OK People, wish me the best - My first Boat

D

Darkmann

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
RO Number
28565
Messages
64
2000 Sundancer 290, loaded it seems. It's got those twin 5.7l 280HP motors and this thing moves. Survey and sea trials went very well last week - some minor issues came up but the dealer promises no problems to take care of the issues. I get a captain to pilot with me for 4Hrs. The seller also promised a ton of goodies including 4 fishing poles and xtra life jackets. I'm very excited and advice any prospective used boater to get a certified surveyor to perform a survey before buying.

So people, wish me the best because after tomorrow evening, I'm the captain, all on my own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hope you have boating courses and know how to navigate, chart plotters won't do it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by JimPend

Hope you have boating courses and know how to navigate, chart plotters won't do it.

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Picked up the boat yesterday and was faced with a 4hr trip home along the Chesapeake. The wild was wild and the water was extremely choppy. In a way, I'm glad that we did it in really bad weather because since no one on board could properly operate the GPS system, I learnt very quickly how to use the charts/buoys/markers to get me home safely. The ride was rough but the experience was priceless. Now I have to go practice docking this thing smoothly.
 
quote:
Originally posted by giolic

Congrats !!!

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Thanks man, lots of learning, but I'm a fast learner. Just found out there's no owners manual in my package so I'm downloading right now. I will spend the day cleaning all the salt from the ride yesterday and also try to understand the electricals. The kids love it and that alone made my day yesterday as we were tortured by the raging winds of the Chesapeake bay.
 
Dark: I don't know which way you were headed on the bay, however you certainly didn't pick the calmest day to do it. Those NE and NW will kick up a mess. Good to here your new purchase and be safe. Enjoy.
 
Congratulations and Welcome!

ASK QUESTIONS!!! If it's about the engines/outdrives, ask in that forum. Don't hesitate to Ask the Captain. Lots of SR owners here, and I think you run a good chance of meeting some of the ROs in person in your area.

Take a boating course, get a Vessel Safety Check, watch, listen, learn!

And don't let the SR bashers bother you. SR has a great product, the 'Dancer defined the express cruiser, and some of the bashing is probably jealousy...
 
best of luck. see the kill engines thread if you aren’t familiar with boat maintenance.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dusty Rhoads

Dark: I don't know which way you were headed on the bay, however you certainly didn't pick the calmest day to do it. Those NE and NW will kick up a mess. Good to here your new purchase and be safe. Enjoy.

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We were heading south-east to Salisbury and it was rough. I'd hired a captain to pilot most of the way and the only reason we did it was because he said it'd be OK. He said he'd not do it if we were heading west, no way!!! In any case, as soon as we got into the Wicomico river, it was as calm as it can ever be!!! Love the boat.
 
quote:
Originally posted by j-d

Congratulations and Welcome!

ASK QUESTIONS!!! If it's about the engines/outdrives, ask in that forum. Don't hesitate to Ask the Captain. Lots of SR owners here, and I think you run a good chance of meeting some of the ROs in person in your area.

Take a boating course, get a Vessel Safety Check, watch, listen, learn!

And don't let the SR bashers bother you. SR has a great product, the 'Dancer defined the express cruiser, and some of the bashing is probably jealousy...

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Thanks j-D, I will not hesitate to ask. It is clear that not even the SR bashers could stop me. I read a lot of bad press and also a lot of good press about these boats. It all depends on which year one gets. Bottom line, I researched mine thoroughly and love it.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pdecat

best of luck. see the kill engines thread if you aren’t familiar with boat maintenance.

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Thanks pdecat. I will check that forum. I'm currently taking a 4-week (2Hr/week) boating course. That'll help. For now, I will stay low and try to understand the boat's features. I do have a 30day warranty on the vessel and I will use this time to thoroughly understand and fix whatever needs to be fixed. My salesperson actually works a few feet from the dock where I'm docked and he's promised to come whenever I call!!!
 
This boat is simply awesome. I took her out today and cruising down the Wicomico river with my wife and kids was a sweet pleasure. Getting out of the slip and docking for gas and pump-out was fine. Backing into the slip at the end of the trip was not easy at all - I had to summons the help of a new dock-side friend (a boat builder, Sea Ray owner and Mercruiser mechanic!!!) and he guided me in as if he had the controls in his hands. That was a very neat experience.

I do have a couple of questions:

1 - there's some water in the bilge. Very small, not even close to excite the bilge pumps. Is that OK. I cleaned in there last week and wasn't expecting any more fluid down there. I did wash the deck some during the week, but I'm just curious.

2 - this morning b4 the river ride, I had to add gear lube. I called the shop and they said that the lube is low because the drive unit was taken out and inspected/serviced prior to releasing the boat to me. They explained that during that service, the oil is drained and refilled but that after a few hours of driving the oil level will drop due to cavitation, and that this may happen a couple more times after today's refill. They advised me to monitor and let them know if it continues to drop so they can take care of it. After my 2hr river run, the oil in the reservoir dropped again to the "Refill" level. Obviously this isn't normal. What do ou folks think?
 
I had a 2000 290DA, mine was a great boat also.

Water in bilge - my bilge was hard to keep completely dry. Two things to check 1) transom storage locker, it leaks unless you put some weather stripping around the inside to seal the door. The water leaks into the trasom locker, the bottom of the locker is not watertight, so it makes it's way into the bilge. Get a roll of stripping from Home Depot and seal it. 2) Water can also get in through the transom shower and through the vents at the bottom of the radar arch. For me sealing the locker took care of most of the issue.

Gear lube - Your dealer is right, after the drives are serviced, the fluid level will need to be topped off once or twice as the nooks and crannys of the drive housing fill up with new lube. If you top it off more than 2-3 times, you are loosing lube somewhere. I would top mine off a few times and that would be it until they were serviced again. Check for an oil slick or smell of oil around the drives, if you see or smell oil, you have a leak. There are seals on the propshaft that might need to be replaced. Unless you are loosing a lot of oil, this should not keep you from running the boat, just keep an eye on the level and have your dealer check it out next time you get service.
 
Just relax coming back and practice, practice and more practice, that's the only way I know, and you will master it soon. I agree with you, yesterday the ride on the Bay was awesome, calm winds, no chop, perfect temperature. Water temp is still in the upper 70's in several areas, low 80's on others.

I took a ride to Oxford for the day and anchored at the entrance, had a great time with the family. Congrats on your new 'toy' and keep us posted of your progress with docking and remember, get back slowly enough to the point that current, tide and wind won’t alter your trajectory to your slip.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Mojito

Just relax coming back and practice, practice and more practice, that's the only way I know, and you will master it soon. I agree with you, yesterday the ride on the Bay was awesome, calm winds, no chop, perfect temperature. Water temp is still in the upper 70's in several areas, low 80's on others.

I took a ride to Oxford for the day and anchored at the entrance, had a great time with the family. Congrats on your new 'toy' and keep us posted of your progress with docking and remember, get back slowly enough to the point that current, tide and wind won’t alter your trajectory to your slip.

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Thanks man. I agree - practice! practice!! practice!!! I hope to continue practicing until the end of October when I pull the boat out. By next boating season, I'll be fine.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BillK

I had a 2000 290DA, mine was a great boat also.

...
Gear lube - Your dealer is right, after the drives are serviced, the fluid level will need to be topped off once or twice as the nooks and crannys of the drive housing fill up with new lube. If you top it off more than 2-3 times, you are loosing lube somewhere. I would top mine off a few times and that would be it until they were serviced again. Check for an oil slick or smell of oil around the drives, if you see or smell oil, you have a leak. There are seals on the propshaft that might need to be replaced. Unless you are loosing a lot of oil, this should not keep you from running the boat, just keep an eye on the level and have your dealer check it out next time you get service.

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Thanks Bill, I'm sure I have a leak somewhere. I investigated and it seems like it's leaking from somewhere under the refill bottles because I can clearly see traces of greennish oil fron both bottles right down to the bilge. I have retopped and on Sunday, I'll be out driving again. This time I wlll have a buddy observe the drives as we maneuver along the river.

Thanks for your help, everyone!!!
 
If it seems to be coming from the refill bottle, check the cap and make sure there is a rubber gasket in it. The gaskets will fall out easily when you remove the cap. If the gasket is missing it will definitely leak.
 
quote:
Originally posted by BillK

If it seems to be coming from the refill bottle, check the cap and make sure there is a rubber gasket in it. The gaskets will fall out easily when you remove the cap. If the gasket is missing it will definitely leak.

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I will check first thing in the morning. Thanks.
 
BillK, I checked yesterday and neither of the caps has a gasket. I talked to my selling dealer and they'll send me two new caps. I also called the local Sea Ray shop and they confirmed that the caps do have some kind of "metal" gaskets!!! In anycase, I ordered a pair for spare. I won't know for sure if this is the cause of the leak until I get the gaskets in place, but I can't see any other cause. Thanks for your help folks, all of you.
 
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