Sea Ray 420 Sundancer Review of the 2003 to 2005 Express

Sea Ray 420 Sundancer for sale: the short-lived 2003 to 2005 boat

If you find a Sea Ray 420 Sundancer for sale, check the year first. J.D. Power lists two different boats with this name: an older 420 Sundancer from 1989 to 1991 and the one most buyers mean, the 2003 to 2005 model that Sea Ray announced as new for 2003. The later boat had a short run; by 2006 J.D. Power lists a 44 Sundancer in its place.

Sea Ray's 2003 specifications give 45 feet overall with the standard swim platform, a 14-foot beam, a 40-inch draft, 22,500 pounds dry, 335 gallons of fuel, 100 gallons of water and a 42-gallon holding tank, all on a 19-degree transom deadrise. Standard power was twin MerCruiser 8.1S Horizon gas V-drives, and Sea Ray promoted the optional two-tone gel coat as part of the boat's styling.

From 410 to 420: what Sea Ray changed

Yachting's George Sass Jr. tested hull number one, a prototype shipped to Knoxville from Sea Ray's product development facility in Merritt Island, Florida, and described the 420 as more than a tweak of the 410 Sundancer it replaced. The profile borrowed the rounder lines of the redesigned 550 Sundancer; the beam grew; the V-drive Cummins diesels sat slightly farther forward to move the center of gravity toward amidships.

Inside, Sea Ray widened the passages, removed the 410's upright refrigerator, placed a generous head abaft the galley and turned the after cabin's settee so its occupants can talk to people on the salon settee. The ports moved from the coachroof to the hull sides, which freed space for overhead cabinets, and a fixed skylight with a shade went into the salon overhead. A 20-inch TV and VCR was standard, with flat-screen and DVD as options.

Two staterooms, two heads and a cockpit for eight

The forward master has an island berth with an innerspring mattress, his-and-her hanging lockers and a private head with a separate shower. Power and Motoryacht's test describes an amidships guest stateroom with a fold-down bunk and its own full head, which is the 420's real advantage over 38 to 40-foot Sundancers with one head. The salon has an Ultraleather lounge and the galley a Kenyon two-burner cooktop, a Sharp convection oven, a Waeco refrigerator and freezer and solid-surface counters, all in cherry.

Topside, a starboard helm converts to a thigh-high bolster for standing, a companion bench sits to port, and a U-shaped settee abaft the helm can seat, by PMY's estimate, as many as eight adults. A wet bar with an icemaker is to port. A bimini was standard and a hardtop optional. PMY's tester did flag one ergonomic point: the step from the bridge deck down to the cockpit measures nearly a foot, a stretch for children and older guests.

On the water: just over 30 knots with Cummins diesels

Two magazine tests give a consistent picture. Power and Motoryacht ran a boat with the optional 450 hp Cummins 6CTA 8.3M diesels (a $73,000 option at the time) on Long Island Sound and recorded a top speed of 35 mph, or 30.4 knots, at 2,700 rpm, with ZF 280 IV transmissions at 1.56:1 and four-blade 22 by 25 propellers. The tester noted that running trim never rose above four degrees without tabs, so sightlines stayed clear.

Yachting's prototype test on the Tennessee River, also with 450 hp Cummins V-drives, reached 32 knots with seven people aboard but no cruising gear. The boat planed at about 1,800 rpm and held plane down to 16 knots at 1,600 rpm, and Sass expected a cruise speed around 25 knots. Neither test published a fuel-flow curve, so we do not quote gallons per hour.

Both testers praised the handling. PMY found the Teleflex controls and hydraulic steering easy at all speeds and thought a bow thruster unnecessary with the diesels' low-end torque, though it suggested one for gas boats.

Gas 8.1S or Cummins 6CTA: the decision that sets the price

The standard 370 hp 8.1S Horizon gas engines make the 420 cheaper to buy and simpler to maintain for a lake or protected-water owner who runs 50 to 100 hours a year. They are thirsty, and with 160 fewer total horsepower pushing 22,500 pounds dry plus fuel and water, expect less speed than the diesel boats in the tests above.

The Cummins 6CTA diesels are the engines to want for coastal cruising and for resale. They are mechanically simple, widely supported and torquey. Ask for oil analysis, aftercooler and heat exchanger service records, and the condition of the turbochargers. A diesel 420 with a documented history is worth a clear premium over a gas boat of the same year.

Engine room access and systems

A switch at the helm raises the entire cockpit sole on a single ram, opening an engine room with enough space to walk around both engines and reach service points inboard and outboard. If the ram fails, PMY learned, the sole can be lifted manually by pulling pins reached through a second hatch to port. Test both methods.

Standard equipment in 2003 included a Lofrans windlass, an electrically operated engine hatch, a cockpit icemaker, SmartCraft on MerCruiser boats and a Raymarine RayNav 300 GPS with a 230 VHF. A 9 kW Onan generator, central vacuum, radar and engine synchronization were options, so check what a given boat actually has.

The earlier 420 Sundancer of 1989 to 1991

J.D. Power also lists a 420 Sundancer from 1989 to 1991, with original MSRPs from about $165,000 to $277,000. It is an older and unrelated design, now well over 30 years old, and it trades at a fraction of the price of the 2003 to 2005 boat. Treat it as a project-level purchase that depends entirely on the condition of its engines, wiring and hull.

Market values and running costs

J.D. Power's average retail values for the 2003 to 2005 boats run from about $87,000 to $125,000, but well-kept diesel boats ask considerably more. We expect most to ask between about $120,000 and $225,000 in 2026, with gas boats at the lower end. Annual ownership costs for a twin-engine 45-footer, excluding fuel and financing, run roughly $18,000 to $30,000: slip, insurance, haul-out and bottom, engine and generator service, and the electronics and canvas that age fastest.