2010 39 Sundancer

[Powerquest38]

Greetings all. New to the board and hope to be joining the Sea Ray family soon.
I have been looking for a 40ish cruiser for some time with a focus on IPS Diesels. Hard to find in my area and have been traveling far to look at boats. However, an absolutely mint 2010 39 Sundancer came up locally, but is a gasser with big blocks. It has the Axius stern drives though, and I cannot find any information on the performance of this boat. I am worried that it is simply too big of a boat for gas. I see the V-drives in this boat get about .7 mpg. I know with stern drives, this boat should do better. Does anyone have any real world experience with this boat and it's performance, including sea keeping and fuel consumption?

 

[romanservices]

I can only speak to my 370AC with 7.4 Horizons @ 24,000 lbs. I for the longest time have always preferred diesel, however I have no complaints with my current setup. My most recent trip was approx 80 miles, I would say average speed 15 mph some slower some at WOT(27+ ish) (my boat is not fast). I burnt 115 gallons of fuel in approximately 5 1/2 hours - 21 gph or .69 mpg I keep my boat wet all the time so stern drive was out of the question plus much less gear under water to maintain. I would love to have a joystick however i am getting more confident in my skills so with two screws and a bow thruster i'd say i'm good with that also.

 

[Johnny1954]

Roman,

i think your MPG was .696.

John

 

[juggernaut1]

I have the 2006 38 8.1 in shafts which is virtually the same boat your looking at except for stern drives and the 8.2s.

Can't speak of fuel consumption because I've never bothered about it - it is what it is. Most of my cruising is coastal and find it rides quite well in our typical 1.7 to 2.5 metre swell at around 20 knots. It's a dry ride unless head on into swell and the wind is head on blowing the spray straight back at the boat.

The boat in shafts is under propped as I've been able to hit the over speed alarms at 31.5 knots (GPS) in flat conditions (rare on the coast) on the odd occasion I've run it flat out. I would expect the stern drive version to be at least 3+ knots faster and more fuel efficient due to the drive layout. I wouldn't say it generally lacks power but will loose revs in large rolling swells in a following sea when climbing up the back of the large swell. But unless you experience these sorts of swells it will otherwise maintain revs and speed.

When buying I did see a 395 with diesels and zues but was asking a A$125k premium for the privelege.

 

[RollerCoastr]

I have the 2006 38 8.1 in shafts which is virtually the same boat your looking at except for stern drives and the 8.2s.

I would think a 2010 would still have 8.1's....?

I'm surprised that the v-drive 360/38/390 returns less economy than my aged 400 as well as my friend's 390/40. (jeez I wish SR would make up its mind!) Maybe it's about wetted-surface and weight distribution? If so, that could make the 360/38/390 an excellent candidate for stern drives.

A few weeks ago I logged 10 hours of time on a boat with Aquamatic (Volvo's version of Axius). After a lifetime of boating, that was the first time I found myself with thoughts like, "I wish there was even more wind and more people at the restaurant to see me dock this thing..."

If you can arrange a test drive, I highly recommend it!

 

[insfnds]

I have a 2011 390 with 8.1 Axius. Performance sux. I have to run ~3900 RPM to stay on plane around 24-25mph, it gets real mushy below that. MPG is about .5 (based on vessel view) and burn rate is about 50gph. At WOT, RPM gets close to 4500, speed is maybe 33mph. Burn rate is right at 70gph. We boat on a lake so the consumption isn't all that bad. I would not consider this for off shore use though.

The dealer's mechanic thinks I need smaller pitched props but Sea Ray wouldn't pay for the change out - they say it has the props that it is designed to have.

Other than performance and the head being a bit cramped, We love the boat.

 

[romanservices]

Roman,

i think your MPG was .696.

John

Doh... yep that's right thanks

 

[WDCboater]

I would think a 2010 would still have 8.1's....?

SR made the switch to 8.2's on some late model 2010's.
I have a 2010 350 with the 8.1's and fuel economy is OK, but not great. It's plenty of power for this size boat. SR also put the 8.1's and 8.2's with stern drives in the 450.
(Here's one for sale: http://www.pwmarina.com/2011Sea-Ray...ry.htm?id=1287793&in-stock=1&vin=SERP7797B111)

I think the gas engines are a bit of a stretch for a 45' cruiser.

 

[juggernaut1]

I would think a 2010 would still have 8.1's....?

I'm surprised that the v-drive 360/38/390 returns less economy than my aged 400 as well as my friend's 390/40. (jeez I wish SR would make up its mind!) Maybe it's about wetted-surface and weight distribution? If so, that could make the 360/38/390 an excellent candidate for stern drives.

A few weeks ago I logged 10 hours of time on a boat with Aquamatic (Volvo's version of Axius). After a lifetime of boating, that was the first time I found myself with thoughts like, "I wish there was even more wind and more people at the restaurant to see me dock this thing..."

If you can arrange a test drive, I highly recommend it!

I got the 8.2 from his boat details in the top right. The 38/390/395 has 21 degrees of dead rise which is more than most in a boat of this size and would affect speed and economy but theoretically gives a nicer ride. I recall reading a review on the later 48 compared to the earlier model and the later boat had more dead rise and power but was slower than the earlier model.

 

[RollerCoastr]

That's pretty steep, and of course comparing a true V hull with sterndrives to shafts and prop-pockets makes it even more confusing.

 

[Powerquest38]

Thanks to all for the input. Wow, Insfnds, that is shocking! You have me greatly reconsidering pursuing this boat further. Hopefully it is just your props and you can get it fixed.