Sea Ray Sundancer pros and cons

[Jboating]

New to this fourm .live in michigan and have my whole life. Basically grew up on lake michigan and always watch crusiers go past my cottage in Norton Shores near Muskegon and always wanted one. Uncle owned a sail boat he kept docked in lk. muskegon that I would go on regulerly but Im not that kinda of boater. Im intrested in purchesing an older model Sea Ray Sundancer 25-27' thats in good condition for its age. Im big on the merc motors (personal opinion) but I would like to hear some pros and cons about the Sundancer models from 86-90. Any info would be helpfull! Thanks!

 

[LiFeStArTs@FoRtY]

Re: Sea Ray Sundancer pros and cons

Go for a late 80s 270. You'll be glad you did because of the wide beam. I had a 26 ft cruiser with 8 1/2' beam and only kept it for 2 seasons. Now I have a 28' with 9' 6" beam and couldnt be happier. That foot of beam makes a huge difference.

 

[lkbum]

Re: Sea Ray Sundancer pros and cons

Sea Ray was an independent company until 1986 when they were purchased by Brunswick Corporation (who also bought Bayliner during the same period of time). They went through an adjustment period and some of their models shifted around including how the models were named. At one point, the numerical designation began to inlcude the swim platform as part of it's length. Might want to keep this in mind while shopping (a 270 one year, might be called a 290 in a different year etc).

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Sea Ray Sundancer pros and cons

The differences between the 25', 26' and 27' Sundancer from that era is quite a bit. The 25 and 26 are both 8.5 beam boats. The 25 has a dinette up front, galley, head and aft cabin. The 26, offers a berth up front, with a dinette off to port (big plus in my opinion!). The 27'er is a 10' beam boat, with a similar layout to the 26' but having an L-shaped dinette.

My best advice, would be to go aboard them. Most Sea Rays were Mercruiser powered. 25 and 26 would most likely be single 350/260hp, with the 26 having a 454 or twin 3.7/4.3 option. The 27' would most likely be twin 3.7 or 4.3, some probably came with a single 454, and I have seen twin 350s as well.


I have noticed Sea Rays tend to fetch a bit more money than the comparable cruisers out there. Something to think about, and might be worth looking into a Sea Ray "style" cruiser.

 

[Grand Larsony]

Re: Sea Ray Sundancer pros and cons

If you won't be trailering, I totally agree with the wide beam.

I have a 1989 Sundancer 300 and couldn't be happier. They're really solid boats. My buddy has a 1987 268 and, while he's allowed it to deteriorate a bit due to normal wear (and small kids) he loves his boat as well.

Sea Rays from late 80's are plentiful and reasonably priced. Look around and you should find a 27'er for under 8-14k or a 30'er for 17-22k. Get familiar with the model numbers as they changed around 1990\1991 and mean very different things regarding actual length and beam (268 = 27' with 8.5' beam, but 270 = 27' with 10' beam... I think, just giving you an example). Full details can be had at the Sea Ray web site, where you can find original specs for older models.

Happy hunting !!