www.iFourWinns.com

Thank you guys for your comments... I just bought a new 2012 Sea Ray Sundancer 280. Every boats are a compromise. I prefer the cockpit of the Sea Ray, the interior of the FW, the bathroom of the FW, the aft-cabin of the Sea Ray (a huge factor for my wife), etc.

It's a brand new leftover 2012 with a good rebate... and an arch ! The arch is standard on that boat. In fact many things that were optional on the FW are standard on that Sea Ray: Shore power, wiper, VHF, vacuflush head, arch, carpets.

Here is the boat:





I've read good and bad things about Sea Ray, time will tell...

I think now I have to join the Sea Ray forum !

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Dominic
2002 Four Winns Vista 248

Congrats. The 2102 280 DA is a very solid boat. The mid cabin is much improved from earlier years. I agree, the cockpit layout is great.

In a similar size boat as the V275, my current fav is the AZ275. Very nice looking boat too.







Enjoy your summer boating !!

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

My biggest problem with Sea Ray is no option for Volvo Drives, other than that I think they are a great boat.....
Congrats on the new boat!

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"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes "

1996 238 Vista dlx "Casper's Toy Too"
2006 5.0GXI w/closed cooling, DP-sm 1.95 drive
Previous boat:
1998 Sundowner 205

Thanks,

The AZ275 seems nice to me... I don't know much about AZURE's boats tough.

I prefer Volvo, but it's not a deal breaker for me. Mercruiser is owned by Brunswick then I understand why they don't offer Volvo options !

I hope Mercs now are a bit smoother than my last mercruiser in the 80's !!! At that time black (merc) vs white (OMC) was a no brainer for me. Today there's not that much difference if I understand correctly.

I don't know much yet about Sea Ray's boats, something new to learn I guess ! I know it's not the place to talk about that but if someone could give me a link where I could find the Sundancer 280 "history". Some years that boat has wider beam with two engines, sometime it's like it's a earlier 260 or a later 270... I'm a bit confused !!!

Funny thing, when I was "shopping" for a FW V275, I was interested by the Regal Express 28. In my mind Regal does good boats, as FW, Chaparral, etc. I talked with two Regal's guys (from two different dealers at two different moments) and they both bashed Four Winns with about the same words. They told me that FW and Bayliner were in the same entry level class and then Regal was in the top with Cobalt and Formula (nothing less ). They both give me a quote for an Express 28 higher than the FW V275 and the SR 280 I bought even if the MSRP of the Regal was the lowest of the three.

(I will try to change the topic's title as suggested...)

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Dominic
2002 Four Winns Vista 248

The Azure molds were bought by Cruisers (KCS International) last year, and are all now made in Wisconsin. They are top tier boats in design and construction. The AZ 275 is their largest model, the line is now called Cruisers' Sport series.

Here is a link to the chest puffing Sea Ray forum. CSR
You can find out all you need to know about 280DA history, and more info than you may want or need there.
Your 280DA should have a Bravo III outdrive, they are smooth shifting drives, like the Volvo DP.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

dvoyer,
Congrats on your purchase!! I think the 280 Sundancer is a great looking boat and would love to hear your feedback later on how it compares to your 248. The biggest problem with the previous Searay's in this size was the impossible mid cabin entry which they fixed with this model! Keep us posted and good luck!

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
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2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"