The Sea Ray 260 Sundancer

By Capt. Chris Kelly, Publisher

I recently enjoyed a major shift in perspective when I made the jump from being a boating writer to new-boat owner. In April, 2002, my wife Jeanne (who is also a boating writer for a national magazine) and I took delivery of a brand-new Sea Ray 260 Sundancer after an exhaustive search. The story on how we chose this boat over all others is interesting since we didn’t start off looking at Sea Rays—in fact, we weren’t even looking at express cruisers. So how did we wind up in the 260 Dancer?

Our search actually began in the cuddy-cabin fishboat market. We wanted to both cruise and fish, but with a one-year old baby named Kyle to consider, the cuddy-cabins we looked at were not appropriate for little ones. Too many hard corners and places to get hurt. Still keeping our primary mission of fish/cruise in mind, our emphasis swung over to more cruise and less fish.

We started looking at the Sundancer line as an entry-level family boat, and clearly the 240, 260, and 280 Sundancers could take care of our cruising needs and desire to spend a few nights on the hook. But fishing? Once I realized the aft bench seat on all three boats flips up and stores along the transom, AND I could easily install two rod holders in the gunwales, I also realized that would give me enough cockpit space to fish the boat. So now the only thing left to do was pick a model. We poured over the spec sheets of all 3 boats comparing the standard features of each, and after a trip to the showroom where we sat in all conceivable places on each boat, we settled on the 260 as a great compromise between size and price. My long-term testing this summer shows we made an excellent choice.

The like the 240, the 260 has a V-berth forward and mid-cabin beneath the cockpit sole for a sleeping capacity of three or four. The 260’s cabin, however, is somewhat larger and you get a few extra goodies in the galley and cockpit (like a standard wetbar with sink) that you don’t get in the 240. Other than that, the boats are essentially the same to the naked eye. But out on the water, a few other differences appear.

Underway, the extra two feet you get on the 260 pays off in spades with a very smooth ride in short chop. I’ve also had the boat out in four-footers and appreciated the power-steering on the Bravo 3 drive that lets me quickly cut back and forth around the bigger waves. Under normal weather conditions, the ride is exceptionally dry with no need to put up the canvas. But in foul weather, the full isinglass package that came with my boat can be put up in about 10 minutes and it is excellent. Sea Ray gets high marks in this area.

I give the company high marks in many other areas, too, as I’ve had no problems whatsoever ever with either the boat or engine. While the base engine is a single 220-hp MerCruiser 5.0L EFI, my boat has the 320-hp MerCruiser MX6.2, a workhorse of a sterndrive I strongly recommend for the 260. Yes, the 5.0 gets the boat running along at a good clip, but it does not have enough power to really drive the boat through hard turns at speed. I knew without even looking under the engine hatch that the boat you see here in the video had something less than the MX6.2 in her, and I was right. One other point to consider: Bravo 3. Here you have two counter-rotating propellers which provide a great hole shot, but moreover, give you great control around the docks. I always have to do a 180 to dock my boat alongside in a narrow area, and the control I get with the Bravo 3 makes me look like a pro. It's also great for backing down and actually DRIVING the boat backwards into her slip, with the control of a 4-wheel drive SUV.

Starting at the transom, the 260 has a good-sized transom locker that can store 2-3 fenders plus docklines, scrub brush, and bucket. It also houses the single 30-amp shorepower cord which you pull out through a hole in the transom. There is no transom shower here (something I would have liked) but when it’s time to rinse off after a dip, you can use the cold-water faucet at the wetbar or attach a hose to the freshwater washdown spigot located in the transom locker.

Moving into the cockpit, the snap-in carpeting that comes with the boat goes down quickly for cruising, and comes up quickly for fishing and washdown. The aforementioned aft bench seat has two stainless-steel legs with hinges at their bases so when you lift the engine hatch (supported by gas struts), the bench folds right up with it. Even with the larger MX6.2’s down below, it’s easy to get to all maintenance items, and you don’t even need to go in to see the level of the gear lube and Bennett trim tabs since they both have translucent fluid reservoirs.

Moving up and out, the wetbar comes in handy and has stowage for an igloo cooler below. My only complaint here is the drink holders have holes that drain right down to the carpeted cooler storage area below, so I plugged those holes myself.

Forward, an L-shaped lounge to port sits across from the single pedestal helm seat with flip-up bolster I use all the time. Knowing that I’d be running the boat in fog-prone waters, I ordered a new “starboard” panel from Sea Ray (located under the wheel) and installed a 7-inch Raymarine radar/chart and 7-inch fishfinder which fit neatly here. New for 2003 is a fiberglass spoiler/arch that can be used to mount a small radome antenna, and the spoiler also has lights for nighttime illumination in the cockpit.

One place the 260 really gets high marks is foredeck access. Unlike many other compact express cruisers that force you to walk up tiny little steps, the 260 has wide steps molded right into the companionway door so it’s very easy to walk up and through the anodized aluminum windshield and on up to the bow. Nonskid is good on the foredeck (even when wet and soapy) and the stainless steel bowrails are rugged and first-rate.

My only concern in this area (and it's not unique to Sea Ray) is just aft of the companionway door there’s a rather deep footwell to get you down into the cabin. While this is OK for adults (as long as you make sure they know it's there) this footwell does need to be covered or plugged with something when toddlers are aboard.

Moving down into the cabin, you’ll find good headroom and lighting. The galley has an undercounter Norcold fridge for keeping drinks and sandwiches cold, and there’s ample storage cabinets here for chips, snacks and even a pot or two in a big locker under the sink. Other storage areas include a hanging locker, plus a very large locker under the sink in the fully enclosed head with shower. I particularly like the Vacuflush head system, and Sea Ray has installed a filter in the grey-water vent to eliminate any unpleasant odors. Great job.

While it’s not exactly a breeze to climb into the mid-cabin, the berth is more than 6-feet long and is a good place to store bulky items like the canvas bag. A couple can sleep here, but it’s better for one or as a great “crib” for the kids.

All in all, Jeanne and I have nothing but good things to say about our new boat and the folks who sold it to us—Surfside 3 in Norwalk, Connecticut. I think it's safe to say that if all experiences were as good as ours has been with the 260 Sundancer, there’d be even more people involved in recreational boating.—Capt. Chris Kelly

Speeds measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter on gas inboards, sterndrives, and outboards, TechMate electronic scan tool on gas EFI inboards, Caterpillar digital fuel-flow meter on diesel engines, or permanently installed fuel-monitoring equipment. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation.

Performance Chart

Test Conditions