New Owner (hopefully)

E

estoltz

Member
Jan 7, 2015
356
Northern Virginia, USA
Boat Info
2006 340 Sundancer with Generator (FOR SALE)
2005 260DA with Kohler Generator (SOLD)
Engines
Dual Mercruiser 8.1 Horizons
350 Mag MPI with BIII (free with the purchase of 2005 260DA)
Greetings from Snowy DC. If all goes well my wife and I will soon be boat owners. We are looking at a 260 sundancer. Any thoughts on that model? Primary uses will be weekend trips around the potomac, and chesapeake bay. Maybe a little fishing but probably spend most of our time looking for cell phone signal free areas to relax.

Eric
 
The 260 is a great starter boat!

Good luck and welcome to CSR!
 
Hey Eric,

While I don't have any direct experience with the 260, my wife and I recently purchased a 240 and have been extremely happy with it. The size and trailer-ability of this boat allow us to keep the boat at home while still being able to spend the weekend on the boat whenever we want to. We also looked at the 260, but it would have been more difficult to trailer with the truck that I have due to the extra 1000 or so pounds.

If I could change this boat the only things that I would add are the generator and vacuflush. If you do a bit of research you'll find that these smaller cruisers are known for being difficult to drive, but I don't have any problems with the handling of the boat. Once you get used to adjusting the trim tabs it is very enjoyable to drive.

Do you have any specific questions about the smaller cruisers? Any concerns?
 
Wife and I bought our first cruiser-2006 260DA this past June and love it. We have it on a trailer and enjoy the mobility to various lakes in the area-all about an hour away. We have really enjoyed spending nights on the hook. Ours is equipped with gen and very necessary AC for the summers. To answer any questions you have, look in the Cruisers forum on here for a series of threads on the 260 Sundancers started by Dave S. These threads deal primarily with the 2006 and newer models. There are also numerous threads that deal with the 2005 and older ones. They all discuss any and every aspect of the 260 DAs. This wealth of knowledge will give you all you need.

Welcome me aboard and good luck! You will love it.

Bennett
 
Welcome aboard, Eric. You'll find tons and tons of information on this forum - it's actually quite impressive. What model year are you looking at? We can get you much more specific answers depending on that.
 
estoltz said:
Greetings from Snowy DC. If all goes well my wife and I will soon be boat owners. We are looking at a 260 sundancer. Any thoughts on that model? Primary uses will be weekend trips around the potomac, and chesapeake bay. Maybe a little fishing but probably spend most of our time looking for cell phone signal free areas to relax.

Eric
Click to expand...

Hi Eric, and welcome. The 260 is a great boat, my first power boat was an 05 260 and I loved it.... great at the fuel dock (~13GPH), could cruise pretty quick, stable in most conditions, and enough room for weekends aboard.

What year are you looking at? You have a particular one in mind somewhere that you are looking at? I'd be happy to give any advice I can.
 
We are looking at an 05 located down in south carolina. has a generator and trailer and they are asking $54,900. It does have some expensive items that are missing or in need of repair. Missing front isinglass and rear camper panel. And the engine oil/temp gauge is cracked and needs to be replaced. Thats what I know so far. I'm curious what an 05 260 sundancer goes for in good condition.
 
That particular "260", then, was basically the same boat from '05 through '09 and the thread you want to search for is as referenced above, started by Dave S. As you do your comparison/shopping, avoid looking at specific features/"oddities" to any 260 that is either pre-'05 or post-'09 as it will not be relevant. That's not to say you shouldn't look at them, but realize they are entirely different boats. For example, the '10+ is actually 2 feet shorter than the '05-'09.

As far as pricing goes - it can be all over the board. Not just due to features, condition, usage, but also the current market and locale. Take a look at yacht world and throw away the low and high balls - that will at least give you a 'relative' idea of ASKING price. The generator is going to be one of the biggest options. Giving an direct answer to this is not as easy as when it comes to cars. It's a much, much 'greyer' area.
 
Welcome to CSR!
As usual the price will depend on a few variables. Engine size, engine hours, survey results & cosmetics to name a few. Don't know if you are familiar with yachtworld or not but here is a start...

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...ay&slim=quick&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

ASKING prices are all over the place from $35k to $60k.
Enjoy the search, find a good surveyor, then enjoy the boat. Again, welcome to CSR.
 
mwph said:
Welcome to CSR!
As usual the price will depend on a few variables. Engine size, engine hours, survey results & cosmetics to name a few. Don't know if you are familiar with yachtworld or not but here is a start...

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...ay&slim=quick&No=0&Ns=PBoat_sortByPriceDesc|1

ASKING prices are all over the place from $35k to $60k.
Enjoy the search, find a good surveyor, then enjoy the boat. Again, welcome to CSR.
Click to expand...

I have been checking out yachtworld and boattrader. As this is my first boat I am not expecting to hold onto it for too long. Its more of a learning boat for my wife and I. So I'm hoping to get a good enough deal to resell it with minimal loss in a couple of years.
 
To me, the critical thing is to find and hire a good surveyor. Negotiate replacement/repair of the items that are needed into the price. Is it a saltwater boat or freshwater? At that age, I would think the manifolds, risers, and elbows would be near replacement if used in salt water. My '06 was a freshwater boat. I had the above pulled and they looked almost new. As indicated by all above, lots of variables. However, nothing will take the place of a good surveyor/mechanic to insure you know what you are up against. I did not want surprises and only had one very early on-oil pan replacement.

I pulled mine home(50 miles) with a 1500 Silverado with towing package, etc. The next time I hooked up to it was with a 2500 Silverado with the duramax diesel and allison transmission. Lots of talk around pulling with the 1/2 ton on the net. If I had to go 10-20 miles, I would have lived with it. However, stopping was an issue. You need a 3/4 ton minimum.

If you are interested, I will be glad to share all of my trials and tribulations with you. If I had it to do all over again, I would buy the same boat for the same price.

Bennett
 
the 26 is a very nice model! My biggest advice is get the absolute largest horsepower you can get in that model. If there is a huge hp difference by going to a 28ft do it! Its one thing you will never regret even if its a little out of your price range. After that, my big options are A/C and a Generator (which is rare in that size for sure) Now the fun begins just searching and looking! Welcome to the forums.
 
estoltz said:
We are looking at an 05 located down in south carolina. has a generator and trailer and they are asking $54,900. It does have some expensive items that are missing or in need of repair. Missing front isinglass and rear camper panel. And the engine oil/temp gauge is cracked and needs to be replaced. Thats what I know so far. I'm curious what an 05 260 sundancer goes for in good condition.
Click to expand...

Eric,

Others have given good advice thus far. I will chime in with my personal opinion as well.

For me 55K seems way high... even with the gennie and trailer. That is, IMHO, top of the market for a 10 year old 260. I'd expect it to be a near cream puff... not needing $3K in glass and canvas and some mechanical repairs. I think if you look around you will find much better options especially for a boat that you only plan to keep a few years. The broker that has my 05 260 is listing it for 40K. Now it doesn't have a gennie or trailer but it is a clean boat with 320 hours that is 15K less asking. I personally think that you could find some solid options in the 40K range that will limit your losses when you go to upgrade in a few years. Just my $.02.
 
Thanks for the valuable info. I'm sure I'll be here with more questions. Bennett With regard to towing yes I am already in a ram 2500 that pulls a fifth wheel toy hauler (my other hobby). this should be no problem.
 
Eric

Always happy to see a DC neighbor. My first boat was a 240 before moving up to a 350.
For the northern end of the Potomac the 260 is a great boat and you can definitely make some great weekend trips to Colonial Beach, etc. I did this several time on my 240.

My my only comment on the bay is that it's very rough at times for a 260. I've hit incredibly bad conditions in my 350 and I wouldn't want to be on a smaller boat. With that said closely watch marine weather reports and time your trips well. The bay is at its widest at the mouth of the Potomac and the mixing current create some tricky conditions at times.

Good luck with your hunt. Enjoy!
 
WDCboater said:
Eric

Always happy to see a DC neighbor. My first boat was a 240 before moving up to a 350.
For the northern end of the Potomac the 260 is a great boat and you can definitely make some great weekend trips to Colonial Beach, etc. I did this several time on my 240.

My my only comment on the bay is that it's very rough at times for a 260. I've hit incredibly bad conditions in my 350 and I wouldn't want to be on a smaller boat. With that said closely watch marine weather reports and time your trips well. The bay is at its widest at the mouth of the Potomac and the mixing current create some tricky conditions at times.

Good luck with your hunt. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thanks Ryan. We are looking at calling Prince William Marina our home. I am hoping to get the survey done late february or early march and have it in the water late march or early april. We are interested in doing some open water running but obviously planning around the weather is a must no matter what boat you are on.

I look forward to seeing you out there. Where are you based?
 
I went from a 240DA to a 280DA on the Bay.. and have been on my dockmate's 260DA quite a bit. IMO, the cockpit layout on the 260DA's in that year range is fantastic, well laid out, attractive, and great use of space. Down below, it is stretched a little but not a significant cabin upgrade from the 240. Decent handling but a little tippy in rough water. Most will have the 5.7L; however, if you find one with the 6.2L that is a bonus. It can be debated whether the 260 with the 5.7L is underpowered or not; however, if you have a full cockpit, you will appreciate more horsepower. If you are thinking about upgrading pretty quickly, a 280DA would give you more stability during choppy days on the Bay, significant cabin upgrade, options for single engine or twins if desired... and deals can be had in the price range mentioned. Good luck with your search!
 
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Definitely spend money on a survey and mechanical survey. Also, be sure to have them crack open the outdrive...we almost got burned by not doing so, and the outdrive was totally full of corrosion. Luckily, we had our mechanic open it up and he found all kinds of swiss cheese looking bits. We ended up passing on that boat and finding a much better one. That would have been a costly buy...and the seller claimed everything was is "near mint" shape. Total BS. Spend the money and hire a Marine Sherlock Holmes...well worth it.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Eric - just throwing this out at you. I have absolutely ZERO to gain from this and I do not know Mike in any other way than through this forum. But, it's a little bigger, less money and closer to you. If nothing else, it's always fun to look at boats! http://clubsearay.com/showthread.ph...er-4-3-s-Alpha-Gen-II-s-with-optional-trailer
Click to expand...

Thanks Dennis. We actually locked in a deposit on this one. http://pwmarina.com/Page.aspx/diid/...005-Sea-Ray-Sport-Cruisers-260-Sundancer.aspx

Its certified and I can get a 3 year warranty on it. Plus I like the marina. Seems like a good environment for first timers.
 
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