Sundance 330 suitable for offshore

Joseph Parker

New Member
Aug 10, 2019
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I considering buying a 1998 Sundance 330 initially for cruising Chesapeake Bay, but eventually using it to cruise ICW to Florida
And over to the Bahamas and up to New England and Martha Vinyard.
The boat has twin 5.7 L MerCruiser has engines, each 260 HP and a 225 GAL fuel tank. Is this boat suitable for this use?
 
yes - but if the boat has I/Os it will not be as efficient or easy to handle at hull speed as a v-drive one.......the trade off is it will be more efficient on plane.....the preferred power in that boat seems to be the 7.4s - I would try to sea trial the boat as you intend to run it - unless running the ditch is somthing you want to do, think about having it trucked to fla and start your adventure from there - thats what we do
 
The ditch won 't be next year. Next year I will concentrate on cruising the Chesapeake Bay area and maybe up to New England in late summer. 2021 is when I will try the ditch and maybe a run over to Bimini. I will try to sea trial it though. The dealer also has a 1997 with the 7.4 L with v drive. I'll be looking at that also.
Thanks for the advice
 
I have a 97 with 7.4s v Drives. I would not go for the 350s with stern drives. Stern drives are not great for leaving a boat in the salt water and the boat is better handling and responsive with 7.4s. I tested both and would not buy 350s. too long to get on plane and would be harder to manage going in an out of inlets because of lack of power. The boat has 17 degree deadrise. Newer ones are 21 degrees. The 17 will ride a bit harsher, but is a bit more efficient with fuel and speed /hp. I would say they are pretty decent in the Great Lakes water I boat in up to about 3 to 4ft waves (which I try to avoid). Probably OK in the ocean as long as seas are not too rough.
 
yes - but if the boat has I/Os it will not be as efficient or easy to handle at hull speed as a v-drive one.......the trade off is it will be more efficient on plane.....the preferred power in that boat seems to be the 7.4s - I would try to sea trial the boat as you intend to run it - unless running the ditch is somthing you want to do, think about having it trucked to fla and start your adventure from there - thats what we do
Actually,the 1998 is an on-board which I believe makes it a v drive
 
I have a 97 with 7.4s v Drives. I would not go for the 350s with stern drives. Stern drives are not great for leaving a boat in the salt water and the boat is better handling and responsive with 7.4s. I tested both and would not buy 350s. too long to get on plane and would be harder to manage going in an out of inlets because of lack of power. The boat has 17 degree deadrise. Newer ones are 21 degrees. The 17 will ride a bit harsher, but is a bit more efficient with fuel and speed /hp. I would say they are pretty decent in the Great Lakes water I boat in up to about 3 to 4ft waves (which I try to avoid). Probably OK in the ocean as long as seas are not too rough.
I'll be looking at a 1997 also. As for 3 - 4 foot waves, I'd prefer to avoid them to.

Thanks
 
I had two different 330's, both with 5.7's and, being the cheapskate that I am I loved both boats. A friend had one with the 7.4's but other than that his was identical to mine.

On a 300 mile round trip up the Snake River and back, his fuel burn was about 15% greater than mine. The trade off for that was he could cruise about 2mph faster than I could.

If I were to buy another 330 I'd go with the 5.7's again.
 
I had two different 330's, both with 5.7's and, being the cheapskate that I am I loved both boats. A friend had one with the 7.4's but other than that his was identical to mine.

On a 300 mile round trip up the Snake River and back, his fuel burn was about 15% greater than mine. The trade off for that was he could cruise about 2mph faster than I could.

If I were to buy another 330 I'd go with the 5.7's again.
Thanks for the input. I am leaning towards the 1998 with the 5.7's for several reasons. One I'm not looking to race around and if I did need to they would probably do the job. Second, it comes with a full cabin enclosure that's in good shape.
 
Joe, I'm with you. I didn't need to be the fastest boat on the water, I just wanted to be comfortable and lookin' good. If it took me a few extra seconds to get on plane, well so be it.
 
The other factor to consider with that boat is the other tankage capacities, fresh water and black water. I have an '02 340DA, and we find that water becomes the critical resource when spending more than a weekend on the boat. You will be looking for a pump out and place to refill the fresh water more often than you think. Next time, we'll be looking for something with more fresh water capacity like the sedan bridges or adding a water maker.
 
The other factor to consider with that boat is the other tankage capacities, fresh water and black water. I have an '02 340DA, and we find that water becomes the critical resource when spending more than a weekend on the boat. You will be looking for a pump out and place to refill the fresh water more often than you think. Next time, we'll be looking for something with more fresh water capacity like the sedan bridges or adding a water maker.

Fresh water bladders are a lot less expensive than upgrading to a sedan bridge if you're simply looking for more capacity :):) ha. A water maker would be super cool though.

To the OP - another vote for 5.7's would be from the DIY maintenance side of things. A little extra room on all sides of those small blocks should make life a bit easier for routine maintenance items. Big blocks with V-drives in these boats....it's enough to create a post-maintenance drinking problem.
 

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