1983 260 Sundancer

N

Norman45

New Member
Apr 6, 2009
35
Cape Cod Mass.
Boat Info
1983 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer
350 Mag
Engines
350 Magnum
Does anyone have a 1983 26 foot Sundancer?:smt038
I have been reading many forums and really enjoy them.
Plenty of really knowledgable folks with a wealth of knowledge.
I would really like to read more about 1983 sundancer experiences.
 
Norman45 said:
Does anyone have a 1983 26 foot Sundancer?:smt038
I have been reading many forums and really enjoy them.
Plenty of really knowledgable folks with a wealth of knowledge.
I would really like to read more about 1983 sundancer experiences.
Click to expand...

I have a 1984 260srv (sundancer) Just put A/C and Heat in - love this boat !
 
How much of a project was that to do? Did you do it yourself?
What type of enginge are you running?
I just purchased mine a couple weeks ago and cannot wait to get it running.
 
It was a much bigger project than I thought - nothing fit the way I thought it would and had to be creative, now that its done I could share picts with you if you decide to do it. It was a fair amount of fabricating brackets and shelves.
Mine has the original Mercruiser 260 and Alpha One - Top speed is about 26 Knots with full Fuel, Water 2 people with weekend provisions.

My cabin was mint when I bought her last year, the cockpit was trashed and exterior rough decals cracked and destroyed, gelcoat heavily chalked. DSCN1038.jpg
 
She looks real nice in the picture. I just bought mine a couple weeks ago and I have to replace the engine as a first project.

The previous owner hydrolocked it so I got it fairly cheap.
 
I have a 1984 Sundancer 260 with alpha 1 drive i bought last year, had to put a motor in it so found a used 350 magnum cheep and installed it. Other than the engine the boat is in nice shape, new upholstery in and out.
 
That sounds like the deal that I just got into.
Do you have any pictures?
What year was the 350 Magnum?
I am putting the engine from my 22 foot searay into it (350 pushing 350hp)
 
The Magnum came out of a 1987 or so boat i believe. Need to take some better pictures, here is a couple from lake shasta a couple weeks ago.
IMG_0032.jpg

IMG_0027-1.jpg
 
What is the average range for this style boat with a 260-300hp engine and a full tank of gas (100GAL).
I know that weather plays a part, so lets say there are 2-3 foot waves and 20 knot winds. Oh and running at 3000rpm.
I am thinking of going from Fallriver Ma. to Falmouth hieghts Ma
 
I haven't ran mine enough to know the range but we spent 4 days at lake Shasta and burned about 1/2 tank but also spent alot of time on the hook.
 
Hello 84sundancer260,

Love the look of your boat without the pinstripes, wife is in the process of removing ours with an eraser, but was wondering if you could offer some advice on removing the left over residue and the discolouration of the gel coat.

This was our first year on the water with our boat, i had the most fun in a very long while, so all the dough that has gone into her i'm thinking was not a bad investment after all.:smt038

Cheers.
Manny
 
Norman45 said:
That sounds like the deal that I just got into.
Do you have any pictures?
What year was the 350 Magnum?
I am putting the engine from my 22 foot searay into it (350 pushing 350hp)
Click to expand...

Do you have an Alpha drive? They are only rated to 300hp.

Any pics of your boat? I had a 86 Sea Ray Seville 210 mid-cabin and really like the way it handled. I had a 260/Alpha 1 and on the GPS it would hit 40 mph flat out. Loved it but the cockpit layout sucked.

LK
 
Thanks - it was a fair amount of work...I used a Razor scraper to peel the decals and "Goo Gone" for most of the residue...A little acetone for the heavy stuff then flushed with water. I still have discoloration where the decals were...may have gel coat sanded in spring

D
 
The discoloration is almost impossible to get rid of completely. Even with wet sanding it will come back over time.
 
I just bought an 85 260 sundancer, I really didnt want to go that old but I really like the layout and I only paid 2000 for mine on a triple axle trailer, less than 800 hours on a 5.7 mercruiser with closed cooling, runs good. reason I got it so cheap is the upholstery was redone inside and outside but never reinstalled so its a big puzzle, then the guy got into a motorcycle accident and cant climb in the boat. I had a searay 250 and it was a very wet riding boat, a lot of spray I am hoping this one is a little better
 
I had an '83 260 I put a lot of time and money into. I posted a bunch of pics once... I think in the Classics threads... I enjoyed the boat greatly.
 
I've always liked the old 260DA's. We had use of one for a weekend several years ago and it was great! But we were on a lake and it was relatively calm so I can't speak to how dry it was in rough water.
 
I imagine the 260's are a very dry ride. I've never needed the windshield wiper while running in heavy Lake Michigan/Huron seas in my 268. The 260's are similar in design so I'll bet they are fine.

We have a tendency to "wash the bow" or "bury the flag" while trolling dead into 5-6ft seas, but those luckily are rare circumstances... :smt101

A couple times while trolling those heavy seas, we had blue water come over the bow, but it never makes it all the way to the windshield.
 
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