Official 280 Sundancer Thread

I think it is a E14 base bulb. I have had no success in finding a quality replacement. I would like to find one as well.
 
Don't suppose you have a photo of the holders you made? And one when the board is mounted on the rails of the boat?


The SUPRAX appears to be the best option I've seen. $180 shipped on EBAY....
http://www.surfstow.com/suprax.html#singleboard

I'd be interested in that, too. I'd like to bring my windsurfer with and not sure where to put it. On my old 270 dancer is went along the side pretty easy, but the 280 doesn't have a side walk way.

Also, do the Suprax mounts hold the board secure and wouldn't that put too much stress on the railings, especially when planning?
 
Thank you Mr. Boyd!!

What is your opinion on best way to get the vent covers off?

Also, can the covers be painted if they have turned yellow?

Thanks again.

Love this site - very helpful for the new boater!!
The vent cover that still remained on my boat, I simply grabbed it and pulled it off. Probably nearly lost that one too! If it doesn't come off that easy, then a utility knife can be used to cut the caulk around the perimeter.

Tom


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Well, now that I know how to take ring off (thanks to Eddie), does anyone have a replacement for the 110v bulb, it seems to be a different size screw-in base?

Its a bulb with a weird size European base. I could only find one place that sold them several years back but I noticed they no longer do. They were expensive too. If I can find an extra Ill let you know.
 
where do you get the shocks i need new ones

Roy,

When you say shocks, do you mean the cylinders that trim up the outdrive? They are trim cylinders and can be bought at:
http://www.sterndrive.cc/product/Fits-Mercruiser-Stbd-Trim-Cylinder-815954A7.html


If you mean the "shocks" that hold open a hatch, like the windlass hatch, they are gas slings available here:
http://www.ameritoolmfg.com 888-870-4884
If you only need the end that breaks, they are dirt cheap.
 
Thank you Mr. Boyd!!

What is your opinion on best way to get the vent covers off?

Also, can the covers be painted if they have turned yellow?

Thanks again.

Love this site - very helpful for the new boater!!

Sorry CDH, just saw this.

Smart ass answer on removal, very carefully. More helpful answer, knowing what I know now, I would put adhesive solvent on the joint. Let that sit and then use a plastic spreader to gently separate the two.

Yes they can painted, but you might want to think about having them resprayed with gelcoat. I paid about $120 for a quart of gelcoat last fall. A good marine grade topside paint isn't going to be much cheaper when you factor in the primer.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Roy,

I replaced the hatch shocks on my '05 280DA. Found a web site www.maxumhardware.com where you can mail order the same Ameritool struts SR uses(see below). Tip, I got the stainless steel ball sockets to replace the cheapo black plastic ones that always break. Have never failed.....
Maxum Hardware
------------------------------------------------------

Products
------------------------------------------------------
4 x EFSS-10H Stainless Steel 10mm Ball Socket () = $13.92
2 x Ameritool 750-8 Gas Spring () = $118.26
Spring Force 120
 
Spring Commissioning:

Hello everyone, I completed a few projects recently and spent a night in Ludington, MI shaking out all of the systems.
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When we purchased Thistle Du (280 DA Single 496 BIII) last year it was nearly original. I added a Simrad NSS 7 Evo2 chartplotter matched with the 4G radar last August.
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I did not have any gauges on the lower woodgrain panel in the dash so I attached the chartplotter to some black Star board in place of the faux wood panel. Kept the panel for later installation if needed. Like nearly everyone else, I was surprised that the original Clarion system would not fade between cabin and cockpit. This floated to the top of the list right away. We went to every Michigan Boat Show and shopped online for audio systems and settled on the Fusion AV-650 because of the DVD and Multi-Zone Capability. The Fusion head unit is now mounted in the original location with black Star board, fished RGB Video, RCA Video, 2 Ohm Speaker loop, NMEA 2000, and Antenna into the engine room. Pulled RGB Video and RCA Video back through the starboard bulkhead and dropped video at the Simrad multi function display, pulled the RGB further down the starboard side behind the head and microwave to the TV. Along with the RGB I added another RCA Video from the helm to the TV below. The antenna was extended up through the starboard side radar arch access and I "plopped" a dipole powered antenna up inside the front center of the radar arch in a big glob of silicone (for easy removal if it does not work well). So far the antenna has worked very well and best of all its completely hidden within the radar arch. While adding the radio antenna, I also slipped an HDTV antenna behind the access panel in the radar arch.....jury is still out on the performance. The good is that if I don't like it, it can be removed without a trace.


So the head unit is wired and mostly functional. I added in a Fusion NMEA 2000 remote in place of the old Clarion, tied in the Simrad NMEA 0183 output to the VHF for DSC and for the icing on top installed a MercMonitor / NMEA 2000 Gateway in place of the Smartcraft Tachometer.

Spent a lot of time trying to determine whether the gateway would work on Thistle Du and finally found Offshore Performance Specialties who helped out a ton! They got the 10 to 13 pin harness (I think ...ha) and the Level 1 monitor that would be appropriate for my 496 and it was almost plug and play after that.
Soooo, I missed a plug and on the shakeout cruise none of the original gauges functioned. Far too many wires under the dash now to mess with on an overnight trip so I waited to make that repair. It gave me the incentive to get the NMEA 2000 gauges configured and working though......gotta have fuel, depth, etc...
On startup most of the gateway functions were pre-configured. The MercMonitor correctly identified my engine configuration and after setting the network to NMEA 2000 transmit the only things I needed to add were configurations for "Tank / First = Fuel" and speed either Pitot or GPS...It took a few minutes to add the Smartcraft Gauge Panel in the Simrad Multi-function display but we were fully operational between the MercMonitor and the Simrad display. When I got her home and could call in for support, we discovered that I had missed a plug from the MercMonitor to the System Link connection for the other gauges.....that took two minutes. Really like the ECO screen on that MercMonitor; cool tech!

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Still have the old analog TV and as soon as the bruises to my wallet heal, it's days are numbered. For now, we have two zone audio control (Zone 1 JL Audio in the Cockpit, Zone 2 Original Pansonics in the forward berth), Fully functional wired (NMEA 2K) remote in the location of the original Clarion remote. It now controls either zone and multiple sources as well as displaying engine and gps data if needed. The DVD in the fusion unit will play through all 6 speakers and display on full or split screen at the Simrad unit as well as below on the TV. The TV outputs back to the Simrad as well so that over the air broadcasts can be displayed on the multi-function display at the helm. I know a lot of people would just put a TV on the Radar Arch, but that is not my preference. I did miss the audio from the TV back to the Fusion unit so there is no TV sound topsides. The option is in place to put the Mercury data on screen with the Simrad or to just have the Tri-Screen or ECO functions on the MercMonitor. There are dozens of screens on the MercMonitor, but I was looking for those two. We had a flaky water pressure sensor that would occasionally put the engine into Guardian mode. It would read 20 PSI on the trailer and 0 in the water. Picked up an OEM replacement and spun it into place, so far so good.

The bad news; small leak at the transom only visible very low on the transom plate. Hoping it's just bellows, but we will see.

I learned a lot of this stuff reading through these posts. Thanks to all!

Two things that I would add for other 280 DA owners. The panel at the foot of the mid-berth does come out; 4 screws at the corners into plastic L-Brackets hiding access to the wire chase from the starboard engine bulkhead fitting to the forward EIM and helm access. You can also fish behind the head and cabinet area from behind that panel. Second; there is a wire labeled for ACC1 dropping into that starboard wire chase area. It only came a few inches out of the EIM, but once the panel was out, it made for a very convenient method to power all of this "stuff" on a separate circuit which is now controlled from the part control pad. Those two items ate up a lot of time for me; I eventually found them here but though it could be mentioned again.
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Good luck with the boat. You can do a cheap digital converter for the TV while you wait to replace the unit. There is a nice tech write up on here you can find by search.
The transom leak is likely the steering pin. Common problem but not a simple fix. Again search for several good threads about possible fixes.
 
Thanks, Yes I borrowed a digital converter from the RV to get the TV going for now. Hoping your wrong about the steering pin, but I have seen some of the threads discussing the various leaks and approved (and some rogue) methods of repair. I am going to let the dealer have the first shot It. I have had my OMC cobra drive off many times, but it looks to be about half the size of the B3.


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Hey guys. So after many repairs at the start of the season I finally got the boat in the water. It ran fine the first couple of times out. 2 days ago I tried starting it and their was a loud clunk noise and the engine wouldn't turn over. After a few attempts it ended upstarting and ran fine. I went out to dinner and it restarted fine after that. Today I tried starting it and same thing..loud clunk and flywheel doesn't spin. I replaced the starter thinking that was it and I bought an OEM mercruiser starter. Same problem, no difference.

I have a 2003 Sundancer 280 with the twin 4.3l MPI engines with Alpha 1's

Fluids are all normal, and when it ran, it ran great. Work that was done is:
Serviced outdrive (water pump)
new shift cables
new cap and rotor
new fuel pump
and now a new starter

Here is a link to the sound it makes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E0Icf8MPuw

Any help is greatly appreciated, I was hoping this would be good for memorial day weekend.
 
Roy,

I replaced the hatch shocks on my '05 280DA. Found a web site www.maxumhardware.com where you can mail order the same Ameritool struts SR uses(see below). Tip, I got the stainless steel ball sockets to replace the cheapo black plastic ones that always break. Have never failed.....
Maxum Hardware
------------------------------------------------------

Products
------------------------------------------------------
4 x EFSS-10H Stainless Steel 10mm Ball Socket () = $13.92
2 x Ameritool 750-8 Gas Spring () = $118.26
Spring Force 120

Thanks Greg, I have the same year sea ray and my shocks were spent. I just ordered a set.

Anthony
 
Guys i just bought a 2005 sundancer with twin 4.3 mpi's . I want to top the engine oil off but I don't know what the spec is? I bought mercruiser 4- stroke 25W - 40 synthetic blend.
 
Does anyone know how to remove the stern backrest on a 2003 280 DA?
I need to get it reupholstered.
 

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