380 Owners Please Chime In

A

After School

New Member
Jul 2, 2009
12
Point Judith, RI
Boat Info
1990 310 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 260 Merc Blue Water V-Drive inboards
I am considering purchasing a 380 Sundancer in the 2000 - 2004 range. I am curious about the performance of a 10T boat with gas engines. Does the boat easily cruise at 18 knots or are the engines screaming? Is there a performance difference between the 454's and the 502's?

Also, what do you love about the boat and what would you like to change about it?
 
After School said:
I am considering purchasing a 380 Sundancer in the 2000 - 2004 range. I am curious about the performance of a 10T boat with gas engines. Does the boat easily cruise at 18 knots or are the engines screaming? Is there a performance difference between the 454's and the 502's?

Also, what do you love about the boat and what would you like to change about it?
Click to expand...


My 380 would cruise at 3500 rpm making 20 knots. Figure a fuel economy of .7 mpg. Top speed was about 35 mph. At 18 knots it would only need to turn 3300 rpm. I do not know if the 454's would be a good choice. My boat had 8.1 engines.

hope this helps.
 
bluebelly said:
My 380 would cruise at 3500 rpm making 20 knots. Figure a fuel economy of .7 mpg. Top speed was about 35 mph. At 18 knots it would only need to turn 3300 rpm. I do not know if the 454's would be a good choice. My boat had 8.1 engines.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

This info is accurate for me as well. The boat starts to fall off plane at about 3100 rpm, but cruises well in the 3300-3500 range. If I were to buy again, I would get a boat with the 8.1L for sure for the newer technology. Since you didn't use your signatue, we have no idea where you boat, or how you plan to use this boat....that would be a lot of help for a boat this size.
 
That's a bit slow guys. Have you had your props and bottoms checked lately? Are you properly trimmed? Do you carry water?

At 3500 RPM, a 380DA with 8.1's should move you along at 23+ knots.
 
bluebelly said:
My 380 would cruise at 3500 rpm making 20 knots. Figure a fuel economy of .7 mpg. Top speed was about 35 mph. At 18 knots it would only need to turn 3300 rpm. I do not know if the 454's would be a good choice. My boat had 8.1 engines.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...


I get about the same with 3/4 tank of water, full fuel, four adults and a new bottom paint just done at the end of July.
 
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I wouldn't accept 20 knots 3500. Don't assume that your boats were propped correctly even from the factory.

I cruised yesterday on a flat lake, empty water (tank is aft on my boat) and light on fuel. I was going 25 knots at 3500. When carrying a load and cruising good seas, I'm still at 23.

The good news is, that at .7 mpg, you're at least hitting the "economy" mark.
 
RollerCoastr said:
I wouldn't accept 20 knots 3500. Don't assume that your boats were propped correctly even from the factory.

I cruised yesterday on a flat lake, empty water (tank is aft on my boat) and light on fuel. I was going 25 knots at 3500. When carrying a load and cruising good seas, I'm still at 23.

The good news is, that at .7 mpg, you're at least hitting the "economy" mark.
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Having been on many gas 40 foot boats over the last 10 years, I believe you may be way over propped or maybe your speed readings or rpm readings are off. If you are hitting 29 mph at 3500 rpm then that means you would be able to hit a top speed of about 38-39 mph at wot!!!! WOW! Supercharged maybe?
 
In a general sense, if a gas boat tops out between 33 and 35, the cruise speed would be somewhere between 23 and 25...

My boat loaded up with fuel, water, and all the other summer junk is close to 24,000 LBS. I have the 454 Crusaders (350 HP) and I cruise 3300 RPM at 23 MPH yielding .6/.7 MPG, if I pour the coals to it I top out around 33/34 with very little difference depending on load.
 
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Bluebelly, I assume the experience you mentioned included more sense than traveling the way I did yesterday. I took a calculated risk on a perfectly flat day, close to home. The fuel gauges read empty and I was out of water. I was cruising at just over 28 mph.

I probably am slightly over-propped. With over 1100 hours on the engines, the props are still tuned to what they would be for brand-new engines. Still, the engines turn beyond low 4000's and show less than usual wear, so I have no incentive at this point to knock the props down.

My point is not that anyone should expect a 380 to go 28 MPH, but that they SHOULD expect 3500 to push them faster than 20 knots.
 
The numbers below are from my 2002 380DA with 8.1L motors.....speed is in MPH..

380DAfuelburn.jpg
 
RollerCoastr said:
Bluebelly, I assume the experience you mentioned included more sense than traveling the way I did yesterday. I took a calculated risk on a perfectly flat day, close to home. The fuel gauges read empty and I was out of water. I was cruising at just over 28 mph.

I probably am slightly over-propped. With over 1100 hours on the engines, the props are still tuned to what they would be for brand-new engines. Still, the engines turn beyond low 4000's and show less than usual wear, so I have no incentive at this point to knock the props down.

My point is not that anyone should expect a 380 to go 28 MPH, but that they SHOULD expect 3500 to push them faster than 20 knots.
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Whatever you do don't change a thing. It sounds like you are dialed in perfectly. There are a couple of 97,98 400 dancers at my marina with over 1800 hours and they still don't show signs of fatigue. And those guys run their boats hard.
 
The typical run for my boat is 3500 rpm and GPS shows usually in the 21 kts. range. This equates to about 24 mph. My 70 gallon water tank is usually near full, and 1/2 tank of gas is typical. Props are 21 x 22 4 blade Hy Torque H&S. Trans is a 2.5:1. Boat weighs 18,300 dry...or about 20,000 now.
 
Thanks Dom. I think I've seen you post those figures before, but I hadn't examined them very closely. By my calcs, you averaged 22.73 knots at 3500, which makes a lot of sense. I'm amazed at the mpg's tho. Did she really return almost .87 smpg at cruise?

Granted, my boat is bigger than a 380, but at 23-24 knots, I average around .7

I'm also surpised that Southpaw is slower with a full water tank. I've been convinced for some time that 380DA's like to have that ballast in the bow. These figures though, are disputing that?

Bluebelly - I have yet to meet someone with a 400 gasser with more hours than mine. Any chance you could convince those 1800 hour guys to join CSR?
 
RollerCoastr said:
Thanks Dom. I think I've seen you post those figures before, but I hadn't examined them very closely. By my calcs, you averaged 22.73 knots at 3500, which makes a lot of sense. I'm amazed at the mpg's tho. Did she really return almost .87 smpg at cruise?
......
Click to expand...

Those runs were taken right after the boat was re-launched after a full bottom job and prop tuning.....pristine conditions. The river (east-west) is protected from the SE winds. The slight chop actually helps the speed/mileage. I too was surprised, but the numbers are/were accurate. My co-pilot at the time was recording the numbers on a pad while I read them off.
 
Best way to sell it on CSR, the listing fee helps to support the site and a hopefully a fellow CSR member buys it! Keeping it in the family. Going to list my 2000 380 on CSR this weekend, just need to ready the pics.
 
I just returned from a trip to Montauk NY, from Wickford.
At 35K RPM I was doing 26.4 MPH based on the GPS.
At 33K RPM I was showing 23 MPG

2 People on board, full tank of Gas, and full Water.
I like to have a full tank of water, to get a flatter ride, with little to no tabs.

My props were prop scanned, and my bottom is clean.

Seas both way ranged from 0 - 2 feet. Mostly calm conditions.

The boat never feels underpowered.
 
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