260 Sundancer Thread.........Comments questions and answers

Brian
Regarding the negative articles on the 260 dancer. We stumbled across them online, not sure who wrote them. All of the other reviews have been very positive so I am not really concerned. The boat does have a narrow beam so a little rocking can be expected. The way it looks is someday we will move up to a 300 but for now we are going to enjoy our 260.

dino

Hey everyone, just purchased my 2004 260 Sundancer and just learned which hole is the fuel tank (smile). I guess that little gas tank symbol kind of threw me. Any ideas on operation using the trim tabs would help.

Thanks,

Christopher Atkins said:

Hey everyone, just purchased my 2004 260 Sundancer and just learned which hole is the fuel tank (smile). I guess that little gas tank symbol kind of threw me. Any ideas on operation using the trim tabs would help.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

Howdy podner! :grin:

We're at Texoma and having a ball with our '06 260DA.

Here are some notes that posted when I first started to learn the tabs and it still is the only way I use them today.

Things that work: Winds were variable from 10 to 20 with gusts of 25 MPH out of the South.

Power Trim (Throttle rocker switch) to full in (down) position - Trim Tabs to full up (Push the bottom half of BOTH trim tab rocker switches in for 5 seconds) at start and any time you came off plane. This is always my starting point - otherwise you have no idea where the trim tabs are positioned!

Planing: Accelerate briskly. Power trim full in (down) till she just starts to crest the pillow of water then power trim out to about 1/4 to 1/2 in short spurts. DO NOT USE THE TRIM TABS AT ALL. The power trim gauge is weird as it shows no movement then suddenly shoots up the 1/4 after several taps on the up button even though I heard the power trim pump working. Then if I trim in again there is a delay then it drops down to "0" suddenly on the gauge (This gauge delay is normal). Once on plane the engine does not like being trimmed in - she complains by giving you a "growling" noise at the prop. Once trimmed out to her happy place she purrs and speeds up fast. I usually cruise at 3800 RPM (about 28 MPH). Power trim in if you slow down to 22 MPH or so to keep the bow down.

Trim Tabs and Listing: Main trick here is to only use ONE TRIM TAB rocker switch at a time. If port side is high - push the top half of the port trim tab rocker for about 2 seconds and wait for the response. If you over correct - push the bottom half of the port trim tab rocker switch for about 2 seconds and wait for the response.

I noticed some very strange quirks while on plane. She always listed high on the port side no matter what direction I was going> If wind was pushing on my starboard side the boat would still list high on the port side! No problem: Pushed the port bow down trim tab rocker switch and she slowly (in steps) leveled out. And she stayed level driving in almost any direction and in any wind. If she started to list too high to port I would only press the port bow up rocker remembering to only adjust the rocker that I last used! This worked out very cool!

I've trained the wife with this procedure and it works great for her also.

Hope this helps you out... no other method works for me with this particular model boat. :thumbsup:

Christopher Atkins,

The 04 260DA does not have the tab issues that the 05 > seem to have. I use my tabs for two purposes. First, if the boat leans when on plane, I use the appropriate tab to bring the boat level. Adjust them in 2-3 second intervals until you get it right. Just remember to raise them at the end of the day. I make it a point to always raise mine when I come off plane.

Second, when heading into a chop I will sometimes lower both tabs and the drive to force the bow down. This makes for a smoother ride, up to a point, with the hull that you have. Just remember that if you turn so that you are running with the waves, you have to raise the tabs and trim the drive.

All in all, it is pretty stable for only having an 8.5 foot beam.

What good are trim tabs without indicators? Ive just come from a fountain with k-planes and mechanical indicators.......and im used to knowing where, exactly, the tabs are in relation to the bottom. My drive trim indicator is way off too. Going to have to remedy these things or I just wont be comfortable. Also think my AC/Heat control pad has some worn out buttons.....either that or I just dont know how to work it.

Scott1 said:

What good are trim tabs without indicators? Ive just come from a fountain with k-planes and mechanical indicators.......and im used to knowing where, exactly, the tabs are in relation to the bottom. My drive trim indicator is way off too. Going to have to remedy these things or I just wont be comfortable. Also think my AC/Heat control pad has some worn out buttons.....either that or I just dont know how to work it.

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I don't have indicators on mine. I quite fiddling with them, when I'm level.

Scott1 said:

What good are trim tabs without indicators? Ive just come from a fountain with k-planes and mechanical indicators.......and im used to knowing where, exactly, the tabs are in relation to the bottom. My drive trim indicator is way off too. Going to have to remedy these things or I just wont be comfortable. Also think my AC/Heat control pad has some worn out buttons.....either that or I just dont know how to work it.

Click to expand...

The trim indicator on my boat changes as the boat is coming on plane and coming off plane in regards to the angle not to the level of the outdrive on the transom. I discovered this after thinking my trim indicator was off as well.

Scott I really don't think you will use the tabs on the hole shot as you did with the Fountain. I use them most just for listing when Freddy and my fat are usually driving. Jennifer only weighs 110# so the boat always lists starboard.

At one time I thought trim tab indicators would be nice also but they are just not needed on the 2005-08 260DAs. What would be better would be the automatic retractors. http://www.bennetttrimtabs.com/autotabretractor.php?cID=3

Anyone with an 05-08 260DA knows what happens if you forget to retract your tabs once you take off from a dead stop. :smt100:smt101:smt043

Dave

Kurt said:

The trim indicator on my boat changes as the boat is coming on plane and coming off plane in regards to the angle not to the level of the outdrive on the transom. I discovered this after thinking my trim indicator was off as well.

Scott I really don't think you will use the tabs on the hole shot as you did with the Fountain. I use them most just for listing when Freddy and my fat are usually driving. Jennifer only weighs 110# so the boat always lists starboard.

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Your probably right...i don't plan on using them to assist with planeing...really didn't need them yesterday. Its propped low enough to jump up pretty quick. Probably are better off just for correcting boat posture caused from too much posterior riding along. The trim indicator thing is just plain goofy and doesnt stop anybody from holding down or up on the trim button when the trim rams are maxed out in the respective positions. That cant be good. Overall, I love the boat. Going to be a lot of fun!

When we first got ours I had a tendency to force or rush the boat. I would get frustrated because the boat was doing all kinds of things I didn't want it to do. I was over tabbing, over and under trimmimg with some crazy results. I had to learn to be more patient with smaller adjustments and she does great.

Don't forget guys, the 05 260 is about 1500 lbs heavier than the 04. Plus, if you have a genset!

Anyone with an 05-08 260DA ever run the tank dry? Not that it's a good thing, but knowing at what point the engine will start sucking air in terms of gallons remaining is nice to know. I know the manual lists the "usable" fuel at 80gals and the capacity at 84. Anyone ever tested that out?

bw76273 said:

When we first got ours I had a tendency to force or rush the boat. I would get frustrated because the boat was doing all kinds of things I didn't want it to do. I was over tabbing, over and under trimmimg with some crazy results. I had to learn to be more patient with smaller adjustments and she does great.

Click to expand...

I agree with you on this 100%. I also figured out that I was trying to tell the boat how to run in the water instead of just driving it and letting it run the way that it does it without my help, if that makes any sense.

Things that used to feel "wrong", causing me to react (or over react) now feel "normal", which allows me to just sit back and let the boat run the way that she does without reacting to a "problem" that isn't there.

Use the force, Luke...

Never ran the tank all the way empty, but I know that the last 1/4 tank seems to go by in a hurry. Pulled up to the fuel dock with the needle kissing "E" a couple of times when I 1st got her. Now I know that I need to find a dock as soom as I get to 1/4 on the gauge. Also, I could have sworn that I saw an "88" somewhere on my tank. I though that was odd since the manual says 84. I kept looking, but never found an "84" on it anywhere. Maybe SR screwed up, and they are really 88 gal tanks with 84 usable?

Michael

ChuckW said:

Anyone with an 05-08 260DA ever run the tank dry? Not that it's a good thing, but knowing at what point the engine will start sucking air in terms of gallons remaining is nice to know. I know the manual lists the "usable" fuel at 80gals and the capacity at 84. Anyone ever tested that out?

Click to expand...

I never wanted to test it out. :smt043:smt043

With the fuel guage being kind of erratic anyway, whenever I get down to about "indicated" 20 gallons I fill it up again. And yes it usually takes more than 64 gallons to fill it up on mine. :wow:

buy my 280 and you won't have these problems.

TurtleTone said:

buy my 280 and you won't have these problems.

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A dollar down and a dollar a week sound OK to you? :wow:

Sure thing, I just need 10 years in advance.

Hi All:

Well launch day today and all was well until the delivery captain started checking electronics and found I had no gauges. I know last year shortly after I took delivery, about every 5th or 6th time I started the boat I would turn on the key, wait for the 3-4 second alarm to check everything, then start the engine and no gauges..........I mean none.....knotta...no tach, no smartcraft no gas no nothing.

If I shut it down, turned on the key but waited 10 seconds or so after the alarm stopped....the gauges would engage and then I would turn the engine over and start. When I wanted to show this to the chap that came down for a few little fixes under warranty we could not get it to do that.
Today we could not get the gauges to run at all. It didn't matter what we did. We checked the connections behind the dash and all seems well. We checked the main connection at the engine and all is connected properly.

Any ideas would be helpful. They tell me it could be a couple weeks before they can get to me with all their deliveries and commissions.

Bill:smt013

Not sure what it could be but it is easier to troubleshoot if the problem is constant.

If you haven't already done so, try re-seating both connections as well. In other words, pull off the connectors and push them back on both at the engine and at the dashboard.