2004 260 Sundancer

B

Bam073

New Member
Mar 1, 2008
177
Long Island
Good morning all,

I'm a former BoatingABC.com fan, just found this website. I own a 2004 245 Weekender and am in the process of purchasing a 2004 260 Sundancer.

My concern; it has a 5.0L MPI engine with a Bravo III drive. Will that boat be underpowered? It will be my wife, 4 year old and 1 year old children just cruising around the Great South Bay (Long Island).

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you don't mind mid 30's cruise speed, you don't plan on using the boat for watersports, and you will rarely have more than 4 people on boad, it should be adequate. If you get to the point where you do a sea trial, bring along some friends, and gear to make it more like a full load of fuel. Also, in rougher seas, that engine will have to work hard to keep on plane, and fuel economy and long term engine life will suffer. If you are serious, insist on a complete survey as well as a sea trial.
 
Great points Kay.

When I think about it my use will be to go from my marina across the bay to the ocean beach (which is about a mile ride). With young kids I don't plan on waterskiing so that's not a problem. More than likely I will trade it in to the dealer I am purchasing it to get a bigger boat in a few years from now.

Thanks for your response. Do you own this boat?
 
It will be adequate but it would be nicer to have a bigger engine. My 2006 has a 350 MAG and I find that adequate but often wish I had a bigger engine. I would think a 2004 with a 5.0 will perform similar to my 2006 with a 350MAG. The 2006 has a deeper deadrise......21 degrees compared to 19 for the 200, and the 2006 is several hundred pounds heavier than a 2004 as well. Expect a cruising speed around 28-30 mph with a top speed maybe around 36-40 mph.
 
My opinion is yes, it would be underpowered.

I have the 350 (5.7L) and think that it performs okay most of the time. It struggles and needs help from the tabs 5 or more adults on board. I think that the 5.0 would have problems more frequently.

The 350 Bravo III is matched to 20P props in this model. That is the lowest pitch BIII prop you can get, so I have a hard time understanding how they put a smaller engine in with the same propset without overloading the engine.

Take it for a test ride but make sure that you have full fuel (85 gallons), water (another 28 gallons), and a partially full holding tank. Then add a few adults. Even though your kids don't weigh much (yet) they will have toys and stuff so you can't discount their weight too much.

I thought the 5.0 BIII was the perfect size for the 225 weekender that I had before. With the added weight of the 260, I don't think that it works.

I like the 260 very much, but I am also going to suggest that you look at 280's of that era. The problems that you are going to find with the 260 are the narrow beam and lack of a dinette. The 280 is a little wider, but it makes a lot of difference. It will probably keep you from feeling like you are stepping on your kids. The 280 also has a dinette, which gives your kids a place to sit down to eat, play games, or whatever. Just a thought.
 
Dave- if I can get 35-40mph out of the boat I would be more than happy. The only time that will happen will be when I'm out by myself, which won't be often. And if it takes me an extra 2 seconds to get on plane I can deal with that. By the way your boat is beautiful, I love the blue gel-coat on the hull.

Ken-we looked at a 300 SD and several 280s. With my spouse looking to retire next year the 260 is what the budget can afford. Especially considering that it's only costing me another $50 per month to go from my 245 Weekender to this. Although it's only 2 feet bigger the configuration works better and with the addition of shore power and a mid-berth that opens up our options. The next step in probably 3 or 4 years would be right to the 300 and skip the 280 entirely. We'll see what the future brings.
 
Bam073.......if you can find one with a bigger engine, then by all means get it. What folks are saying here is you just cannot have too much horsepower with a cruiser. If you think you like the one with 5.0 then Sea Trial it before you buy. Pay special attention to how quickly (or slowly) it will come on plane and also what RPM you have to turn at a decent cruising speed. I have to be turning 3800-4000 to cruise comfortably on mine and that was a huge shock at first comming from my 5.0 240SD which cruised comfortably at 3000 RPMs. Here is a video of the 260DA (older version) where they tested with the 5.0 so you can see the results for your self. http://www.boattest.com/oem/general-info.aspx?ID=340&lp_id=
 
I think that you may find it may be ok. I was cruising around yesterday at 3400 RPMs and Right at 30 MPH(speedo not GPS). I had 3-adults and 3-5yos on board.
I was happy with that speed and RPMs. Mine is the 5.7L EFI model and I know the 5.0L MPI provides somewhat the same horse power. The 5.0L may have to run at a higher RPM though to get the same crusing speed. Ultimately I think the 350MAG Dave has is ideal for the fuel burn side of the equation. He has the extra weight which is why you see his cruising RPMs at 3800.
My WOT yeilded 44 MPH.
I don't have the GPS yet so these are just Speedo numbers.
 
I had a 2004 260DA with the 5.7 350Mag and 300hp. If you are set on a 260DA I would strongly suggest going for the 5.7's or 6.2's. You kids will grow up pretty fast and they will want to bring along all their friends. As far as the boat itself...I loved our 260DA and still miss her very much. Great boat. Good luck with your search. Brian
 
Thanks Nehe. I'm thinking the power should be fine. If I was going to keep this boat long term I would get the bigger engine but I know I'll only have it for 3 years tops.

And was it you who posted the picture yesterday of the wake and the mountains in the background? That is now my background on my computer! We don't have those views here on Long Island.
 
Brian we looked at a 300 SD and the layout was awesome. Did not want our payment to go up so much though from where we are today.
 
That Boattest video sums it up Cruising at 4,000 RPM 's ???? That is just putting too much on that little motor. In three years, knowing what you know now, would you buy it ? There are so many choices out there in this size range, have you looked at anything else, or just this one boat ?
 
Bam073 -

I should point out that my 260 has the added weight of an arch, generator, and A/C. This puts the weight of mine close to that of Dave's newer one. If the 260 that you are considering does not have these options, your performance will be different.

My numbers top out at about 39 MPH at about 4800 RPM's. I cruise at around 3650 and 26 MPH, burning about 12GPH per the smartcraft gauge. Like Dave, this took some getting used to, as the weekender ran comfortably at 3000 RPM's. I try to hold the cruising RPM's to about 75-80% of WOT.

The 5.0 was the base engine in the 2004 model. Down here, the dealers would not get one with the 5.0 unless you special ordered it because they were too difficult to sell. That is something to keep in mind since you do plan to sell it in a few years.

At the risk of offending some people, I would not buy it, knowing what I know about its performance with the larger 5.7. Obviously there are other factors in your decision that I cannot know, but you did ask for opinions...

Also, with the BIII unit, 2004 was the year that mercruiser added the extra anodes to the lower unit to correct the corrosion problems that the BIII is prone to. Make sure that this boat has the zinc in the center of the props, if not see if you can get it retrofitted as part of the deal.
 
Bam073 said:
Thanks Nehe. I'm thinking the power should be fine. If I was going to keep this boat long term I would get the bigger engine but I know I'll only have it for 3 years tops.

And was it you who posted the picture yesterday of the wake and the mountains in the background? That is now my background on my computer! We don't have those views here on Long Island.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you've seen my thread on how I bought this boat back in Nov/Dec but it was interesting. Also, I'm not sure you have the full size version of the picture, but send me a private message with your e-mail and I'll e-mail you the big version.
 
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