1978 260 Sundancer Learned Alot

Hello All, It's a long story how I bought this boat but long story short they saw me coming and I did it all wrong. That was a few years ago. Anyway I decided to remove the motor, gimbal assembly, gas tank, water tank, etc. and had a surveyor come check it out. The good news is the transom is pretty good. There's some moisture but it's solid. He suggested removing the sealant from the screw holes and around the gimbal hole just enough to expose the wood which would help it dry out even more then treat it when I'm ready to put it back together. The hull is in pretty good shape also. Down in the cabin there's some moisture in the wood (so called stringers) where the air conditioner is. He suggested drilling a few 1 inch holes and using cotton as a kind of wick which would draw alot of that out. The cabin floor (foamed) he said has moisture and in the end suggested ignoring it based what it would take to get it out. Overall he said the cabin wasn't scary. And overall other than replacing through hulls the boat will float. I have to get the outdrive and gimbal assembly checked out. I think I'll be alright there but you can tell it's been used so we'll see. And I have some rewiring to do.

Talked about how boats were built back in those days by hand and with wood as compare to the engineering that's done today and even over the last 2 decades, especially with weight and materials. Mentioned what I would need to do cost wise comparing that to other options such as what I could pick up for the same money. So he's got me thinking somewhat but truth be told I believe I still want to get this old thing in the water by doing as much of the work as I'm capable of doing. I like the idea of a heavier but trailerable boat since I'm in salt water country. And I like working on this thing. We'll see.

Here's a couple of pics of the old sea hag. I don't know why two of them loaded upside down. The moisture in the floor that you see pegged the guys meter which only went up to 35. Still he said for the aggravation of removing all of that which he once did, he'd ignore. As for the wood, as I said drill a few 1 inch holes and use cotton as a wick and maybe a fan or dehumidifier also in the cabin. The other pic is just where I tore off the nasty carpet walls. Lots to do but it's interesting. Moisture as the given, all the wood still feels pretty solid.

The transom he said was pretty good, some moisture but not bad. He suggested removing the sealant around the opening and in the holes then redoing it when I'm ready to put it back together.

Thanks for sharing progress and the pictures, they help me understand what mine looks like under the carpet, which I'll be replacing (1985 260 Sundancer) What's the hole for in the center forward portion of the floor, perhaps a table stand?

I'm not an expert in the pros / cons between older & newer hull construction methods, but I do like the way older, heavier boats ride, especially ours (older Sundancers) Given the cost of new cabin cruisers, you'll spend less restoring yours than the sales tax of a new one and have the confidence of knowing what has been done and pride of doing it yourself, and best of all, no monthly payment! I'll be following your progress and salute your accomplishment I'm in Tarpon Springs, FL; where are you?

How did you get the fuel tank out, did you have to cut it up?

It's interesting where they placed the AC. Where does the cold air exit into the cabin? Can it be used without a generator or shore power?

-Michael

Trust me, I'm no expert either. That said it's an interesting project trying to get this boat back in the water. The boat is pretty heavy, over 5000 lbs I believe. It fits what I want which is a decent sized boat that I can trailer. I'm also near the gulf of mexico in florida so I want to keep it out of the water and I think the weight would do well the chop of the gulf.

I had to cut the fuel tank out. I tried to get it out whole but couldn't do it. After I broke it away from the foam which was a horrible job I was able to turn it on it's side and found two holes. Hence then just cutting it out, another fun job. The hole in the floor was where the table goes.

The air conditioner pipes through the wall between the cabin and the head and vents out into the cabin. The air conditioner can run on shore power and a generator.

Right now I'm working on wiring and an old heart freedom 10 interface inverter. Trying to find someone to evaluate the inverter looks like it will be a chore. No luck on that yet. I'm trying to figure out the wiring. Thinking I'm just going to go down the panel and follow each circuit, check and replace the wires and fixtures in the cabin if necessary.

I have a row of toggle switches down low at the helm which is a mystery. There are hot jumper between them and one green and white wire connected to the row which I assume is a hot wire to provide power to the toggles however these toggles aren't hooked to anything. Wonder what that's about.

It's a challenge for sure but interesting. If there ever was a wiring schematic for a 1978 260 sundancer it appears to be lost forever so I expect to be improvising some. Lots of research and math to do to figure this all out.

I find mine handles the gulf chop very well and stays dry. It's always fun to see how previous owners wired things, I don't have mystery toggles but do have an old school choke pull below the wheel, turns out it powers the auto pilot, interesting choice!