Sea Ray Sundancer 310 Guide to All Three Generations

Sundancer 310: one name, three very different boats

Search for a Sundancer 310 and you are really searching for three separate designs. J.D. Power's model-year data shows the 310 Sundancer name on boats from 1982 to 1983 and 1990 to 1991 as well, but the boats you will meet on the brokerage market come from three later runs: 1998 to 2002, 2007 to 2009, and 2010 through the 2017 Sundancer 310.

They differ in the things that matter most for a 31-footer: beam, weight, fuel capacity, deadrise and whether the boat has Mercury's Axius joystick system. A buyer who wants a sharp deep-V ride wants a different 310 from one who wants easy docking or the lightest possible tow on the water. This guide splits them apart so you can price and survey the right one.

1998 to 2002: the 23-degree deep-V with an 11-foot-2 beam

Sea Ray's 1999 specification page lists this 310 at 31 feet 6 inches, or 33 feet 10 inches with the standard swim platform, on an 11-foot-2-inch beam. Dry weight was 12,000 pounds, fuel 200 gallons, water 35 and holding 28. The headline number is the deadrise: 23 degrees at the transom, the sharpest of any 310 and steeper than the 21 degrees Sea Ray used on most of its cruisers in this size.

That hull is the one to buy if you run in open bays and chop. Draft was 43 inches with sterndrives down and 23 inches tilted, or 36 inches with the optional V-drive inboards. The 1999 sheet shows twin 5.0L Bravo III sterndrives at 220 hp as the base engines, although its overview text mentions 5.7L engines; by 2001 Sea Ray quoted twin 5.0L MPI Bravo III units. Options included 250 and 260 hp 5.7L sterndrives, 310 hp 7.4L MPI Bravo IIIs, 260 and 300 hp V-drives and MerCruiser D4.2L diesel sterndrives at 225 hp.

The layout is classic late-1990s Sundancer: a walk-through transom with a door, a companion bench with an aft-facing seat, a cockpit entertainment center with a cooler and wet bar, and a gas-assisted engine hatch. Below are an opposing convertible dinette, a raised V-berth, a mid-stateroom double bunk on a sliding base and a stand-up fiberglass head with a VacuFlush toilet and shower.

2007 to 2009: the stretched 300 that got a joystick

The 310 that returned in 2007 is effectively the successor to the 2002 to 2007 300 Sundancer. Sea Ray's 2007 sheet lists the same 33-foot-4-inch overall length and 10-foot-5-inch beam, but dry weight rose to 14,000 pounds and fuel went back up to 200 gallons. Deadrise is 21 degrees. Draft is 39 inches with sterndrives down, 29 inches up, or 35 inches with V-drives.

Standard power in 2007 was twin 5.0L MPI Bravo III sterndrives at 260 hp each, with 300 hp 350 Magnum and 320 hp MX6.2 engines available as sterndrives or V-drives, plus Volvo Penta D4 and D6 diesel sterndrives. The deck added extra-large hull portlights, a bench helm seat with two flip-up bolsters, a foldaway transom seat that faces the swim platform, a big wet bar ready for an optional grill and refrigerator, and a fiberglass arch top with an aft sunshade.

The milestone came for 2009. Sea Ray's 2009 page for the 310 opens with "Now standard with Axius 360 Control Propulsion System," pairing twin 5.0L MPI Bravo III engines with Mercury's joystick-controlled sterndrives. If close-quarters handling is your worry, a 2009 310 is the oldest and usually the cheapest way into a joystick Sundancer of this size.

2010 to 2017: a lighter, narrower 310 with a raised helm

In late 2009 Sea Ray launched what it called a magnificent new 310 Sundancer for 2010. It is a smaller boat: 31 feet overall (33 feet 2 inches with the optional extended swim platform listed in 2014), a 10-foot beam, 11,630 pounds dry, 125 gallons of fuel, 28 of water and 28 of holding, again with 21 degrees of deadrise. Soundings described a raised-helm design to improve visibility, a pivoting helm bench, a concealed four-step swim ladder, a solid-surface wet bar with optional refrigerator and grill, a 10,000 BTU air conditioner and a cabin that sleeps up to six. Its quoted MSRP was $223,555.

Standard power dropped to twin 4.3L MPI Bravo III sterndrives at 220 hp each, which are not compatible with digital throttle and shift. Upgrades were twin 5.0L MPI or 350 Magnum engines with DTS, SeaCore corrosion-resistant packages, Axius joystick versions of both, and Yanmar 6BY diesel sterndrives at 248 hp. J.D. Power lists separate Axius models from 2011 through 2016 and a Sundancer 310 for 2017, after which the 31 to 32-foot slot in Sea Ray's range was filled by the bowrider-style Sundancer 320.

The tradeoff is clear. You get a newer, lighter, more modern boat that is easier to handle, but you give up 75 gallons of fuel and more than a foot of beam compared with the 1998 to 2002 boat.

The three 310s side by side

These are Sea Ray's own published figures for representative years of each generation.

• 1998 to 2002: 31 ft 6 in hull (33 ft 10 in with platform), 11 ft 2 in beam, 12,000 lb dry, 200 gal fuel, 23-degree deadrise
• 2007 to 2009: 33 ft 4 in overall, 10 ft 5 in beam, 14,000 lb dry, 200 gal fuel, 21-degree deadrise, Axius standard for 2009
• 2010 to 2017: 31 ft overall, 10 ft beam, 11,630 lb dry, 125 gal fuel, 21-degree deadrise, 4.3L standard, Axius optional

Joystick or not: what Axius changes when buying used

Axius pairs electronic throttle and shift with sterndrives that steer independently, controlled by a joystick at the helm. On a twin-engine 31-footer it turns tight marinas and crosswinds into a non-event for new owners, and it is the main reason later 310s hold value. J.D. Power's original MSRPs show the Axius versions costing roughly $23,000 to $30,000 more than the conventional boats in the same year, and its retail values keep a gap of around $8,000 to $12,000.

The catch is complexity. Axius depends on DTS controls, steering actuators, sensors and software that must all be healthy, and repairs are dealer work. Ask for the boat's Mercury service history, a diagnostic scan, and a dockside test in which the joystick translates the boat sideways and rotates it in place without faults. A 310 whose Axius has been disabled or is throwing codes should be priced as a conventional boat with a repair bill attached.

Buying and owning a 310 in 2026

Expect asking prices from the high $20,000s for tidy 1998 to 2002 boats to around $140,000 for the best 2016 and 2017 examples with Axius and low hours. The 2007 to 2009 boats sit in between, and a 2009 with working Axius is usually the value pick for buyers who want a joystick.

Annual costs for any 310 run roughly $9,000 to $17,000 before fuel: slip, insurance, bottom paint, two sets of sterndrive service, winterization in cold climates and canvas. Independent test data for the three 310s is thin, so ask for an instrumented sea trial and compare wide-open-throttle rpm with Mercury's rated range for the installed engines.