Official 2003.5-2008 340 Sundancer Thread

I just finished my first season with a 2003.5 340 with 8.1 V-drives with 370 hours. I absolutely love it and have no regrets about the purchase. Heavy duty boat. It's big enough to handle Lake Ontario yet I can confidently single hand it. Docking is a dream. The cabin is huge for my wife and two boys. The cockpit and can handle 8-10 people for a dock party. Tons of storage. The only cons I would list is I wish it had a larger fridge and better engine room access. Don't get me wrong, I've seen worse access, but I find myself getting lazy on checking the oil, etc.


Sguignet said:
For those that like and don't like your 340s please respond. My wife and I are considering trading up again. Currently we are in an 06' 280 and we are looking at an 04' 340. I like the layout and was shocked when I was in the cabin and was able to standup in much of it (I'm 6'7"). Guess I'm just asking for what you like and don't like about the 340. And more importantly is there anything I should be looking for that is specific to the 340. Thanks in advance

steve
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Same sentiments as above. One summer on our new to us 2003, and our only complaints have been the fridge and engine access. Both will be overcome with a bigger boat in the next year or two. Favorite part is cruising......those 8.1's just purr along at 26-27 mph.....nothing like it. Especially when you work for a living and need to get where your going due to limited vacation time.
 
Sguignet said:
For those that like and don't like your 340s please respond. My wife and I are considering trading up again. Currently we are in an 06' 280 and we are looking at an 04' 340. I like the layout and was shocked when I was in the cabin and was able to standup in much of it (I'm 6'7"). Guess I'm just asking for what you like and don't like about the 340. And more importantly is there anything I should be looking for that is specific to the 340. Thanks in advance

steve
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Love the 340. Love Sea Ray. I am selling my '06 340 looking to move up to a larger slightly newer Sea Ray. It's been great. Engine room access is tight but all I do is clean my strainers and check hoses. I gave up on doing all the mechanical work myself and now just pay for the service. Saves me a few elbow scrapes.
 
While upgrading my VHF to a Ray260 I started thinking maybe the rest of the electronics could use some updating. I've had great experiences with Garmin and Icom but I'm thinking I should stick with Raymarine because everything is interconnected with SeaTalk. I'm thinking of a new chartplotter, GPS, and radar dome. Would I have to replace the auto pilot and/or sounder as well because of the newer SeaTalk-ng from the SeaTalk1? What else would I run into? Anyone else do a full electronics upgrade on their 340? What configuration did you go with? Would love some advice or set up someone has done with an older 340 (late 2003).
 
We love our 2004 340. It fits on our lift so we can keep it at the house over the winter. It's easy on fuel. Plenty of space for two people. We have spent 10 days on her at the longest. The best part. She's paid for. Only reason I would get a bigger one would be seperate shower and hardtop.
 
Very impressive. I see the largest display I can go with is the 9" e95 for that same location. I'm glad you like the 18" HD dome which I am considering. Any regrets whatsoever not going with the 24" HD? Not sure I need a 24" but still wondering. My concerns are will everything new network with everything else old or will I have to upgrade them as well. Do you have an auto helm? Mine would be where your VHF and I love mine, it has revolutionized my big boating experience. Total personal choice, but isn't it curious that I/O guys prefer the single throttle control station and inboard guys prefer the separate throttle stations? It does open up some valuable real estate on your dash. Ballpark, what's it run to have replacement wood gain panels made up?

Jeremygavin said:
Here is what I did for my new electronics. After a season with it, they are great. I love the HD Radar, very clear targets.

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/58925-2005-340-DA-Helm-remodel
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onthejob said:
Very impressive. I see the largest display I can go with is the 9" e95 for that same location. I'm glad you like the 18" HD dome which I am considering. Any regrets whatsoever not going with the 24" HD? Not sure I need a 24" but still wondering. My concerns are will everything new network with everything else old or will I have to upgrade them as well. Do you have an auto helm? Mine would be where your VHF and I love mine, it has revolutionized my big boating experience. Total personal choice, but isn't it curious that I/O guys prefer the single throttle control station and inboard guys prefer the separate throttle stations? It does open up some valuable real estate on your dash. Ballpark, what's it run to have replacement wood gain panels made up?
Click to expand...

When I was choosing the MFD and radar, I spoke with both Raymarine and Garmin and both said that 18" radome was Recomended for my size boat and boating i will be doing. It is defiantly all I need for the boating I do which is mostly coastal. I replaced everything so it is all up to date and is networked via nmea2000. and added the black box to my smartcraft so I can get the engine info to the E95 as well. After a full season it has all worked great and really good products. I really do like the hybrid touch feature of using both touch screen and buttons. i find myself using the touch screen when at rest or slow but as the speed increases or the conditons worsen, i use the buttons and knobs.

I don't have auto helm so I don't know what I am missing there. If you have questions about what is and isn't compatable, the guys at Cay Electronics out of RI is where I bought my equipment and they were very helpful. They helped my order everything needed to network it together and all went well.

I think I paid about $400 for all the panels together. Technogrfics are a little short on customer service butthe product is great.

I think the reason I/O and outboard guys like single lever controls is because during docking maneuvers you need to add a lot more throttle to maneuver an I/O when docking. I can spin it almost as good as v-drives (without the bow thruster) but it requires a lot more throttle to do so. It isn't as simple as putting it in and out of gear as with v-drives so I found myself going jumping back and forth between gears levers and throttle constantly while docking.
 
Great info. Thanks. Makes sense how you explain the throttle controls.
 
I need replacement arch fixtures for my boat, the PO had put in cheap dim led fixtures and I need more light! What would you recommend ? Tri color looks cool but will they be bright enough?or just warm or cool white?
thanks
 
sporters78 said:
I need replacement arch fixtures for my boat, the PO had put in cheap dim led fixtures and I need more light! What would you recommend ? Tri color looks cool but will they be bright enough?or just warm or cool white?
thanks
Click to expand...

I bought the festoon bulb replacements from superbrightleds.com. I bought the bright white color. It gives me plenty of light from the arch.
 
Will,
that would work if I had stock fixtures in the arch,but the PO had put in dim cheap led sealed fixtures :(
 
Has anyone rebuilt their remote spotlight gear(s)? Last summer I had a towel over the dash and it was pushing down on the joystick for who knows how long. IT seems to have stripped the up down gear. Left to right is fine. Is there a rebuild kit or do I need to spend half a boat buck on a whole new unit. I highly doubt it but is there a separate inline fuse that controls only the up/down gear?

Thoughts appreciated.
 
I did mine on my 300da and posted a thread on it. When I get to my computer I will find and post the link to the thread. It was the Guest 22040 spotlight and I think that is in the title of the thread.
 
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I am replacing my ice maker with an AC/DC fridge on my 06 34. I am adding a DC breaker and running a positive to the fridge but cant seem to locate where the negative bus is located behind the panel. Can anyone please assist? Thanks
 
Re: 2003.5-2008 340 Sundacer Thread

Looking into pricing for new electronics. We currently have a Raymarine C80, no radar. We want to replace with a Garmin chartplotter, and add radar and possibly sounder. We would like to have the largest Garmin touchscreen that will fit. Also, what is the best type of radar (dome or open array)? Posted here rather than in Electronics forum as we're really interested in getting feedback on what others have on their 340's.

Also, the boat came with Trackvision. When installing radar will the Satellite have to be repositioned so it sits above the radar?

Kim
 
Re: 2003.5-2008 340 Sundacer Thread

Our Diversion said:
Looking into pricing for new electronics. We currently have a Raymarine C80, no radar. We want to replace with a Garmin chartplotter, and add radar and possibly sounder. We would like to have the largest Garmin touchscreen that will fit. Also, what is the best type of radar (dome or open array)? Posted here rather than in Electronics forum as we're really interested in getting feedback on what others have on their 340's.

Also, the boat came with Trackvision. When installing radar will the Satellite have to be repositioned so it sits above the radar?

Kim
Click to expand...
Kim,
Here is what I did when I updated with new Raymarine Electronics last year.

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/58925-2005-340-DA-Helm-remodel
 
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