You have already decided you want a Sundancer 370. What you have not decided — and what nobody explains well on a crowded show dock — is which one. Sea Ray builds two boats under that name, and they are not the same boat with different engines. They are different lengths, different weights and different drafts, and one of them publishes a top speed while the other publishes none at all.
This page is about the outboard.
Who It's For
The Sundancer 370 Outboard suits the owner who runs their own boat and wants the engines where they can reach them. You have probably owned a sterndrive. You know what the hatch in the cockpit sole costs you in usable space, and what it means when service work starts with hauling the boat. Outboards trade that for a transom you can walk up to with a wrench.
You also want to sleep aboard. This is a cabin cruiser, not a large day boat: Sea Ray rates it at sleeps four, with an enclosed head and a separate shower.
The Two Sundancer 370s
Sea Ray publishes both specification blocks, so this comparison is the builder's own, not ours.
The outboard boat is 39'9" long against the sterndrive's 37'8" — a little over two feet, all of it behind the transom to carry the engine bracket. It is heavier, at 21,008 lb dry against 20,800 lb. It drafts 40" with the engines trimmed down and 29" trimmed up, where the sterndrive sits at 42" and 31". So the outboard is the shallower boat at rest, by two inches, and the longer boat in your slip, by twenty-five.
What the two share, Sea Ray publishes identically: a 12'0" beam, 250 gallons of fuel, 46 gallons of water, a 30-gallon holding tank, 20° of deadrise and a Sleeps: Four rating.
The difference that matters most
The sterndrive Sundancer 370 has a published cruise speed, a published wide-open-throttle band and a published range. The Sundancer 370 Outboard has none of the three. Its specification block ends at "Sleeps — Four." No cruise, no top end, no miles.
That is a gap in the data, not a defect in the boat, but it changes how you shop. Every speed figure circulating for this hull is somebody's estimate wearing a decimal point. Treat the sea trial as the spec sheet.
What the Outboards Buy You
Standard power is triple Mercury 300 Verado V8 outboards with Joystick Piloting and e-Steering — Sea Ray's Tri-300 hp package. The option list also carries twin Mercury 600 Verado 7.6L V12s, which puts 600 horsepower on each of two brackets instead of 300 on each of three.
Three engines or two is a real decision rather than a horsepower question. Three gives you redundancy and spreads the load; two gives you fewer of everything to rig, diagnose and winterize, and the V12's steerable gearcase does genuinely useful things when you are working into a tight slip. Run both if you can arrange it.
Dynamic Running Surface is optional and worth asking about — it manages the hull's attitude under way instead of asking you to chase trim tabs by hand.
Living Aboard
Sea Ray's description of the cabin is worth taking literally, because it explains how four people actually fit.
Forward, the V-berth lounge converts from an L-shaped couch into a sleeper for two. Aft, under the cockpit, the mid-berth has a standard U-shaped couch that also converts to a sleeper for two, with an optional smart TV; the builder is explicit that this space is aimed at kids. That is two separate sleeping areas rather than four berths crammed into one, which is the difference between a weekend that works and a weekend that ends early.
The enclosed head has a separate shower, not a curtain over the sole. On a 39-foot boat that one detail decides how many nights you are willing to stay out.
The galley carries a standard microwave and refrigerator. Up in the cockpit there is a wet bar and a teak port table as standard, with an optional Kenyon grill, an optional refrigerator and a second teak table to starboard.
At the Helm
The helm runs a Digital Dash with standard dual 12" Simrad GO12 touchscreens and CZone digital switching for lighting control — both standard, not options. A Seakeeper 3 gyroscopic stabilizer is available, which is the box to tick if your favorite anchorage rolls.
VesselView Mobile puts engine data on your phone over Bluetooth, alerts included, so you learn about a problem from your pocket rather than from a gauge you were not looking at.
The boat is also offered in Coupe form — a hardtop with a full windshield and electrically actuated windows — alongside the standard open windshield. If you run shoulder-season weekends, look hard at the Coupe.
Specifications
| Specification | Sea Ray's published figure |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 39'9" |
| Beam | 12'0" |
| Draft (trim down / trim up) | 40" / 29" |
| Dry weight | 21,008 lb |
| Deadrise | 20° |
| Fuel capacity | 250 gal |
| Water capacity | 46 gal |
| Holding tank | 30 gal |
| Standard propulsion | Triple Mercury 300 Verado V8 outboards, Joystick Piloting & e-Steering (Tri-300 hp) |
| Optional propulsion | Twin Mercury 600 Verado 7.6L V12 outboards, Joystick Piloting |
| Capacity | Yacht Certified |
| Sleeps | Four |
| Wide open throttle | Not published |
| Cruise speed / range | Not published |
What to Take to the Sea Trial
Because Sea Ray publishes no performance data for this hull, arrive with a plan.
- Hold the speed you would actually run on a Saturday, not wide open, and read fuel flow off the displays at that RPM. Do the arithmetic against 250 gallons yourself.
- Trim the engines up and check that 29" figure against the bar you really cross.
- Put the number of people you genuinely bring into the cockpit and see what 21,008 lb dry does with them aboard.
- Lie down in the mid-berth for ten minutes before you sign anything.
Coverage is Sea Ray's three-year SENTIN3L bow-to-stern warranty plus a 10-year Limited Structural Hull/Deck warranty to the original owner.
Where We Come In
Choosing between the two Sundancer 370s is a judgement call about how you use a boat, not a spec-sheet exercise — and it is exactly the conversation we like having. Email TS@MintedYachts.com or call +1 (404) 805-9819 and we will walk the differences with you before you commit to a hull.