Official 320 Dancer Thread

[Hammerdown]

I talked to Mercury tech support and they said it was odd that sea ray rigged the smartcraft can bus this way on the 05’ 320. I guess sea ray rigged the smartcraft integrating it to the boat harness as there are many ways to skin the cat…My engine serials 0M39…show as an 2004 mercruiser engines which is common to have a year behind the boat hull. These are earlier engines with the 10 pin engine harness. They switched to a 14 pin in 2006. They asked to me check if both can line power on engine side are both capped off and to confirm terminator resistors at each engine…… I am digging in to all of this due to at high speeds 3800 rpm the sc5000 drops engine com for a split second and the analog sc100 tachs drop and bounce back with a lost stbd engine comm. med speed data loss error.

 

[ShawnL]

Recently purchased a 2004 320 , everything works well except the cabin fridge - Norcold NR 751 BB
Light works , fan runs but no cooling.
Any ideas ? Thanks for all the great info Ive already picked up.

 

[MJD]

Recently purchased a 2004 320 , everything works well except the cabin fridge - Norcold NR 751 BB
Light works , fan runs but no cooling.
Any ideas ? Thanks for all the great info Ive already picked up.

I presume the door seal gaskets are in good condition and seal well. Beyond that pull the refrigerator and confirm the coils are clean. Aside from that https://appliancechat.com/norcold-fridge-problems/?expand_article=1 may give you some additional pointers. Good luck. -- Mike

 

[Groucho]

Recently purchased a 2004 320 , everything works well except the cabin fridge - Norcold NR 751 BB
Light works , fan runs but no cooling.
Any ideas ? Thanks for all the great info Ive already picked up.

I would think the freon is leaking/gone. You may find it more economical to just replace it...

 

[Shenanigans77]

Recently purchased a 2004 320 , everything works well except the cabin fridge - Norcold NR 751 BB
Light works , fan runs but no cooling.
Any ideas ? Thanks for all the great info Ive already picked up.

Take that nevercold out, it fits through the salon door no issue. Get yourself a nice isotherm.
Its bigger on the inside too.

 

[leeron]

Hello 320 owners and boating enthusiast. First post here and I was hoping to ask a few questions as I shop for a 'new to me' boat.

Currently shopping for a mid size cruiser we can 'weekend' on, both on the hook and at marinas. I live near the southern parts of the Chesapeake. I'm trying to stay away from outdrives, so I'm pretty much narrowed down to SR 320, SR 340, Cruisers 340 Express, Cruisers 34xx, 3672.

In my price range, I keep coming back to the 2003 to 2006 era 320 and 340 SR. I've crawled all over a few of these recently at boat shows and some listed with brokers. I hope to make a decision soon!

So, one question I have is about accessing the foredeck on that narrow catwalk area. Is this something you get used too? I've tried it on the boats I looked at. Seems pretty awkward, especially with the camper canvas on.

Aside from that, the crowded engine room, and moisture problems on foredeck, is there anything else I should be critical of before making the offer?

Thanks if advance and Cheers!

 

[Groucho]

Hello 320 owners and boating enthusiast. First post here and I was hoping to ask a few questions as I shop for a 'new to me' boat.

Currently shopping for a mid size cruiser we can 'weekend' on, both on the hook and at marinas. I live near the southern parts of the Chesapeake. I'm trying to stay away from outdrives, so I'm pretty much narrowed down to SR 320, SR 340, Cruisers 340 Express, Cruisers 34xx, 3672.

In my price range, I keep coming back to the 2003 to 2006 era 320 and 340 SR. I've crawled all over a few of these recently at boat shows and some listed with brokers. I hope to make a decision soon!

So, one question I have is about accessing the foredeck on that narrow catwalk area. Is this something you get used too? I've tried it on the boats I looked at. Seems pretty awkward, especially with the camper canvas on.

Aside from that, the crowded engine room, and moisture problems on foredeck, is there anything else I should be critical of before making the offer?

Thanks if advance and Cheers!

Welcome....Ton's of info here usually but it is off season for many of us. I am 67 and don't have much of a problem normally. If it is raining or choppy I can go up thru the hatch in the V-berth if needed. Just need to hold on to the rails provided.

 

[leeron]

Welcome....Ton's of info here usually but it is off season for many of us. I am 67 and don't have much of a problem normally. If it is raining or choppy I can go up thru the hatch in the V-berth if needed. Just need to hold on to the rails provided.

Thanks for the response Groucho. Didn’t think about the forward hatch.

 

[USMC(ret)]

Hi All- first post here, and need some help. Looking at a three year old, 185 hour 2020 320 Sundancer. Well kept boat, fully loaded with Gen, AC, Axius, everything we need. She is equipped the standard 300hp Mercs with BIIIs. The salesman was terrific and offered us a quick sea trial. Frankly, I was shocked at how long she took to get on plane, and that the engines needed to run around 4,300 rpm to maintain about 30 mph. Ugh...and this was lightly load with three people, no gear or food and about half a tank of fuel. I know it is not a sport boat, but how long are those engines going to last being used like that? Really like the boat, we love the outside room, and weekend capability of the cabin. However, I just can't pull the trigger with that power package. I am being unreasonable, and should I worry about how those engines seem to strain to move the boat at decent pace.
Full disclosure- I have a '13 Cobalt 296 with twin Merc 377s and BIIIs. She pops right out of the water and does 30 mph at 3k rpm. So my perception of cruiser performance is not yet there.

I just bought an ‘02 320DA & motored it from Miami to Alabama. Remember that she’s twice as heavy as your Cobalt. Coming from Steinhatchee to Carrabelle we were in a small craft advisory with gale warning. Swells were 6-8’ quartering from starboard stern & I was surfing them on a 6.5 ton 35’ Sundancer. Speed was 11 mph climbing the backside to 27+ mph down the face. She was stable, but I won’t be doing that again.

 

[douglee25]

Sounds like a pucker trip!

 

[Harleyd558]

Take that nevercold out, it fits through the salon door no issue. Get yourself a nice isotherm.
Its bigger on the inside too.
View attachment 152624

what model # is it?

 

[leeron]

Just brought her home. Drove her down from Kent Narrows to Norfolk. Look forward to reading this thread and learning about my boat. Can't wait till spring!

 

[Harleyd558]

Very nice. I hope you got a good deal.

 

[Harmon]

Bringing this back up, maybe some new eyes on it will help me. I've had a small leak for about a year in 2022. I thought I had it fixed last year, maybe it was a dry summer. Anyway it came back in 23.
Now the boat is at winter storage and I go to charge batteries and inspect/swap moisture bags etc and the leak is a lot worse now. its not just a stain in that upper corner with speaker, the water is now down to the bolster cushion and spreading. Any more ideas? Im going to re-bed the cleat up there and also run a bead around the front hatch. I dont see how the hatch could have a leak and it not be present right at the hatch??? It has to be something at the bow, like really up front.

So far I've reseated the three forward starboard bow rail mounts and the nav light on the starboard side to no avail.
The Anchor locker had a few cracks that I sealed up as well.

 

[Harmon]

Oh and I forgot, can someone share the trick to get those bolster cushions off the vberth?

 

[USMC(ret)]

 

[USMC(ret)]

 

[leeron]

Oh and I forgot, can someone share the trick to get those bolster cushions off the vberth?

Start on the port side and furthest aft, feel around inside the upper cabinet for the screw heads. There should be two or three screws holding the bolster in. Work your way around. I just removed mine last week. There are metal tabs that connect bolster to cabinet.

 

[Harmon]

Thank you, can I ask what you are removing the bolsters for? recovering with new material?

Start on the port side and furthest aft, feel around inside the upper cabinet for the screw heads. There should be two or three screws holding the bolster in. Work your way around. I just removed mine last week. There are metal tabs that connect bolster to cabinet.

 

[leeron]

Thank you, can I ask what you are removing the bolsters for? recovering with new material?

Yep, I'm cutting them down to make them smaller in order to make the bed bigger.

So far I've removed the bolsters, bought a 3" king size mattress topper, made a template of the berth area (the mattress topper will be bigger than the mattress), cut the mattress using the template, test fit the mattress on boat and trimmed to suit.

Next step is to cut the bolsters down and recover with new material. Also, there is foam and vinyl attached to the hull. I will remove that and replace. This is necessary because the bolsters will be smaller.

There is a very good write up in this thread from another member here: bjac, you should be able to find it. He sent me all his photos. I can send if you want.