When two boats share the same hull type — in this case both the Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012 and the Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013 are deep vee designs with fiberglass construction — the buying decision usually comes down to a handful of practical questions: how many people are you putting on the water, how far do you trailer, and what does your tow vehicle weigh?

On paper these two are close siblings in the size department — Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012 at 36,8 ft versus Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013 at 37,2 ft. Weight tells a clearer story for trailering families: the Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013 tips the scales at 15 432 lbs — 13 911 lbs less than the Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012 at 1 521 lbs. That difference is meaningful if you're working within a half-ton or three-quarter-ton truck's tow rating, especially once you factor in a motor, gear, and fuel.

The power gap is worth calling out. Rated to 350 hp, the Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012 has a 50-hp advantage over the Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013's 300-hp ceiling — enough to notice on acceleration and at cruising speed, particularly with a full passenger load. Fuel capacity breaks the other way: the Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013 carries 222 gallons versus 1 gallons in the Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012. On a lake day that's negligible, but for coastal cruising or long reservoir runs the extra range matters.

The Sea Ray 355 Sundancer 2012 is rated for up to 11 people. Passenger data for the Sea Ray 370 Venture™ 2013 wasn't available.