80's Sundancer

G

gebob32

New Member
Mar 13, 2011
3
west basin lake erie
Boat Info
boatless, loooking for 80's sundancer
Engines
boatless
I am looking for a 80's sundancer. i wanted to know what engine application, twin 488's v-6's or the eights. they are all near in horsepower. do the four cylinders really keep the boat up with a big load and what about vibration and noise from the four's. why don't they make the four's any longer. problems? complaint's. Please, i need help from an owner of a sundancer. thank you
 
I've been looking for 300's and was giving info on this 1987 270 with twin 205's, genny, heat/air. Owned by boat mechanic in Knoxville, TN. He started at $17K :smt043:smt043but will take $14K.

I haven't seen the boat in person but it looks pretty good. Interior pics are really nice. Exterior could use a clean, buff, polish.

1987270.jpg
 
GEBOB32, PM me with your email and I'll forward you all the pics I have and a contact name/number if you're interested.
 
The 300 with twin small block V8's 5.7L is about the best bang for the buck. Those engines in that boat are a near perfect power to weight combination. A quick boat for its size, comparatively easy on gas, the engines are never working too hard, has a very usable cabin and cockpit particularly if you put in an L bench seats. You won't outgrow it in three years. Parts and rebuilt engines will be around for a long time to come on the 5.7's. If you tow tubes often, think about a smaller boat. You can find a 300 from $15,000 to $25,000 with new engines and excellent condition.
 
andyr said:
The 300 with twin small block V8's 5.7L is about the best bang for the buck. Those engines in that boat are a near perfect power to weight combination. A quick boat for its size, comparatively easy on gas, the engines are never working too hard, has a very usable cabin and cockpit particularly if you put in an L bench seats. You won't outgrow it in three years. Parts and rebuilt engines will be around for a long time to come on the 5.7's. If you tow tubes often, think about a smaller boat. You can find a 300 from $15,000 to $25,000 with new engines and excellent condition.
Click to expand...

Do you have pictures of your L seat??

I have a 300 with 5.7 and a generator, I don't see anyway you could get 454's in there. I don't think Sea Ray even offered big blocks on the 300. There are a very stern heavy boat and while the 5.7 can get the boat on plan you do need to use the tabs. The fuel economy at it's best .7 of a gallon to the mile each engine. At it's worst you don't want to know but at 30 miles an hour fully loaded for extended cruising 23 gallons an hour, each engine, gulp. When we are in the North Channel we like to slow down and unwind, we don't hurry from anchorage to anchorage, we take our time. I looked at a picture that the wife took of me at the helm while cruising Collins Inlet, you can see the Lowrance fuel flow and it shows 2.2 on port and 2.1 on starboard gallons an hour and our speed is 6.5 mph.

Ken
 
I have a 270 with the four cyl's. They suck. They have enough power, I can get on plane with over 1,000 lbs. of gear and people on the deck and a full tank of fuel with no tabs, no problem. Top speed is 30 to 35, which is plenty fast enough for me. I cruise at 25mph and fuel consumption is about 1.5mpg, which isn't that bad considering the 300's of that era get 1mpg. The problem with the 4 bangers is they have a lot of noise, vibration, and harshness combined with piss poor reliability.

I think the 4.3 would be the best power option for the boat. They have enough power to get the job done (about the same as the 4's), are not much heavier, and leave plenty of room in the engine room. 305 or 350's are also smooth and make plenty of power, but they are big and heavy.

Just my opinion.
 
By the way, I love the boat, I think the 270 is a great boat that does a LOT for it's size. If you can find one that is in nice shape I can't see how you could go wrong.
 
Agree with Berth on the 270. Great boat, but I would stay away from the 4 cylinders and opt for v6 or v8's. Looked at several 270 DA's before I found my weekender. Great boat, classic lines and great use of space. If you can find one with the full bench seat across the stern, you have some great cockpit seating. Good luck with the search.
 
I have a 1984 270 that was repowered with 4.3s. The boat shipped with smaller v-6s but the previous owner repowered it simply because he wanted more power. It needs some serious restoration on the bench seats etc but definately a nice boat with a 9'6" beam
 
Hey man hows it going! i'm so stoked i pickup my boat this weekend. you have a 120 gallon tank in there right? how far can you go before you run out? Id like to take it from hatteras. run to the gulf stream and get back with out a tow:smt038 hopefully catch a fish tHANKS. any knicknacks or anthing cool to share would be greatly apprecited bc This boat is new to me this coming week
 
We have an 85 270DA with twin 185 h.p. V6's.
In our case with the 120 gallon tank we have no problem running a 100 mile trip with fuel to spare.
Remember It's always good to take into consideration the sea conditions and possible changes too. Fuel consumption can increase quite a bit with rough seas.

any knicknacks or anthing cool to share would be greatly apprecited
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There are a few small items changed or added on ours that may be of interest.
Here is a link to the restoration thread http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/23289-1985-SRV270DA-Restoration

Enjoy and good luck fishing!
 
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We just bought our 1988 270 in March. We have the twin 4.3 205hp v6's. They run GREAT! not to sure what the mpg is (don't have flow gauges) but i get about 33 to 35 mph out of them. Lots of room to work on them and they are very strong. The one thing I just did was order 2 4-blade props to see if it helps with the slower to mid speed cruising. She is heavy and needs all the help she can get.
 
PostTime said:
Agree with Berth on the 270. Great boat, but I would stay away from the 4 cylinders and opt for v6 or v8's. Looked at several 270 DA's before I found my weekender. Great boat, classic lines and great use of space. If you can find one with the full bench seat across the stern, you have some great cockpit seating. Good luck with the search.
Click to expand...

I purchased a 270 last September and have been fixing it up since. It's starting to look killer. We have two V-8's. We are novices but learning lots. Would agree that use of space is excellent we really love the boat. My profile has a link to photo bucket if you want to review some of the work

Mike
 
No way 454's can fit in a 80's 300 Sundancer. The manifolds would have to be welded together, and even then they probably still couldn't squeeze them in there.
The 5.7's are plenty of motor for the boat. Mine was a bit of a dog out of the hole until I changed props. Now I run 15.5 X 17 stainless steel and the thing jumps out of the water. I haven't had to use my tabs since I changed props.
 
Love my 1984 10' beam Sundancer 270 with twin 5.7 l 220 hp V8's. There are a number of these boats in my area - Phoenix AZ. I purchased one with a 15000 GVW tri axle trailer, 4.0 KW water cooled Onan generator, 9000 btu reverse cycle central air conditioning, pressure water, water heater. It's ALL ORIGINAL and ALL WORKING well. There are 600 hrs on the motors and I fully expect that with proper care the motors will continue to perform well through 1200 hours and beyond. The OMC outdrives seem to be more massive than others of the era.

The 270 is very stable under foot and in a turn owing, I believe, to the 10' beam. No vibrations and practically no sound from the engine bay. Have to open the hatch to hear the motors.

The person who originally purchased this boat made excellent choices and took excellent care of her. Most notable of those choices was the twin 5.7l motors that run like new. They were large enough that they would not be overtaxed due to the relative low HP for the displacement.

Performance - lightly loaded, tabs up in fresh water at 80 degrees F ambient. - estimated 1.5 MPG at 30 MPH and 3500 RPM with 4bbl Rochesters. She pops right up with eight on board with a little help from the trim tabs. Top speed ~36 MPH with 14.5x19 3 blade aluminum props from Michigan Wheel. Gear ratio is 1.85 per http://www.sterndrive.info/gear_ratios_specifications.html
Wide Open Throttle 4200 RPM 35.5 MPH by GPS. That's factory performance specifications for the 1984 270 Sundancer when it was brand new.

Hope this overview of a 35 year old unmolested Sea Ray 270 helps you in your boat search. It took me a lot of time to research and decide what I wanted and to find this particular boat. But It was worth it.
 
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A note to the OP:

I know of a decent 80s 265 Sundancer with a single 454 and AC on a trailer for sale in the Finger Lakes area of New York.

It needs TLC, but can probably be bought for under 5 grand.
 
andyr said:
The 300 with twin small block V8's 5.7L is about the best bang for the buck. Those engines in that boat are a near perfect power to weight combination. A quick boat for its size, comparatively easy on gas, the engines are never working too hard, has a very usable cabin and cockpit particularly if you put in an L bench seats. You won't outgrow it in three years. Parts and rebuilt engines will be around for a long time to come on the 5.7's. If you tow tubes often, think about a smaller boat. You can find a 300 from $15,000 to $25,000 with new engines and excellent condition.
Click to expand...

I agree! I had one and it was an incredible boat. Never changed the cockpit configuration but I did put a counter rotating drive on the port size and went with bigger than stock stainless props (15 1/2 x 17) that gave the boat an incredible hole shot. Handled like a much smaller boat and had a great cruising speed of about 29-30 MPH at about 3200 RPM. The other mods I made to it when I repowered was to put 1/2 FWC systems on the new motors along with remote oil filters and peanut starters.
Another bonus in the 300 over the 270’s of that era are they’re much easier to find with AC/Heat.
 
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