sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

[JoLin]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

That's odd- my 21' Pro-Line WAC was a great little boat for its size. I guess mine was an oddball? As for the number of used Bayliners and Sea Rays for sale, stands to reason that there'd be a ton of them, since they sell so many new ones. You don't need to look any farther than economic and unemployment stats to explain the huge number of relatively new boats on the market.

No need to turn this into a 'bashing' thread.

My .02

 

[dingbat]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

A boat with a transom deadrise under 20 degrees is going to be a dog in the rough, no matter how wide or how heavy.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

thanks for the comments gents !

after being out of the water we looked at the unterwater hulls at the two mentioned boats and found out that at my boat the strakes go through the entire lenght when at the 240da they end at rougly 3/4 lenght of the boat and the tail is without any strakes. i see most of you write about experiences at lakes. even when on a big lake you can have some real weather from that what i experienced a lake is a lake and the sea is something different. on the baltic or even more the north sea a 3feet wave with chop is basicly fair weather, do not expect much less. and the US "pocket cruiser" seems to be here more than at its limit. we very appreciate the comfort and luxury for its lenght, but not its seaworthiness. and like said - my european designed fisher cabin handled the conditions very well and i was able to glide without a problem . remember also that a 3 feet wave on a sea will be longer than a three feet wave on a lake. ( even when the baltic sea wave is relative short)

one more thing- now we look for a automatic trim tab system from bennett, the ATC ( the 240da has bennett tabs also) . does anybody of you has this installed and has some experiences? hopefully this trim system will help, otherwise the boat is for sale. since in europe you can buy a house for a 2010 sundancer we all expect more than white leather seats and sitting in the dock with some bikinis in front (although i must say my girlfriend looks great in a bikini )

by the way - in the attachment i posted a pic of the 240 sundancer i talk about

I have to agree that boating in an Ocean is completely different than boating on an inland fresh water lake. If I were boating strictly in the Ocean, I would have looked at an Albin or a Camano rather than my Chaparral.

 

[aerobat]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

well. buying a new 240DA was not just a shot in the dark. when it comes to the question if sea rays are overrated or not, well, its much of personal taste. i did not comment on that in previous because it does not solve the problem. we of course looked at comparable bayliners ,maxums, chaperells and more, but for our personal taste the 240da is in luxury and quality superior to the competitors- but again , its just personal taste, a chaperall may be as good or better for another taste. when it comes to seaworthiness it is always somekind of a shot in the dark. you here had no chance to test ride one in open sea conditions, and on a lake it handles good. of course we handle that problem not just by the forum but with the dealer - here i am just interested in opinions of users on open sea conditions. and i learned that in US boats of that class are primary used on bigger lakes not the sea. like said the sundancer will get now a automatic trim control with a gyroscope system which realizes lists and gives inputs to the trim tab to correct it. i asked it before but it seems no one has it installed and can comment on experiences, and its of course again somekind a shot in the dark if it will improve the situation or not.

when you ask the dealer- he of course says it will improve the handling , like he said a sea ray is great on open sea waves... lets look.

i m 34 so my parents a little bit older, in previous (european , verified seagoing hulls) we did not experienced such problems, and they surely are not interested in a "scary" ride with bad , sudden und uncontrolled lists. when the trim tab control will not help, she, at the dock i must say a beaty, is truly for sale and trying US pocket cruisers was a short try. when yes, they will keep her.

the luxury on a trailerable size was the main reason buying the sea ray, here she superiors most european comparable products. but it seems she is inferior in seaworthiness to european hulls which are designed for baltic sea, north sea, english channel and similar- we do not have as many big and interesting lakes like you have in the US and boating is mainly on rivers and channels OR the open sea.

best regards!

 

[spikeitaudi]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

Aerobat,

I have a 2006 240 Sundancer in the Raritan Bay that opens up in to the atlantic. That being said I have had her out twice this year due to other issues and she is VERY VERY sensitive to trim tab inputs. I have gotten use to it and had it out in the bay with 2 to 3 ft chops. I got use to it and it was cutting ok through the water but as previous ppl have said the boat is sensative. I actually found that having the water tank filled (which the water tank location is in the front of the boat) helped. I am coming from a 185BR so this is alot more stable and safer.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: sea ray 240 sundancer bad in rough sea ?

My opinion is that 24' is approaching the comfortable stability limit of an 8' beam.

I have a 24' Bayliner cruiser and you couldn't ask for a better riding boat (in that size and weight range) in a head of following sea. BUT she rolls like a drunken sailor in any type of beam sea. She scared the bejesus out me the first few times I took her out in the lower bays (Delaware and Chesapeake) where not only do you have to contend with the short and steep wind chop (we call 'em square waves) but the normal swells as well. Taking the chop beam-side doesn't bother her to much, but if you have to take the swells beam-side the 'ol gal will have you grabbing for the nearest hand hold in a hurry along with almost filling your pants the first few times you experience the ride.

I've learned just to hang on, 'cause in a minute or two you will be rolling the other way. It took a while and quite a few white knuckles to realize that she wasn't going to roll and that the ride is just the nature a non blue water hull.