Just buying an '86 268 'Dancer...

When the bellows leaked, it allowed water intrusion of the gimbal bearing and u-joints. Both will fail in the near future as a result (very near if that was saltwater). I would be looking for the surveyor to cover this.

As far as the battery charger, look for a breaker and/or fuse.
 
Looks nice. The engine room looks unusually clean. Just a couple of suggestions from the pictures. I'm curious about that tan wire going to the positive post on the battery. Unusual. I'd like to see more protection on those battery posts - it may be required. You can buy a battery box and put your battery in it. That wire may be to your bilge pump. That should work so long as your battery is installed, even if the switch is turned off. Do you have a Mercathode system? It could also be one of those wires. I will assume the smaller red and black wires come from the battery charger.

You should also check those rubber connections on your exhaust. If they're cracking they can blow open and your engine will quickly fill your bilge - worse if they are below water line. Also, one of the most troublesome maintenance items is the exhaust manifold and riser. If you take the rubber parts off, you can look in there and see how badly they're rusted. They only last a few years. If they get restricted you can start over-heating. If they leak they can damage your engine. Not sure how much your guy checked these as the boat was not in the water.

Yes, that is a reset button. If your engine won't turn over you can check that. I've never known one to trip though.

You may still want to consider getting a survey. It it saves you the cost of one breakdown and tow (and time) it will be worth it. May also prove cheaper and safer. A survey should be done in the water and they will test the performance of the engine, etc.
Enjoy.
 
Only one battery? I'd want at least two on a boat that size. Always good to have a backup. One for starting and one for running accesories.

I just replaced the old original, non-working battery charger on our Sundancer with a multi unit. It has 3 connections for all three batteries so it can charge them at their necessary rates.
 
It has 2, there is one on the other side you can just see in the picture.

I will be adding 2 more shortly.
 
Great looking boat.

I just purchased an 86 300DB. She needs some work, but the price was right. Funny about the bow pulpit, as I just pulled mine off this weekend and it was not in the best of shape.

I have twin 350s and when I did the test trails, it was up on step in no time at all with 4 adults on board.

The wife and I started adding up our boats:
1 canoe
1 16 foot bass boat
1 welded Aluminum 20 foot Wooldridge Alaska river boat and
1 Sea Ray 300DB

Too many boats!

Oh well at least my SR will be the newest black hole by which to throw my money into!!:smt101
 
Kinda new here, but not to boats or mechanical issues. Yup, read the whole thread and there's some good ideas and advice.

That's not a "RESET" button. It's the main circuit breaker to the alternator. IT's a "WHOA, something is wrong" button.

IMHO, it would be a very bad idea to make the surveyor an enemy at this point. IT's an older boat and pissing HIM off is fruitless. Besides, he's got lots of contacts in the business that network, and might be useful later. You don't want to get a rep as a whiner or a guy who cancels payment at the drop of a hat. Prices go up and service takes longer, if at all.

On a more positive note, spend some money on a factory shop manual and read it cover to cover. There will be a time when you're on your own and you better be able to get you and your family out of trouble. Don't rely on getting help. There's also some self satisfaction that you can't buy at any price. And if you've got a son, even better. Nothing like a boy looking over pop's shoulder while he works with his hands. Lasting memories for us all.

Get used to using tools and electrical stuff. And create a kit of the most used and common things: points and condenser if used, cap and rotor, ign. coil, hose clamps, t-stat, fuel pump, filter, raw water impeller and gskts., all sizes of fuses, many sizes of wire, glued butt splices.

My old SR has many hidden circuits that fail at the wrong time. Like there's a good time to fail!

On the rebuilt vs. crate engine? I'd go with the rebuild if it's a quality unit. The new one is just that, new and untried. Not even broken in yet. Be gentle for a couple more hours. Then change the fluids and use your fave.

Interesting theories on trim tabs and how to use them.

Nice to be here!

DG
 
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We owned a 268 Weekender with twin 4.3 for 7 years just sold it last October.

They are well designed and pretty well built boats.

On bellows, with the leak, your gimbal and related parts are going to go fast, get them checked by a good mechanic and replaced if necessary.

This is the perfect application for a 4 bladed prop. With a strong 350 you will get lots of slip on takeoff and turns, the 4 blade will help with this problem and will get you a little extra mileage.

This is not a high speed boat, if you see the mid thrities you will be lucky. Try 24-28 for cruise.

That charger looks familiar, I think its a Pro Mariner, parts were available a few years ago but it is old technology, a new charger is probably worth the money.

Water heater, check the hoses, they are getting way too old.

Check the engine thermostat, you want more temperature then the old standard Mercruiser thermostat would put out, Merc about 145, you want to see 170 to 180 degrees.

Wiring clean up and batteries, after 20 years the wires are probably in bad shape, if you are qualified, do a cleanup. If you have a windlass put in bigger wires to it. I added circuits for various equipment on the boat. The windlass was always a big consumer of electricity.

The windlass I believe is still being made, they were I believe located in Missouri.

Anchor, I used a Delta 17-19 lb anchor and it held well. I also had a Danforth Deepset high strength 13 lb anchor that also held it well.

These boats are good boats, they hold up very well, if you fix them they stay fixed.

After looking at a bunch of other boats we are looking for another 1986-1989 Sea Ray. We have owned two and both were good to us.

Rick
 
Continuing the ongoing saga of "The Red Eye"....

Took it out for some extended testing this week...and had this happen:

gears.jpg


Guess who's getting a new leg to go along with his new engine?

Dealer is still on the hook for this.

For the record, 1.5 hr response time to our distress call by the auxillary CG out of Kingsville. This was in fairly calm water, so there was no rush to get to us. Many thanks to Randy and his crew on board "Full Moon" for coming to tow us in. These guys VOLUNTEER to do this, using their OWN boat. CG pays for fuel, but their time is their own. These 3 guys took 5 hours or so out of their night to come get us. No charge for this to us. Towing if I was on the US side was going to be in the $1000's.

Should be put back together by Monday or Tuesday. Everything else ran fine. New batteries and new charger work perfectly. Prior to the breakdown, was able to get it to 30mph (gps) on flat water, with 2 people on board and a 1/2 load of fuel. This was about 4300 rpm. I am trying a 3 blade, 14 1/2" 19p prop next week. We'll see what that gets me for speed and top RPMS.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
Did the lube look normal? From the pics , it looks a bit milky.
Definitely go Quicksilver Premium synthetic. Or Amsoil Synthetic. Royal purple has a good synthetic as well.

Did you say what prop is on it now? Sorry if I missed it. I read the post where you asked about a 4 blade. I have the 260 SXL and was told to only look at 4 blade SS props. Ended up with a Propco 4 blade. Very good product. I think I was told that they cast the props for Quicksilver. The owner Peter Dean was right on the money when he asked my combo and rpm I needed. Right on the money.


Good Luck!!

DG
 
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Back in the water and working good.

Tried the 3 blade, 14 1/4", 19p prop. Topped out at 3900 rpm, so back to the 4 blade, 16p, 15 1/2" prop.

Thanks for everyone's help so far!! Spending this week on the boat with the whole fam, including the JRT, so I hope we are done with the mechanical issues.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
Hello and greetings from Finland! I have just recently found this great forum but already found lots of interesting information. :smt038

I will now move on to my questions:

I recently traded my '89 Sea Ray 220 DA on a 268 Sundancer '87. (My boats just keep getting older and older...) The boat is in decent condition, considering her age. She is re-powered by a 5.7 V8 a couple of years ago. The outdrive however looks "used" and needs to be replaced in the near future. Regarding this project I have a question to ask you, since I need to know the gear ratio of my current outdrive. I have a 14½ x 15 SS prop installed which gives the boat a top speed of 31 knots at 4600 WOT. Based on this knowledge, is it possible to tell what the ratio is? 1,50 maybe?

I have considered ordering a SE106 outdrive directly from Sterndrive Engineering. My goal here is to save money (SEI for about 2000 $ delivered versus 4000 $ for an original Alpha drive). Any comments on the quality of these drives? Is it worth the money? Will it work ok in my boat?
 
I had the same experience when I bought my 1980 in 2001. It had a new engine. The boat doesn't have an hour meter. I didn't notice it at first because it must have been a long block where you have to add on things like the alternator, which was actually much older than the engine. Turned out to be a 1995 engine. I guess the prior owners had to replace the one that was in there but I don't think they ever used it. I bought it from the marina where it was up on blocks - the aged owners had moved to Florida (from NY). The valve train looked like it was still on the factory floor! I replaced the exhaust manifolds (they must have re-used them because they were horrible), alternator, starter and raw water pump (FWC). I called it my brand new 10 year old engine. Has run great for me.
 
burtsi said:
Hello and greetings from Finland! I have just recently found this great forum but already found lots of interesting information. :smt038

I will now move on to my questions:

I recently traded my '89 Sea Ray 220 DA on a 268 Sundancer '87. (My boats just keep getting older and older...) The boat is in decent condition, considering her age. She is re-powered by a 5.7 V8 a couple of years ago. The outdrive however looks "used" and needs to be replaced in the near future. Regarding this project I have a question to ask you, since I need to know the gear ratio of my current outdrive. I have a 14½ x 15 SS prop installed which gives the boat a top speed of 31 knots at 4600 WOT. Based on this knowledge, is it possible to tell what the ratio is? 1,50 maybe?

I have considered ordering a SE106 outdrive directly from Sterndrive Engineering. My goal here is to save money (SEI for about 2000 $ delivered versus 4000 $ for an original Alpha drive). Any comments on the quality of these drives? Is it worth the money? Will it work ok in my boat?
Click to expand...

Yes, you should have the 1.50 ratio in the drive.

As for the SE106 outdrives, a few people have had them in my area and have had "0" problems for a few years now.
 
Thats a nice looking 268. Sorry to hear of your issues. I am looking at a 86 268W/E and a 85 250DA right now. Both with single 260 Alpha I's. Totally undecided.
 
Thanks Matt,

No more troubles! All good now. Dealer came to the table and paid for all the repairs, so I am quite happy with the boat.

Not sure what the difference is between the 2 you are looking at. If I had one thing to change on mine, I would have gone with twin 4.3's instead of the single 5.7, based solely on the ability to manoever it better with the twins.

Other than that, love the boat.

Good luck with the purchase! Upload a pic when you pull the trigger on the deal.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
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