Opinions on '89-'90 300 Sundancers

I couldn't take it anymore. I went and retrieved the boat out of storage so I can start puttering around on it. I've already installed a new VHF and replaced some fuses that were blown. I haven't figured out what they were for because everything was working before and after? I also flipped the antenna mount over so that it now stands vertical. I liked the raked angle and it looks cool, but it hinders the transmission and receiving of signals.

While I was towing it home, I stopped in at a concrete plant and borrowed their scales. I was pleasantly surprised at how light the whole thing was. The whole load was 19,660 lbs. The tow vehicle was 7560 leaving 12,100 for the boat and trailer. I have 900 lbs on the hitch. That was with 1/4 tanks and empty water, so another 900 lbs for the remaining fuel and water. I'm still under my 16,500 tow rating!! I figured it was going to be WAY more than that!

I'll make an attempt to take a picture of the wire that's hanging down in the compartment. I was looking at it and it's got a vinyl hose around it. I'm assuming that's where it chafes on the bulkheads and holes where it comes through the boat. It's all nearly packaged and everything.
 
quote:
Originally posted by SCORPIO

The boat is stacked in fairly deep by other boats. The marina says she is scheduled for launch about April 15 so sea trial should occur sometime around then. This long wait is killing me, although I have been filling time by doing a repower on my current 26' Searay. A good friend of mine is very interested in the boat and I want to make sure that he gets a boat in top flight condition.

Click to expand...

I have an 87 300 Sundancer. It's a little older than what you are looking at but still a fantastic boat.
I was originally looking for a 270 when I came across this one. I'm glad I got the 300 instead. It has a little more room than the 270's I was looking at and I like the dinette set-up on the 300 better than what the 270's came with. The bonus was the A/C and Heat which is fairly common in the 300 but harder to find in the older 270's around here. They really make the summer nights more bearable and extend the sleepover season in the fall.
The boat handles really well, gets up on plane easily, and has pretty good speed.
One minor issue is that I find that you really need to remain standing for good visibility when running the boat which gets tiresome on longer trips. Most of our runs are fairly short so it isn't a big deal for me but it could be one for you if you take trips where you run for long periods of time.
It is also very hard to read any of the gauges when you are standing so you have to keep bending down to check things out.
Access to most things in the bilge is fairly easy for a twin engine boat of this size. The big exception is the aft most bilge pump and float switch which you can clearly see, but are next to impossible to get your hands on. Not really a big deal on short trips, but could be a pain on longer ones.
We have two kids ages 7 and 10 and I find it to be a perfect boat for our family of four right now.
I think you are really going to enjoy the 300. It is a very comfortble boat with a good amount of space for a 30 footer.
 
jt,

I was on the boat today and took a look for the red wire. I don't have that. The piece of hose is in there and appears to be a conduit from the core of the arch thru to the hull. There has been an antenna cable thru that area so perhaps the wire was a fish wire and has been removed from my boat.

There's still enough ice in my well to walk on. The April 15 marina opening date may be in jeopardy in this part of the country. A major snow event happening today. What happened to Spring?
 
I bought my 89 280 Sundancer after the 270 I was looking at failed the survey, I was much happier with the 280 over the 270 until I stepped on my neighbors' 310 - and it was the difference in the layout below that I really wish I had.

I was really hoping for a bit of a thaw up here so I could get the tarp off and do some preliminary work before an early splash, no such luck and they're calling for more snow at the marina this weekend.
 
OK, I finally got some pics of the wire. It could be used as a fish wire I suppose. There is nothing else in that hose, so maybe this was used to pull the last thing through and is just waiting for it's next assignment? Beats me. Anyway, here is the pic:

137-3772_IMG.jpg

The flash washed out the carpet because it looks really good back in the storage areas.

Here is another piece I found in a storage locker and I've been all over the boat trying to figure out where it goes. It's got the material on it that matches the interior and has two screws through it, but I don't see any place for it?

137-3773_IMG.jpg


While I'm at it, I have ONE more question. How bright is your light above the galley? The two 12 volt bulbs aren't as bright as the one right behind it in the head. The 110 volt lights are dull, almost like a night light. I just ordered some new bulbs to see if that would help.
 
Sure looks like a fish wire to me. As for the extra piece, check the storage cubby above the windows on port side, looks like a separator or end piece, I have two of these one on each side of the stereo, bit smaller though.
 
The hose feeds up into the arch. You'll probably find the same thing on the other side if you remove the panel next to the helm and look back in that area. The wire has to be a fish wire. Many if not most boats of that era had a vhf antenna on one side of the arch and a loran antenna on the other.

The partition pictured looks like it would be from somewhere in the cabinetry above the dinette. Has the radio been changed from the original Sony AM/FM casette? I'm thinking there is a panel like that right next to the radio on the aft side that closes off the radio from the little cabinet up there.
 
Thanks guys! I'll assume it is a fish wire and yes the AM/FM cassette was replaced with some fancy stereo with satellite capabilities. OK, now I can return to my regularly scheduled boating now that I understand the mysterious parts!
 
One minor issue is that I find that you really need to remain standing for good visibility when running the boat which gets tiresome on longer trips. Most of our runs are fairly short so it isn't a big deal for me but it could be one for you if you take trips where you run for long periods of time.
It is also very hard to read any of the gauges when you are standing so you have to keep bending down to check things out.
Access to most things in the bilge is fairly easy for a twin engine boat of this size. The big exception is the aft most bilge pump and float switch which you can clearly see, but are next to impossible to get your hands on. Not really a big deal on short trips, but could be a pain on longer ones.
We have two kids ages 7 and 10 and I find it to be a perfect boat for our family of four right now.
I think you are really going to enjoy the 300. It is a very comfortble boat with a good amount of space for a 30 footer.

[/quote]
I prefer to stand while running the boat so this may not be too much of a problem for me, we'll see. I think the front bimini will have to be down in order to stand. I saw a 300 with an aftermarket canvas with greater headroom and clear front curtains above the windshield. I may do something like that someday.

BTW what kind of fuel burn do you guys see at cruising speeds?
 
JT, what is your truck rated to pull? I see you mention 19,600 is that GCVWR (total truck and boat)? Is your truck single rear wheel or dual? I was just checking my manual for my F250 and if I read this correctly, my max GCVWR is 23,500 for a single rear wheel F250 diesel. If this is true, I should be good to go to pull the 300. Anybody know if aluminum trailers are OK for a boat this size or would steel be best?
 
Scorpio,

I think I finally got everything tuned and adjusted last spring after a couple years of tweaking everything and "discovering" this boat. I settled in on 14.5 x 17" aluminum props. 14 x 19" were on it when I purchased the boat. My motors couldn't spin those props to WOT. I think I can get up to about 4500 RPM with the 17" pitch. I ran across Lake Michigan last year on a round trip that covered about 160 miles. Lake conditions were generally 1'-3' seas. I ran at about 2800 RPM which gives me about 26-27 mph. Total fuel usage was a bit over 16 gph which included a little port time (maybe 20-30 minutes). The best cruise is really at about 3000-3100 RPM. The boat planes out real nice in that range. The boat I cruise with, (29' DA with twin 4.3L) can't keep up with me at that speed without really pushing. At the lower RPM I have to use just a little trim to level the hull. It also keeps the ride real smooth in any kind of chop. At the 3000 RPM range, no trim is required and the hull really gets out of the water. I have never felt the need to stand while running. On plane, my boat rides at maybe a 5-10 degree bow high attitude.

Jim
 
Scorpio, my truck is rated to tow a 16,500 lb trailer. I have dual wheels on the back. I just weighed the boat and truck and the scale weight was 19,660. That was with 1/4 in the fuel tanks, empty water and pretty void of any gear. I figure we'll easily add another 1,500 lbs when gassed and ready to go. I can't remember what the specs are on the truck, but the scale weight of the truck and the tow rating would indicate a GCWR somewhere around 23,500 or so.

In the few trips I've had in this boat so far, I thought I had good visibility while seated and looking through the windshield. I don't remember getting the urge to stand up. We only took it out a couple of times before we winterized it. It seemed to run best at just over 3,000 rpms. It planes much faster than the 250 DA.

I know I need a tune up and will probably be doing that as soon as it warms up and I start thinking about launching. I also need two impellars, but that shouldn't be too hard.

An aluminum or steel trailer would be fine, just make sure it has some excess capacity to handle the loaded boat. The additional capacity will make everything last longer, springs, hubs, axles, bearing and tires. If you can get the right size tires with an "E" rating, two tires on a side will be able to handle the full load of the trailer should something happen to one of the tires. That's a very nice feeling should something go wrong.
 
Scorpio:

Excited yet? Test driving ON the 15th or just pushing back until the weekend? I got the 250 DA out to commission it and got it polished up and ready to sell. Next weekend I'll put the 300 DA back together so it's ready to go. I can't wait! I'll probably be on the boat during the weekend. Not on the water, just on the boat! I'm running out of stuff to do, except for waxing anyway. That will be a large job, but my arms are ready after doing the 250 DA!!

I did remove the old anchor rode and will replace it with the significanly oversized line from the 250 DA. I'm moving the anchor over to have a backup. I have a nephew that is coming over to install a jack for an mp3 player on the stereo. That will be a nice touch. I just keep looking at it and can't wait to get back on the water! I've been reading the owners manual, over and over and it's killing me!

Keep us posted and if you need a phone number to ask any questions, just let me know!
 
Sea trial tomorrow wish me luck! The surveyor called at lunch today and said he couldn't do the sea trial on Sat but if I was available tomorrow afternoon he would be in the area. Well after a few phone calls to the broker, we're all set.
I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Well that was a fun day! We got the sea trial done. You guys were right, that is a very nice boat, faster than I thought she'd be too. We checked out all systems with only a few minor things like a bad sync gage and a dead starboard trim gage. The boat reached a WOT of 4200 on both engines. I was amazed at how fast the boat is! I forgot my handheld gps, but the speedo on the boat showed 35 at WOT with a half load of fuel and four adults onboard. The only major problem the surveyor found was high temps on all the risers and manifolds using his IR gun. At cruise the risers ranged from 180 to 190 degrees. He said that they should be about 140-150. I'm trying to work something with the seller to have them all replaced. If we can get this done, I think were ready to settle.

The boat is in need of a thorough cleaning inside and out and a good wax job, but other than that its in nice shape for its age.

Oh, I need some help from the other 300 owners here regarding operating the head. This boat has a Jabsco manual head with a macerator and overboard dishcarge and holding tank. I know about the requirement on locking the Y valve and macerator but we were unable to get the head to prime. It would pump out water if we poured water into it, but it would'nt suck in any water. The surveyor thought there was an air lock in the supply line somewhere. We had water in the holding tank and also tried the city water connection but were unable to get any water into the bowel. Does the air lock sound like the trouble or is there somthing internal that needs to be serviced?
Thanks
 
You'll love it! A couple of questions, the RPM's seem a little low? You might double check the props with the RPM's that you attained. It seems like 44 - 4600 rpms is the WOT, but I can't remember! I know we were 46 - 4800 and 40 mph according to the GPS. They do just sort of climb up on plane a lot easier than you think they will. I was amazed too. Set the throttles at 3,200 or so and it just goes! A lot less jockeying with the trim tabs than I was used too. I have a sync gauge, but I do it by sound and then validate by looking at the gauge. Still, it should work and they will probably fix it.

The head could have been either a plugged up seastrainer, bad valve in the head that SUCKS the water, which is different from the one that pumps the water out. It could be a kinked hose or something. Was it on a trailer or stored in the water? I guess it was unwinterized, so stored on the hard I'm guessing? It may need to have the strainer bled by letting the air out (there is a thumb screw on the backside) so you can get water to the hose, I'm just guessing. There is a rebuild kit for around $60 or so and I would definitely start with that if you don't know when it was last rebuilt. You don't want to try to fix it AFTER it's plugged. Get it early in the season before it's been used!!

I hope you can work it out with the dealer and owner. They are very nice boats! Good luck with it!
 
Jim, is that bleed valve on the strainer located under the aft cabin? They have this head converted to run off the fresh water system, according to the surveyer. I think they are still using that strainer though, he mentioned bleeding air but din't find any valve in the line, not sure if he looked on the strainer or not. I think I'll rebuild the head myself as a preventative. I'm most concerned about having the riser/manifold issue resolved, I can tackle the little stuff. The WOT I found for the engines from manuals says 42-4600. I think with a tune up there are a few more RPMs in them. The engines were just dewinterized and still had the old fogging oil soaked plugs in them. I always tune up and change oil on any engine I buy no matter what the seller tells me has been done to it, that way I have a known baseline. I also don't trust the litte speedo that far, I prefer GPS speeds and I left mine at home.

What sends the trim signal to the gage? Is there a sending unit somewhere and is it inside the boat or outside?

One thing the broker did that I do differently is in trimming the drives. He ran the entire trip with the drives trimmed all the way in. On my 260 I start out with the drive in and after gettin on plane I trim out. I think that could yield a few more rpms also. How do you set the trim on yours?

Thanks for all the help, if this deal goes thru, I'll be asking a bunch more questions.
Chris
 
Scorpio.......You mentioned you had water in the fresh water tank ?..........did you run the water pump ?........maybe you need to pressurize the water lines to get fresh water thru the strainer to the head pump ? Just my thought.

Good Luck with the new boat...................
 
Don, the surveyer did run the pump as well as the city water connection with no results at the head. All the other faucets onboard worked OK just the head would not fill.
Thanks
 
.......is it a manual pump or electric pump head ???

If its a manual pump.....Im sure the surveyer switched the indicator to " fill bowl " from "flush bowl ".........Im trying to recall the system from when I had my 1991 280DA.......

When you get it working let us know what the problem was.............
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top