Sea Ray 260 Sundancer for Sale, Specs by Year and Buying Guide

Sea Ray 260 Sundancer for sale, and which one you are looking at

Anyone hunting for a Sea Ray 260 Sundancer for sale should know first that the name covers several different boats. Sea Ray launched the modern 260 Sundancer for the 1999 model year as a trailerable mid-cabin cruiser, kept the name through a restyle in the mid 2000s, and was still listing a 2013 260 Sundancer on its website in late 2012. Factory specifications from Sea Ray's own site show three distinct spec sets: about 26 feet and 6,200 pounds dry for 2001, 28 feet 8 inches and 7,900 pounds for 2008, and 26 feet 7 inches and 6,950 pounds for 2010 to 2013.

Do not confuse any of them with the older Sundancer 260 of the early 1980s, the cuddy cruiser a Power and Motoryacht editor fondly remembered from his family's 1980 boat, or with the 260 Cuddy Cabin of 1989 to 1991. Those are different hulls entirely.

What unites every version is the formula that made Sea Ray the default American express cruiser: an 8-foot 6-inch beam for legal towing, a single MerCruiser sterndrive, a mid cabin under the cockpit, a convertible dinette forward, an enclosed head and a cockpit wet bar. Sea Ray sold the 260 for well over a decade, which is why there are usually several on the market.

The 1999 original and its sportboat handling

Trailer Boats tested the new 1999 260 Sundancer in July 1999, towing it to San Pedro, California, behind a three-quarter-ton truck. Loaded towed weight came in around 9,000 pounds, and the reviewer called it a monster on the trailer. Afloat, it was a different boat. Equipped with a 310 hp MerCruiser 7.4L MPI and a Bravo III drive, it hit 42.2 mph at 4,250 rpm, carved hard turns without sliding, and handled 3 to 4 foot wind waves with 19 degrees of transom deadrise. The 0 to 30 mph time averaged just over 10 seconds.

The tester credited three aggressive lifting strakes per side and a reverse chine for the sporty feel, and the Bravo III's counter-rotating props for grip and slow-speed tracking, which he relied on when fog closed in. Complaints were minor: more aggressive nonskid and a longer transom grab rail.

Sea Ray's 2001 product page gives the factory numbers for this generation: 26 feet overall, 8-foot 6-inch beam, 6,200 pounds dry, 85 gallons of fuel, 28 of water and 28 of holding, with draft of 35 inches drive down and 22 inches up. Standard power that year was a 240 hp MerCruiser 5.0L EFI with a Bravo II drive, and Sea Ray claimed no other boat in the class offered a cabin that slept four.

The longer mid-2000s boat with generator and diesel options

By the 2007 and 2008 model years the 260 Sundancer had grown. Sea Ray's 2008 brochure lists 28 feet 8 inches overall, including an integral extended swim platform, 7,900 pounds dry, 84 gallons of fuel (76 usable), 28 gallons each of water and holding, 21 degrees of deadrise and a capacity of 10 persons or 1,667 pounds. Draft was 40 inches drive down.

Standard power for 2008 was a 300 hp MerCruiser 350 Magnum MPI with Bravo III, with options of a 320 hp MX6.2, a 375 hp 496 Magnum or a 306 hp Yanmar 6LPA diesel, plus SeaCore corrosion-resistant versions for salt water. Sea Ray's tagline that year captured the appeal: a boat with a generator, air conditioning and a microwave that still fits on a trailer.

Standard equipment included SmartCraft instruments, a VacuFlush head, a cockpit wet bar with Corian top, cherry cabinetry, full canvas and an electrically actuated engine hatch. Many 2005 and 2006 boats, which shoppers search for often, sit between the documented 2001 and 2008 spec sets, so confirm the specification for any particular hull from its brochure or capacity plate.

The lighter 2010 to 2013 final version

For the 2010 model year Sea Ray's site shows a different 260 Sundancer: 26 feet 7 inches overall, 6,950 pounds dry, 75 gallons of fuel (74 in 2013), 20 gallons of water, an optional 18-gallon holding tank and 19 degrees of deadrise. Draft was 41 inches drive down and 23 inches up.

Standard power moved to a 260 hp MerCruiser 5.0L MPI with Bravo III (the ECT emissions version in the US from 2011), with a 300 hp 350 MAG and a 248 hp Yanmar 6BY-260Z diesel as options. A 5 kW Kohler low-CO gasoline generator and 7,000 to 8,000 BTU air conditioning were available. The 2013 brochure highlights a Sony stereo with iPod connection, a choice of chestnut, cherry or maple cabinetry and a full-function helm with space for a chartplotter.

These late boats are the easiest to own, with more modern engines and electronics, but they are also the most expensive 260s on the market.

Life aboard, from the wet bar to the mid cabin

The layout barely changed in concept. In the cockpit, a helm bucket seat with flip-up bolster faces a curved lounge to port, a semi-U aft bench sits over the engine hatch, and a wet bar with sink and cooler storage sits behind the helm. The 1999 test boat's rear bench was designed so the hatch could open with the seat down, a detail worth checking on any boat because it makes engine checks easy.

Below, the forward dinette converts to a V-berth with a dedicated filler cushion, the mid-cabin double sits under the cockpit with a sliding window, and the galley has a sink, a dual-voltage refrigerator, a microwave and a single-burner stove. The enclosed fiberglass head has a shower and, in 2008, a VacuFlush toilet. It is a weekend boat for a couple with two children or two couples who are good friends.

MerCruiser sterndrives and the true cost of ownership

Almost every 260 Sundancer for sale has a single MerCruiser gasoline V8 with a Bravo II or Bravo III drive; the Yanmar diesel boats are uncommon. Engine hours, the condition of exhaust manifolds and risers, bellows and gimbal bearing service, and outdrive corrosion are the issues that make or break a purchase, especially on boats that lived in salt water.

Budget roughly $7,000 to $14,000 a year for insurance, a slip or dry storage, annual sterndrive service, winterization in cold climates, bottom paint and fuel. At 8 feet 6 inches wide the boat is road legal without a wide-load permit in most states, but with a loaded tow weight near 9,000 pounds you need a heavy-duty truck and a tandem-axle trailer.

Used 260 Sundancer prices by era

With a production run of more than a decade, used 260 Sundancers trade at accessible prices. Early 1999 to 2003 boats are the entry point for a cabin cruiser; 2006 to 2008 boats with the longer platform and generator options are a sweet spot; 2010 to 2013 boats bring the most. Freshwater boats from the Great Lakes and inland lakes often show less corrosion and command a premium.

Repowered boats with documented new engines and drives can be the best buys of all, since the hull and deck of a well-kept Sea Ray age far better than its original sterndrive.