New for me... Stay on the water with inboard?outboard

C

Coach Frenchy

New Member
Jul 18, 2017
2
Delray beach FL
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Hello

I'm looking to get a new/used sun dancer 280 to stay and live in the water (marina)....

Some people told me it's not good if you stay on the water with an inboard/outboard ...

I live in Delray Beach...

Any chance someone can tell me more about it...

It's a broker told this to my friend...

Thanks for your help...

It's my first time here on the forum an i want to learn more and more...

Pierre
 
I suppose that advice is due to the bellows that surrounds the drive shaft on stern drive boats? It's true that if the bellows fails you end up with a huge hole below the waterline and the boat fills up with seawater. However, my previous boat was a Wellcraft cabin cruiser with twin Volvo Penta I/Os and I spent a few nights on it, never worrying about drowning in the cabin because I had I/Os.
 
:smt038
Joel_MD said:
I suppose that advice is due to the bellows that surrounds the drive shaft on stern drive boats? It's true that if the bellows fails you end up with a huge hole below the waterline and the boat fills up with seawater. However, my previous boat was a Wellcraft cabin cruiser with twin Volvo Penta I/Os and I spent a few nights on it, never worrying about drowning in the cabin because I had I/Os.
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Very tuff to do anywhere, let alone south florida…..Obviously a dry stack or a lift are much better choices……there are also express style boats with outboards in this size range (grady white, pursuit, century, etc)……..I would not even attempt it with bravo IIIs, but if your hell bent on doing it with alphas my advice is switch to an aluminum prop to limit dissimilar metals (will probably need 4 blade props due to the heavy boat and flex of the aluminum props vs stainless) - 280 Dancers have the mercathode system even when equipped with alphas so that’s good - have the diver (you will need one monthly) keep an eye on the anodes (you should use aluminum ones) my best guess is you will need new every 3-4 months…..do NOT try to have a diver change them in the water, have a nearby dry stack fork you out as needed during the week when there not that busy (guessing $50 or so) Use brush on (the spray is expensive and does not work as good) trilux III to protect the drives and touch up as needed, make sure you leave a 1 inch unpainted “ring” free from bottom paint around the drives…..people told me I was nuts when I wet slipped my boat in New England year round (much kinder than south florida), but my drives are still perfect……it lives in a dry stack in florida now and only spends a month or so in the water at a time……While what you want to do is far from ideal, you can make it work but it will take planning, maintenance and money…..if all else fails, replacement alpha drives are a lot cheaper than bravos! Good Luck

 
The other factor which is particularly of interest with Bravo IIIs is that they start to corrode relatively quickly when they sit in the water. Salt water makes it even worse. It is an aluminum drive with very noble stainless steel props. I keep my boat in dry stack for that very reason. No use letting my drive dissolve in a slip while I'm not using the boat.

Looks like I was typing at the same time as ididntdoit... so... yeah... what he said...
 
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There are other issues. They get gummed up bad sitting in the salt water. You'll have to haul your boat every year for servicing and cleaning. There are more costs associated with an I/O. They don't handle as well around the docks as the inboards. I'd get inboards if it was me, but you might have difficulty finding them in a 280. I usually see them equipped with I/O's
 
Coach Frenchy said:
Hello

I'm looking to get a new/used sun dancer 280 to stay and live in the water (marina)....

Some people told me it's not good if you stay on the water with an inboard/outboard ...

I live in Delray Beach...

Any chance someone can tell me more about it...

It's a broker told this to my friend...

Thanks for your help...

It's my first time here on the forum an i want to learn more and more...

Pierre
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I would not recommend leaving it in the water for a season. Find a marina that has a boatel, usually just need to call them the day before and they will splash it and have it all ready for you.

that being said there are TONS of I/O at my marina that sit all year successfully on top of the water.
 
I had my i/o in the water for two seasons. You need to pull the boat mid season and clean the bottom and i/o. I was in CT so you may need pull it more or less. Now I'm in a boatel and love it!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
I/Os are very high maintence in salt water as others have mentioned. You also need to consider space which is not good on that sized boat. A straight inboard boat with a galley, shower and head that you can easily use would cover basics. Good A/C and a comfortable bed and seating round things out.
 
That's a small boat to live on. Go bigger as others have said. The only reason to get an I/O would be slightly better performance. Not worth it in warm saltwater. You will curse that decision every time something goes wrong.
 
blaster said:
That's a small boat to live on. Go bigger as others have said. The only reason to get an I/O would be slightly better performance. Not worth it in warm saltwater. You will curse that decision every time something goes wrong.
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I think he meant the boat will live in the water, when I first read it I thought the same thing.
 
My boat lives in the water 365 days of the year - so do all the other boats in my marina. The responses in this thread are pointless.
 
Living on a 280 would get old quick I would think. If it were me, I would be looking at a larger aft cabin of some sort, not a cruiser. Go older if you need to for budget. As far as outdrives in the water, we all know the story, slice it up any way you want, an outdrive in the water 24/7 is more maintenance than inboards. People do it, I have done, but will never do it again.
 
I had twin I/O's on my old boat and kept it in the water for many years without a problem. We keep my kids 18' I/O in the water. Maintenance is key. Keep up with things and you'll have no problem.
One important thing to consider when deciding between buying an older boat is the possibility of a re-power. Outboards are insanely expensive to replace as compared to I/O's.
So if you get an outboard powered older boat you better make sure that motor, or motors, is in tip top shape.
I've got a friend with a beautiful 26' Pursuit with twin 200 Yamahas. The only problem is that it's 20 years old and he will soon be faced with deciding about 45k-50k for a re-power.
If he had the same size boat with I/O's he could re-power for about half that. Even less if his drives and transom assemblies were in good shape from proper maintenance and all he needed was a new pair of small blocks.
 
like other things in life,if you take care of it it will not fail.change anodes correctly when they are worn.change bellows at rec intervals.make sure to paint drive correctly.I/O is more maintenance.a friend of mine often says a twin I/O boat is like owning a boat with 4 engines.
I would step up a few feet and get a inboard or there are some straight inboards in the 29 foot range.tiara is one of my favorites or look hard and find a 29 amberjack with straight inboards.
my last boat was a 1986 25 sundancer.it had the original drive on it when I sold it in 2009.proper maintenance by the original owner and me.
 
Black Valkyrie said:
My boat lives in the water 365 days of the year - so do all the other boats in my marina. The responses in this thread are pointless.
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Really? Come on bud. Express your view like others have. Saying others views are "pointless" is not cool. This is a great forum because it stays civil.
 
A lot of good advice here. Too bad the OP never checked back on his first thread.
 
I wet slipped a Bravo I drive at the Davie Boat Club in Sou Fl. The water was brackish. I lost that drive due to electrolysis. I tried everything but that marina had issues.

Its not not just about the salt corrosion or the barnacle growth you'll have to protect against. You'll need to make sure the boats next to you aren't creating electricity in the water which will eat that aluminum drive in one year.

Once you get electrolysis in that drive you'll never get rid of it.

Ask me me how I know.
 
Creekwood said:
Really? Come on bud. Express your view like others have. Saying others views are "pointless" is not cool. This is a great forum because it stays civil.
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The only person not being civil is you. Boats in Marinas stay in the water. The responses are literally pointless. That's a pretty polite way of putting it too.
 
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