Sea Ray 380 Sundancer

M

majoma

Member
Oct 10, 2008
284
San Francisco
Boat Info
2000 340, V drive
Engines
Twin 7.4
I have my eyes on a 2000 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer with Mercruisers 7.3 MPI.
I would appreciate an opinion from current owners if those engines are OK for such an heavy boat?
Thank you.
Marc
 
7.4's maybe? A friend has one that he seems happy with, but he doesn't get in a hurry.
 
The 380 is a really heavy boat...about ten tons of displacement as I recall, but there isn't a power package that makes it a "gofast" boat. The 7.4's were 454's instead of 496's (8.1s) but as I recall, the horsepower numbers were pretty close. It was more of a torque issue as I remember. Here's something FC3 posted several years ago on another forum that shows a pretty good comparison between the available engines. The 370 was very similar in hull design.

[FONT=Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif]http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47825&PN=1[/FONT]
 
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What HP rating do the 7.4's have? I thought the Horizons had an option for some pretty high HP numbers for that boat. A friend has them in his and it screams.
 
The 7.4L MPI's are rated at 310 HP. The 7.4L Horizons are rated at 380 HP. That is an additional 140 HP or 20%+ increase in HP for a twin screw boat. Also, the Horizons produce more torque at lower RPM's
 
Had a Cruisers 3870 with 7.4 MPI's. Sold because it was way too slow (22-23MPH cruise) and underpowered for how we wanted to use her. A friend had a 3870 with the 7.4 Horizons and it cruised much better (25-26 MPH). If you don't travel far the MPI's may work for you.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. I see now why the 380s with the 8.1 are selling about $20K more.
Marc
 
we purchased our 380 in 2005 it had no added weight and would go 22 knots and burn 44GPH. We added watermaker, 2500 watt inverter, 12 batteries and a lot of food and gear. It goes 18 knots now. If you want speed it is not the boat. For ride it is good in big water. It burns lots of gas. Six GPH at speed of 6 knots that ia 1,300 RPM. 44 GPH at 18 knots, 1.5 GPH at speeds above 6 knots and less than 12.
If you want speed, know some one with a 34 foot with twin 7.4s. Goes very fast.
 
LTD.330 said:
I think we just found what Gary does in his spare time.
Click to expand...

Well... wingnut and I differ on opinion on the 380. I had that exact boat with 7.4 Horizons and I personally found it to be a pig. It was slow, drank gas like no tomorrow, had more wires on the engine than a patient in a hospital intensive care unit, got tossed around on the Chesapeake Bay like a cork and had a noisy generator. Upgraded to the 480 DB and the point-to-point fuel costs are cheaper for a boat with twice the room.

Besides... because the "world's dumbest boater" owns one, it would be like owning the same car as Charles Manson. Bad karma.

northern said:
we purchased our 380 in 2005 it had no added weight and would go 22 knots and burn 44GPH. We added watermaker, 2500 watt inverter, 12 batteries and a lot of food and gear. It goes 18 knots now. If you want speed it is not the boat. For ride it is good in big water. It burns lots of gas. Six GPH at speed of 6 knots that ia 1,300 RPM. 44 GPH at 18 knots, 1.5 GPH at speeds above 6 knots and less than 12.
If you want speed, know some one with a 34 foot with twin 7.4s. Goes very fast.
Click to expand...

Umm... a 380 aft cabin as you have is no comparison to a 380 sundancer.
 
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A 380DA doesn't have a $60k/yr cost of ownership, does it?
 
For $60k/year, you could drop in new crate 8.1s every season. Come to think of it, didn't someone we know do that with his 410?
 
We budjet 25K a year for every thing including maitenance, moorage, insurance, food, entertaiment and fuel. We have been sitting around 18K the past few years, but I will need engine work some day so I will get to spend the difference eventually. Or sell now and get a 32 footer and go fast agian.
 
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