2006 240 INSTABILITY

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capnjohn: My sincere apologies for replying to your post. I had thought given the apparent similarities between the 240 and 260, my experience would be of interest to you. Best of luck in your quest to obtain a resolution from Sea Ray. I was about to share another observation, but given your request above, I will pass.
 
CSR is loaded with members who are willing to help others find solutions to their boating problems. Some have tons of experience in all types of boats and truly understand them and why they do what they do. Your requirement that only current generation 240DA offer opinions eliminates a huge resource.

Some of us do this forum stuff primarliy to help others and if you are not interested in our help, then good luck with finding a solution to your boating problems.

By the way, I have to wonder, if the 240DA you purchased is as unstable as you say, did you not discover that when you sea trialed the boat before purchase?
 
Well frank, Once again I agree with you on the reasource sharing and is why I keep pounding my head against that wall. There are some on this board who wish to help and some who are just offended and subsequently bash. I wade thru all the offended and wait for some feedback I can use. You are apparantly one of the offended but can't seem to keep your sarcasam to your self. If you wish to help great. Bash, then start your own thread. You don't have to read this one.

When a person sea trials a boat and there is some question with handling, generally it is chaulked up to inexperience and an adjustment period. After operating the boat now for 9 months I can reasonably say the adjustment period is over. I don't know about you but every time I run a different boat I have to make adjustments to my skills.
I hesitate to add this to justify anything but here goes. My brother owned a 50 DA and I ran it with him, so I do have experience with the big boats and not just guessing. I say he owned, with an "ed", and I hesitate to share because he was abducted by pirates (yes I said pirates) off Andros Island never recovered his body. Recovered the boat but it was worthless. So go ahead and bash, keep thinking you are allways right.

capnjohn is trying to do do what you advise but folks won't let him. I'm trying to let a man lead that is a little better with people skills. But all that has happened is ya'll are fustrating him as well.
 
capnjohn, I think this thread has degenerated to the point that if someone had information to share they'd be to affraid to post and be associated with it. Frank has spoken.
 
how about hiring a good surveyor, take them out on your boat to see what their thought is? I would think that their experience with many kinds of boats would be helpful in determining if there was something fundamentally wrong with the design and handling. I know my surveyor helped me out a great deal in picking a boat and engine package that i would be happy with. This 3rd party could give a nice objective point of view.
 
I actually think that tying the 260 problems with the 240 is a good idea. They are almost the same boat in basic design. I'd bet the hull design has the same strakes etc. They're both single engine boats with the same high center of gravity.

I hope someone with direct experience will file a complaint with Boat US.
 
capnjohn and islandhopper00 - Sorry, but you don't get to choose who can or cannot respond in this or any other thread. If you do not like a response then just ignore it and move on to the next one. The only 'bashing' that has occured in this thread is contained in some of your responses to other well-intentioned posters.

If you are mad at Sea Ray that's your perogative, but please do not take it out on the people who only wish to offer assistance.
 
Hey I haven't jumped on anyone who didn't involve themselves first. And your right, I do not have the right to say who can or can't respond to this thread. I haven't tried to. I even posted an appology for thoes who I might offend that doesn't deserve it.
I have not been off topic.
Lighten up? Seems to me others need to lighten up and stick to the topic. Opinions are valued, but if all you wish to do is cause confusion, I think you should keep it to yourselves.
I keep appologizing to the ones who are making a positive contribution, and quite frankly I do not care if someone likes me or not. So I will not lighten up untill you do.

Once again my appologies to thoes who don't need to read this junk. I just wish we could talk about boats.
 
240 Sundancer Instability

To all :

I simply asked for people with the same boat to let me know if they are having a problem like what I am having.

I have not bashed anyone, or assigned any negativity to this post.

I will simply re-state that I am interested in hearing only from those who have a 2006 or newer 240 DA and who are experiencing the same problems with instability that I am.

I am sure that there is room in this website for all of you who have problems with your 260, 280, and other size Sea Rays top create a post of your own.

Again, would you please refrain from commenting if you are not currently, or have in been in the recent past, and owner of a 2006 or newer 240 DA and you are experiencing instability with the boat.

Thank you to those of you 2006 and newer 240 DA owners who have kindly contributed to this post. I want you to know that I will find a resolve to this problem, and I will share it with you. If you know anyone else who owns this model, please ask them if they have had a problem, and if so, what have they done to correct it. If they have not been able to correct the problem, tell them to sit tight and watch how this thing unfolds with the Manufacturer.


To the others, good luck to you in solving the problems that you have experienced, and thank you for your good intentions and attitude of trying to help.

Capnjohn
 
At the risk of being chastised for chiming in without the right equipment.........

If you believe there is a flaw with the hull design of your boat I suggest you hire a qualified naval architect to review the hull design and weight distribution.

SNAME (Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers) can be found at www.sname.org. SNAME is a professional membership organization like ASME, or the AMA, and can direct you to a list of qualified professionals without comercial bias.
 
Probably should stay clear but, here goes. These are my own observations of my boat in the conditions I am used to. I own a 2007 240 DA with the 5.0 and BIII. Purchased new four months ago and now have 52 hours on the vessel. I boat primarily on the ICW between Pensacola and Destin, Florida. Previous boat was a 20 foot Starcraft bowrider. I pay close attention to the weather but launch when I feel confident in my abilities.
I agree that the 240 is a challenge. However, I feel it is a matter of sea state/wind versus speed.
In normal weather/calm seas (smooth to light chop)/light ocean breeze( less then 10-12mph) the boat is a joy to ride and handles like a dream. Balanced and very sporty, love making hard right and left turns. No problems in handling at all.
When coming up on plane in all conditions it tends to lean to starboard, gradually trimming the drive up brings me back to center. Then I balance trim tabs according to load if they are needed at all.
Crosswind situations are the most difficult to handle, feels like the boat catches to much wind. No problems with wave action, more with wind.
I do slow down and it can be a handful. Depending on the situation I may put the trim tabs all the way down and trim the drive slightly up to get rid of the lean. This in my opinion causes the bow to bite into the water and lessens the wind effect.
Have not noted as large an effect on the boat from waves/current as from wind.
Experimentation for me has been the key. And yes the first few times we went out the admiral and crew nearly abandoned ship for fear of tipping.
No fear now, we know the boat isn't going to tip over, I just adjust to find whatever works and throttle up.
I keep track of what works in varying conditions so I hope I am creating a reference to depend on.
After all if the admiral loves the ride, she'll want the bigger boat.
 
240 Instability

In response to Getting There's comment:


Thank you very much for sharing your experience with the boat, and how you have been able to keep it under control to this point-

I have also observed how wind can add to the instability problem.

I have operated the boat On Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, ( larger inland lakes) as well as two smaller water company properties, The Illinois River, and of course, our home on the water, Lake Michigan.

I agree, wind does affect this boat. In fact, one of the first really dramatic events took place in a 2-3' chop, and a wind from the starboard side at about 25 MPH. The ladies in our group actually screamed as the boat appeared to be tipping over.

The correction to the problem did not come from the trim tabs, or adjusting the trim, but rather from dramatically slowing the boat.

At the time it happened, I chalked it up to "new boat quirkiness' but still it left an impression.

I found that everytime that I got on the boat from that point on, I seemed to be on edge, wondering when and if it would do it again.

I started to think about what the cause could be. I noticed that if the boat was lighter- less fluids- less people- the problem seemed to be exacerbated.

I made a policy of boating only with a full tank of water and fuel, and trying my best to evenly distribute the weight around the boat.

On a trip across the big bad lake on Memorial Day ( 100 mile round trip ) on calmer- than- I've- ever- seen- it seas, the trim tabs had be adjusted every few minutes in order to keep it level while traveling at 33 knots. They call it chine walking when the boat seems to fall off it's keel to port or starboard. I had only one other boat- A 1998 Sea Ray 270 DA- that acted this way. My resolve to that problem boat was to unload it and but a much larger vessel.

I had never had the boat in large seas until this past weekend-

3-5' rollers on the big bad Michigan Ocean really tested my ability as a captain. The waves were not that large- they were nicely spaced rollers, the type that you might find on any ocean anywhere in the world.

To this boat, the waves seemed to amplify the problem, and the boat seemed almost uncontrollable at certain points. We could safely travel at less than 10 knots. 11 miles to go seemed like a lot of work if you know what I mean. Our Crew felt compelled to dawn their PFD's and I did my best to keep her steady.

There is a serious flaw in this boat. I would hate to think what might happen to an inexperienced boat and his family should they encounter this situation.

Thanks again for sharing your experience with me.

Capnjohn
 
Well, I am going to chime in even though I don't have a 240. I have driven a wide range of boats in this category. The differences in handling have been vast. I have been on boats that exhibit the quirks you are indicating, and it can be alarming.

I would try very hard to get a rep from Sea Ray out for a run on a windy day. And, I would keep the dialogue very open with Sea Ray, and the dealer. I would also be persistent, but gentle (this is a very gray legal area). Maybe the dealer or Sea Ray will chip in substantially to get you into a 260 (or maybe a 280 would be better since some are complaining about the 260).

Beyond that, I would continue to experiment in hopes of getting some improvement. Maybe try lead ingots or sandbags in the keel. Move them fore and aft. This may not be a permanent solution, but it may help to get some idea as to whether it is a COG issue or hull shape, or both. I'm not a big fan of hydrofoils on Bravo III's but I'd try a few different designs. Have you tried double cupped props? They won't solve these issues, but might give a little improvement.

Also, I can't help but wonder about the X dimension on the outdrive installation. Significantly too high or low can cause some real handling problems. The X dimension is a big deal to change, but possible.
 
Keokie, I think your right on track except we have to get Sea Ray to even acknowledge or want to participate in doing that.
I also think reasearch needs to be done as you suggest, but with out Sea Ray concurance this will be skewed data at best. Engineering and R&D needs to establish their parameteres for the best possible trend lines. I'd love nothing more than to sit down with the team necessary to figure out a best fix.
Even then it will come down to the bottom line and what Sea Ray can bear. The answer I've already heard is the ride maybe uncomfortable but not unacceptable. I don't know what their definition of uncomfortable or unacceptable is but it's an answer.
I have to wait and see what responce others get first.
 
My experience with fighting the lean is mainly caused by the wind more than anything. Going down (or up) the Mississippi, the wind effect changes as you go around islands, bends in the river, around barges etc. I do as has been stated before, get on plane, trim up outdrive usually to 3 or 4 on trim gage, then very slowly adjust trim tabs. This works pretty well but if I have the camper canvas on and any kind of wind I am constantly adjusting the tabs.
 
Gary, leave it to you to make me laugh! Some people anger me. You make me laugh, thanks.
You know I thought about the outriggers. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of having birds around crapping on everything all the time, and imagine how hard it would be to get a slip in a really nice marina.
 
Re: 240 Instability

capnjohn said:
To all reading this post

Please re-read the Initial Post that I created-

The problem is with a 240 DA 2006 Model, not a 260DA, or any other make or year.

I am only interested in hearing from people with this particular model of boat. If there is a common problem with this model, there is a much better chance of getting a proper fix from Sea Ray- for everyone if we stick together.

Thank you for you comments about all the other types of boats and your problems with them- filling a water tank and what not is not going to resolve this particular problem.

Please limit this discussion thread to those who currently own a 2006 model or newer 240 DA made by Sea Ray Boats.

Capnjohn [/u]
Click to expand...

I think you have all the answers you're gona get on this one ... there is no miracle fix. Not from Sea Ray, nor form others. You can see its a widespread issue with these two hulls. It is an inherent issue with the 240 (and 260). Your fix is to become a master of load balancing, working trim and the tabs. End of story.
 
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