Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

I know I need to measure the hatch and I will tomorrow. Yesterday's storm was hard on us. Trees down at the house and no power. NO water in the marina and the boat is layed over to one side. We should have water back today. We can't even go to the boat for a hot meal due to it being layed over.
 
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Layed over? I assume you are in the water? You mean layed over due to high sustained winds? Just curious.
 
I know I need to measure the hatch and I will tomorrow. Yesterday's storm was hard on us. Trees down at the house and no power. NO water in the marina and the boat is layed over to one side. We should have water back today. We can't even go to the boat for a hot meal due to it being layed over.
Thank you so very much and i truly understand. We also had no power and a large tree blocking our driveway! The first thing we brought when we moved to this home 4 years ago was a snow blower and generator and stand alone electrical panel for the genny. We were one of the few who had lights for miles. I saw pictures on facebook of our marina, was not a pretty sight, high and dry, but all boats are still on the berm. launch date so far set for 24 March.
 
Layed over? I assume you are in the water? You mean layed over due to high sustained winds? Just curious.

We had no water just mud. As the boats settled they would be blown over to one side of the keel or other. The running gear would be pulled out of the mud on one side or the other.
 
I have a question, I've been down for a few days now due to a fall. I changed my fuel filters at the tanks. All I found in them was some rust at the bottom of the bowls but no water. I did clean up the bowls and put in new filters.

Should I still change the filters at the engines as well? They were changed two years ago with nothing found
 
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I have a question, I've been down for a few days now due to a fall. I changed my fuel filters at the tanks. All I found in them was some rust at the bottom of the bowls but no water. I did clean up the bowls and put in new filters.

Should I still change the filters at the engines as well? They were changed two years ago with nothing found

If you are talking about the one that looks like an oil filter (Fuel / Water Separator), I change mine annually.
 
I have a question, I've been down for a few days now due to a fall. I changed my fuel filters at the tanks. All I found in them was some rust at the bottom of the bowls but no water. I did clean up the bowls and put in new filters.

Should I still change the filters at the engines as well? They were changed two years ago with nothing found
Hope you are recovering from your fall.
 
Hope you are recovering from your fall.

Thank you. I'm bruised up pretty bad. Walking is fine, sitting is a new meaning in pain. It's healing that's all that matters.

I will change the other filters as soon as I can lay on the deck to reach them
 
the filters can wait. Your health is more important. Still dealing with my rotator cuff repair, but i know i will be in the water this season.
 
OK, I'm going to change my bellows, hoses and shift cables and trim senders and water pumps on my 89 30DA Alpha One Gen One. I've been reading about exhaust tubes as opposed to exhaust bellows. The tubes look a lot easier to install and should work well but I have no direct experience with them. Has anybody used them or know anybody that did? Any feedback? This is going to be a big job so I don't want to make it any harder than needed. Anybody have any pointers for this job?
 
Scorpio, didn't you change out your engines? Where did you find the new ones?
 
I got complete engines, their Gold package, long block with all the tin ware, new intake, Edlebrock carb, electric fuel pumps, Delco Voyager ignition system with plugs and wires, new manifolds/risers,elbows, new waterpump, new flywheel. That came with the Gold package. I then replaced the starters since they are hard to get to once engines are installed. I also added remote oil filter kits for same reason. I also replaced my alternators as they looked corroded. I added closed loop cooling (half systems) while I was at it. You'll want to get the new shift assist kit, the old one doesn't play well with the Delco Voyager system, I kept blowing fuses until I replaced it. They aren't too expensive, I think they are take off units from inboard conversions so something like that.
I figured everything was old so I'd replace while I was at it. I reused my power steering pump, pullies and accessory mounting brackets as well as motor mounts on one engine, the others were corroded so replaced them. Also, NEW COUPLER, you don't want to have to pull out a new engine to change one, since your in the neighborhood... Also reused bell housing, though I did replace my rear motor mounts while I was in there.
In short, I didn't reuse much as anything that had oil in it was contaminated when they ingested water and anything that ran salt water through it was likely very corroded. I wanted to be as close to brand new as possible.
You can look at things like starters, remote oil filters etc and if decent you can reuse. You can also reuse the carbs if you are happy with yours, I didn't like the Q-jets so I was happy to upgrade. BTW the Vorteks I put in raise the HP to 315 from the old 260 and the boat really likes the extra ponies!
 
I did basically the same as Scorpio in my old 300 Sundancer when I repowered and also got the motors, exhaust, remote kits, half systems, etc. from MichiganMotorz.
I went through everything with one of the owners before placing the order. He was absolutely fantastic to deal with. Very knowledgeable and gave me some great advice.
Then he handed me off to one of the salesman when I was ready to place the order. The guy screwed up several things in the order, it took longer to get the motors and other parts than he said it would, and he was not good about returning calls.
Once installed, one of the motors wouldn’t start due to a faulty fuel pump. The salesman was basically no help at all. Luckily I had someone locally who was an authorized Mercruiser warranty guy who was able to get it straightened out directly through Mercruiser.
It all worked out in the end, and repowering the boat was the best move I ever made with it, but there was a level of aggravation involved.
The owner at MichiganMotorz was great, but if I had to do it all over again, unless I were saving really big bucks, I think I might try to get the motors and all the other parts locally first. Even if it cost a few bucks more.
 
The shop folks really want me to change out my motors BEfORE they fail. The reasoning is that they can sell my old motors to help with the cost of the new.

The remote oil and both sets of manifolds are new. I might be able to use the fresh water cooling systems.

Can you help with a estimated price? One will have to be reverse rotation and both FWC. I'm also going to the site to see what I can find. I'm in no rush
 
I had no issues with my installs, I did need some tech support and the folks at Michiganmotorz were easy to get a hold of and very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend them.
Do you have inboards? Is that why you need a counter rotating unit?
My starboard engine was done in August if 2016. Total for everything was just shy of $7000.00 and I did the install.
 
Yes. I'd love to get more hp into the old girl and be more secure with the engines. Both are coming up on 2,000 hours.
 

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