340DA vs. 360DA

[Bottom Line]

Looking for input on the likes and dislikes between these 2 models. The things I like about the 360...separate fridge and freezer, a "real" mattress...and a separate shower (kind of with the acrylic enclosure). I also like the fact the master stateroom has a door.

Things I like about the 340 are the U shaped seating in the cockpit, and even though the vberth does not have a real mattress, the bed area may be bigger than the 360DA. The 340 also seems to be a more popular seller.

Not sure about the differences in the engine room.

Also...we dock in a covered dock with fingers on each side of the slip...how much extra space do you allow in slip width over the beam of the boat? For example, my slip is 14' wide...beam on a 340DA is 12' and on a 360DA is 12' 6". Would the 360 be too tight?

Thanks for the info...give me the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

[JVM225]

IMHO: The separate shower and real mattress are both good things to have.

 

[mawyatt]

Jeff,

We almost went for the 340. When we found out the 340 was being replaced by the 350 I went to the Miami Boat show to check the 350 out. While at the show I went on a 38 and was sold, basically the engine bay did the sell. On the 340/350 you can't walk between the engines, you can on the 38. On a V drive the engine/gen strainers and seacocks are in the aft section. On the 340/350 you must lay over the engines to get to them, on the 38 you can just walk down to them. Also things that were extra on the 340/350 are standard on the 38, like stainless windshield. I don't know much about the 36 though, but take a look at the 38 and see what you think.

Good luck on your decision, I'm sure you will be happy with either one.

Mike

 

[J Levine]

Years ago I was having the same debate between the 95-97 330DA or the 95-97 370DA. Came down to:
Engine access... this is huge, if you are going to do any work yourself the ability to walk between the engines is major plus. I was coming out of a 95 290 with twin V6's and after 6 years of laying on the engines with the blood racing to my head I had had enough.

Dry head with separate shower.... very big deal, again I had lived with the wet head on the 290 for too long

A door for the master state room, a big deal especially with three kids aboard with us

 

[Chris R]

Jeff, we are in a 40 X 14 (covered) slip. We "tried out" a 12 X 34 foot since it was 50 bucks less a month - the 12 foot slip is a bit tight, but will work. We chose the larger slip since the 40 slip has the entire boat under cover. The noe stuck out on the 34 foot slip.

We love our 340, but as with any boat, there are things you would "like" to have. Most of our wish list would be for things that would allow 3 or 4 of us to spend weekends (overnight) more comfortably. Mainly this centers around seperate shower and sleeping room (for others). I really have no complaints about anything else on this boat. The cabin, handling, performance, and cockpit layout are wonderful. We looked at a used 360 prior to buying this boat. Some of the decision was based new vs used, but the other was how the 340 cabin had a much more "open" feel to it. The 360, with the master suite door, made the cabin feel a bit claustrophobic and closed in.

I think it all boils down to engines, price, and how you will use this boat. Always go with diesels if you can get them. Also, consider how you plan to use the boat, if you are going out for the day, with an overnight, thrown in here and there, the 340 is more than enough. The 360 would work better if you plan to spend more O/N's on the boat, although it's not giving you than much more. "If" we step up to another boat in the future, we'll make the jump to a 44 Sedan Bridge- this boat seems to have all the feature we wish we had for longer voyages and overnights.

 

[SeaRay Ray]

Jeff, The 38 Sundancer actually is the same dimension as the 360 Sundancers. We have one at our dock and I was out in it yesterday for our Women on Water program. Its a great boat. I'll be on the dock next weekend, come by and see me. If you "insist" we'll go for a boat ride....heh...

 

[dpmulvey]

Make sure you don't hang off the end of the berth on both models. Depending on your height
, you may not like either.

 

[Sheffield]

Perhaps I can speak from experience on this...

We owned a 2003 320DA which we really enjoyed. We bought a 2005 360DA because we liked the separate stateroom door and the shower arrangement as you point out. We thought we would miss the U shaped cockpit but actually the face-to-face seating can do 3 adults aside which is really nice. The other thing that we like about layout is that no one steps on the seats when we dock with the finger on the opposite side from the door. The separate fridge/freezer is HUGE if you cruise a lot over night.

Other little things that we like are the nicer interior (sport cruiser vs. sport yacht), the all stainless windshield and other fittings (a must if you are near or on saltwater), the fact that you can open the engine hatch with the canvas up (great for rainy day maintenance), the inner spring mattress, the extra 6" beam makes a difference in the engine room, etc.

What don't like is that the E/C 80 Raymarine "landscape" display is a tight fit (the boat was designed for the older "portrait" type screens.

Either way you won't go wrong!

 

[Odayssea]

Sounds like this thread can be summarized as: "bigger is better." I love my new-to-me 340 DA, but for many reasons I will trade up in the future to a 38... or a 40.... or a 44...

"footitis" is a serious affliction.

 

[searaycruisn]

Odayssea,

I couldn't have said it better myself!