Huge difference between the 340 and the 380....2' of beam is a lot in interior space. Price is very dependent on condition, and realize that Sea Ray made the change from the 7.4 L to the 8.1 L engine late in the 2001 model year. Do lots of research on Boatrader and Yachtrader to get the idea what the market is like. If you find a "motivated" seller, you might buy for $15K under asking price.....every situation is different.

There is a dedicated 380DA thread here on CSR.....lots of info. If yo have specific questions, PM me or any of the other 380 guys here.

Good Luck,

Don

 

The boat we are looking at has the 8.1's and 720 hours each.

We will get a complete survey before purchase. I was hoping for a boat with less hours.

Should I be concerned about the number of hours? What are potential issues at this many hoursl. What are things I need to look out for (motors and entire boat) at this age?

Thanks!

 

Hours are all relative, how it was used and taken care of are the keys. However I can tell you my experience with my previous Sea Rays, the last being a 370 with 7.4s, that boat was a little ove 40' loa and I think the 380 is close if not the same size- I believe it was the replacement model. She was very well taken care of and serviced from new but those motors were asked to work too hard, performance was good but I can't help but feel that the motors were not quite enough and I had the higher HP versions. I'm not sure how the 8.1s compare but I can't help but believe gas motors are not the best choice for a boat that big and heavy. One of my motors did fail due to an exhaust valve failure after a hard run. I had an older 30 DB with 350s that were on the edge and failed. Prior to that I had a 265 DB with 4.3s that failed also. Maybe I'm the problem!! All three of these boats were serviced and well taken care of. But they were all underpowered or really close to being so, the 265 needed the 350s and the 300 needed the 7.4s and the 370 needed diesels I think unless the 8.1s are enough ( not available then) but make sure of it for yourself and good luck.

 

The 380DA is a great boat.
The hours (as others have said) are all relevant to how the boat was used and maintained. If it's been a fresh water boat it's entire life chances are that it wasn't run very hard for long periods and could possibly be in great shape engine wise. I agree with Riss on the gassers being a bit underpowered for a boat of this size but if you're on a lake with relatively minor current it's not a big deal.
Get your survey and don't feel pressured in to making the deal happen if it comes out questionable.
Good luck

 

Most of our boating will be done on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers in MN. We are heading into the end of the boating season this far north so it won't be used until next season. If we buy now it must be a good deal. I have heard mixed reviews on the 8.1s. Any one with the 8.1s have any input on how the boat performs?

Thanks

 

Any one with the 8.1s have any input on how the boat performs?
Thanks

My dock neighbor had an '03 with 8.1's. They are great boats. When we would travel the distances on Lake Erie, we would run them for hours, and he only needed slightly more throttle than my 360 to run the 25 MPH that we run. That's about the sweet spot for that boat. 3550 to 3600 rpm. The engines are solid, and the boat handles the chop well.
Good luck

 

If you get an engine survey, you will know from the Mercruiser ECM printout How many hours the engines were run, at different RPM bands. Also, you will see a history of all, or any fault codes that have been generated.

If this is a 2001 model, verify that the "real" engine hours match the "tach" hours. Many 2001 boats with 7.4L motors had the 7.4 replaced under warranty with the 8.1. These engines may have fewer hours than "displayed".

This boat will criuse at 3500 RPM and consume about 34 GPH at that rate. WOT will be double. The 8.1 motors are a bit "torqueier" than the 7.4s, and their props have 1" more pitch to accomodate it.

If all else checks good, I wouldn't be afraid of the hours. If you're worried about it, shop for a low hour boat...they're out there, and prices are negoitable.

Most inland boaters do 60-100 hours/ year.

Don

 

Just got our offer accepted by the sellers.

Offer was signed for 106k. Deal is still pending survey and sea trail.

1. Is this price fair?
2. Any specific questions or items we should look for during the survey?

This is our first boat this size. All help is greatly appriciated.

Thanks!!

 

Just got our offer accepted by the sellers.

Offer was signed for 106k. Deal is still pending survey and sea trail.

1. Is this price fair?
2. Any specific questions or items we should look for during the survey?

This is our first boat this size. All help is greatly appriciated.

Thanks!!

Obviously, this question really boils down to whether or not the price is fair to you, as you'll be the one writing the check. That being said, from the looking around and research I've done recently, and if everything checks out well and it's been cared for, that seems to be a very "fair" price. Good luck moving forward!!!

 

Make sure you have both the hull and engines/generator surveyed by qualified people. I.E. Certified mercruiser techs. for the engines etc. I also recommend these are all done by independent contractors (not recommended by the seller or broker) and make sure you have oil samples from both engines, both transmissions and generator sent out to the lab to be tested.

Best of luck, Mitch

 

You're gonna love the boat. The biggest thing you will notice first is how much higher the bow runs out of the water. You can trim it down some, but let it run at the most efficient angle, and just get used to it. If you push the tabs all the way down, the bow will drop some, but the boat will slow a bit too.

Don

 

Zac- the number you paid is right in line as I sold my 2001 380DA w/330 hours and 8.1's for 120k in March of this year. Make sure during the survey you have the guages that show the liquid level in the fresh water tank and holding tank are working, as over the years they tend to accum slime which then stops them fro accurately showing the liquid level. It's an easy repaid but one you might as well have taken care of prior to closing. Feel free to message me with any specific questionls as we had a great 11 years with the boat.
Don

 

Great Boat at a Good price ( for the buyer ). At 10 years the engine hours are not excessive, low if anything. Check the maintenance log if available and have your surveyor perform due diligence especially on the manifolds/risers and heat exchanger. Even in fresh water at 10 years there may be degradation... But..she is a great boat...enjoy!!!

 

380 was a great boat for us. That being said the 8.1's are a much better option than the 7.4's. $106 imho is a very fair price for any 380, let alone a fresh water boat. Many salt waters are selling north of that. Service the engines, and don't overload them and I am sure you will have years of enjoyment ahead of you. The previous posts are correct that the 8.1's have more torque, but do have less HP. Remember, torque is what gets you up on plane, HP keeps you there, and it is under high load that pushes the engine, that is why the 8.1 is a better choice than the 7.4. On inland water ways you should be fine.

Enjoy it!

 

Thanks all. We are closing this afternoon. During the survey nothing was mentioned on the H/E and manifolds. I will have this checked by mercury before storage. The boat will be going right into storage for the winter. In the next week I will post a list of updates we plan on doing. Your opinions will be valued!

One question on electronics. Any suggestions for updating the radar screen from the black and green? Can GPS be incorporated into it?

Thanks

 

U likely can go to the RL80C, if you have the proper pedestal. I would contact Raymarine, they will have many upgrade options for you. The gent I sold my 410DA to upgraded all of his electronics for a very fair price on his 2003.

 

Congrats and welcome to the world of repowered 2001 repowered 380s! Closed on ours April 5.

 

Well i should update on our progress. We went with the raymarine e97 and new raydome. In the next week or so I will figure out how to post some pictures on how the whole project turned out.

 

Congrats Zack,

My first mate and I are in the same mode right now moving up to 34 or 38 from a 20ft Sea Ray so I'm combing the threads for sure! I'm gonna feel a big pit in my stomach the first time I fuel it up for sure. Right now on the water Connecticut gas is running $4.75 a gal darn new taxes! Yeah post some pics when you can, and if you get a chance what made you go to the 38 vs the 34? I'm thinking the fuel and Maintence costs aren't going to be a huge difference between the two.

 

Ctsearay,

Well I would like to start and say we were is the same place last year bouncing between the 340DA & 380DA. We did decide on the 380DA and could not be any happier. For the fuel it's going to suck on both boats. Just make sure you get 8.1's and not the Std 6.2's on the 340DA they are a lot slower cruise like 20 mph vs 26.6 mph. We love having the separate forward cabin with a door and our own AC away from the kids. The separate shower is a big plus for us because we're on the boat for long extended periods and it's just a convenance not having to find a bath house and praying it's clean! The aft cabin area is much bigger than the 340 you can sleep 2 adult with no problem. The galley has a full size fridge/freezer that now is a must have. For the Maintenance Cost the difference is not much between the two they have the same engines and transmissions. Fuel burn is within a few gph from each other. The 340 gets about .88 mpg vs .80 mpg on the 380.

All in all I guess it would depend if you have a family and how long you would be staying on the boat. What ever boat you choose to go with you will enjoy it. I wish you the best on your hunt!

Thanks

 

We are thrilled that we went with the 380. The forward cabin with seperate door was a big factor for us. We have friends with a 05 340. Very nice boat but we think the 380 is a nice step up.

Good luck!

 

We moved up to a 340 Dancer this year. We chose the 340 strickly for financial reasons. After spending the last 8 weekends on it, I can say the two things that we would like are the full size fridge and forward birth door. We have two young children and room isn't an issue, but privacy can be. On the plus side, the 340 is well powered with 8.1's. The engines aren't working too hard and it cruises around 25-27mph. We have talked about considering a 380 in the near future, and one of my concerns has been how the 8.1's would handle the additional size/weight of the 380. Great thread, very interesting.

 

We looked at the 2003+ 340DA and the 2000+ 380DA (toilet came out of the shower stall in 2000). Coming off a boat with two staterooms with doors and a shower stall, it would have been very hard to go back to a wet head and curtains. I spoke to a lot of people who owned 330s, 320s and 340s and it seems none of them use the shower on the boat. We always do - way to lazy to walk up to the marina bathroom for a shower. Also, the ER in the 340 made me claustrophobic just looking at it. We were able to shop with the same budget allowance, but the 380 had to be a couple of years older to stay in the price range. BELIEVE ME, I loved the idea of having a jackrabbit boat like the 340, but space is the final frontier.