Sea Ray 330 DA

S

Split Decision

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Does anyone have the test data for what the MPG and GPH would be at cruise speed for the Sea Ray 330 DA in the late 90's model years. I see most of the 330's came with the 7.4 engines.

I would assume the 7.4's with the MPI injection would get slightly better fuel burn vs. the carbureted years? Any idea of how much difference?

Are there other notable improvements in the late 90's models over the mid 90's?

Thanks for your time,
Mike.
 
I missed the earlier post - just getting back to Boatered after a break from being too busy.

We have a '97 330 DA and it has been the perfect first family boat for us. The following data (sorry about the format issues, but a copy and paste will allow you to reformat into a table) is excerpted from a BoatTest report of the 1997 model. The fuel injection that came out in the latter part of '97 was multi-port, not EFI. In mine with carb'ed engines I basically duplicate the test results as closely as I can possibly determine. I would expect differences between carb'ed and MPI engines to be smaller than the uncertainties brought on by differences in loading, hull condition, and environmental factors.

1997 Sea Ray 330 Sundancer
Test Power: 2 x 310-hp Mercury 7.4L MPI V-drives

RPM MPH Knots GPH MPG Range dBa
600 4.7 4.1 1.8 2.61 529 64
1000 6.0 5.2 3.6 1.67 338 68
1500 8.3 7.2 7.0 1.19 240 76
2000 10.0 8.7 12.8 0.78 158 76
2500 13.6 11.8 20.0 0.68 138 79
3000 23.0 20.0 28.0 0.82 166 80
3500 29.9 26.0 32.0 0.93 189 84
4000 33.8 29.3 43.0 0.78 159 86
4250 37.1 32.3 49.4 0.75 152 88
 
Thanks for the replies,

Out of curiousity on the late 90's 330 SeaRays if you could buy this boat with Volvo Duoprop sterndrives instead of the inboard V drives, would you?

I boat exclusively in the freshwater Great Lakes and have always had sterndrives. First a 25 foot Doral Citation then a 30 foot Doral Prestancia (sterndrive twins).

I know the Cruisers, Regal and Formula boats in this size are available in sterndrives. I can appreciate inboards being favored in saltwater environments due to corrosion issues.

It seems based on other similar sized boats with sterndrives that there may be about a .2 to .3 MPG improvement if the 330 SeaRay had sterndrives? Just a rough guess I have based on BoatTest data with other boats. This could be an approximate 25 % improvement in fuel consumption? Maybe I'm wrong? Anyways, we have our Doral Prestancia listed for sale as we would like to move up to a little newer larger boat and the SeaRay 330 looks like in would might our needs.Great layout we think.

Resale value down the road would also be a slight consideration for us, maybe most people would prefer inboards in a 33 foot boat over sterndrives? I think Searay did offer some 330's with sterndrive bravo 2's?

Mike.
 
Mike,

For me, no I wouldn't want sterndrives. But that's me. I wouldn't want the added maintenance, and getting zincs changed down here means haul-out -- there isn't a dive service in our area that will do zincs on sterndrives. All the sterndrive guys have to go to their dealer and get hauled for anodes. That may be just a regional issue.

In answer to your question about the late 90's 330 DA's being offered with sterndrives, it was an option, both gas and diesel. The original 330 DA brochure lists three gas sterndrive options (all 7.4L Merc, different configurations) and two diesel (one Mrec and one Volvo). That said, I have never personally seen anything on 330DA's but gas V-drives.
 
Inboards all the way for us too..never want to own a sterndrive boat again.
 
My preference is for the superior performance of the sterndrive. I too am in the Great Lakes so perhaps maintenance isn't as severe as in the coastal areas. The boat is out of the water for 6 months every year so access is not an issue.
 
In your situation, I would go with sterndrives.
 
------ whatever you buy remember there will come a day you want to sell. What will boaters be buying in your area on that day? Don't buy what you can't sell.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Bliss

------ whatever you buy remember there will come a day you want to sell. What will boaters be buying in your area on that day? Don't buy what you can't sell.

Click to expand...


There is a buyer for every seller...buy what YOU want; not what you THINK others want.

Life is too short for cripes sake.

In your situation I'd get IO's.
 
You are probably right. But where will the buyer be and what will he pay? The Sea Ray 330 with IO's are great but in a distinct minority along the Lake Michigan shore from Waukegan to Milwaukee. Maybe it is the other way around in Lake St. Clair.
I try not to be to close to the "first", "last" or "only" when buying high priced fast depreciating toys. It's a comfort thing. I don't think he can go far wrong with any of the 330s they have had a strong following for some time.
I did buy an automatic transmission 750cc motorcycle - the only one around these parts. I sold it in a heartbeat; so who knows.
 
I think it depends on what kind of buyer you are and how often you buy. I buy a different car almost every year...because I get bored. So I always buy a car I can re-sell and I do not buy new cars. I know I will lose some money on the sale but with the right car hopefully not much.

We did not go into our current 330DA thinking buy one we can sell. It's a 5+ year boat for us. As it turns out, after 2+ seasons we want a bigger boat. Note I said "want" not need as the 330DA is a fantastic boat. Having owned the 330DA for 2+ years I know more about what we want on the next boat, but again this is a great boat and works well for us as is.
 
Based on earlier comments I bought one (inboard 7.4's) a year ago when I moved down from a large aft cabin. So far so good.
 
G., I wasn't looking to move down I was looking to get out. I sold just before the boat market crapped out. My buddies thought for several months that I was financially very bright. In the kitchen each night The Admiral was working on me; telling me it was my fault she couldn't see her boating buddies. Hell, my golf game wasn't improving anyway; so here I am back with 1/2 the boat. I guess half way is all right.

I had a Silverton 402 w/ Crusader 502s. If you run less than about 70 hours a year you might want to consider it. For more info send me a PM. I thought you had already bought.
 
Aside from the higher cost of maintenance with I/Os, the SRs in the 30 to 33 foot range do not handle very well in windy, crowded fareways. They are too stern heavy and tend to "weather vane." For the best handling, straight inboards are the best followed by vdrives.
 
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