1990/91 310 Sundancer vs 1992+ 330 Sundancer

[mr300z87]

So far I have re bedded the 2 forward most bow rail stanchion and plan to do the next 2 when time permits. The rest reqire some disassembly to get at so, I will monitor them. Last weekend was a total rain out as was most of Friday and yesterday. So far I have found no interior leaks. I plan to re bed hatches eventually, one of the POs has already put a bead of sealant around the perimeter. More than 1 day without rain would be nice. Motorvader don't forget the nav lights, on our last boat after replacing the blub on starboard nav light my cabin was soaked after a rain storm, I had to bed the light with sealant.
. Thankfully our interior has been well kept and other than some staining on the headliner which we are taking care of, see above, and there is no musty smell. My rule is water needs to stay on the outside. Lol

 

[Motorvader]

Marina is removing them, cleaning fiberglass and hatch/portlight surfaces and re-bedding them with 3M 4000UV. Once this is complete we plan to water test the sun pad rails and all hand rail stanchions to see if we can spot any leaks. I'm trying to avoid damaging and repairing the hull liner to access the nuts underneath. At least I know the hatches and port lights will be 100% sealed. She's in amazing condition for her age due to indoor rack storage and fresh water use. The chromate plated hubs on the back of the V-Drives have no corrosion and look like the day the boat was made. Entire engine room has little or corrosion. Genny pan is the only area where we found corrosion. Likely due to leaky shaft seal which is getting replaced anyway. Chose 3M 4000UV after reading forums, doing my own research and seeing the BoatUS report on sealants (copy attached).

 

[Motorvader]

Motorvader, nice to see you here!! Got any pics of your new boat.

My jig was nothing special it consisted of a piece of hardwood with a the appropriate size hole drilled straight on a drill press then clamped to the sliding door to guild my hand drill. Learned for Norm on New Yankee Workshop LOL. Actually wood working is not one of my better skills, I am more of a mechanic, electrician than a carpenter.

I too like the style of the Sea Rays (we bought one) and Cruisers of the late 80s early 90s, one of the boat we looked at was an 88ish Cruiser Sea Devil. We also looked at and almost pulled the trigger on a Wellcraft 34 Grand Sport, it was a nice BIG boat, 12 ft beam, but decided the Sea Ray was more marketable when 2 ftitus sets in again. We like the mid 90s Sea Ray EC400.

At this point I have fresh oil in both engines, still working on some issues with the nav lights, a PO install a 4in tall 360 degree stern light on top of the windshield, then proceeded to put tape on it because it was blinging at the help??? I installed mast head light with both a front bulb for NAV and a 2nd bulb (making it all around) for anchor. Then I went to check the stern light on the transom which did not work. The contacts on the socket were corroded and as I took it apart to clean them, the plastic housing just fell apart in my hand. New one is in my truck waiting to be installed, then I will have all working nav lights as they are supposed to be. Next up is the new horn posted a while back, hopefully there is are wiring issues and it just a matter of remove and replace. We will be ready to go as soon as the weather is. Rained miserably all weekend.

I am also trying to figure out how to get the transducer wire up to the helm so I can install my Simrad chartplotter. I may have to remove the gauge cluster to access behind the dash in the location the exiting Garmin wires route. Thankfully I am in the IT cabling infrastructure business so I know wires. LOL While I am in there I will replace the flakey port engine tachometer with the SR tach I removed from our last boat during dash update. My plan is to update all the gauges to New Faria Chesapeake White faced. I already have one set I rescued from a derelict boat at my winter storage marina, they were free!!
This is our last boats dash, I should have swapped these out before I sold her. Oh Well!!
View attachment 126098
Now we just need the weather to warm the water up so it is not so cold out on the river/bay, the last time I was at the boat, water temp was 55 degrees and the price of fuel to come down. Have a great day.

That 2ftitus is always there! We selected the 310 for resale value as well - I'm considering the idea of buying a big live aboard boat when I retire several years later but may end up enjoying this boat too much to give it up. The purchase was also based on my marina's size and lift capacity for rack storage and this boat is at their absolute max. limit. Marina is 2 miles from my house and with rack storage I'm saving the cost of a $2K hurricane haul out plan as well as the maintenance cost of Florida's horrendous marine growth (particularly candy coral). Our previous boat was in a wet slip when we first moved to FL and one year it cost us $2.5K in total for clogged raw water intakes, diver cleaning service every 2 weeks, haul outs and power washing.

Many thanks to "zool" for sharing his transducer wiring path - this will come in handy for my electronics refit after the marina finishes up their service work. All of the boat's current electronics are the original 2001 Raytheon units with washed out monochrome LCD displays. The only challenge is the marina will be finishing up sometime in early June which means temps. in Tampa Bay will be 90+ everyday! I'll need to work on weekend mornings a little at a time. I'm an EE and former PA electrician so I plan to do the install myself with my usual OCD attention to detail (service/drip loops, crimped and solder terminals with adhesive lined shrink tubing, etc.). Big fan of Blue Sea and Ancor products.

Our guest bedroom is currently serving as a warehouse for all of the new gear purchased. SIMRAD NSS12 evo3 (not 3s - not worth extra cost in my opinion), SIMRAD NSS7 evo2 from my previous boat (looks brand new), SIMRAD Halo 20+ radar, ScanStrut 10" pedestal with HELLA LED anchor light, SIMRAD GS-25 GPS antenna (for radar overlay), ICOM M424G VHF, ACR AISLink CB2 (Class B transceiver with SOTDMA communication), Airmar B175HW High Wide 1 KW CHIRP transducer, SIMRAD ForwardScan transducer (pulled from my old boat but installed with new thru-hull assy.), new Digital Antenna's for VHF and AIS, Glomex 14" digital HD TV antenna (TV was still analog in 2001), ICOM SP37 hailer horn, Marinco dual trumpet air horn and 2 new Fireboy CO detectors for the cabin. Also plan to install Fox Marine's N2K engine gateways once I find out which GM MEFI ECM modules I have. Will be nice to have engine data on the chart plotter. Hoping the fuel consumption data is close to the accuracy of Floscan transducers. This is my Christmas in May!

 

[mr300z87]

MV you are going with a lot more tech than me, I just replaced the existing Garmin that had no transducer connected with a Simrad Cruise 7. I had glued the transducer in the hull back when I had the exhaust off, easier access, so yesterday I ran the cable up to the dash. Pathway was pretty easy, bilge to hatch under wet bar, then to a panel next to helm, and then right into the dash. I used a fish tape/snake. Behind it is a Data Marine info display, it did not power on, but is was supposed to show depth, speed. water temp, plus record trip info. I was already blocked by the Garmin. I will probably remove it and put a filler panel. The other Simrad device is auto pilot, not sure if it works or what to do with it.

The boat is also equipped with Furuno Radar from 1999 or 2000 era. It currently has an issue, it powers on and passes the self test but has an HD-Sig-Miss error displayed when trying to transmit. Manuel says to check cable connections, so I will. Not that I will ever use it but my OCD requires everything to work.

The other day I was loading up a bunch of scrap metal to dispose of, including the cast exhaust parts. I knew from our original look at the boat that it had an exhaust leak, however I never really looked for it during tear down, I never expected it to be a hole rotted completely through the elbow. BTW I used all Merc parts.

Until next time be safe and have a great night.

 

[techmitch]

The other day I was loading up a bunch of scrap metal to dispose of, including the cast exhaust parts. I knew from our original look at the boat that it had an exhaust leak, however I never really looked for it during tear down, I never expected it to be a hole rotted completely through the elbow. BTW I used all Merc parts.
View attachment 126678
Until next time be safe and have a great night.

As to your disposing of your scrap metal, those osco parts were scrap metal when they came off the shelf new. Smart move using the Merc parts.

 

[mr300z87]

I've been burned by cheap non oe parts for both car and boat parts. These days the aftermarket part cost the same as oe, except oe will last and aftermarket will fail and need to be replaced again, with oe. I installed at set of aftermarket bravo drive trim senders on a previous boat, they worked for 1.5 seasons. Installed oe on the my 250 Dancer, they were still working when I sold it after 5 seasons. Anyone who has worked on a mercruiser I/O knows they are not an easy install. I am so glad I don't have any oudrives. Although I will be helping my friend get the boat with the non working senders mentioned above ready for launch.

 

[Motorvader]

That 2ftitus is always there! We selected the 310 for resale value as well - I'm considering the idea of buying a big live aboard boat when I retire several years later but may end up enjoying this boat too much to give it up. The purchase was also based on my marina's size and lift capacity for rack storage and this boat is at their absolute max. limit. Marina is 2 miles from my house and with rack storage I'm saving the cost of a $2K hurricane haul out plan as well as the maintenance cost of Florida's horrendous marine growth (particularly candy coral). Our previous boat was in a wet slip when we first moved to FL and one year it cost us $2.5K in total for clogged raw water intakes, diver cleaning service every 2 weeks, haul outs and power washing.

Many thanks to "zool" for sharing his transducer wiring path - this will come in handy for my electronics refit after the marina finishes up their service work. All of the boat's current electronics are the original 2001 Raytheon units with washed out monochrome LCD displays. The only challenge is the marina will be finishing up sometime in early June which means temps. in Tampa Bay will be 90+ everyday! I'll need to work on weekend mornings a little at a time. I'm an EE and former PA electrician so I plan to do the install myself with my usual OCD attention to detail (service/drip loops, crimped and solder terminals with adhesive lined shrink tubing, etc.). Big fan of Blue Sea and Ancor products.

Our guest bedroom is currently serving as a warehouse for all of the new gear purchased. SIMRAD NSS12 evo3 (not 3s - not worth extra cost in my opinion), SIMRAD NSS7 evo2 from my previous boat (looks brand new), SIMRAD Halo 20+ radar, ScanStrut 10" pedestal with HELLA LED anchor light, SIMRAD GS-25 GPS antenna (for radar overlay), ICOM M424G VHF, ACR AISLink CB2 (Class B transceiver with SOTDMA communication), Airmar B175HW High Wide 1 KW CHIRP transducer, SIMRAD ForwardScan transducer (pulled from my old boat but installed with new thru-hull assy.), new Digital Antenna's for VHF and AIS, Glomex 14" digital HD TV antenna (TV was still analog in 2001), ICOM SP37 hailer horn, Marinco dual trumpet air horn and 2 new Fireboy CO detectors for the cabin. Also plan to install Fox Marine's N2K engine gateways once I find out which GM MEFI ECM modules I have. Will be nice to have engine data on the chart plotter. Hoping the fuel consumption data is close to the accuracy of Floscan transducers. This is my Christmas in May!

MV you are going with a lot more tech than me, I just replaced the existing Garmin that had no transducer connected with a Simrad Cruise 7. I had glued the transducer in the hull back when I had the exhaust off, easier access, so yesterday I ran the cable up to the dash. Pathway was pretty easy, bilge to hatch under wet bar, then to a panel next to helm, and then right into the dash. I used a fish tape/snake. Behind it is a Data Marine info display, it did not power on, but is was supposed to show depth, speed. water temp, plus record trip info. I was already blocked by the Garmin. I will probably remove it and put a filler panel. The other Simrad device is auto pilot, not sure if it works or what to do with it.View attachment 126670

The boat is also equipped with Furuno Radar from 1999 or 2000 era. It currently has an issue, it powers on and passes the self test but has an HD-Sig-Miss error displayed when trying to transmit. Manuel says to check cable connections, so I will. Not that I will ever use it but my OCD requires everything to work.
View attachment 126677
The other day I was loading up a bunch of scrap metal to dispose of, including the cast exhaust parts. I knew from our original look at the boat that it had an exhaust leak, however I never really looked for it during tear down, I never expected it to be a hole rotted completely through the elbow. BTW I used all Merc parts.
View attachment 126678
Until next time be safe and have a great night.

I'm gearing up for a 200-300 mile run to the FL keys next year and hope to visit Dry Tortugas. It's a big ocean out there and although I plan to run close to shore there's a lot of unpredictable and nasty weather that develops quickly down here. We also have shipping lanes to contend with in the Tampa Bay area (although not as busy as NY harbor!). With our previous boats we've taken our time and slowly replaced electronics and gear little by little each season. Boats are rarely the first priority when it comes to major purchases. Our daughter is now out of college and this time I'm going all in up front to have the boat the way we want it. It's all about the journey and I'm planning some big ones. Baby steps first though until we gain confidence in our "new to us" boat.

I'm with you on using only Merc parts - I lost a motor on my last boat due to a failed riser and manifold. Merc uses anti-corrosion coatings on the inside that most after market parts don't have. Enjoy the spring thaw and I hope you guys have nice weather for the Memorial Day weekend up there.

 

[Motorvader]

I'm gearing up for a 200-300 mile run to the FL keys next year and hope to visit Dry Tortugas. It's a big ocean out there and although I plan to run close to shore there's a lot of unpredictable and nasty weather that develops quickly down here. We also have shipping lanes to contend with in the Tampa Bay area (although not as busy as NY harbor!). With our previous boats we've taken our time and slowly replaced electronics and gear little by little each season. Boats are rarely the first priority when it comes to major purchases. Our daughter is now out of college and this time I'm going all in up front to have the boat the way we want it. It's all about the journey and I'm planning some big ones. Baby steps first though until we gain confidence in our "new to us" boat.

I'm with you on using only Merc parts - I lost a motor on my last boat due to a failed riser and manifold. Merc uses anti-corrosion coatings on the inside that most after market parts don't have. Enjoy the spring thaw and I hope you guys have nice weather for the Memorial Day weekend up there.

By the way, I thought you'd enjoy an old Coastie training photo from Barnegat Inlet!

 

[mr300z87]

Thats a crazy photo, definitely did not look like that when I took the wife through. It was a beautiful calm day she freaked out anyway.

 

[mr300z87]

Yesterday mother nature was finally nice to us NJ boaters, she gave us a 90 degree summer day with a light breeze. We were able to take the boat out for short ride mainly just to get some wheel time and experience with the twin inboard (4 sticks as I call it). All went well and I successfully put her back in the slip. I think I got this.

When we got back I was showing the boat to a friend, and told him I had replaced the masthead light on the windshield and the stern light on the transom, when I flipped the switch I had no nav lights, I was like wtf they were just working. The boat has 3 batteries, one for the port engine that has a on/switch, this battery has to be connected but can be off for the stereo to work so guessing the constant 12v for memory is on this battery the auto bilge pump circuit is on this one as well. Then there is are 2 batteries connected to starboard engine with a 1/2/both/off switch, I had read that it's best to run on one or the other to help keep them charged properl. So yesterday's date being odd I ran on battery 1, everything was working except the nav lights. Switched to both batteries nav lights worked. Having a full understanding of how the switch works and plenty experience with 12v DC circuits I can not figure out how this can be. I belive the only wires connected to batteries are the 00 gauge primary wires going to the switch. So how would it be possible to isolate nav to bat 2? If connected direct to battery either at bat or switch nav lights would work regardless of switch position.

It was a little to hot out yesterday, our bimini is at the canvas guy getting replacement made so we had no shade, and a couple beers in me, I did not investigate further. Just add to my ever growing list.

I have another question regarding the AC. The hose going from the sea cock to the stainer was in sink your boat condition, so I am in process of replacing it, and the piece of Napa heater hose between the strainer and the pump with proper wire reinforced hose. What is the best way to prime the system? There is a garden hose T fitting in the section between the seacock and stainer, I guessing to aid in winterizing. I was told by the PO they could no get the AC to function. I'm hoping it was just user error. We shall see.

Have great day.

Mike

 

[Motorvader]

Mike,

Might be a ground problem for the nav. light circuit (and other circuits?) on battery 1?
One of the checks my surveyor did was using long leads on a multimeter to confirm all grounds had good connections between the batteries, panels, various circuits and grounded fittings (like fuel fills). He said he see's bad grounds on aging boats all the time do to corrosion issues. On one boat he surveyed for me he found the starboard fuel fill wasn't grounded - huge safety issue. Fuel fill bedding was leaking and water was running down inside and over ground lug.

 

[mr300z87]

Between work and crappy weather we haven't been to the boat at all this week, headed there later today when the clouds go away. Then I am off all next week and plan to work on my growing list. Bob, I hear what your saying about grounding I have seen a bad ground cause all kinds of things. But I would think if there was a bad ground on the nav light circuit I would have no nav lights on either battery. If my failing memory is correct the negative terminals on the batteries are tied together then connect to the boats negative bus. The positive go to there respective terminal on the switch. It's super simple 80s/90s technology. Wires are my thing so I will some how figure it out. At least everything does work.

Fingers crossed on the Air Conditioner when I hook it back up next week.

One more question, now that I have the potable water working, my wife wants to be able to use the head. (The marina BR is 200 ft away) I still need to replace the seal between the bowl and the ball flush valve first, it won't hold vacuum. Question do I need to put any kind of treatment in the holding tank before use and after each pump out? This is my first boat with a working head.

Have a great holiday weekend

Mike

 

[mr300z87]

Finally some nice weather, spent the last to days at the boat relaxing and tinkering. Yesterday after showing my wife how to turn on the batteries, I messed with the Nav light and they worked on either battery as I would expect them to. IDK maybe I have a ghost. Will monitor them. I did find a new problem though that needs fixing right away. After spending an hour washing the winter scum off her bow I was chillin in the cabin partaking in adult substances and I noticed the headliner around the large hatch in the V-berth was damp. Somebody tried to seal in with a beed of sealant from the out side. Did not notice any leakage around the 2 smaller hatches but will get to them eventually. I was planning on getting to this but now its priority. To remove the hatch do the screws both on the top and bottom need to be removed? Any recommendations on sealant? I was also looking at the long side windows thinking they could need to be re sealed also. Anybody ever remove them?

Headed back to the boat for a day on the water hopefully.

 

[mr300z87]

The other day I was able to remove and re-seal the large V-berth hatch, here it is after fighting to get it out, sorry for my toes in the photo.

It was sealed pretty well with the exception of the rear corners, especially in the upper left of the photo you can see dirt almost all the way to the cut out. This is where the wet area was inside. It also looked like Sea Ray cut the opening slightly too large and the back four screws did not bite into anything. I re drilled them on a slight angle and was able to secure them. I think I will add 1 or 2 more on each side just to make me feel better. I may also pull out the glass and re bed it as there seems to be some sealant getting loose.

The last thing major thing I working was re installing the new hose and stainer for the Air Condition system. The I figured I would open the seacock and it would fill the stainer and I would turn the AC on and all would be good. But NO!!! I open the seacock and nothing come out even with the hose disconnected. The valve is a Groco SV type like this

I closed it in the fall when I removed the hose for replacement and did not want to forget it close it before launch. I think I checked the thru hull fitting from the outside. Not sure what I can do about this until the boat is out of the water. Anybody know where to get replacement parts for these valves? No AC makes wife happy and me miserable.

I have a few other project going on but nothing really note worthy yet.

Happy Friday

 

[Motorvader]

Finally some nice weather, spent the last to days at the boat relaxing and tinkering. Yesterday after showing my wife how to turn on the batteries, I messed with the Nav light and they worked on either battery as I would expect them to. IDK maybe I have a ghost. Will monitor them. I did find a new problem though that needs fixing right away. After spending an hour washing the winter scum off her bow I was chillin in the cabin partaking in adult substances and I noticed the headliner around the large hatch in the V-berth was damp. Somebody tried to seal in with a beed of sealant from the out side. Did not notice any leakage around the 2 smaller hatches but will get to them eventually. I was planning on getting to this but now its priority. To remove the hatch do the screws both on the top and bottom need to be removed? Any recommendations on sealant? I was also looking at the long side windows thinking they could need to be re sealed also. Anybody ever remove them?

Headed back to the boat for a day on the water hopefully.

Mike, I replied on SROC. Seeing multiple boats with leaky hatches and port lights during my search is what motivated me to shrink wrapped the new boat for the trip from SC to FL. I knew my marina wasn't going to be able to get to it for while and I wouldn't have the time to do it. Mine were in bad shape hatches lifted right off with no effort - sealant was not adhering. Marina is starting to reseal the 8 port lights this week. Once everything is done I should be good for 10 years. Not planning to sell this one! I'm looking at end of June for the marina get all of the service work wrapped up. Would be a huge bummer if I was in NJ and losing half of the boating season - I'm very thankful I can use it year round down here. Fiberglass guy is making my swim platform look like new again. Previous owners banged it up pretty bad - was mostly cosmetic repair except for the corner which was missing a piece!

 

[Motorvader]

Fiber glass guy is also doing gelcoat touch-up in several spots around the hull. He promises the boat will look like a shiny new penny when done!

 

[Motorvader]

Marina sold me on it not being worth it to convert exhaust manifold to freshwater cooling. Mecruiser charges $5K per engine for the kit to convert. I can buy a lot of manifold before I ever get to $10K!
Heat exchangers look great - no need to replace them until 5 years out. The savings will pay for the new canvas package including camper top. New PSS PRO dripless shaft seals are going in next before the manifolds and risers. This eliminates the need to lift engines and trannies. The PSS PRO's have a silicone bellow that's good for 10 years and an locking collar. Also getting rudder posts repacked with Teflon packing material.

 

[mr300z87]

Thanks for the info over on SROC forum, I ended up using a new UV resistant silicone sealant made by Pettit, it specifically mentioned hatches and deck hardware. I am sure it is similar to the 3M 4000. My hatch was difficult to get up it was glued down well except the back corner, which was where it was leaking. Motorvader you were correct only the top screws need to be removed. I have screens with velcro, but the lower screws only hold in the inner trim ring. We had rain the night I did the repair and the next day, no water there. I did have water in a very weird spot though, there are 2 drawers about mid ship actually between the corner of the long side window and last bow rail mounting point, (right where the far left poll is in the photo) the lower one had some water in it but the upper did not. There is a small closet above the drawer that felt damps as well. Going to keep an eye on this. I found a hatch I could remove to see the bow rail mounting bolts but I not sure its possible to get at them with a wrench to remove. I do have plans to re seal the side windows but I think that will need to wait until the boat is on land. Kinda wish I had the newer style duel oval ports. I think these window are going to be fun to remove and re-seal.

My engines have full closed cooling so the manifolds have coolant and only the elbow has raw water in them. Closed cooling was one of my priorities when we were looking at boats, the others were inboards and Air Con, I would not wish a pair of I/Os on anybody, one is OK but 2, NFW.

It's funny I was wondering how it would be possible to change the stuffing boxes without removing the engines, but I guess there is a lot more room to work under the engine with the outer exhaust manifold off.

If I lived in Florida my boating season would be Sept thru May otherwise it would be too hot for me. A bunch of years ago my wife and I were in St Pete's Beach in July and it was horrible 97 degrees 97% humidity. I was melting!!!! BTW my wife and I fight all the time about AC/NO AC and comfortable temps. She like hot I do not.

The fiberglass repair will be as good as new and if done right you wont be able to know it was there. Hope to see your boat floating soon.

Have a great day

 

[Motorvader]

I had the same style cabin windows on my 88' Cruisers 3110. Boat Outfitters in FL will custom make new Lexan/acrylic windows to your drawing or pattern using their CNC mill. Not too bad cost wise. I had planned to bead blast and powder coat mine if I kept the boat. After my last stern drive boat I vowed never again - maintenance cost is way too high and for 2 its cost prohibitive.

Most people in FL stay inside after 10AM in the summer (our "winter"). Everyone holds out for that other 8 months or so of beautiful weather. My wife and I are the same way - she wants 80 degrees and I want 73!

Just had the genny tech out to service the Westerbeke. They're cleaning the heat exchanger and pressure testing it, replacing alum. exhaust elbow, replacing all fuel lines (cracked), replacing all belts, oil and filter change, new plugs and new raw water pump impeller. Should be good for next 5 years except for oil and filter changes. I plan to run it a lot - need that AC. I'm also planning to use the boat as my mobile office on remote work days. A bad day on the hook or at the dock is better than a good day in the office!

Canvas guy is coming out to go over the project to replace all of our canvas and add camper top. I wrote up a detailed spec. to make sure we're both on the same page. Total package including new camper poles and interchangeable aft curtain is $12.8K. Hard to believe but got similar quotes from other shops in our area - some with 6 month waitlist. Should be done by end of July.

She's going to be a beautiful boat when all this work is done. Everyone an my marina says the fiberglass guy is an artist and perfectionist. Get to see the final product tomorrow and will take pictures. Transom graphics go on next week.

Can't wait to go for a cruise and start installing my new electronics. I've been off the water for way too long and miss it so bad. As Captain Hector Barbosa said “I feel nothing. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea." I also love Jack Sparrow's quote below.

 

[Motorvader]

ARRRR!