Opinions on '89-'90 300 Sundancers

Man you guys are making this easy! Glowing reviews from actual owners are GREAT, now all we need to do is find the right one.
Thanks guys
Merry Christmas
 
Scopio wrote: "I'd like to know what to watch out for before we start looking seriously at alot of different boats."

The hardest part is NOT GRINNING ear to ear when you find the right boat! You don't want to tip the seller off that you are serious until after you've negotiated the price and having him fix up the boat based on the survey results. :-)
 
Playdough, JT et al, do your boats have counter-rotating engines or outdrives? I've looked at a number of 300s with Alpha One gen one drives that both rotate in the same direction. The only boat that had counter-rotating drives had Alpha One Gen two drives.
 
FYI on more towing. I have a Sundancer 290 1995 twin 4.3's I/O 9'8" beam about 32 LOA. tow with an Ford Excursion V10 4X4 with 4.30 axle. Have no issues towing the truck weighs in right at 8000#'s with 2 people and a full load of gas (50 gal). The trailer and boat loaded with gear, water gas food etc. comes in at 15,500 #'s or 23,500# total by truck scale. You asked about trailer price mine is 2 years old (2006)and cost about $6000. The longest tow I have done was from Tulsa to Columbus OH. local trips and a couple from columbus to Lake Erie. my average unloaded is 12MPG loaded 8.5 MPG.

The boat MPG is not as good. /Full out with gen running I get 32 GPH at 44 MPH (GPS) medium load 5-6 people. when I had a heavy load 16 people and gear I could not get above 36 MPH (not sure of GPH) I don't have any data yet on GPH/MPG at different speeds.

A gas Hog? well yes compared to my other boat Stingray 192 Cuddy with 3.0 L only has 22 Gal tank and I can easily go all weekend towing the kids around and crusing and have a 1/4 tank left.
 
Our props both rotate in the same direction. It makes for some great stern walking. I just haven't figured out WHICH direction it's supposed to walk! :-) Starboard I believe?

I have a question for you guys with the similar boats. Can you take a look at the Bilge vents on both side and tell me if one side has vents that vent backward and if one side acts as a scoop to draw air in? That's the way the vents on our 250 are arranged. On the 300 DA the PO swapped out the broken vents and replaced them with chrome. They both vent backward and I thought the purpose was to have one draw air in and the other push air out to create flow through the bilge. Just wondering if I need to swap one or if they are that way just to keep water out?

Scorpio, did you find a 300 to add to your fleet? Seems like I ran across a similar post like that?
 
We have a deposit on one currently, awaiting survey next week with a seatrial set for early April(I hate winter). I took a look at some of the pictures of different boats I've looked at and it seems that all the vents face aft. Probablly so as not to act like ram scoops and ingest water.
 
Thanks Scorpio! I wasn't sure. I'll leave them as they are! Good luck with the search and I hope the sea trial goes well and the same with the survey!
 
Props both spin CW. Never an issue for me. Vents both angle aft. Doesn't make sense to me but that was the way they were installed from the factory.
 
Play Dough or any others, I have another question for you. On our boat there is a red wire hanging from the Port storage compartment just outside the cabin door. I can't figure out what the heck it's for. It's all coiled up like it came from the factory like that or, it was shortened and tucked away and then fell out. Do you have the same wire? I can't recall, but I think it was hanging from the lower compartment? Everything seems to work, so that's why I can't figure out what it's for. It's red with black on it and doesn't jive with any schematics, but it was definitely a factory wire.

Only two months from launch! I can't WAIT!!
 
I don't recall anything there but that's not to say it doesn't exist. I assume you're talking about the lower compartment with the sliding door panel on it? Maybe a wire used to fish through from the stereo or something else in the cabin. Since the electrical panel is over there it could be something not optioned on that boat. Just speculation.
 
It's just strange that it ends there. I'll have to fish through and follow it next spring to see where it goes. It is in the lower compartment, but I can't figure out what it's for. It was worth a try.
 
OK, what wax are you guys using on this vintage Sea Ray? Anyone used any of the polishes with Teflon? I did on the old 250 DA and it wasn't as shiny, but it last a whole lot longer. I'm torn and not sure what to do on the 300 DA next Spring. What works for you guys?
 
RED wire is probably a fish wire for the radar arch, if you have one, it was there on my 1989 280DA.
 
I think I'm going to try buff magic and pro polish this year. Mrs. Robinson did their 330 and it looks as if it just came off the show room floor.
 
I read that and thought the same thing. I'm just not sure my arms are up to the task and I don't really want to buy an orbital, but maybe I should just break down and do it!

Young Again, I don't think it's a fish wire, it's too far forward. It's just a few inches from the cabin door? I'll try to get pictures in April when I pull it out of storage.
 
You're right, my fish came out right below the arc. I found a cigarette lighter (politically correct - 12 volt power source) wired to the closet just inside the cabin door (no idea why) on mine, my speaker wires also come through that area as well.
 
I don't think it's a wire for the fridge since it's on the opposite side of the boat. It could be a speaker wire, I don't remember putting an ear on every speaker to make sure they worked? Another task for the list in April! I'm going to need that stereo when I'm doing the wax on, wax off routine.

Scorpio, how long until the sea trial?

5 weeks and counting....
 
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.
 
I hear that. I have to repair a skeg, wash, wax and do a quick tune-up on the 250 DA before we sell her. It's still buried under the tarp and there is a moat of snow around it so I can't even get to it yet. I'm going to pull the oversized Danforth to use it on the 300 DA as a second anchor. The 300 DA has a Delta plow type anchor. I've never used one, but people say it's good to have one of each depending on the bottom you boat in. The Danforth has always worked for us, but some say it won't work as well as the Delta in the San Juans. Glad I figured that our BEFORE I sold it! :-)

I hope your sea trial goes well! Take a bunch of friends and have them sit in the back as dead weight! Take your camera and snap everything you look at! We looked at so many boats after a while I couldn't remember which boat had which features. The pictures were a great way to keep them separate as we evaluated them. It was also nice after the sea trial as we exchanged titles prior to delivery so I could remember the little details about it!
 
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