1988 300 weekender

[Erie Ray]

Just went for a test ride on a 88 300 weekender on lake erie in 2-4 footers and was blown away by the ride. My 91 23 ray would have beat me to death. This boat is super clean and I'm thinking about trading up. I will have a survey before I buy but does anyone know of any common issues with this model I should look for? THANKS

 

[Iprof]

2 to 4 footers you were hardly working her, I was out in 10 to 15 footers this summer when the weather called for 2 to 3 footers, they were wrong but my 300 handled it just fine.

There are 3 areas that you want to make sure are inspected when you have a survey, the anchor locker hatch, the deck around that area, the stanchions should be rebeded, if water gets in you will notice the cored deck will be soft and needed of repair. The rear transom should also be checked for moisture as this is a problem area.

I love my 30DA, the room and the handling are great and the teak gives it a very rich interior.

Good luck with the purchase.

Ken

 

[speakrdude]

Hey Erie, How bout some pics for us 300 owners? I also have an 88 300 weekender.

 

[Bob M]

I had an 1988 300 Weekender. I purchased it brand new as a leftover in 1989. It still had the original engines when I sold it. I kept it 20 years and then purchased a 2002 320 Dancer. We love the 320 but the 300 was a lot easier to handle and much cheaper to operate. The 320 burns almost twice the gas per hour to operate. The 1988 300 is a great boat to own!

 

[Mogut]

I bought an 87 300 weekender this summer for $13.5k with 710 hrs in a private sale. The broker the guy had listed it online for $22k (what a dumb price)

Here's a list of things I fixed so far:

-All new open deck upholstery, side panels too, wood all rotted $$$$$$$!
-air condition magdrive cooling pump needed repair (a third party add-on equipment i believe)
-replaced all 3 batteries
-having PLENTY of trouble with the stuffing box. I cant get it to stop leaking. I had new packing put in, still leaking
-forward gear engine idle had to be adjusted. People seems to think 800 is right, not for these, manuals says 650rpm
-replaced emergency pump flipper switch
-replaced spot light lamp. (3 post lamp, $60)
-fixed trumpet horns
-bow rails are were loose, couple of the mounts cant be accessed without cutting interior
-datamarine depth finder not working (didnt fix yet, sending unit to DMI over winter)
-replaced water deck fill housing ***NOTE: no replacement deck fill caps available for these deck fills. If you loose them you must replace the whole assembly. Trust me on this. The threads on the caps are some non-standard thread that no one mfg's anymore

...and last but not least, my 87 needed alot of oxidation restoration. The botton anti-F paint is a disaster on the hull. There must be at least 15 layers of paint, and it is all peeling. I need it to be redone, a job i will pay to have done.

Open issues:
-Battery wiring is goofey. All my pumps are wired as though the selector switch is BEFORE the bilge pumps. I dont like that.
-pop up window seals are old and a couple broken arms
-interior fabric is dated, starting to look poopey
-range switch on stove is broke, stove turns on when you lift the cover LOL
-need new eisenglass on the camper top panels, lots of burnt vinyl
-a few snaps missing
-need new floor carpet
-boat came with an old humminbird fishfinder, not working... humminbird wont help. Will buy a garmin over winter.

You will have plenty of items to fix on that boat im sure. Seems never ending on mine. None of them "show stoppers" so far

 

[Erie Ray]

Thanks for the replies. Hey Bob M do you remember about how many gallons per hour you burned in your 300.

 

[Erie Ray]

10 to15 footers? Are you on the ocean Iprof?
Lake Erie waves are close together chop. Been out in 5-7 footers and the waves were breaking over the bow at about 5mph!

 

[johngus]

purchased the same boat last Oct.moved from a 86 25 sundancer to the 30 weekender.wide body boat is awesome,reasonably good on fuel,inboard twins are great around the dock.i'll never go back to a single again.can't say enough on how much I like the boat.the only problem is no aft cabin but I didn't want the sundancer with the outdrives.2 engines is enough maintenance,who needs 2 more outdrives to deal with as well.

 

[Iprof]

10 to15 footers? Are you on the ocean Iprof?
Lake Erie waves are close together chop. Been out in 5-7 footers and the waves were breaking over the bow at about 5mph!

We were 15 miles out in Georgian Bay on a 55 mile crossing. I was in lead with a 56' following me, it was not that bad, not breaking that much mostly rollers. It did take us 6 hours to go the 55 miles. There was no way we would turn around and have following seas the waves would have been a lot worse in the area we had come from.

Ken

 

[Sundancer]

-replaced water deck fill housing ***NOTE: no replacement deck fill caps available for these deck fills. If you loose them you must replace the whole assembly. Trust me on this. The threads on the caps are some non-standard thread that no one mfg's anymore

Actually the deck fills are available through Marine Part Depot. I lost the crap cap and found a direct replacement through these guys. I had to purchase the whole fitting, but it was only $17 and the cap fit so I didn't have to replace the whole assembly!

 

[Mogut]

Actually the deck fills are available through Marine Part Depot. I lost the crap cap and found a direct replacement through these guys. I had to purchase the whole fitting, but it was only $17 and the cap fit so I didn't have to replace the whole assembly!

OH EXCELLENT!!!! link please?

 

[Sundancer]

Scroll down the page and you will see the different types. As I mentioned I had to order the whole piece, but the cap worked so that's all I used!

http://www.marinepartdepot.com/new316ststcl2.html

 

[Bob M]

Thanks for the replies. Hey Bob M do you remember about how many gallons per hour you burned in your 300.

I use to cruise at 2800-3000 rpms doing roughly 19-21 knots over the bottom depending on the wind, current, and tide. I would burn 14-15 gallons per hour at that speed. I still had the original 350/260hp engines (straight inboards) when I sold the boat a couple of months ago. Two thousand plus hours and still running strong!

 

[Bob M]

Actually the deck fills are available through Marine Part Depot. I lost the crap cap and found a direct replacement through these guys. I had to purchase the whole fitting, but it was only $17 and the cap fit so I didn't have to replace the whole assembly!

I lost one gas cap which caught on a piling breaking the beaded chain while I was filling the gas tanks. The Sea Ray Dealer said there were three different manufacturers of those caps for the 88's. I bought one of each and none of them fit. I modified a plastic cap which I managed to get into the waste fitting, so I could take that cap for my gas fill. A couple of years later my friend sold his 89 300 and had one extra gas cap. I tried it and it fit perfectly. Ever since that incident, I've been extremely careful when removing and replacing the caps.