If skiing is your gig I don't think you'll find the Sundancer to be very capable in terms of towing. That'll be a beast of a boat to get out of the hole "quickly", turn to grab a downed skiier, etc. It's also going to throw a monster wake...

 

Looks like you already own the boat? In that case just give it a try and see how it goes.

 

I'm in the latter stages of negotiating for it. Just had it surveyed and the surveyor suggested I ask this group.

 

I had my 280 for many years with twin V6 engines. My close friend had one with twin V8. I can tell you that when fully loaded with people and fuel, as Stee6043 says, difficult to get on plane. The twin V8 get on plane faster and has a higher top end. My twin V6 was fine with 2 or 3 people on it. But a SINGLE ENGINE??? I just don't know.
This was SeaRay's first twin engine stepping a size up from the 240. Fantastic boat! They made tons of these too. Just a suggestion. Try it loaded with a few people and see if it performs to you liking before you buy it. BTW, on a twin, if one dies on you, at least you can limp back home. Good luck.

 

It's not going to compare to a bowrider or ski boat, but yes, you can ski behind it. It just won't "pop" up onto plane. Tabs down, drive down, go for it. Trim up a bit once you're going. I've skied behind the same setup and would routinely ski behind my 260DA with a small block. Yeah, it throws a big wake - but all the better for jumping! It's still smooth in between, though.

 

I have a dock neighbor that skied behind is 400...twice. With enough length on the two rope (and enough upper body strength ) we can ski behind anything! ha. I've never tried it so I guess I should be more supportive of the idea!

 

boat is underpowered, stay clear
but if you must make this mistake, take it for a sea/ski trial and see the performance for yourself
Most boats like this are cheap boat show specials that had a low ball price tag

 

I can see why you’d say that, however I keep hearing 280/496 mag owners saying they have a top end speed in the mid 40’s mph.

 

We had an 02 280 with the 496 Bravo 3 drive. It came with a tow ring and while we never used it for skiing, did use it to pull folks on a tube. This it can do, but it really hoovers gas. While the 280 is a great boat and perfect for a large lake, it is not a ski boat and never will be. We loved ours and went a lot of places with it and had many nice weekend stays. It is just too heavy for skiing.

 

My 2001 280DA has twin V-6’s and a generator. With 4 adults, I cruise comfortably at 28mph at 3300 rpm. No issue getting on plane. I took 7 adults out one time and had to shift a large male up the front near the cabin door to get on plane.
I think you will struggle to get on plane pulling a skier, depending on if you are pulling a 105lb teenager or a 225lb adult. You may want to put some gear in the bow area of your cabin when you load your boat for the day to shift some weight forward.

 

We owned a single 496 Mag 280DA for 13 years. It is just as fast as the twin V-6's with the Alpha Drives. I don't know about the BIII's. The folks that say the boat is underpowered never owned one. Mine would do 44 MPH (GPS). The 496 Mag is 375HP. The one really nice thing is there is actually room in the engine compartment to do stuff. I had a gen on ours as well. I was able to get this boat to plane out with 8 adults onboard.

 

Our 280 is equipped with the single 496 HO, it will hit around 40knots WOT so I would not call it underpowered. It has 425HP and the V6 twins total 440HP but have more weight so performance is comparable.

 

Nice to see real world numbers

 

Yes and Henry Boyde can confirm WOT numbers he had that 496 280 DA