Mid-2000s Sundancer 280 with single 496 Magnum

[Craig77]

I'm new to the forum and considering purchasing a Sundancer 280 for coastal cruising in New England waters. I'd be interested in hearing from other 280 owners as to its seakeeping abilities. How is she on a beam sea, how tender, does she ride dry, etc? I'm an experienced helmsman and know how to handle occasional rough waters.

Also, experience with the 496 Mag 8.1? I've owned twin screws before and want to stay with a single screw this time.

Thanks.

 

[Henry Boyd]

We have had the same boat for almost ten years now. We boat mostly north of Cape Ann; Ipswich to Newburyport, or Gloucester, Salem etc. we have also taken the boat to Portland and Boston several times. Where are you planning to boat from?

On good days the 280 is a dream. In rollers especially near shore you really have to slow down. The length of the boat is just short enough that at planing speed you can get over the crest of about three waves and then bury the nose on the fourth. If you are a skier it is similar to being off on your timing going through a mogul field.

Keep in mind my deep water recreational boating has mostly been on larger sailboats with heavy keels.

The 496 is practically bulletproof. The bravo III not so much. The bulk of money we have spent on driveline repairs has been related to the drive and transom assembly.

Henry


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[Tonka Boater]

I owned a 2008 280DA with the single 496 for 4 1/2 seasons. I can say it's a great boat and handles a beam sea very well. Keep in mind that I'm on an inland lake but it can get very choppy and sloppy -- not as bad as coastal waters but I've had it out in some windy, crappy, high wave conditions and it always felt solid and capable.

As for the single screw -- I loved it. The 496 is a strong engine and it's more than enough power for the 280. I don't think it would handle a tender on the platform though very well though -- hard to plane. However, I never had a problem planing with 6 adult males onboard. It handles well around the dock with the Bravo III too.

Great boat and power package.

 

[Craig77]

Thanks for your responses. Does anyone have experience with the 280 with a dinghy and motor on the swim platform? Our dinghy this time around will probably be a 9' aluminum hull inflatable (85 lb) and a 9.9hp 4-stroke (85#) sitting on a Roskelley Olsson davit system (25 lb). (If you're not familiar with this davit, it's really cool; we used it while cruising with a 36' trawler a few years back. It holds the dinghy at a 35 degree angle so you don't have to remove the engine and is super easy to launch and haul - takes less than a minute. So......we'd be looking at 200 lbs. sitting on the platform. I figure it would be like one man standing way aft while underway. Usually just my wife and I sitting forward at the helm. Would the trim tabs be sufficient to lower the bow enough to get on and maintain plane, or am I asking just too much of the boat/motor to do this? Thoughts??