A Reinvented Icon
By Capt. Steve – boattest.com
Sea Ray is celebrating its 45th anniversary in style with the introduction of an outboard version of its iconic staple, the Sundancer 370.
The Sundancer line has been the main identifier of the brand since its inception, and indeed it has even come to define the brand. It literally started the Express Cruiser market that has been copied by nearly every builder in class, but none can match the distinctive traits that define a Sundancer. And now it’s been re-defined.
We conducted an early inspection of this new Sundancer 370 Outboard and came away with the opinion that she’s not only a game-changer, but she may also be the most well-thought-out boat we’ve seen. Ever.
One of the key reasons for her creative design is that she’s the first boat to evolve from the newly formed Brunswick Boat Group Technology Centre. This is the think tank that is going to take the Brunswick-owned manufacturers to new levels. If there were any doubts about that lofty goal, this 370 should put them to rest. She’s completely new from the keel up and represents Sea Ray’s new design language with terms such as S-Sheer Line, Jaw Line, Centre Crease and Integrated logo while also maintaining the design stylings that are consistent with the Sundancer family.
Outwardly, the most striking design change with this boat, aside from the obvious outboard power, is the glass going all the way up to the hardtop. Typically, Sundancers had the half glass and the rest was, in nearly all cases, filled in with isinglass. This has much more of a Coupe characteristic design with the full glass. The side windows going up to the hardtop is an option with the standard being half-glass. That said, every 370 ordered to date, most sight-unseen, are with the full glass allowing for climate controlling the interior.
One other departure from the usual Sundancer that we’ve seen to date… this one takes more advantage of the bow space. Previous Sundancers had a walkthrough windshield that provided access to a solid foredeck, with perhaps a sunpad on top of the deck. This is a fully functional bow, with multiple uses and the ability to reconfigure on the fly.
Mission
The Sundancer 370 Outboard was designed to provide the best of what Sea Ray can deliver based on everything it has learned in the last 45 years. She excels at her roles as a day cruiser, an onboard entertainment platform and an overnighter. With her outboard power she meets the demands of a growing market segment and offers new versatility for operating in shallow water, and dare we say… even beaching.
PERFORMANCE & HANDLING
With triple 300-hp Mercury Verados with JPS turning 16 x 18 Eco Enertia props and wound up to 5900 rpm, our speed topped out at 44 knots. Best economic cruise was reached at 4500 rpm and 33.1 knots. It was at that speed that the 162 lph fuel burn translated into 34 lpnm and a range of 174nm, all while still holding back a 10% reserve of the boat’s 946.35 litre total fuel capacity.
With the throttles pinned, we reached planing speed in an average of 5.7 seconds, continued through 17 knots in 9 seconds and 26 knots came and went in 14.4 seconds.
Reducing the throttle showed her staying on plane right on down to 14 knots. Don’t be shy about pushing those throttles to get her up on plane. If the throttle is eased forward, the 370 will hang in that ugly zone, between being bow high and getting up on plane, for an extended time. Put the throttles to the stops, get her up on plane, and then pull back to cruise speed.
This is, not surprisingly, a very fun boat to drive. She has sport boat handling so I was just having my fun doing a lot of cranking and banking on it. Obviously, this isn’t how the typical owner will be handling her, but the point being is that she can take it if there’s a desire to dish it out. Never once did I get any ventilation from the props. Yes, I had auto trim activated the whole time, so it was continually adjusting the outboard trim and it seems to do it very well. That said, when she came up on plane if you want to get top speed out of her, then override and give it a little bit of additional up trim to get that bow up just a little bit higher and you’ll feel a little bit of boost of speed. Other than that, I let the auto trim do its thing.
There’s only one choice for the outboards and that would be the triple 300-hp Mercury Verados. During our testing, we found them to be a good match for this boat. Mostly because these are the new V-8 technology from Mercury. They put out more power and run quieter than the larger models. Now that they are V8 instead of straight 6s, the difference and advantages are clear.
SOCIAL COCKPIT
The gatherings will begin in the cockpit that features opposing seating in the form of J-shaped to the starboard side and L-shaped to port. Both are separated at the stern by the gate to the swim platform, and that gate is mounted slightly offset to starboard. Sockets in the deck will accommodate two removable pedestal tables. Storage is underneath the seats.
There’s a distinctly elevated comfort level with softer padding on these seats. It is here that we also start to notice the elevated level of attention to detail in the upholstery. Ahead and to port is a refreshment centre. It includes all Corian counters with a white Onyx finish, electric grill and then a sink in the corner with a flip-up faucet. To the side, there is a pull-out refrigerated drawer.
Overhead is a newly designed hardtop 2.03 m off the deck. The standard version has no glass. This one has a fixed glass skylight aft, a centre Webasto 80-Series electrically actuated sunroof, and forward are three separate glass units with the centre being able to open manually to create ventilation. Both the centre and aft pieces have a continuation of the diamond-patterned theme.
There are so many thoughtful touches throughout the 370, and one of them is the gate leading out to the swim platform, which opens both inward and outward. The aft platform is down two steps.
It comes out 53.34 cm from the transom to the end of the platform in front of the engines, so even though we have outboard power we’re not sacrificing platform space. To starboard and under a hatch, there’s a four-step reboarding ladder that can be deployed with the hatch closed.
You can further enjoy this aft area by converting the cockpit seating into a sun pad. That can be further extended by dropping a cockpit table down and adding a filler cushion. Plus, we can get even more creative by bringing the cockpit seat base up and making it into aft-facing seating. If the sun gets to be too much in this aft area, a ShureSHADE extendable awning can be deployed all the way aft to the limit of the seating.
Back in the cockpit, as we move to the forward area, this space features what is probably the biggest departure from the Sundancers of the past. Here, there’s all glass surrounding this entire area. The previous versions of the Sundancers would have the glass coming up part way and then owners would put isinglass between the windshield frame and the overhead. Now Sea Ray just cut to the chase, glass goes all the way around and there’s even full glass on the sides as an option. Standard will have half glass, but we really like this fully enclosed version. Its weather protected, it’s much more comfortable, and now we can take advantage of the standard heat and air conditioning.
The portside observer’s seat is wide and in a fixed position. As we make our way forward, there are a few more significant thoughtful design features. First, the companionway is offset to the side, so we still have plenty of room to get into the cabin. In the bulwarks to port, there’s storage for the optional TV that can go into the cockpit.
HELM
The helm is nicely laid out with a soft-touch panel with two beverage holders to each side and the three engine start/stop buttons. Up above are twin EVO-3S 16” Simrad displays that includes C-Zone. At the lower panel, there’s a Fusion 770 series stereo. To the right is a sub-panel with the DTS (Digital Throttle And Shift), the JPS joystick and Lenco’s automatic trim tabs.
BIG BOW
The bow is accessed through a wide walkthrough. As for the social zone, there’s a lot to like. It starts with three-across lounge seating. The seating then wraps all the way around to the front where it becomes aft-facing seating. There’s a base in the deck, between the fore and aft seats, so we can add a pedestal table. That can also be lowered to form a larger sun pad. Lastly, we can add a sunshade that gets supported by carbon-fibre poles meaning that, in effect, we can have shade for the entire length of the 370.
WEEKENDER CABIN
The cabin is the most indicative representation that the Sundancer series is moving away from being an overnighter and more into the realm of being a weekender. The access door to the cabin is offset to the left side of centre, leaving plenty of room for the helm as well as the port-side walkthrough to the bow. In the cabin, there’s plenty of room thanks to the overhead being 2.13 m off the deck. There’s a skylight pouring natural light into the area plus there are two hull side windows.
The galley is over to the port hand side and includes more of the white Onyx Corian that we saw up on the main deck. There’s a covered single basin stainless steel sink and we’re happy to see that there is dedicated storage for that cover right underneath and next to the trash receptacle. There’s a big storage cubby that’s more of a coffeemaker garage. And of course, there’s a microwave along with a refrigerator.
Continuing forward, there’s L-shaped seating that is extremely comfortable and it makes a nice social area. We can easily convert this area to a berth. Lift a small cushion, push a button and the seatback lifts to become the foot of the berth.
MID-CABIN
Moving back into the mid-cabin, what a wonderful sitting area this is. Across to port is the same type of compartment, but this time it’s dedicated completely to storage. This area easily converts to a berth and the good news is that it doesn’t take pulling supports and filler cushions out of storage to do so.
Across from the galley and to starboard is the head. It surprisingly includes a separate walk-in shower with a teak seat.
OBSERVATIONS
The 370 is an excellent step-up from the brand’s 320 Sundancer for those looking to increase their time onboard with plans for distant locations because she’s so inviting for spending entire weekends, if not longer periods, onboard. It’s also ideal for those that want to move on from a large bowrider without losing the functionality of that design style. More importantly, this is such a well-thought-out boat that it leaves so little to be desired. At the beginning of this report, we said it may be the most well-thought-out ever and we stand behind that. Sea Ray simply did an excellent job on this new Sundancer 370 Outboard. One problem though… it’s so popular that there is an immediate waitlist to get one. Kiwis will have to wait around 18 months, but we guarantee, it’s worth the wait.
- Boat Design Name: SeaRay 370 Sundancer OB
- Year Launched: 2021
- Builder: Sea Ray
- LOA: 12.11 m
- Beam:3.66 m
- Tested Weight: 10408 kg
- Deadrise: 20 deg
- Max Speed: 44.2 knots
- Construction: GRP
- Fuel Cap: 946 litres
- Water Cap: 174 litres
- Engine Make: 3 x 300 hp Mercury Verado JPS
- Drive Options : Outboard Only
- Sunroof: Webasto
- Tabs: Lenco
- Gyro: Seakeeper 3 (Optional)
- Awning: ShureSHADE
- Decking: SeaDek
- Enter System: Fusion 770
- MFD: 2 x Simrad Evo 3s
- Priced From: $NZ1.51m
| rpm | knots | L/h | L/NM | range (NM) |
| 600 | 2.9 | 8 | 2.9 | 297 |
| 1000 | 4.8 | 15 | 3.1 | 271 |
| 1500 | 6.7 | 25 | 3.7 | 233 |
| 2000 | 8.1 | 41 | 5.1 | 168 |
| 2500 | 8.8 | 60 | 6.8 | 125 |
| 3000 | 9.2 | 88 | 9.6 | 89 |
| 3500 | 11.5 | 122 | 10.6 | 80 |
| 4000 | 25.4 | 126 | 5 | 172 |
| 4500 | 33.2 | 162 | 4.9 | 174 |
| 5000 | 37.3 | 219 | 5.9 | 145 |
| 5500 | 35.8 | 65 | 1.8 | 468 |
| 5900 | 44.2 | 72 | 1.6 | 526 |
