1998 SR 290 Sundancer - Little Ducky II

Did a little bit more "deep cleaning" today. Ever since I purchased this boat its had a funky smell. The 1st weekend on the boat I used a rug scrubber and did a nice job cleaning and scrubbing all the carpeted surfaces but it still had a funky musty smell.

Well today I finally decided to remove the wall in the aft bunk exposing the Cruise Air unit. It looked to me the panel has never been removed so when I found a furry condenser coil I wasn't surprised. A vacuum to remove the fur..... coil cleaner to spray and let it do its thing....... and a good wash down using a spray bottle of water between coil cleaner treatments.

I didn't realize how delicate the fins were when I was using the vacuum attachment I bent some of the fins in the process..... I used a fin comb to straighten everything back before putting the wall back in place.

The pictures don't really do it justice...... but from fur to clean and shiny again.......

I hope when I come down next weekend after being away from the boat a few days the funk is gone..... now it just smells nice and clean from the coil cleaner.

BTW I was truly surprised how clean this area was for being 19 year old..... I just wished they would have reengineered the HVAC unit to have its condenser on the other side by the filter for easy cleaning.

Before:
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After:
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Nice, my fins are pretty bent on there as well. On my list of work next year is to have the coolant checked in the unit and recharge if necessary. It is crazy loud when running compared to other boats (although ours is one of the few models I've seen that have the AC unit that close to the vent, most have them under seating/berths)
 
Nice, my fins are pretty bent on there as well. On my list of work next year is to have the coolant checked in the unit and recharge if necessary. It is crazy loud when running compared to other boats (although ours is one of the few models I've seen that have the AC unit that close to the vent, most have them under seating/berths)

It does hum/vibrate/buzz along when the compressor is on....... my 2011 260 DA had the HVAC unit in a cabinet and it sounded the same.
 
Well, I finally got up the nerve to go back into the engine compartment to replace the leaky 15mm fresh water fitting. This one was located behind the hot water tank along the starboard side. Had to do some work through the side floor hatch as well get inside the engine compartment to reach.

What a PITA...... but I'm glad to report...... the water pump has been silent..... no more cycling :)

I'm surprised the fitting was just dripping with the crack that was observed when removed.

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New vs Old
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Well for the love of everything SeaRay.

Fixed one leaky fitting two weeks ago..... and then tonight heard the familiar sound of the water pump cycling again. :mad::mad: Well today another fitting has given up the ghost and it just so happens to be one I do not have on hand. One good thing this one happens to be right off the pump itself (black fitting in the picture) so it's in easy reach. I did find that the water line was installed in a bit of a bind so when I get the new fitting I'm planning on adding a short piece of plastic pipe and adding an elbow to make the connection nice and square to the fitting taking away some of the stress. The blue line in the lower right feeds a "T" fitting that's secured with tie wraps so it's not giving any flex.

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Well today was not all lost while climbing down into the engine area I did figure out how the bilge heater was hard wired into the boat......they used the cooktop circuit. Who would have thought......o_O

With a little cold spray blasted into one end of the heater........the heater turned on and heated up....... bring on the chill :)
 
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Well today one step forward..... 1 step back on repairs.

After doing the repairs below, the fresh water pump diaphragm decides to die. It looks to be original to the boat and the date on the pump was 2-98. I opened up the diaphragm and the rubber pieces were stiff and one plunger looking thing had a tear in it. :( New pump price from marina $180.... price for new pump end which includes the pump housing, diaphragm and pressure switch was $56 from Amazon. So you can guess which way I went for this repair. Part should be in my hand next week.

I sorted out the fresh water leaks and redid the line exiting the fresh water pump.

This was the bad fitting..... seal to fresh water pump was kaput.
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Then I changed the plumbing configuration to relax the bend a little so the new fitting would not be stressed.

Old:
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New:
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Very nice, who made your covers? Who love some for the cabin of my 290!

I went back through the thread and didn't see pics, what carpets did you have made just the cockpit or in the cabin as well? It looks like we're probably going to keep this boat for another year and we're due for both. I was thinking wood in the cabin and new carpets up top, if this company has your patterns maybe they would do them for us even though we;re in NY. If you're comfortable sharing the price feel free to pm me. If you have pics of them all please post
 
I went back through the thread and didn't see pics, what carpets did you have made just the cockpit or in the cabin as well? It looks like we're probably going to keep this boat for another year and we're due for both. I was thinking wood in the cabin and new carpets up top, if this company has your patterns maybe they would do them for us even though we;re in NY. If you're comfortable sharing the price feel free to pm me. If you have pics of them all please post

Look back at post #18. I was charged $600 for everything. They cut them onsite and sewed the binding on at their facility. I would say out of 10 I would give them a 7 on fit. But I could not beat the price. If there is a next time I would change a few things on the inside coverings
 
Ah got it thanks. They looks really nice, I'm guessing since they cut on site they didn't save the patterns though. I might just make new ones for the cockpit this winter again, it was pretty simple to sew the binding and I have a bunch of leftover sunbrella from another project.

I just received the last 4 pieces to complete our full camper canvas for next year from Great Lakes. It was $1000 for everything including the boot to cover it when stowed.

Your boat's looking great.
 
Ah got it thanks. They looks really nice, I'm guessing since they cut on site they didn't save the patterns though. I might just make new ones for the cockpit this winter again, it was pretty simple to sew the binding and I have a bunch of leftover sunbrella from another project.

I just received the last 4 pieces to complete our full camper canvas for next year from Great Lakes. It was $1000 for everything including the boot to cover it when stowed.

Your boat's looking great.


Thanks, the boat is coming along. Took it out this morning when it was 45 degrees and froze my face. :) . I need to dig out the camper pieces and see if they are all there and what shape they are in to make boating in cold weather tolerable. The marina is going to pull it soon for bottom paint and transom repair so I'll dig out the canvas afterwards. Right now I just have the cockpit canvas in place which needs some TLC ..... 20 years old it's missing probably 1/2 its snaps. Got a estimate for the TLC at $150 but the guy is booked for a few months.

On the carpet you need to ask around your marina/docks to see if anyone knows a guy that does marine carpet..... might find a local company to come out and do a custom job at the boat. Quite a few boaters stay on the water all year long in Tennessee so marinas, repair facilities, and other services are available all year long.... even restaurants. Although some are on a winter schedule with different hours.
 
What type of transom repair do you need??

The swivel pin and/or gimbel ring is worn out on the port outdrive. During the survey it was noted the drive has excessive play and it makes a "thumping" sound then drive is engaged..... and there is a water leak in the same area of the pin.

The agreed price of the boat was adjusted the amount of the repair cost estimate + $1000 (for unknowns). So I was still pleased with my purchase going in.
 
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Fresh water pump repair.

I went ahead and bought the entire bottom end of the pump vs just replacing the inside diaphragms. If you buy the parts separately it's more $$$ than buying the entire bottom end assembled with a new pressure switch and all so it was a no brainer.

So off with the old and on with the new. Instead of using crimp connecters I soldered with heat shrink to make up the connections. It just looks better. I'll use crimp connectors tomorrow when wiring the pump back into place because I'll probably be in my head during the reinstallation.

I had to disassemble the old pressure switch to remove the 2 red wires to reuse to wire up the new one. Even with the slight design change from old to new it was straight forward.

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Success. The 20 year old pump is back in operation.

I'm on-board, fresh water system is pressured up, have good flow, no leaks........ and no pump run-on so pressure switch must be set correctly from the factory.

:)

Just to add, I like to use good tools but they are worthless when you leave them in the garage which is 3 hours away from the boat so I picked up a 130 piece tool kit from Harbor Freight on sale last night for $30. Great tool set to stay onboard for small repairs. And with everything nicely secured in the case it makes for storing under the couch in the cabin a breeze. Great xmas gift for your vessel .... hint, hint......

https://www.harborfreight.com/130-Pc-Tool-Set-with-Case-63248.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiNzAzMDIxMzkiLCJza3UiOiI2MzI0OCIsImlzIjoiMjkuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiMTE5ODIifQ== &utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5017b&utm_source=1021&cid=mEmail_s1021_c5017b&sfid=Y2hyaXN0b3BoZXJfa2xhbmljYUBob3RtYWlsLmNvbQ==
 
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It's a little cold on the Tennessee River here in Chattanooga.

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Thanks to some suggestions from CSR members I went with an AcuRite 01059RM weather station with 3 remote sensors which are placed around the boat to monitor temps. The base station is connected to the docks wifi (via ethernet cable to a wifi extender) so I can monitor the temps via the internet. One sensor in the engine area, one in the cabin and the other at the helm. Acurite system was $90 and the wifi extender was $30 all through Amazon..... not a bad price to pay for a little piece of mind when you live 3 hours away from the boat.

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I'm planning on upgrading my inside speakers some time this season. I was surprised that the interior covers just pull off. They are in there tight. For anyone who cares the speakers measure 6.5".

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