496 mag versu 350 mag

[Mike sandor]

l will be looking at two, 320 sundancers. Both 2007, one has twin 496 mags, 215 hours. The other has 350 mag, 250 hours. My gut tells me the bigger motors are the way to go with this heavy of a boat. Anyone care to put in there two cents? Will probraby test drive both in two weeks.
Thanks, Mike

 

[SmilingMonkey]

I had a 330 with twin 350's and the boat performed just fine.

That said, I'd be tempted to go w/ the bigger engines w/ lower hours. They've had an easier life.

Most people will tell you it comes down to maintenance. Which engines/boat have been better cared for?

 

[Mike sandor]

I have not been on a 32' yet. But my eyes are blood shot from all the web searching.
There is not much about the boat that I don't like other than the lack of a walk thru windshield. The wife really like's that feature on our 260.
Any thing in perticular that I should look out for?
The asking price for the 496 32' is $114,900.00
From what I am seeing on the market, that is a tad high,
Plus it does not have a ton of options. I am thinking more around $95,000.00 assuming it shows and runs well. Even with the low hours, I think it best to get a survey.
Apreciate the comments,
Mike

 

[SmilingMonkey]

Mike,

You're right, NEVER buy a boat without a survey.

You're also right that $115k seems a bit high for a 320. For that amount of money you could be looking at a 2010ish 330. There's also someone on here in Connecticut selling a 2014 330 for what might be a good deal.

My general advice is buy the biggest, nicest boat you can afford right now. We bought a 330 2 years ago and after 1 year it wasn't quite big enough for us so we upgraded to the 350 after one season.

 

[wyrman]

I have not been on a 32' yet. But my eyes are blood shot from all the web searching.
There is not much about the boat that I don't like other than the lack of a walk thru windshield. The wife really like's that feature on our 260.
Any thing in perticular that I should look out for?
The asking price for the 496 32' is $114,900.00
From what I am seeing on the market, that is a tad high,
Plus it does not have a ton of options. I am thinking more around $95,000.00 assuming it shows and runs well. Even with the low hours, I think it best to get a survey.
Apreciate the comments,
Mike

We just bought an 07 310. We were also looking at the 300, but the lack of a walk through windshield was one of the things that steered us away from the 300.
I'm already glad I got another one with the walk through wind shield.

 

[Mike sandor]

Thanks for the input, I am yinging and yanging about the size as well. They have a pretty nice 2005, 34' with 496's as well, blue hulled, $109,000. 410 hours. What would be considered
High hours?
Mike

 

[AFD]

I think its funny that people love walk throughs, other people think its funny that we love port side loungers...id go with the bigger motors if all things were equal with both boats condition though

 

[northern]

We have twin 454 with 2950 hours. Compression is good and does not use oil. I feel big engines do not have to work as hard as smaller engines producing the same results.

 

[Korkie]

We did the 320 - 340 search a couple of seasons ago. Looked at both with inboards as well as I/Os. Ended up with the 2006 340 w/496mags. It is fast and powerful. 10 adults on board and pops up on plain as if it were just 3. So I would think the 320 would fly with that setup. We purchased our 340 back in March of 2016 in Kent Island MD. It has every option you could imagine and everything worked. Had to do a little motor fine tuning, but got it for $92,500. So in my opinion, anything over $99,000 is too much. Took a season and a half to fine ours, but well worth it.

 

[NorCal Boater]

A couple of points....

Buy the boat with the bigger motors. There are a hundred threads on this site with people asking for, and wishing, they had bigger motors. No one EVER says they wished they had smaller motors and didn't go so fast.

You don't need the walk through windshield....the boat has enough deck to allow you to walk around to the foredeck. It's not wide and you will need to hold on but that is how they're designed.

 

[mnm99]

l will be looking at two, 320 sundancers. Both 2007, one has twin 496 mags, 215 hours. The other has 350 mag, 250 hours. My gut tells me the bigger motors are the way to go with this heavy of a boat. Anyone care to put in there two cents? Will probraby test drive both in two weeks.
Thanks, Mike

Wait..A 320 with 496 mags??? I've never seen that before. Take a picture, I love to see how tight they fit. It would be a nightmare in the 32 to do any maintenance. On a side note. I picked up my 340 April 2016, 260 fresh water hrs for 85K, original owner. There out there, just have to search. Everyone thinks my boat is new..
Testing to see if I want to re-prop again..Go big blocks..41.5mph with 8 people..

 

[Great Lakes]

I had a 2006 320 with 6.2 V-Drives. (absolutely loved it too!) A boat neighbor across the fairway had 496's B3's. I got 32mph on a flat lake, he says he got 41mph. It's a cruiser not a race boat.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Been boating for a long time. I'd take anything with 496's over 350 mags.

 

[Mike sandor]

Thanks for the replys. All of this is great information. We will be driving down to Lake of the Ozarks next week end.
Looking at 4, 32' and one 34'. All brokered boat, all in a 89,000. to $114,000. Price range. I am leaning towards the 32' with 214 hours and 496 BIII. The 34' has 496 as well with v drives. 400 plus hours and spent its time in salt. The new owner had it shipped to Missouri 7 months ago and now put it up for sale. My alarms are going up on that but the pics sure look nice. Am planning to spend Friday and Saturday in all of them. Wish us luck..
Thanks again for the input. Much apreaciated.

 

[Creekwood]

If you are keeping it in salt, you should go with v-Drives. I/Os stored in salt water will be a lot more cost to maintain. But there are other views on the pros/cons of that.

 

[mnm99]

Thanks for the replys. All of this is great information. We will be driving down to Lake of the Ozarks next week end.
Looking at 4, 32' and one 34'. All brokered boat, all in a 89,000. to $114,000. Price range. I am leaning towards the 32' with 214 hours and 496 BIII. The 34' has 496 as well with v drives. 400 plus hours and spent its time in salt. The new owner had it shipped to Missouri 7 months ago and now put it up for sale. My alarms are going up on that but the pics sure look nice. Am planning to spend Friday and Saturday in all of them. Wish us luck..
Thanks again for the input. Much apreaciated.

Please post a pic of the 496 powered 32ft

 

[Nick70]

Me and my better half are going through this exact same process of decision making right now. One thing is for sure though...496's. also, you may want to at least take a look at formulas line of performance cruisers...namely the 31PC and 34PC. They all have walk through, a deep portside Lounger and come 6.2 or 496's. their build quality is secomd to none..although Sea Ray makes a damn fine boat and has some extras/aesthetics's that make them stand out too.
Decisions decisions....ahh, first world problems lol.
Best of luck with whatever you end up with!

 

[Mike sandor]

Twin 496.

 

[Fly'n Family]

Thanks for the replys. All of this is great information. We will be driving down to Lake of the Ozarks next week end.
Looking at 4, 32' and one 34'. All brokered boat, all in a 89,000. to $114,000. Price range. I am leaning towards the 32' with 214 hours and 496 BIII. The 34' has 496 as well with v drives. 400 plus hours and spent its time in salt. The new owner had it shipped to Missouri 7 months ago and now put it up for sale. My alarms are going up on that but the pics sure look nice. Am planning to spend Friday and Saturday in all of them. Wish us luck..
Thanks again for the input. Much apreaciated.

With a 32 and 34, both with 496's - it's a simple matter of thrust to weight ratio - but it won't be much of a difference as far as top end, maybe two knots. I'd concentrate more on which of those two with the 496's fits your criteria metrics more since they both will have very similar performance.

If you're boating in fresh water, I wouldn't remotely even bother looking at a salt water boat. Not worth the potential hassles, not worth the resale hit, and you also significantly narrow your prospective buyers when time goes to resale if it has any salt water history. Myself, and most I know wouldn't consider the purchase of a salt water boat.

I/O's versus shafts are a preference thing. I/O's cost more to maintain, but provide a little more speed. Shafts are notably less to maintain, and are night and day better at maneuvering around the slip and gas dock, but at the cost of a couple of knots of top end. Having had both, I would never go back to I/O's.

Enjoy the hunt...

 

[keokie]

I/O's vs V's is an important choice. The boats are fundamentally different.

Damage, abuse, lack of maintenance are wildcards, but generally the below apply:

V-drives:

virtually no corrosion issues (this is should be a big consideration)
ultimate longevity
transmissions are easier to maintain than outdrives
less of a need to pull the boat for maintenance
are more tolerant of maintenance that is ignored

Sterndrives:

10-20% better fuel economy
6-10mph faster in cruise and top speed
much more responsive handling on plane
you can get in closer and much lower risk of damage if you back to the beach and anchor
way more room in the bilge

Resale value can be significantly affected by propulsion type. Usually v's do better, but there are some exceptions.

I'll politely offer a thought on low-speed maneuvering. It is commonly stated this is an area where v-drives have a significant advantage. I have experience in my boat, and the 320's, and 340's you are talking about in both v-drive and sterndrive configurations. I absolutely do not see this. The theory is often that due to the drives placing the props further back, the pivot point is at the stern. It isn't. My boat and the others I mentioned all pivot very slightly behind center (barely, if at all different than the v's). And the sterns pivot nearly evenly without having to add throttle to the reverse engine as is common in v's.

Another myth is you can't reasonably trailer a v-drive. This is not true at all. You just need a trailer set up for it, which is pretty simple.

FWIW, here is my opinion on sub 35 footers... Keeping the boat dry stored, on a trailer, or seasonal in freshwater slip, Sterndrives without question. Full time in a freshwater slip, it is a mixed bag, but I lean slightly toward the v's. In saltwater slip, v-drives without question.

I boat heavily on freshwater lakes, sometimes keeping the boat in a slip and sometimes on a trailer in a warehouse. Because of this use, I like the performance advantages, and bilge access of the sterndrives. But maybe the biggest thing is I like the ability to anchor bow out, close to the beach, without worrying about the running gear. We spend a lot of time at Lake Powell this way (including most overnights). Not only is the running gear safe in very shallow water, I can get off and on the boat at the swim platform in water that is mid-thigh deep. Many other folks boat this way on Powell, so sterndrives near there sell well, often at a premium to v's.

Sterndrives often get a bad rep for reliability. The issue is usually tied to improper maintenance and ignoring small problems. If you run sterndrives, clicks, rattles, vibration, losing oil, milky oil, gaining oil, metal in the oil, must not be ignored. They are not overly common, but must be dealt with immediately. If you do, repairs are generally quite easy and inexpensive. If you ignore them, you generally get bitten by a grenaded outdrive.

Absolutely drive both v-drive and sterndrives.

Finally, boats in this size range do far better with big blocks. If it were me, and I were set on v-drives, my choice would be the 340, as you cannot get a 320 with v's and 496's. A 340 with big blocks will noticeably outperform a 320 with small blocks. If you are going with Sterndrives, you can have either with 496's.

Hope this helps.