Official 320 Dancer Thread

Here as well. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
Currently negotiating on a new 320 a used 340 and a used 310. Leaning toward the new 320. Share the good bad and the ugly.

What would you change on the 320? Any regrets?
 
I love it, but its always two small

Well there's only one thing I'd like to change about my 320 and that's the engine, I should have spent the extra douh to have the 496's in her, I have the 350's with Bravo three's now and it runs just fine, but it wouls cruise easier witht the big blocks and use about the same amount of fuel. I've looked into Suoercharging them Nah way to hard on the Motors, so, I've excepted what I have as being what I need, and besides she was built for comfort not speed...
We've only done one modifacation and that's hiinging the arch,oh and the Kicker speaker system as well.
Besides that I will have her for a very long time, it fits our needs and wants perfectly.....
 
Picture014-1.jpg


Here is the only decent picture I have of the boat. The sales manager from Marine Max in Connecticut actually sent this along with a few of the interior.
The story goes, we drove from PA to CT to look at this boat. Spent a while on it and drove home. The next day I took a trip down to Maryland to meet with our sales person, negotiated the sale, transfer of the boat to Maryland, winterization ect...
The rest,as they say, is history.
The only time we spent on the boat was in Connecticut with the sales manager. The boat is now at Marine Max in Maryland under shrink wrap.
March 31st is not going to come quick enough!

(Sorry about the size of the pic)
 
Mark, she's a beauty! :thumbsup:

Skolbe,

The 320 has a few minor quirks, but nothing that makes me wish we hadn't made the jump from the 260. With v-drives, access is fair to poor in the engine room. Some things are very easy - checking the oil on the mains is cake. Cleaning the A/C & genset strainers is a pain. Changing the fuel filters isn't too bad once you get in there. It does get a bit easier once you get comfortable with where everything is in the engine compartment.

She's no speed demon, and the bow tends to rise more than I'd like coming up on plane, but the tabs work well and she is very stable in the water. Coming into the slip is vastly easier with twins (Skip was a good teacher :wink: )

The genset is a godsend on the hook when it is blazing hot outside - also it is great to be able to cook a real breakfast the next morning.

A big diesel 'dancer would sure be nice, but one of those is out of our price range right now. We're very happy with Full Circle II. Also, daddy needed a new 50" plasma... :grin:

-CJ
 
We still love our 2004 320DA. Bought it last spring. Have spent the last few months getting everything just the way I like it. Upgraded the stereo system, installed a bigger TV with an HDTV tuner, cockpit TV, swim platform lights, newer GPS, genset soundshield, etc.

There are very few things we dislike, and all of them are nitpicking, so here goes:

- The front berth is a bit too short and firm. A mattress topper helped a lot though.

- I'd like a better rear canvas. When its closed up, the aft seating is cramped. Does anyone have either an extended camper style canvas, or the Taylor Fastback canvas? If so, how do you like it?

- I wish the head sink was bigger. Its hard to lean over it in order to keep water in the sink when you're brushing your teeth or washing your face.

- I wish the sliding door had a screen. Come to think of it, the port window screens are pretty useless as you have to take them out to close.

- Engine room is cramped, although all the regular maintenance is easy to get to. And I can crawl around to get to the strainers and seacocks fine enough. My shop replaced all the impellers recently and didn't complain. They've seen much worse. So its not a big deal to me.


Thats about it.

I did not compare it to the new 310, but did look at used 340s. The 340 seems very similar except for the port lounge seat is replaced by another captains seat. The wife liked the lounger better, and I couldn't see the spending another $40K for the extra space (at the time). But to me the differences are very slim. The 320 is like a 7/8ths scale 340. I did like the slightly bigger v-berth, but don't like the split level galley counter.

The 310 I saw last week at the boat show. Spent quite a bit of time on it. I like the cockpit grill. The rest...well, not so much. The shape is ok, but I *really* disliked the two tone gold/white vinyl seating. Reminded me of the gold vinyl in my folks 69 Caprice wagon with the woodgrain sides. Ugh. Its got this metallic sheen to it? WTF were they thinking? Also do not like the jump seat as it eliminates most of the transom storage, and shortens the cockpit seating a LOT. Fine if you sit at the dock all day, but we spend a lot more time out on the water where its useless for cruising. The interior was ok, but definitely smaller than my 320s.

So, to sum up, I'd choose the 320 again over either of them, regardless of price.

-Dave
'04 320DA T-350Mag V-drives
 
My '07 320 was delivered in October and is now in storage. I haven't had my first season with it yet but I'm enjoying reading about all of your experiences!

One thing I have not seen on CSR is anyone mentioning the "soft top" option on Sea Ray's Sport Cruisers. I ordered it on mine and I'm wondering if anyone else has any feedback on it.

Thanks!
 
Congrats on the new 320. I'm confused on this soft top option, why pay extra money on an option that does the same thing as the item it replaces? Is there more to it than that?
 
Dave,

We have camper canvas on our 320, a custom job that the previous owner added. It is great, and I highly recommend it. It looks very much like the factory camper canvas on the smaller (i.e. 240/260/280) boats.

Also agree with all your nitpicks - I got a good laugh over the head sink too small comment. I though I was the only one that had trouble brushing my teeth using that sink. :grin:

We've having the front three clear panels replaced with stratoglass this off season. The center panel was yellowing pretty good. I probably could have gotta another season out of it with a good buff job. I really hated the crappy view through the plastic, so we're upgrading.

-CJ
 
jg300da,

I personally like the look of the soft top as it eliminates the support struts by using a pretty heavy duty aluminum frame attached to the arch. It provides a slightly larger shade area and I'm told that because it extends aft a bit more than the standard top, that the aft curtain is at a better angle for using the rear cockpit seating when the curtain is up.

But again, it's in storage waiting for it's first season. As to paying more for something that does the same thing, I guess the same could be said for paying $6k for a colored hull. All of the promotion pictures of the 320 on Sea Ray's web site have the soft top. I'm just curious if anyone has had any experience with it they can share.
 
Well we have a deposit on a new 320, but am still waffling a bit on new vs. used. The soft top I think looks neat, and is functional for Rod Holders. But, the wife doesn't care for it.
 
So does anyone have Taylor Made Fastback enclosure?

http://www.taylormarine.com/fastback/index.html

They have one specifically for the 320. Click the link on that page to see a picture.

9 months out of the year we wouldn't use it. But during our mild winters we like to use the boat a lot, and its always a bit uncomfortable boating with the stock rear canvas up (I have to unzip it all to back into the slip). For the parade of lights, we had 8 people on board, with the heater down below running, and a small ceramic heater in the cockpit. It was very enjoyable except for the lack of headroom around the table due to the sloped canvas.

I've thought of a custom rear camper enclosure, but I'd prefer not to have to install another bimini rail across the back. It could be removed for the other months, but theres always folks stepping across our boat in tie ups and I'm not sure I want a mounting hinge sticking up.

The Taylor Made kit looks a bit odd, but it would give us enough room inside during the winter months to take 6 people on a cruise, yet it has screens to open up for ventilation. And it doesn't require another bimini support, just some bendable poles (like a tent). The problem is that its expensive, and Navy blue is a custom order color.

Any idea how much a custom enclosure would cost? The Taylor made is ~$3K, but I hear they have good deals at the Miami boat show every year. We'll be there, so maybe I'll luck out. Or does anyone know of a great place to get one?

Thanks.

-Dave
'04 320DA T350 Mag V-drives
 
skolbe said:
Well we have a deposit on a new 320, but am still waffling a bit on new vs. used. The soft top I think looks neat, and is functional for Rod Holders. But, the wife doesn't care for it.
Click to expand...

My wife and I were back and forth about new vs used until we found the boat we ended up buying. We paid 45k less than new for an 05 with 40hrs on the mains and 50hrs on the gen. I couldn't justify 45 grand just to have a boat that is a year newer. :huh:
 
CJ - I had the 3 front panels and the side panels done in Strataglass last winter. The clarity is terrific, better in fact than looking through the glass windshield due to the slight distortion from the curved glass.
I recommend getting a zippered smiley in the center panel. It looks good and is highly functional.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,172
Messages
1,427,834
Members
61,084
Latest member
AntonioJamm
Back
Top