300 - 320 Sundancer Opinion on Moving Up

D

devilrays

New Member
Jan 28, 2007
144
Clearwater Beach
Boat Info
260 Sundancer
Engines
5.0L Mercruiser
Hello All,

I'm in the process of starting to look for a 300 - 320 Sundancer. I currently have a 2003 260 Sundancer and would like to see everyone's opinion and even prices everyone has paid for this size boat. I will definitely look for a previously owned boat and not brand new. Let me know your thoughts?
 
The whole family loves our boat. The more we use her, the more we love her. We have looked at new boats in this size range from various builders, in our opinion nothing compares. This boat just happened to be at our marina, and in super great shape. We bought her in July 08, and paid less than 100k. one owner same lake since new, we thought this was a bargin for a well cared for,and heavly loaded boat. In todays market you might can find a better deal, but we are very pleased with the deal that we got, and of course we are very pleased with the boat. Good luck, and happy boating.:grin:
 
I went from a 2002 260DA to a 2002 320DA with 350MAG Horizon IBs. I boat in freshwater and do not have a lift. The boat stays in the water all year, and gets hauled in the early summer for bottom paint/replacement of the anodes.
We kept the 320DA exactly 9 months before selling and buying the current 03 420DA. The 320DA is a big jump from the 260DA, but it was not what we wanted in an express boat. For the way we use a boat--fully loaded with gear, fuel, water, and lots of friends aboard-the 350s were not enough engine for the 320DA, especially when running against a couple knots of current and wind, conditions which are prevalent where I boat. I did find the inboards to be far less maintenance intensive than the BIII in the 260DA-a factor to consider in saltwater. Were I to do it over again I would have gone straight from the 260DA to the 420DA.

regards
Skip
 
We went from a 260 to a 1998 diesel 370 and it was the best move we ever made! Don't limit yourself to a model as much as a price point. There are amazing deals out there right now.
 
I went from a 260 to a 320. We are very happy with the move. It is a great boat. The bilge is tight and that is my biggest complaint. We love the island bed. That is the main reason we choose the 320 over the 300 and the 310 we were also looking at. We were also looking at the previous generation 340 as well. We wanted a bolt on swim platform - that was one reason we ruled out the new style 340. The new style 340 is a nice boat with a little more room. The 260 was a boat I really liked as well. If I was in your shoes - I would look all the way up to the old style 380 and see what works. If you have your sights on a 40' plus boat. Then go for the big boat.
 
We primarily boat as a couple (no kids or animal(s) , we take guest occasionally. If you have a family, or frequently pile on 6 to 8 guests, the 300 may be a challenge for comfort. If you plan to boat in salt water, I'd go with inboards. What did I pay for my boat? Where is my bottle of prozac?
 
love the 320 but a bit too small for a family of four. We spend the weekends on the boat. looking at 38-40DA now.
 
I don't care for the 320, should have gone for at minimum a 340 but the 360 or 380 would have been better. If you buy, you should have no problem finding a slightly used 320 for barely over $100K.

Good Luck,
 
We made the same 260DA -> 320DA jump (in fact our 320DA is Skip's old boat). As others have mentioned, the 320DA is available with v-drives, while the 300DA can only be had with outdrives. Engine access is tight. For us, the boat doesn't seem underpowered at all, but it is usually just three of us aboard. She handles well around the docks and can handle much rougher seas than the crew is comfortable in.

-CJ
 
We went from a 26.5ft cruiser to the 320. Love it, love it, love it! We boat with our dog and occassionly have guests. We find no problem with room. Did I say we love this boat!
 
devilrays,
your sig. says you're in Tampa Bay and if I'm not mistaken this is salt water. So, unless you have a lift where the boat will sit after each use and ofcourse flushed forget the 300 just b/c it has sterndrives. Again, this is assuming that the boat will be stored in water you need v-drives. We had exactly the same plan when upgrading from 240DA and 300 was crossed from the list for the reasons I had descriped. I'm boating in bruckish water, which I treat more like salt water.

We love the 320. It's been our dream boat for many years. At this point I don't have any big complaints. There are things that could be better, but none of them are show-stoppers for the purchase.

If you like 310 (v-drives boat) you can find it much cheaper than 320 (most of the time), but it's very different design, which wasn't our choice.

You should do a search on topics like 320 vs 340 and you'll get plenty of reading.
 
Yes it would be stored in salt water and I've heard V-drives are the way too go. I'm continuing the search and I'm in no hurry. Thanks for everyone's comments and keep them coming.
 
Since your in Florida I would go with the 320DA with V-drives. We pull our 300DA out every year for 4 months but if you are leaving it in the water all year than it might not make sense. The 300DA with 350's however is a quick boat, no problem getting up on plane and has no problem pulling skiers or tube's. Also better performance than a 320DA. It all depends on how you plan on using your boat. Good luck.
 
Bridog raises an excellent point - the 320DA is not set up for towing a skier or tube. The wake is fairly massive as the boat tends to squat when coming up on plane (use of the tabs can reduce this somewhat). The 320DA is more of a cruiser than a tow boat. With the lower weight and B3 outdrives, I also agree the 300DA should be faster and more responsive up on plane. I haven't tried to dock a twin outdrive boat, but I imagine a v-drive would be easier as the props are closer to the center of the boat.

We had a friend with a new 300DA (who's since retired and moved to the west coast) and that was a very nice boat. In the end consider how you plan to use your boat and which one you can get the best deal on. Everythign else being even, I'd always go for the larger boat.

Good luck with your search.

-CJ
 
Heck!
I'll chime in here and agree with a 310 or larger.
The difference is your personal preference on the layout and design.
 
We had a 2000 260DA for one year before we moved up to the 2000 310DA. We couldn't be happier. It's a great size, and we have the I/O's so the fuel use isn't too bad.
We have two small kids (5 & 7), and have added a small dog this year. We're not anticipating any issues with size. The 340 is a bit bigger, but it's also a bit more $$$, plus fuel expenses are more. I'm very happy with our move.
Good luck.
 
While I have been reading just about everything on this site (a lot of cool info here) I have not posted yet. After reading this string and a couple of others I have a few questions about the 320 and sterndrives.

I am looking at a 2003 320 Sundancer with 8.1s equipped with Prochargers and BIII drives. Here are the questions:

1. I read in another post that the drives need to be removed annually and serviced. I can not find any supporting documentation for doing this anywhere else on the net. Why is it necessary? Or is it?

2. What is the ProCharger. I can not find any info on it on the Mercury website.

3. The boat will be kept in a fresh water slip. It does however have access to salt water venues. I will be fairly far upstream in the CA delta which flows out to the San Francisco bay. It is not an FWC boat. If I take it down to the bay (saltwater) for a few days, how do I flush it in the water each day? Can this even be done? Is it necessary? Is the return trip back to the freshwater slip enough for flushing?

4. Lastly; Are any of you 320 owners over 6' tall? Do you fit on the forward berth or do you use the mid cabin berth as your primary sleeping quarters.

thanks in advance for your responses.
 
jmeirhofer said:
I am looking at a 2003 320 Sundancer with 8.1s equipped with Prochargers and BIII drives.
Click to expand...

This is the first time I hear about 320DA with 8.1s, are you sure this is correct information. This is not even one of the listed options on the specs sheet.

jmeirhofer said:
1. I read in another post that the drives need to be removed annually and serviced. I can not find any supporting documentation for doing this anywhere else on the net. Why is it necessary? Or is it?
Click to expand...

I don't have any supporting documentation, but all outdrives (especially BIIIs) are recommended to be serviced annually or at least semi-annually, depending on the use.

jmeirhofer said:
If I take it down to the bay (saltwater) for a few days, how do I flush it in the water each day? Can this even be done? Is it necessary? Is the return trip back to the freshwater slip enough for flushing?
Click to expand...

No worries, as long as the boat stays in water it's not going to do any damage in few days being in the salt water. Since shortly after you're coming back to fresh water I wouldn't do anything special.
 
Thanks for the info Alex. Here is the listing on Yacht World:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/Sea-Ray-320-Sundancer-2022230/Sacramento/CA/United-States

The photos show 496s which I thought were the 8.1s. Maybe I am mistaken? Do you know what the ProCharger is? Also does the servicing of the outdrive require it to be removed? The boat would likely be coming out of the water at least once a year anyway for a good bottom cleaning etc. I just was not aware that the drives need to be removed to service them every year. Thanks again for the responses
 
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