Official 280 Sundancer Thread

here's a pic of my dinghy on the platform with the engine on it.

IMG_0175.jpg
 
I've recently got the West Marine/Zodiac 8 1/2 foot dinghy with a merc. 4 hp. 4 stroke motor. I strapped the dink across the rear of the boat on it's side leaning against the transom and put the motor right in front of the transom door in the cockpit. I've only had the chance to use it once before the floods came and made it impossible to get to my boat so we are still in the experimental stages of dink hauling...
 
I agree with Turtletone. An 8'-6" Zodiac fits nicely on the swim platform. We have tried the upside down thing on the bow, deflating and inflating with power pump, and the simplest thing is to just pull it up on the platform and go.

As for removing the motor and storing on the boat, I will share something my sailing buddies all know too well; sooner or later you will drop the dink motor in the drink. Trust me, the Admiral will not be amused.

Henry
 
TT, Is that the GF or you under the dink cover? I think you should cover it "After" you get out of it!
 
yep that's me pitching a tent. thanks for noticing.
 
I was never happy with the UFO looking tv antenna (that didn't do much anyway) so I removed it and installed a XM antenna in that hole. I ran the new wire inside the arch on the port side to arch access panel. The arch is open on the bottom, but where it is attached to the boat required me to drill a hole. I removed the front port side speaker which gave me access to the bottom of arch area. Working from both the arch access and the speaker access, I used a rotary drill and drilled a hole connecting the arch to the area behind the speaker. The fiberglass was fairly thick and it's hard to see what you are dong, but I made it through. Make sure to keep the drill bit at the correct angle, up and down and side to side. Once that hole is made, it's an easy shot to the power panel-radio-CD cabinet.

Did you seal the hole well? If not you created a nice hole through the bulkhead that forms a barrier between the engine room and cabin. You may want to consider sealing your hole. The other wires come through the bulkhead just below the area you were working in and are sealed with a ton of sealant. You would hate for any harmful fumes to make it into the cabin.
 
Did you seal the hole well? If not you created a nice hole through the bulkhead that forms a barrier between the engine room and cabin. You may want to consider sealing your hole. The other wires come through the bulkhead just below the area you were working in and are sealed with a ton of sealant. You would hate for any harmful fumes to make it into the cabin.

Good thought, however the hole is between the arch and the area behind the port side front speaker. It does not come out in the engine room, it's in the wall where the speaker is located. The wires for the speaker then drop down in the area above the mirror storage in the aft cabin. There is a screw on panel in the top of that storage cabinet. Once there, it's a straight shot into the power/radio/CD player panel.
 
Good thought, however the hole is between the arch and the area behind the port side front speaker. It does not come out in the engine room, it's in the wall where the speaker is located. The wires for the speaker then drop down in the area above the mirror storage in the aft cabin. There is a screw on panel in the top of that storage cabinet. Once there, it's a straight shot into the power/radio/CD player panel.


I understand the area you are referring to very well as I spent a great deal of time in this area sealing area prone to leaking as a result of the way the port bolsters are fastened to the fiberglass. Please refer to the picture below.

326235841_pSnyv-L.jpg


You can see the back of the port side speaker that resides in the area of the port lounger. At the top left of the picture (labeled Windshield) is the backside of where the windshield is fastened to the fiberglass. I labeled the port lounger bolster cushion studs for reference. I marked the area you likely drilled in the picture ( you will have to let me know if this is correct). The three arrows at the bottom right of the picture are point to the area on the same bulkhead where the other electrical, etc come through the bulkhead and are thoroughly sealed (do to the engine room on the other side of this bulk head). The area in the photo is accessed by removing the vinyl covered panels in the mid-cabin cabinet (or as you pointed out removing the port cockpit speaker). To me this qualifies this space as cabin "airspace" in my thinking. If memory serves... the attachment of the arch is bolted through in the engine room which is the reason it may be a very good idea to thoroughly seal this area. The other wires, etc not far from where I think you drilled are thoroughly sealed at the factory.

My 2 pennies....
 
Has anyone tried hooking up the TV to the stereo system? The speakers on the TV are horrible and the kids have a hard time hearing when underway.

It seems like the only hard part of this is running the cables. I am surprised that Sea Ray doesn't do this at the factory.
 
Anyone ever replace the cockpit carpet? What was the cost?

Gotta quote from http://www.snapincarpet.com/ it was around 475.00. I have dealt with them 3 times now and they are a stand up company. They carry the Dunes burber with sunbrella binding and aquatrax back... it is better than the OEM from sea ray..
 
Last edited:
Has anyone tried hooking up the TV to the stereo system? The speakers on the TV are horrible and the kids have a hard time hearing when underway.

It seems like the only hard part of this is running the cables. I am surprised that Sea Ray doesn't do this at the factory.

the quick fix is to get one of those fm transmitters, like for the ipod. plug it into the headphone out and tune the stereo to the station and it will come out over the speakers.
 
the quick fix is to get one of those fm transmitters, like for the ipod. plug it into the headphone out and tune the stereo to the station and it will come out over the speakers.

+1 on the Recommendation. Just got one of these transmitters and am surprised at how well it works. Connected it to our 20yr old daughter's IPOD and somehow she then was actually able to tolerate being on the boat.:huh:

I also purcahsed the cable to connect it to the 19" widescreen TV audio outputs. :smt038


BTW, the one I have has a digital lcd screen showing the channel, which lights-up. Important as it is dark in the TV cubby. A guy is selling them for like $10 at a farmers market near us. Might pick-up a few more this week.
 
Hello, Im a newbie here. My name is Mark, Im looking at buying a used 02 280 Sundancer. I think its a good buy. But know next to nothing about boats. It has 65 hours on the motors and there asking arounf $65,000.00 for it. It looks to be in pretty good shape. They started it up and sounded nice. We were actually looking for a used 260, but found this instead. We live in Clearlake TX, right out side of Houston. We hope to be spending the weekends on it either out in the bay & ever once in a while taking it into galveston. so it will be in salt water most of the time, but will probably need to think about dry storing it when not in use as i dont have a place for it. I have read some about the 280 on your site and am looking forward to hopefully getting it. Looking forward to hearing more storys good and bad about the 280.
 
catapultdude,

You may want to start a new topic as I am sure some of our members can help you with information that you will need like getting surveys and how many you need, what you should be looking for, etc. Welcome to CSR, and good luck with you search for the right boat at the right price for you!!!!

Wesley
 
Hello, Im a newbie here. My name is Mark, Im looking at buying a used 02 280 Sundancer. I think its a good buy. But know next to nothing about boats. It has 65 hours on the motors and there asking arounf $65,000.00 for it. It looks to be in pretty good shape. They started it up and sounded nice. We were actually looking for a used 260, but found this instead. We live in Clearlake TX, right out side of Houston. We hope to be spending the weekends on it either out in the bay & ever once in a while taking it into galveston. so it will be in salt water most of the time, but will probably need to think about dry storing it when not in use as i dont have a place for it. I have read some about the 280 on your site and am looking forward to hopefully getting it. Looking forward to hearing more storys good and bad about the 280.

Well you are looking at a fine model in the sport cruiser series. Before you begin thinking about writing a check I would enlist the services of a good marine surveyor. A survey for your boat is a thorough check of the boat by a marine professional. Some compare it to an inspection on a home... only tailored for a boat. You mention motors thus I would assume either twin 4.3's or twin 5.0's. I myself prefer fuel injected motors.... not sure what this 2002 has. Both twin motor setups preform well. If the boat is to be kept in salt water for an extended period of time I may opt for the 4.3/alpha setup as it is not as bad (but still not great) in the corrosion department (*** My disclaimer - I am a fresh water boater and keep my 280 on a trailer) I have seen first hand the destruction of BIII's in fresh water when the alpha's next slip over only had a little slime... my understanding is that the both of the 280's were serviced an relaunched by the marina within a week of one another. I imagine that salt water would only compound the issue. If I were going to own a stern drive (regardless of drive time) boat in a salt water environment I would ensure the boat was store out of the water... but that is merely my preference (I tend to be heavy handed in my maint and care of the boat).

Does the boat have a genset? Having the opportunity to visit Houston and Galveston several times in the past few years... I could not see myself without a generator to run the AC and control the humidity in the cabin.

Overall the 280 is a great boat... cabin and cockpit are laid out nicely. The boat handles very well and is pretty versatile. I have 2 items that I would improve on the 280.

1. Properly seal all fastners that could potentially leak into the cabin. SeaRay does not properly seal everything. For those that liberally hose out the cockpit (only true way to remove small debris from everywhere in the cockpit) and wash weekly you will need to find and fix the leaks. I can tell you where they all are :)

2. Different configuration on helm dash to allow for a decent sized chartplotter. There is little room for a properly positioned flush installed chartplotter. I am in the process of finding a good glass guy to modify the helm dash for me.

The 280 has been around for quite some time and seem to be pretty popular with the experienced SR crowd. Attempts to remove the 280DA from the line up have failed due in part to a solid design and well thought out layout for a small cruiser. The boat trailers and remains under 10 feet in width (the width where you need more than just an oversize permit in some states).

Any additional information you have on the boat will allow member of this board to provide you more detailed feedback.
 
1. Properly seal all fastners that could potentially leak into the cabin. SeaRay does not properly seal everything. For those that liberally hose out the cockpit (only true way to remove small debris from everywhere in the cockpit) and wash weekly you will need to find and fix the leaks. I can tell you where they all are :)


would you mind PMing me that list?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,948
Messages
1,422,806
Members
60,930
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top