak horsepower.

We used to have an '02 340. Even though I generally dislike sterndrives (draft, complexity, gaskets, shifting, noise), this boat ran really well with them at reasonable cruising rpms. I know both versions are available for this model. Our dealer special ordered a few of them with 350 mag mpi bravo 3's from the factory. Unbelievably, that boat ran 25 mph at 3200 rpm, and burned something like 20 gal/hr. moderately loaded. Having said all that, I like the smoothness and quieter running of the v-drives we have on the current boat...

 

[see ray]

first off THANKS AND THANKS again for all the help, Top speed isnt the issue, im worried about the running attitude and hole shot .so here is the big question ??? will both boats plane the same ?? out of the hole ! or will one plane faster than the other ??? is the running attitude the same at cruise (slightly bow high, even at cruise ) also Im wondering if the newer body 03-07 has a better running attitude ?? i know the newer boat is more beam more wieght, but is it better balanced ??

 

[VinceR]

Hole shot? Are you racing or cruising? My thoughts are when you graduate to larger and heavier cruisers with inboards (not outdrives) you should be concerned with handling, “sweet spot” cruising speeds versus fuel burn and tracking. Most of the larger inboards cruise on plane with the bow higher than smaller boats or similar boats with outdrives. I do not find the 340 to cruise on plane with the bow too high. When down to half tanks (600 pounds lighter) the boat cruises on plane with better gas mileage and a quicker time to plane. So weight has an effect on these boats.
If you want a fast boat with a good hole shot that has a similar layout to the 340 but gets almost twice the fuel mileage the 300 Sundancer may be an option. These boats were build in the mid 2000s. Try to find one with the 300HP engines.

 

[terminaldegree]

Some good advice above, and my experience with the stern drive versions matches his-- it was acceptably quick to plane and the running attitude seemed low enough for good visibility at cruise. I also noticed a nice difference in overall performance and time to plane once the first 1/4 tank of fuel was burned off.

If you value your transmissions, you shouldn't be doing "holeshots" with boats this large/heavy on a regular basis... (using full throttle or applying throttle aggressively to get on plane)

 

[see ray]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, WHEN i say hole shots, i mean when the boat comes on plane will the boats have the same planing time or will one have less bow rise and quicker planing, then the other ?? im not looking for speed just a boat with a nice running attitude. I understand that there is no perfect boat , im just anal about handling and tecnicals, also you,s will agree that alot is psychological, and what i need to do which i am is take a water test, on these boats,03 up, new body and old 00 to 02 and see if they are for me , thanks for all the imput