36 Sedan Bridge owners

G

gyrospiro

Member
Oct 3, 2006
307
Minnesota
Boat Info
1998 370 DA
Engines
T-7.4 310hp V-drives
The admiral saw a 36 sd and now see wants one, any impression from current owners on dislikes, likes, and must have options
Do you need the bow thrusters with this boat, always owned dancers. whats it like driving from the bridge?

thank you
 
I'm thinking you will be greatly dissapointed with the performance after having your current boat and set-up. But....if that's what the wife wants.
 
We are finishing up our first season on the 36 Sedan Bridge, and absolutely loved it. It was my wife as well that wanted the Bridge for more room. I was never a big bridge style fan (always liked the Sundancer look), but after finishing up a full season on it (we put on over 100 hours so far this year), I can honestly say I would never go back to the Sundancer Series. As far as options.....I have the DTS Throttle System (only 2 levers for shift and throttle together), and that makes docking much easier. My boat has bow and stern thrusters, but hardly ever touch the Stern thruster and very rarely use the bow thruster. I am relatively new at boating as well (only our second season, and we learned on our 320 Sundancer), so driving the bridge (although intimidating at first), we much easier than I expected. I would not want to get into the whole gas vs. diesel thing as that has been beaten to death here....but I have the gas, and performance is good...but you would have to consider the price of gas vs diesel price up front conpared with the use, maintenance and other factors. Feel free to send me an private message in regards to questions on other options, pricing, etc.
 
According to specs, optimal cruise is at 3500 RPM. We normally try to cruise in that range which will get us 20-22 MPH burning about 34-36 gallons per hour total.
 
I was with a guy from a dealer here that had a 360 Sedan Bridge with diesels in it. It was a nice boat.... Not sure about the handling though as it was as tall as my boat. He said the dealer got it with diesels because the cruising range was not very good on the gas version. Given the numbers above, the effective cruising range for the gas version is only about 120 miles on a tank of fuel.... ouch! This boat weighs as much (22,000 pounds empty) as a 2001 410 DA or a 2008 44 Dancer and I can't imagine anyone having those boats with gas.... I know... someone will say it's ok to have a 44 foot Sundancer with gas... bzzzzt.
 
Yes, the cruise range is not horrible, but not the best either!! As for the height....the stability of the boat in rough conditions was one of my main concerns. We have seen some real tough conditions this summer, and we were pleasantly surprised at how stable it was in those conditions. The weight is probably a factor in the stability. We plan on having this boat for 2-3 seasons, and then upgrading to a larger bridge model, so we could not justify the extra $$ up front on the diesel model, and could not actually find any dealers up this way that even had a diesel version in stock.
 
How do the dts shifters work? how do give more throttle to engine when docking? how do you back into slip when you cant see your stern?
 
I just went to a bridge boat, too. It's hard for me to imagine going back to an express cruiser (Sundancer.) The visibility and added room of the bridge is awesome to have.
 
With the DTS, you have two levers...one for each engine. The first click forward puts the engine in gear, and then pushing further forward from there is your throttle. Same in reverse. I find it is much easier to just click a bit forward and a bit back while also having your throttle right there, rather than pushing a lever all the way forward or back, and then having your throttle on the other side of the wheel.
 
I had the two sticks on my last boat and the four sticks on the current boat. Both are fine, but I prefer the four mainly because of the more positive feel of the controls.
 
The two sticks does take a bit to get used to....but once I was comfortable with it...I found things to be much easier when docking.
 
As two-four-six-eight footitis bit us this season, we started thinking bridge boats have a lot more room than Sundancers. We looked at the 36, a neighbor's 38 Carver sedan and a new 36 Carver Mariner. She fell in love with the space and I fell in love with the view from the bridge. A few things have since changed our minds.

First, on a fairly calm day at the dock she could not stand being on the bridge. Too high and to much movement.

Second, she really doesn't help much during docking so I'm docking singlehanded. That's tough with a bridge. Sure I can get it where I want it with a little practice, but can I get down the stairs and tied-up before the wind blows me off the dock.

Third, I can't boat with my guests. I have to be up on the bridge and everyone else would be in the cockpit. Sure a person or two will come up and see me, I usually do when I go out with my neighbor.

Obviously a lot of people love them, but their not for everyone.
 
B-Rock said:
The two sticks does take a bit to get used to....but once I was comfortable with it...I found things to be much easier when docking.
Click to expand...

Do you have the risk of "goosing" the engine too much...as with stern drives? Or is there some sort of low RPM setting to use for docking?
 
I think the newer versions have a docking button that reduces the throttle range (but I am not 100% sure on this), but I have not had any instances where I have "goosed" the throttle too much. There is quite a bit of play in between where the throttle engages the shift and where it starts to actually thottle up.
 
This was my first season with my 2007 36 sedan.....I am coming from a 410 sundancer. I will first say I loved the sundancer. Because I use the boat every weekend, I wanted more of a salon. I looked at the 36 and 44. With how the trades and numbers worked out, I went with the 36 fully loaded. Searay navigator, bow and stern thrusters, diesels, etc.......I have 2 kids so they needed separate beds which worked out great. Loved the boat in general....The boat is narrow and in beam seas, it is a bit rocky. I single hand the boat all the time and after 1/2 the summer, it was no problem. I am looking to move up to the 44 if the trade and numbers work out, but highly recommend the 36
 
Finally, another 36 Sedan Bridge owner on here.....and right around the corner from us! Did not see you on the water this year....but I will keep an eye out next year.

What kind of range, gallons per hour, and cruise speed did you experience with the diesel option? We just upgraded our 2007 Sedan Bridge with gas engines to the 36 Sedan Bridge with more otions and diesel engines. We had a lot of warranty issues on our boat, and Sea Ray and my dealer stepped up to get me into this new boat. We are very excited moving to the diesel engines, so I am anxious to hear more from you.
 
there are things you will miss about your dancer when you move to a bridge boat...
1. fuel economy - bridge (gassers) are pigs, trust me!
2. speed - you really cant keep up with your dancer buddies
3. no real concern for wind when docking and being able to see where you are going in reverse.

there are things you will love about your bridge boat...
1. space space space
2. unparalleled view forward at all speeds, even when coming up on plane
3. separate stall shower

topics that have been debated endlessly on this board and the old SR board are...
1. are pilots of bridge boats really isolated from their guests????
2. diesel better than gas in a boat this size/weight???
3. docking difficulties, assuming no thruster???

i've never owned a express-style boat in this size range, but have been on many (several friends have expresses in the 33-37' range), but in my opinion, the answers to the above Qs are
1. no.
2. yes.
3. ya get used to it
 
One thing I haven't seen mentioned about sedan bridge boats is the fact that it can be very difficult to keep kids and pets under supervision on them...just too many places to either be out of sight or hide.

If we still had little ones at home, I wouldn't consider a bridge boat until they reached the age of proving they were responsible and trustworthy.
 
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