Official 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Thread

Now have it confirmed, transom is wet
Will patch it up for this summer and try to get someone to replace during winter.

Is there anyone who can give me an example of a similar job? Trying to understand how its done.
Do you replace it from the inside? Outside? Or cut the whole transom?
Sorry to hear that - I know that's disappointing.

I've done this a couple times over the years and the repair can be done from the inside or the outside. The outside will typically be easier and less expensive, but require a little more attention to "final detail" to make it look nice, although it's not really that much more work. The extra detail is needed where the initial cut was (to remove the outer skin) to blend it back in to the surrounding glass/gel and make the color match. If you're not overly worried about the gelcolor matching, then it gets even easier. If the boat is bottom painted, you don't need to worry about the part below the waterline, obviously.

Really, though, either way is acceptable. There's a lot of variables at play - even things like how much of the core is compromised. Now, there's ALWAYS more compromised than one might think, but that's still a variable. In the end, since you are hiring someone to do it, the decision as to whether to do it from the inside or outside is more dependent on the person/company doing the job.

The general process, though, is to "skin" the transom (inner or outer), R&R the core, then reattach the skin. The new core can be marine plywood, Coosa board (or similar) or even a "pourable" core. I have never done a pourable transom, but it looks interesting.

If you want to google for this, you don't need to find information regarding a Sea Ray 290DA - generally, a transom replacement is a transom replacement is a transom replacement.

Talk to a couple places, ideally in person, and get a few estimates. But don't necessarily base your decision on cost alone - there can be a WIDE variance on how "well" the job gets done!
 
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Just about water ready. Fresh bottom and polished up. Just need to put the props on and canvas Tuesday and she’ll be in the slip by Thursday afternoon.

I have to clean the nonskid on the bow and powerwash all the seadek but those are jobs for a little later.

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Just about water ready. Fresh bottom and polished up. Just need to put the props on and canvas Tuesday and she’ll be in the slip by Thursday afternoon.

I have to clean the nonskid on the bow and powerwash all the seadek but those are jobs for a little later.

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spoke too soon (sort of)

went to the boat to put the canvas on and figured why not fire the motors on muffs. I don't normally do that but the hose was already there so I went for it. Glad I did, turns out the starboard impeller was shredded by zebra mussels. Go figure this is the first year I didn't replace them over the winter. They had 35 hours on them so I thought they'd be fine.

Lesson learned - I dropped the drive, brought it home, split the halves and replaced the impeller (I keep a spare kit at all times), reassembled and pressure tested and back to the boat. All is well now, pumps water perfectly.

Total time for full R&R was 2.5 hours versus an overheat and $250 haul out sometime during the season to fix it. Should still make the splash thursday now
 
Rechecked with moisture meter when I was present. The readings were thru The roof on the entire hull below waterline front to aft. Possible I have bad readings due to paint or whatever?
Cant be right correct?

Will have another expert measure after removing paint but hes busy next to weeks. Trying to calm down

Also what type of hull is it? Yr 1998
 
Rechecked with moisture meter when I was present. The readings were thru The roof on the entire hull below waterline front to aft. Possible I have bad readings due to paint or whatever?
Cant be right correct?

Will have another expert measure after removing paint but hes busy next to weeks. Trying to calm down

Also what type of hull is it? Yr 1998

seems unlikely, the 290 has no wood core below the waterline. The only wood is in the transom, stringers, and above the rub rail in the bow.
 
seems unlikely, the 290 has no wood core below the waterline. The only wood is in the transom, stringers, and above the rub rail in the bow.

Sounds positive, trying to figure out how the entire hull would get soaked, 30 plus readings on the moisture readings. But suspect then so is not The case, rly doubt it has been flooded.

Even though no wood, could still get wet I assume?
But readings should vary in that case.
 
Sounds positive, trying to figure out how the entire hull would get soaked, 30 plus readings on the moisture readings. But suspect then so is not The case, rly doubt it has been flooded.

Even though no wood, could still get wet I assume?
But readings should vary in that case.

I bet it’s the paint, what kind of bottom paint is on it? What does the hammer sound test sound like?
 
Well the latest coat is from our local swedish "walmart"
Says it contains copper and is based on copper oxide.

Boat was imported to Sweden roughly 2010.
And don´t have any history of other the coatings.

Dont have the experiance to do hammer test myself.
Sounds like any other boat I´ve owned.

Also topspeed is roughly 35 mph on single engine.
Should it be wet like the readings I should carry alot of weight?

Only thing I do know, transom is wet...
 
Well the latest coat is from our local swedish "walmart"
Says it contains copper and is based on copper oxide.

Boat was imported to Sweden roughly 2010.
And don´t have any history of other the coatings.

Dont have the experiance to do hammer test myself.
Sounds like any other boat I´ve owned.

Also topspeed is roughly 35 mph on single engine.
Should it be wet like the readings I should carry alot of weight?

Only thing I do know, transom is wet...

Copper paint throws those meters way off. Top speed cant really tell the story, too many factors.

The bottom is solid glass, theoretically it can get wet but to be completely water logged is nearly impossible. Normally you'll see blisters if you strip the bottom but those are easily fixed.

Since you have to do the transom anyways, maybe strip the bottom with a media blast and start fresh? I seriously doubt you have a wet hull aside from the transom.
 
Worth mentioning is that this is cheap legal copper paint not the stuff used for commercial.
My local guy says there is moisture in the entire hull in the laminate. He says the moisture meter will not be affected by the paint. Also says if to harsch winter it will freeze and crack.Transom therefore not worth reparing.

So strange in general it is in good condition.

I know the transom is wet, as I saw water leak.
The stringes are they replaceable? I assume you have to cut the entire bottom?

Maybe I should just drive as is, maybe it will give me another 10 years even with the transom wet?
 

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Not sure it posted
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There’s a new version from Taylormade. It’s now rubber instead of foam. I did it to ours a while it makes a big difference and keeps the water out.
Call searay with your HIN to get the Taylormade part number then call them for the new one. I think it was around $100-150 US
 
Rechecked with moisture meter when I was present. The readings were thru The roof on the entire hull below waterline front to aft. Possible I have bad readings due to paint or whatever?
Cant be right correct?

Will have another expert measure after removing paint but hes busy next to weeks. Trying to calm down

Also what type of hull is it? Yr 1998

Joakim,
Don't let these people tell you that crap! That copper paint will peg a moisture meter. Any metal pegs a moisture meter.

To get a better reading, do it from the inside of the hull. The glass is thinner in there anyways and it gives you a better reading. Also, stay at least 4 inches away from any screws otherwise the meter will read high.

I completely rebuilt my 268 DA (Transom, stringers, supports, bulkhead, etc) and our 290's are built exactly like them with the exception that the stringers on the 290 are isolated from the transom which is a very good thing! I also have my own moisture meter and have experimented a lot with it. Internal readings are much better than trying to read from the outside through 3/8" inch thick fiberglass + gelcoat. You really cannot read get a reading through older antifoulant paint anyways due to the metal content.

Also, you cannot have your superstructure, the laminate fiberglass, "waterlogged". It does not happen that way and those comments are absolute BS. Like Strecker said, if you get water intrusion through the gelcoat, you will get osmotic blistering. If your hull is not blistered, you are moisture free period. SeaRays have an excellent fiberglass layup and gelcoat. Blistering on these hulls is actually not very common, but easily fixable.

Worse case on your boat is the transom is probably wet. I'm willing to bet your stringers are probably fine. The way these are built, a wet transom is less of a safety issue because the stringers are what holds the engines in place and they are isolated from the transom. The transom holds the lower units in place and must be strong enough to not flex under heavy load. If your transom is flexing, you will see cracks in the gelcoat propagating from the transom bracket screw holes. Look for cracked gelcoat in the transom area. Grab your lower units and lift up and down and look to see if your transom is flexing. Also look for "tea stains" on the inside of the transom around through bolts, trim tab mounts, transom bracket mounting holes etc. "Tea stains" are a good indicator that water has worked its way into the wood and started dripping on the inside of the boat.

A quick check to see if your stringers are wet is to try to take a tightening turn on the big motor mount screws that go down into the stringers. If they feel "stripped", then the wood is probably rotten. If they are tight as heck, you are probably good. Also, do a quick hammer test. A dull "thud" is wet, a sharper "ting" is dry.

Your 35 MPH top speed is right on the money. That is what I run with 5/8 tank of fuel and loaded with fishing gear and fresh water.
 
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Sweet looking machine!;)
 
Guys, does any body have a special sequence to starting the generator. Any fuses to turn on or switches. Trying to start mine for the first time and will not start. Just did a complete service on it and seems like i get no fuel to it. I have the parker solenoid and have turned it both ways. After reading others it seems that arrow pointed right is bypass
 
Guys, does any body have a special sequence to starting the generator. Any fuses to turn on or switches. Trying to start mine for the first time and will not start. Just did a complete service on it and seems like i get no fuel to it. I have the parker solenoid and have turned it both ways. After reading others it seems that arrow pointed right is bypass
Mine doesn’t require anything special. I usually start it using the switch at the generator for the first time each year but only takes a couple seconds to fire
 
Guys, does any body have a special sequence to starting the generator. Any fuses to turn on or switches. Trying to start mine for the first time and will not start. Just did a complete service on it and seems like i get no fuel to it. I have the parker solenoid and have turned it both ways. After reading others it seems that arrow pointed right is bypass

Just watch trying to restart the manual has a warning about hydro locking.
 

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