1979 260 Weekender Info

M

moondog84

New Member
Nov 27, 2009
2
Severna Park, MD
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
Hello All,

I am looking to purchase a 1979 260 Weekender. Couple of questions: 1. What are the performance characteristics of this boat? It has the single 350 chevy with an pre alpha drive. I tapped on the transom, around the gimbal sounded fine but as you tap out the sound gets hollower, is that the sign of a bad transom? Stringers are sound! Does a stainless prop usually help performance on this big of a boat? It does not have the back cushions, does anyone have the dimensions for those so I can get some made up as close to original? Anything else I should look at before looking to purchase this boat? Thanks for your help, looking forward to being a Sea Ray owner any day now!
 
I owned a brand new 79 w/er. At 3150 rpms the boat would cruise at 21-22 mph. I took it across Lake Michigan from South Haven to Chicago. I believe that stretch of open water is around 50 miles. The boat handles small chop on the Lake pretty well as it has a very deep v hull. I believe it's around 23 degrees aft and has fairly sharp entry. In its day it was a very nice boat.
 
As far as the transom is concerned, yes that does sound like rot. Take a closer look at the stringers too. Sometimes SR build quality was pretty iffy and parts of the stringers sometimes had no tabs connecting the stringers to the hull. They were simply plywood that was painted with grey paint or gel coat and any glass was mostly chopper gun stuff.
 
I own a 1986 268 weekender. I went to replace the outer transom plate (worn out) after removing the plate found the transom was rotted out. Which lead to water looged foam and stringers. Actually one of my stringers was actually split in half. Also alot of bare glass was found after removing the top layer of fiberglass. After cutting the top of the fiberglass off the stringers. The stringers just popped out. Needless to say the transom was water logged and the bulkheads were rotted as well. But u would've never knew it by the way the boat sat in the water. I repowered mine with a vortec 350 which performs pretty good for a boat this size. This is also with all the extra weight i was carring and i didn't even know it. Still in the process of replacing the transom and stringers. I was in 3 foot waves once and the boat did a fairly good job in it. Be prepared to replace some wood and foam. the only good thing is if u can do it yourself it's not bad. Got plenty of room to work.
 
If I were you I would double check the transom, on mine for example around the transom assembly my transom is alot thicker I believe it's 2 ply and farther out it goes to single ply and is solid as a rock I would double check, I think there was another thread somewhere talking about a transom bein 2 ply around the transom assembly however I am new to boating but very mechanicly inclined, someone chime in and say whats what with the situation im talking about
 
mercruiser states you to have 2 to 2 1/8 thickness where the transom plates bolt together. Mine was 2 inches at the cutout. Mine was only double plated around the cutout then it drops to a 1 inch. Since i'm redoing the transom i just made it a solid 2 inches all the way across.
 
Thanks guys for all the info! I am going to recheck the transom and see what I can find. Other than that one thing, the boat is amazing! I even love the 268 Weekenders, but on this one, the price is right. Now I have talked to some people that have said the 268's had some issues with the 5.7 being underpowered, does that extra 6 inches on the beam really make a big difference? It looks like the 5.7 could not have been terribly underpowered for the 260's since they made them in this boat for a few years. Has anyone tried using a Mirage 15p prop with a 260/5.7 combo? I usually run with myself and another person but occasionally I run with the rest of the family which can add up to 1200 lbs quickly. Thanks for all your help once again! Jon
 
I am switching to a 18 pitch 4 blade prop which is equivilant to a 19, I have a pleasure boat not a speed boat granted I might lose 3 to 5mph or so with the drag from the 4 blade but I will be able to stay on plane at a lower RPM and save fuel, I just cruise around not wide open all the time but I do have alot smaller boat than your boat
 
I'm running the mirage 15p plus 3 blade stainless steele. I bog block or better yet twin small blocks would be ideal for this boat. At full throttle i can get up on plane in around 12 seconds now. And that's with a full load of fuel, fresh water, 2 adults and 2 kids and with enough supplies for 3 days on the boat. Plus fishing gear.I have to run around 3300 to 3600 rpm's to keep her cleanly on plane. Which according to gps is 23 to 26 mph. Anything below 21 mph and she starts to come off plane.
 
Can I ask you guys who have 260 Weekenders what kinda mileage are you guys getting?
 
Hi all,

Also new to the forum. I run a '78 26DA with the single 350 and for my boating needs the engine handles fine. I boat mostly on inland flat lakes and Lake Cumberland and Im not terribly concenred with going fast (like to cruise around 20). As far as fuel consumption I seem to burn about a Gal for every 1.25-1.5miles running btwn 3000-3600rpm.

Overall I have been extremely happy with mine even though it is a 30 yr old boat. Make sure the transom and stringers are in good shape and if in doubt pay the extra money to have a survey completed you may be glad you did in the long run
 
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