410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread**

Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

Hi All,

Does anybody know the fuel burn, Range and top and good cruising speed of a 2001 generation 410 Sundancer, with MerCruiser Horizon 8.1s (380HP)? I am looking into them and need to get an idea.

Thanks for any help!
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

byronshirley said:
Hi All,

Does anybody know the fuel burn, Range and top and good cruising speed of a 2001 generation 410 Sundancer, with MerCruiser Horizon 8.1s (380HP)? I am looking into them and need to get an idea.

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a job for Rick (Mistercomputerman) who has the same boat and most likely has great data.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

Yep, I have that exact boat. Love the 8.1s. Solid as a rock! @3250 plus or minus 10% of rpm she burns .60 to.65 MPG. At 1800 rpm it's. 70 to .75 MPG. No need for a fuel monitor as those numbers are constant. At the fuel dock I take my GPS milage say 100 miles, I ÷ that by .65 to give me total gallons burned. I am always with in 5% of the math. So I know when to back off on the fill and avoid blow back. You can also use the app below from merc. It's also with in 5% accuracy. Just write down your speed at the marked rpms and you can easily calculate the running burn rate.
@ 3250 I am near 19 to 20 knots or 21 to 22 mph.

I tested the same boat with cats. Performance was the same but the turbo kicked in at cruise speed and it drove my wife and I nuts.

Hope that helps.
Mark

http://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/mercury-mercruiser-496-mag-8.1-fuel-consumption-us-gallons
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

@Byron 410.

I just noticed you are in Seattle. I am in Gig Harbor. The boat your looking at, is it on Lake union. Denison yacht broker. If so, nice boat with bow thruster. It's been on the market for sometime. I'd get rid of the water maker. Takes up to much space in the trunk. If ya buy it, look me up. We boat year round.

Mark
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

LG111 said:
Yep, I have that exact boat. Love the 8.1s. Solid as a rock! @3250 plus or minus 10% of rpm she burns .60 to.65 MPG. At 1800 rpm it's. 70 to .75 MPG. No need for a fuel monitor as those numbers are constant.
Click to expand...

3200 is my least-efficient speed, but even so I get better than .65 at that point. My numbers also aren't constant - trim, load and conditions impact the numbers I see. I aim for .75, because at that point my Garmin rounds up to a happy (yet false) .8 With meters calculating total fuel onboard right to the gallon, I tend to run lighter than I did before when it makes sense to do so.

Computerman's 410 was a slow fuel hog until he tweaked the props. I wonder if some 410's left the factory waaay under-propped?

This solidifies my opinion that everyone needs fuel monitors.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

By chance do you know the fuel burn, Range and top and good cruising speed of a 1999 generation 400 Sundancer with MerCruiser Horizon 7.4s(380HP)?=



RollerCoastr;926757]3200 is my least-efficient speed, but even so I get better than .65 at that point. My numbers also aren't constant - trim, load and conditions impact the numbers I see. I aim for .75, because at that point my Garmin rounds up to a happy (yet false) .8 With meters calculating total fuel onboard right to the gallon, I tend to run lighter than I did before when it makes sense to do so.

Computerman's 410 was a slow fuel hog until he tweaked the props. I wonder if some 410's left the factory waaay under-propped?

This solidifies my opinion that everyone needs fuel monitors.[/QUOTE]
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

My props are set right. I carry alot of weight. sealift platform with 450lb dink and four L16 Trojan house batterys between the engines at 400lbs. I guess I should have mentioned that.
 
Last edited:
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

I believe the 7.4 runs at a higher rpm than the 8.1s. 8.1 has high tourqe range, hence my sweet spot is at 3250 to 3400. Wide open 4500 to 5000 I can hit 32mph with the extra near 1000lbs. That burn rate is darn right scary.

My last two boats had Floscan. 99% accurate. But once I new my rpm mph burn rate it was just another guage on my dash. Paper, calculator and a pencil works just fine for me.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

LG111 said:
Yep, I have that exact boat. Love the 8.1s. Solid as a rock! @3250 plus or minus 10% of rpm she burns .60 to.65 MPG. At 1800 rpm it's. 70 to .75 MPG. No need for a fuel monitor as those numbers are constant. At the fuel dock I take my GPS milage say 100 miles, I ÷ that by .65 to give me total gallons burned. I am always with in 5% of the math. So I know when to back off on the fill and avoid blow back. You can also use the app below from merc. It's also with in 5% accuracy. Just write down your speed at the marked rpms and you can easily calculate the running burn rate.
@ 3250 I am near 19 to 20 knots or 21 to 22 mph.

I tested the same boat with cats. Performance was the same but the turbo kicked in at cruise speed and it drove my wife and I nuts.

Hope that helps.
Mark

http://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/mercury-mercruiser-496-mag-8.1-fuel-consumption-us-gallons
Click to expand...

I have to call BS when you say you tested a diesel version and it was about the same fuel burn! I am at, or very close to 1MPG at 2400 RPM running at 30 knots. My boat is loaded pretty well with larger batteries, lots of galley accessories, food, water, booze, clothes, etc. I know there are others here with diesels that will back up this claim. I also have a calculator and GPS to track miles (and a pencil too)!
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

jzizler said:
By chance do you know the fuel burn, Range and top and good cruising speed of a 1999 generation 400 Sundancer with MerCruiser Horizon 7.4s(380HP)?
Click to expand...

My data is on 340HP Bluewaters, but I doubt it's a whole lot different with Horizons. My girls are looking down the barrel at 1,400 hours, so I haven't pinned the throttles since the day I last had the props done. My best slow cruise is 2,800 RPM, with tabs dug in as deep as they go. Fast cruise at 3,600 RPM has a surprisingly small efficiency penalty, provided conditions are right: flat seas or a close/small chop, no water, light on fuel and clean bottom. Over the years I spend less and less time at fast cruise. Getting there a few minutes sooner doesn't seem worth the extra noise and wear & tear. Here's a screen shot of the data. (it also shows the happy Garmin lie I mentioned earlier - your calculator will show that 27.5/36.2 is in fact .759 sMPG)

y3mhSNXj7BEJKZ-E2KO_yvrP0PH4DygFKalYy1frmKcQsp7Y9Sp2VwAYKhn-vaJoPlWw3JNvRimkxRMV1jc_ltCOkjFoBetO8nx4C2B8qAl5k--cOqH8y1CgZ1-G0OjKE8YD7NyIR7I67y-KSgW_-0uRuu-xtfVfBgizDeqVDY5CX8
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

LG111 said:
I believe the 7.4 runs at a higher rpm than the 8.1s. 8.1 has high tourqe range, hence my sweet spot is at 3250 to 3400. Wide open 4500 to 5000 I can hit 32mph with the extra near 1000lbs. That burn rate is darn right scary.

My last two boats had Floscan. 99% accurate. But once I new my rpm mph burn rate it was just another guage on my dash. Paper, calculator and a pencil works just fine for me.
Click to expand...

I'm not questioning your data. I'm questioning your expectations! If I saw .6 MPG, I'd look behind me to make sure a 22 foot sloop wasn't attached to my stern cleat. 1,000 lbs of extra weight isn't insignificant, but it's not even close to the difference between full and light tanks.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

HUMPH said:
I have to call BS when you say you tested a diesel version and it was about the same fuel burn! I am at, or very close to 1MPG at 2400 RPM running at 30 knots. My boat is loaded pretty well with larger batteries, lots of galley accessories, food, water, booze, clothes, etc. I know there are others here with diesels that will back up this claim. I also have a calculator and GPS to track miles (and a pencil too)!
Click to expand...

What I said was performance not fuel burn. Performance being how the boat handles. There was no notable differences other than the turbo sound of the diesel vs 8.1 gas. Yes huge difference on burn. No question there.

Everyone has their story on burn rates and performance and what works for them.... Just sharing mine, been doing this for over 50 years.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

HUMPH said:
I have to call BS when you say you tested a diesel version and it was about the same fuel burn! I am at, or very close to 1MPG at 2400 RPM running at 30 knots. My boat is loaded pretty well with larger batteries, lots of galley accessories, food, water, booze, clothes, etc. I know there are others here with diesels that will back up this claim. I also have a calculator and GPS to track miles (and a pencil too)!
Click to expand...


30 knots or 30 mph?
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

Thank you for the clarification Ken! When fully loaded (fuel, water, supplies), I get 1 MPG running 2250 RPM @ 22.5 knots.
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

That is quite a bit better than what I get! At 2250 RPM I am only about 18 knots...
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

I've had this boat for 4 years, and run it on lake Michigan in generally 1-3 ft seas (sometimes 2-4 ft), and see pretty much the same irregardless of whether or not I'm in following or headers, and do my best to keep it trimmed (I'm installing the Mente Marine Auto Trim this week btw). I had the props scanned 2 years ago and was surprised as I picked up almost 1.2 knots. We travel generally 3-5 hours between ports.

-Tom
 
Re: 410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread

TNT8808 said:
I've had this boat for 4 years, and run it on lake Michigan in generally 1-3 ft seas (sometimes 2-4 ft), and see pretty much the same irregardless of whether or not I'm in following or headers, and do my best to keep it trimmed (I'm installing the Mente Marine Auto Trim this week btw). I had the props scanned 2 years ago and was surprised as I picked up almost 1.2 knots. We travel generally 3-5 hours between ports.

-Tom
Click to expand...

Can you share your propscan report showing the specs?????
 
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