Official 370 Sundancer thread

Shook · Feb 10, 2009

Just purchased my first SeaRay. A 1990 370 Sundancer. Should close early next week and delivered by next weekend. Very excited. My last boat was a 29' Bayliner Avanti, so this is quite a step of for me.
Any owners of the same vintage? How do you like yours?

37 Dancer · Feb 10, 2009

Shook.........Welcome to the forum.....and good luck with the new boat !

What area do you do your boating ?

SummerDeis · Feb 11, 2009

Hey Shook

Welcome aboard and best of luck with your new Sea Ray. My friend has a 1990 35/37 and loves it..

Ron

Jack · Feb 11, 2009

You will love it - I went from a 290 SeaRay to the 370 and it is a different world - my family and I love my 370. Congratulations!!!!

MarkD · Feb 14, 2009

Welcome aboard Shook!!

A fellow 1990 vintage owner here. I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have as best I can. I've had mine since 2000 and I truly love the boat.

randerson · Feb 14, 2009

Sold my 270 Dancer last year and have been looking at a couple 95 370's. Most of the 95's I've seen all have the 454 cu in, 310HP motors. It seems that with this boat weighing in over 15,000 lbs that they may be slightly underpowered. I love the boat and am near making an offer but I thought I'd ask all of you . . . what do you think? Thanks!

J Levine · Feb 14, 2009

Andy

In my opinion the boat is just about as big as you would want to go with gas power but I would not call in underpowered. I have had as many as 10 people aboard and never had problems getting up on plane. Keep in mind that these boats cruise at about 19 knots and top out at about 26 knots at WOT where you are burning about 45 GPH. I have to think that your 88 270DA with twin small blocks and sterndrives is faster and a lot less thristy. On the other hand, I was comming out of a 95 290DA (simillar is size to your current boat) and the 370 is a whole different animal in terms of size and living space.

37 Dancer · Feb 14, 2009

I agree.....Not at all underpowered.

I thought the 7.4 carb motor where 310hp....but EFI's & MPI's....where 330hp ?

I know of a few 40' DA with the same power that run well also.

Big Al · Feb 14, 2009

The 370 DA is not underpowered except if you expect to cruise at 25 knots +. The 370 gets up on plane easily even when loaded.

I will cruise at 17-19 knots depending on the condition at 3000-3300 rpm. At that pace the 7.4 's don't work a lot.

Sea Ray Mark · Feb 15, 2009

randerson said:
Sold my 270 Dancer last year and have been looking at a couple 95 370's. Most of the 95's I've seen all have the 454 cu in, 310HP motors. It seems that with this boat weighing in over 15,000 lbs that they may be slightly underpowered. I love the boat and am near making an offer but I thought I'd ask all of you . . . what do you think? Thanks!

You need to think this thru carefully! I had a 1992 370 sedan bridge with the 310HP motors that was extremely underpowered and I swore I would never buy an underpowered boat again. I'm not comparing my sedan bridge to a Dancer I know they're two different animals but I know how frustrating it can be when you don't have enough juice. When I was shopping for my 370 Dancer I didn't even consider looking at a boat that didn't have the 380HP Horizons just because I didn't want to take any chances. Back then I didn't have a group of people to reach out to like I have now with CSR and as you can see there's plenty of people who are very happy with the performance of the lower HP motors. It may just boil down to a couple of knots on the cruising speed between the 310 and the 380hp. I like to run my boat at 21 knots and the extra hp always comes in handy when you're going uphill. Either way your 290 is going to seem like a speed boat compared to a 370 :thumbsup: Good luck, Mark

randerson · Feb 15, 2009

Thanks for the extremely valuable information . . . I am not about speed. I was curious with a full load about the ability to get on plane and hold it. I never ran WOT on my 270, it held plane at 2200rpm which was about 20mph on the GPS (it fell off plane very easily). It did not perform well with 7-8 people on board unless they moved way forward. I am comfortable with what you all said, it helps make my decision easier. I love the boat! Thanks!

MarkD · Feb 15, 2009

Andy,
I also had a 27 sundancer prior to this one and it was always affected by weight. Meaning, fuel load, people aboard, vacation gear etc. It always seemed that I had to wind up the motor just to be able to stay on plane when she was heavy. Also, I always had to use the tabs to balance out for people moving around or going forward/aft. In this boat I am still amazed at how much people and gear you can have aboard and still get up and go. Two examples for you....

The first is on people capacity. Every year we have what is called X-mas in September. Its a boat parade with lights and music. This year we carried 21 people for a 2 hour cruise on our creek and they didnt complain. (could have been all of the beer they drank on the way...LOL.)

Second example, when we first got the boat we had 11 people out on the river and we stayed up on plane at ~3000 rpm and made 20-22 mph. Believe me when i tell you these old girls can haul alot of weight. Mine can stay up on plane at 2500 rpm if needed. Granted its slow as heck, but in bad weather....... best cruise speed is about 3000-3100 rpm for a 30gph fuel burn (give or take).

douglee25 · Feb 15, 2009

I wasn't aware the Horizon's had 380 hp.

Nice option.

Doug

bobdunagan · Feb 15, 2009

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread previously. What a Great idea!
We have owned a 1998 370DA with 454 Mag MPI Horizons since 2000 and although we go to boat shows each year and look at new/other boats, we still have not found a better boat for our cruising needs and desires.
Our only headache has been water intrusion due to cam overlap(Mercury Service Bulletin No. 2001-13). In 2005 at 700 hours we had to replace the S/B engine and modify the exhaust with 6" risers to create more exhaust down angle. Now I have the same water intrusion problem again nessitating the rebuild of the S/B engine due to water in cyl#4 and am looking for a permanent solution...either a new exhaust/muffler system or modifying the OEM "horizontal" type muffler system to create more exhaust down angle that will keep water from being "sucked" back into the engine.
I would appreciate ANY advice from anyone who has had this problem.

Bob Dunagan
Brunswick, Ga.

Sea Ray Mark · Feb 15, 2009

Bob, welcome to the thread! When I first heard about the water problem with these motors I was just about to change the manifolds and risers because they where six years old. I decided to take all of the precautions I could to ensure I wouldn't have any problems so I installed the 6" risers and the newer style muffler system. While I was researching info about this I found that Osco had a special riser that was modified to accept a check valve that taps into the exhaust passage. The valve allows air to be sucked into the exhaust without allowing any exhaust to escape. This cancels out the pulsing effect that draws the water in. I would highly recommend installing them. Good luck, Mark

RubberDuckeeToo2 · Feb 16, 2009

Bob, welcome to the fold! Mark's boat and mine are very close in appearance, construction, and options, but mine came with the exhaust system that he had installed. I also sent you a PM before I came to the thread to see your post. Apparently, you know a fair bit about the ingestion problem. So be sure to check out www.370sundancer.com for all the pictures of the different 370's.

370's Rule!

Gene

Jack · Feb 16, 2009

I had the 290 and Mark is right. When I first planed out the 370, I have the 380 hp Horizons, I was a little dismayed but compared to the 290 the 370 is a truly different boat, different feel, and definitely more people friendly with the space and amenities. I generally cruise at 34-3600 but I pay the price at the fuel dock. Mark, when you are at 21knots, what are the rpms. My boat came with three bladed props but the prior owner had them replace with four bladed ones - I think so he would be more manuverable at slow speeds.

Sea Ray Mark · Feb 16, 2009

Jack, I usually need to be at 3600 rpm to run 21-22 knots. I still have the original three blade props. I guess the four blade props don't make much difference in speed but there's definitely an advantage in slow speed maneuvering. I really have to horse the throttles to get any reverse action going. Mark

bobdunagan · Feb 16, 2009

Mark and Gene:
Thank you for your response!
I have decided to change to the new/can vs. horizontal log style/water lift muffler system but am having trouble finding out who manufacturers it or where it can be purchased. I have tried to contact SeaRay at Merritt Island but they are currently closed down "on furlough". I tried a couple of other S/R customer service numbers but most technical folks are at the Miami Boat Show. Even "Google" hasn't helped. If you have any other information about the system or a Brand Name or website, I would appreciate it.
Thank you again for your help.
Bob

Jack · Feb 17, 2009

Thanks Mark, that is about the same with me - four boats are going to Solomons in mid-April and I think I will try dropping it to about 3300 rpm and see what the burn is. I would not mind a little economy and I am in no rush to get there. The four blades do make it easier when docking.
Jack

Official 370 Sundancer thread

Shook

37 Dancer

SummerDeis

Jack

MarkD

randerson

J Levine

37 Dancer

Big Al

Sea Ray Mark

randerson

MarkD

douglee25

bobdunagan

Sea Ray Mark

RubberDuckeeToo2

Jack

Sea Ray Mark

bobdunagan

Jack

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