Official 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Thread

Gotta say, every time i go out on the boat i love it more and more. I wish i could find the same layout bigger and affordable. I had a great day just going for a ride in boston harbor no real destination just "out".
 
Gotta say, every time i go out on the boat i love it more and more. I wish i could find the same layout bigger and affordable. I had a great day just going for a ride in boston harbor no real destination just "out".

It is a great running boat. Every time we go on on a trip with other boats everyone comments on how quick it is for the size and how level we ride compared to others of similar size.
 
My mechanic recommended “whale tails” for my boat. Says I’ll notice a huge difference with them. 2 x 4.3L engines and alpha drives.

Anyone have any experience with them?
 
Small boat guys use them and my buddy with a 1998 310 with T5.7 and alphas also has them on it. His boat hops right up on plane with his 3 blades and the whale tails. I don't know how the 310's with alphas normally perform, but he definitely seems to get on plane quicker than our 290. His boat is a bit wider and doesn't have the genny though, so that might help
 
What exactly do you mean by the "whale tail". How does it mount to the alpha 1 gen2??
 
Personally, i would upgrade the existing tabs before i started messing with aftermarket hydrofoils. The tabs on our boats are known weak points from the design standpoint
 
Has anyone come up with a unique storage solution for the mirrored closet in the main cabin to make it more usable? If you can post some pictures that would be great. Right now I'm just using the space to store towels but as you know it's so deep I'll never use the bottom towel unless you dig down.

Also I have the B interior design with the permanent v berth and it has cubicles under the cushions.... and even the floor cubicle..... my questions do folks actually use these for storage?
I would be interested also to see what anyone had done with that space. Wife wants me to put a removable shelf or two in there for storage of bread, chips. paper plates and the like. Right now we use it for that except its just pile it in there.
 
Here’s a fun project. THe bilge mounting plate was completely rotted. I cut it out and glassed in new plywood. Not a terrible job overall, and now that it’s redone should be better than original. I made absolutely sure the aft end was sealed and will not remount the pumps to this. Grey gel coat on the way to finish the job next week

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Some really good news for us 290 owners. My door truck completely disintegrated this year. Not the one closest to the helm luckily, but it messed the whole door up and I had to lift the thing up to get it to close. Because the track is plastic and we can get to the screws that hold it to the door, I was able to slide the track out enough to access the truck screw. I also removed enough screws on the track to bend it up and put a new truck in, and then screw the track down while the truck was in the track. The door closes better than ever now, and I didn't have to remove the helm. Knock on wood that the rear truck holds together.
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Newest project, davit system. I'm fortunate enough to have a machine shop in the family, so these are all custom fabricated. Obviously have to cut the boards still, but I think we have a nice system here

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Just a little FYI.

For those that still have the original fresh water pump ... parts are still available.

A few weeks ago when I was at the boat the fresh water pump would run w/o pumping any water. Took the diaphragm apart and it was just stiff, chalky, and the center suction cup looking thing had a small tear around the edge probably causing the malfunction.

After getting a quote for a new pump at $180 from the marina I stated looking at alternatives before just buying a new pump. Amazon to the rescue. You can buy the diaphragm separate from the housing and other associated parts but after a little more searching I found where you can buy the entire pump head for $56 including a new pressure switch.

Installed this morning with no leaks and holding pressure .... 20 year old pump back in service.

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Going to do the cabin floor in wood as our carpet was gross. I figured this was going to be a bear of a job after seeing others struggle with the old stuff. Apparently we are super lucky in these 290s as the floor is gelcoated fiberglass. The carpet pulled up in one piece in like 10 minutes. I’ll keep posting progress as I do the wood (allure vinyl, actually)
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That's awesome.
Can't wait to see more progress pictures.
I've said this before..... after owning my 1998 290 DA for 6 months now I think they are built very well ..... compared to my previous 2011 260 DA.
 
Anyone have any examples or tips for mounting a grill/BBQ? I’m trying to decide on a rail mount above the aft storage locker or installing one on my swim platform towards the starboard aft corner. Thanks.
 
Anyone have any examples or tips for mounting a grill/BBQ? I’m trying to decide on a rail mount above the aft storage locker or installing one on my swim platform towards the starboard aft corner. Thanks.

Mine is the magma pedestal mount on the platform starboard corner like you mentioned. This is the best pic I could find quick but I can try and find others. I keep the grill in the lazarette, we use it basically every day
 

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Mine is the magma pedestal mount on the platform starboard corner like you mentioned. This is the best pic I could find quick but I can try and find others. I keep the grill in the lazarette, we use it basically every day
Did you do the install? I’m guessing through bolts and some 4200 are enough? I have synthetic wood decking on my swim platform and I’m nervous to drill it.
 
Did you do the install? I’m guessing through bolts and some 4200 are enough? I have synthetic wood decking on my swim platform and I’m nervous to drill it.

Just make sure you seal the holes when you install your bolts. I'm thinking our swim platform have a plywood core? Doesn't it?
 
Did you do the install? I’m guessing through bolts and some 4200 are enough? I have synthetic wood decking on my swim platform and I’m nervous to drill it.

I did, through bolted. Marked the holes and drilled them oversize, filled with 4200 to cure for the day then redrilled to correct size and tightened down.
 
So checked on the boat last night..... I think I have a problem with the inverter/charger.....
AC voltage is ok 110v.... but the batteries DC side only shows 10v, and will not even run the radio.....
My question is how to check to see if the inverter is working???
TIA
 

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