Official 280 Sundancer Thread

Seevee said:
Todd,

While the 280 is a great boat, with your mission of 4 adults and 3 kids, I'd argue strongly that it's too small, unless that load is not the norm. Six is tight, four works quite well. The 290 would even be a bit small. 310 might work (personally I like the 310 Chaparral better than the Sea Ray... much better features), but now you're in a higher price bracket.

I have taken a few loads of 7 or 8, but only for short trips, perhaps a restaurant run. Had 7 on the boat for fireworks last 4th of July and I won't do that again.

There are a few older 310 Sundancers out there with IOs (good for beaching) that could be an answer... but you'd want to be SURE they are mechanically good as the cost of maintenance goes up from the 280. And the 310 is fabulous for an overnite with 2 (or even 4), great cabin.
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I agree with the above 100%. When we had our 2008 280DA, it felt cramped with 4 of us in the cockpit and sleeping more than 4 was not an option. The cockpit layout in the 280 is not open enough for people to move about comfortably. You're fine if everyone is seated but it's hard for the captain to hop over people when trying to dock even while seated...people's feet and legs are always where you need to be.

I have a way more cockpit room in my current 24' bowrider by way of comparison.
 
Does anyone that tows their 280 run into any height issues such as going under bridges? I'll be towing my new to me 280 about 100 miles for the first time in the spring. Might even take the arch down.
 
When i had my 280DA I towed it a few times a year. No height problems. I did remove the antennas from the top of the arch but never the arch itself.
 
I am not sure of your overall height, but I don't think it is any taller than my 260 sitting on an aluminum I beam trailer. I tow everywhere and never an issue. You get used to it very quickly and occasionally a branch has brushed the Glomex antenna, but that is it. Based on how mine looked in my 14' tall boat shed, mine is right around 13.5' to the top of the Glomex. The only thing I ever did was to drop the VHF antenna.

Bennett
 
ive never replaced manifolds on my 2008 280 with twin 4.3 bravo III. so its like 8-9 years now. Dont have many hours but i have heard its not about hours. Am I on borrowed time and need to break down and get it done before major damage?
thanks
PS i got a quote for 7500? Sound reasonable for parts and install?
 
Tonka Boater said:
I agree with the above 100%. When we had our 2008 280DA, it felt cramped with 4 of us in the cockpit and sleeping more than 4 was not an option. The cockpit layout in the 280 is not open enough for people to move about comfortably. You're fine if everyone is seated but it's hard for the captain to hop over people when trying to dock even while seated...people's feet and legs are always where you need to be.

I have a way more cockpit room in my current 24' bowrider by way of comparison.
Click to expand...

Thank you guys. To be clear, most of the time I'm taking a short 5-10 min trip to the sandbar to drop anchor and swim. The occasional restaurant run or cruise around the bay. When we do overnight at the islands it'll be only a few nights in the summer and with just my wife and 3 kids. No extended stays. So anywhere from 5-7 people typically, but not always 7. I get that it's crowded, but we're used to jamming 10 people into my in-laws 24 ft four wins cuddly. The 280 has a bit more cockpit space. Moving up to a 310 isn't an option for me due to size restrictions in our marina where we have a summer home.


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Hello all. Has anyone replaced or lubed the throttle cables? Mine are stiff and I am thinking of just lubing them. Any replies would be helpful.
 
Chrisvr6 said:
Does anyone that tows their 280 run into any height issues such as going under bridges? I'll be towing my new to me 280 about 100 miles for the first time in the spring. Might even take the arch down.
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I lay the mast light down and remove my Glomex. The highest point on top is then the Glomex base. I could look up the exact height of mine on the trailer if you like. Until I do that I can tell you that I clear my 13' OH door by a few inches. Except for watching for the occasional low branches I've never hit anything.

There can be differences due to trailer....bunk vs rollers, tire size, suspension type, so it'll be reassuring if you measure and know exactly what your height is.
 
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Yeah the guy i bought my 280 from said something like 13'4". I'll have to plan my route and i guess I'll just remove the antennas then. Thanks.
 
lbaratian said:
Hello all. Has anyone replaced or lubed the throttle cables? Mine are stiff and I am thinking of just lubing them. Any replies would be helpful.
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Could be the friction adjustment in the binnacle or worn lower shift cables. You can separate the 2 cables at the motor to determine this.
 
280 Gator said:
ive never replaced manifolds on my 2008 280 with twin 4.3 bravo III. so its like 8-9 years now. Dont have many hours but i have heard its not about hours. Am I on borrowed time and need to break down and get it done before major damage?
thanks
PS i got a quote for 7500? Sound reasonable for parts and install?
Click to expand...

Gator,

7500 is not totally out of line, but it's sure on the high side.

I pulled the risers and elbows off last year, replaced the gaskets because of minor leakage and the time was about 8 hours. Suspect you could easily do the complete job, both sides for 16 hours or less... not hard, but a bit tedious and some grunt work, like working off the exhaust elbow in the back and if bad replace it, too, but should be fine on an 08.

The bill for ALL of the parts for both sides is $1300 (last years price), so with $100 hr for labor, you should be all in for around $3000. Add another grand for mistakes, breaks, etc and you're still only at $4K.

If you're doing it yourself, disconnect the hatch springs and open the hatch straight up for better clearance (not hard to do). And if you need new springs, now is the time to buy, especially of you have those plastic ends on them (get stainless).

If you PM me with an email, I'll send you a copy of my receipt for parts with part numbers, etc. I can't figure how to attach something here.
 
todd3683 said:
Thank you guys. To be clear, most of the time I'm taking a short 5-10 min trip to the sandbar to drop anchor and swim. The occasional restaurant run or cruise around the bay. When we do overnight at the islands it'll be only a few nights in the summer and with just my wife and 3 kids. No extended stays. So anywhere from 5-7 people typically, but not always 7. I get that it's crowded, but we're used to jamming 10 people into my in-laws 24 ft four wins cuddly. The 280 has a bit more cockpit space. Moving up to a 310 isn't an option for me due to size restrictions in our marina where we have a summer home.


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Click to expand...

Todd,

You're still pushing it and will be VERY tight at even 5, let alone 7. The boat just ain't that big. Another choice is the 290. Older ones are bigger, and of course cheaper, and they have a great layout, except for the walk thru windshield (which is a must for me). The newer 290 is still a bit better, same beam but a more spacious layout than the 280.

If you can stand to be squeezed in, so be it, but Id argue against it as a norm. And, if you do, you might have a plan for strict operations so you are not stumbling over people to get lines, etc. Even with my 3 or 4 people no one gets up when leaving or arriving at the dock unless told to do so, and only my dock hand will handle the lines... and absolutely NO one jumps from the boat to the dock. With 7 that's hard to control, especially with kids, so you will have some safety issues and will need strict control.

Another thought is for a day boat, if you can get along without a cabin for overnights. The 25' SeaRay deck boat is a GREAT day boat and will fit your crowd.
 
I thought the sea water temp in measured off of the factory installed sensor in the hull? I do know that the owner before me painted over the sensor with bottom, do you think that would cause the sensor to read abnormal ?
 
Seevee said:
Todd,

You're still pushing it and will be VERY tight at even 5, let alone 7. The boat just ain't that big. Another choice is the 290. Older ones are bigger, and of course cheaper, and they have a great layout, except for the walk thru windshield (which is a must for me). The newer 290 is still a bit better, same beam but a more spacious layout than the 280.

If you can stand to be squeezed in, so be it, but Id argue against it as a norm. And, if you do, you might have a plan for strict operations so you are not stumbling over people to get lines, etc. Even with my 3 or 4 people no one gets up when leaving or arriving at the dock unless told to do so, and only my dock hand will handle the lines... and absolutely NO one jumps from the boat to the dock. With 7 that's hard to control, especially with kids, so you will have some safety issues and will need strict control.

Another thought is for a day boat, if you can get along without a cabin for overnights. The 25' SeaRay deck boat is a GREAT day boat and will fit your crowd.
Click to expand...

I agree again. If the 290DA is out of the question, you could consider a 280 SunSport but you lose the option of overnighting. If I were to sell my current boat I would personally get a 280SS. They have a great layout and tons of space for guests. They're the same length as the 280 Sundancer and they have to cool looking arch with shades but it's a big open open bow boat with wrap around seating in the cockpit. Great boat.
 
Tonka Boater said:
I agree again. If the 290DA is out of the question, you could consider a 280 SunSport but you lose the option of overnighting. If I were to sell my current boat I would personally get a 280SS. They have a great layout and tons of space for guests. They're the same length as the 280 Sundancer and they have to cool looking arch with shades but it's a big open open bow boat with wrap around seating in the cockpit. Great boat.
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Which boat you talking about, what years? The only 280SS I know of has a little cabin. Maybe you mean one of the big BR(bowrider) or SD(sundeck) models.:huh:
 
Tonka Boater said:
Yikes...sorry, I meant the 280BR.
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I actually wanted a BR or the SD when I was shopping over a year ago, but I found the good ones overpriced and the rest of them pretty rough. For my needs the 280 Sundancer is better and it was cheaper to buy than the others. I don't take big loads and love the occasional overnights. Great boat for the right mission. A lot of my friends have deck boats and bit pontoon boats and I'll let them haul all the drunks.
 
Does anyone know if all 2002 mercruiser 5.0 mpi b3 seawater impellers are created equal? I can't check for my motors serial numbers until spring. Thanks
 
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