2008 Sundancer 290

Jeffrey Wanko

New Member
Aug 23, 2019
24
Apollo Beach, FL
Boat Info
2008 Sea Ray Sundancer 290, Vessel View, Raymarine Axiom, Quantum 2 Doppler, and Ray70 VHF
Engines
Twin 383 Stroker Mercruiser 6.2L 350 HP
Hello Everyone,

My wife and I purchased a used 2008 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 which obviously has a head system and holding tank. I read the manual in Section 7, Step 1, which says to "Turn ON the DISCHARGE PUMP breaker on the salon DC distribution panel and open the waste discharge seacock located on the bilge floor." The problem is there is no such switch or even anything remotely close to discharge pump. The 2nd step says, "Operate DISCHARGE switch at the WASTE SYSTEM CONTROL area on the main distribution panel." Again, there is no such switch. Can anybody help me understand how to operate the macerator system? Please and thank you?
 
The manual is referring to an option your boat does not have... a macerator and an overboard discharge system.

To use the head, turn it on at the breaker panel (called head system maybe?) and turn the key switch on right by the toilet. You should here the vacuum pump come on and build vacuum. You then step on the pedal and it will flush into the holding tank. The pump will come on again to build vacuum and be ready for the next flush.
 
Hi Jim,
Thank you for responding. Funny thing is, we have a discharge seacock, so I just went back out to the boat, and got into te engine compartment, and verified that we have a discharge pump, hoses and seacock. As you said, the head system has a key with a momentary position of discharge. SO, I opened the seacock, turned the head system on, turned the key, and I could hear the discharge pump operating. The system installed is not at al like the documentation. Thanks for your help!
 
Hopefully your tank was empty since (perhaps you know this already???) discharging black water at the dock is a big no-no :):)

If you're a coastal boater you can only run that bugger 3 miles out to sea (I hear it's 3 miles, others can confirm). If you're a fresh water boater you're out of luck for legal discharge just about everywhere in the USA...
 
Congratulations!!!
Great boat, we really enjoy ours.
Not related to your question but nice to know, There is a small group of 290 owners that have posted some great stuff over the years in the sport cruiser forum.
Official 290 Sundancer Thread
 
Hopefully your tank was empty since (perhaps you know this already???) discharging black water at the dock is a big no-no :):)

If you're a coastal boater you can only run that bugger 3 miles out to sea (I hear it's 3 miles, others can confirm). If you're a fresh water boater you're out of luck for legal discharge just about everywhere in the USA...

Hi Stee6043,
No, not empty but had been flushed and pumped out at our local marina, and was filled with water for testing purposes!!! Yes, you are correct, that 3 miles is the minimum. I was looking for technical answers to my question, but moral high ground answers are also appreciated! No worries, though. Thanks!
 
Congratulations!!!
Great boat, we really enjoy ours.
Not related to your question but nice to know, There is a small group of 290 owners that have posted some great stuff over the years in the sport cruiser forum.
Official 290 Sundancer Thread

Three Seasons, thank you! Yes, it is really strange that my exact boat does not match the documentation whatsoever, but, that is when I roll me sleeves up, and figure it out. I will get involved in the Official 290 Sundancer Thread!
 
Another Idea, Go to SeaRay's web site and download your owners manual and parts manual while they're still available. Maybe your looking at the European manual??
 
Hi Stee6043,
No, not empty but had been flushed and pumped out at our local marina, and was filled with water for testing purposes!!! Yes, you are correct, that 3 miles is the minimum. I was looking for technical answers to my question, but moral high ground answers are also appreciated! No worries, though. Thanks!

Nah, not moral highground, just wanna avoid that USCG ticket. I'm aware plenty of folks that regularly discharge into Lake Michigan...a no discharge zone. Shoot, I dock my boat on a river a few hundred yards away from a sewer line that fractured just a couple years back. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage was pumped into the river over the period of a few days. Folks didn't seem to get too excited about it, just a couple news stories. For me it was highly ironic that this was the year I failed to get my USCG safety sticker for not having my macerator seacock closed and locked :):)
 
Interesting. When you say "locked" what exactly does that mean? My macerator seacock is closed, and there is a broken zip tie that at one point was not broken. We have had the boat for about three months.
 
Jeffrey, from a "3rd party point of view", and for what it's worth, I didn't read Stee6043's post as "moral high ground". I simply thought he was mentioning that "rule" in case you didn't know about it. Which, truthfully, we would have no way of knowing if you did, or didn't.

Yes, "locked" is a relatively loose term. It needs to be mechanically unable to be accidentally opened. The easiest thing - that would satisfy ALL "authorities" - would be to remove the handle. In most cases, a zip tie suffices.
 
Hi LazyDaze,

Not sure how to interpret your response to the moral high ground remark. Did you take offense to my remark to Stee6043??? Did Stee6043 ask you to defend him??? My comment is in no way was disrespectful nor was it meant to be. I was not in anyway offended by Stee6043 pointing the issue out. As I said, I was looking for a technical answer that addressed my question, and I also said that moral high ground answers are also appreciated!

In any event, thank you for clarifying that a zip tie satisfies the "locked" requirement. Much appreciated.
 
Jeff, no, he didn't ask me. No, I wasn't offended. It could be that I read too much into your post (problem with forums is that we lose the tone or personality of a response). But because he didn't initially offer a technical answer and you made a point to mention that, it sounded like it could be a little sarcastic. But, like I said, I could have read too much into it as well. I only mentioned what I did with good intentions - with the intent of diffusing (just in case)... Meaning, IF you thought his post was "mightier than thou", as a 3rd person reading through the posts, I didn't read it as such. Sounds like all is good, though. Carry on! :)
 
No worries, LazeDaze. For the reasons you cited, I try very hard to write in such a way to remove alternative meanings, but I can see your point. Again, everything is good on my end. We are very new to boating, so I soak up as much knowledge as I can, and really do appreciate input. Funny thing about dumping waste. I am a commercial pilot and have owned several planes over the years. As long as you are not over someone's house or a gathering of people, you can drop waste...and even funnier, my wife and I took a mystery train ride in Austin last Halloween, and the lavatories on a train dump the waste right out of the bottom of the train onto the tracks and it is legal!

Regardless, there is to much pollution in our waters, and I for one am not going to contribute to any more, and also want to make sure that if we were ever pulled over, I am prepared for the inspection! Thanks again!
 
Oh... in regards to the owner's manual... yes, sometimes the owner's manuals are more generic - covering multiple models. Other times, the factory changes the way they produce/install things from one model year to the other but the manuals don't get updated. Other times, a previous owner installs something and it's different than what the factory intended. And still other times... the manual is wrong!

Either way, as you figured out, it sounds like your macerator is activated by (as noted above) the HEAD SYSTEM breaker. Moral of the story... the manuals can be quite helpful - but if something doesn't, logically, make sense - don't take the manual as gospel... which you have likely already figured out, as well! ;)

If you're plan is to never use the macerator (and nothing wrong with that, for sure!)... you may want to electrically disable it (either at the key switch or at the pump), or just remove the handle and store it away in the boat. If it was me, I would probably remove the handle AND electrically disable it so a passenger didn't accidentally turn the discharge pump on. "Hey, I wonder what this does if I turn this key?".

Even though you would have the seacock closed, it "could" make a mess inside the boat - or at the very least you would end up with effluent just sitting in that discharge hose forever.
 
For future reference if I ever use smiley faces in any of my posts they are intended to be full indemnification against any allegations of moral high ground being used, with malice or otherwise, in that particular post. Further, let the record show my original post contained TWO such indemnifying smileys!

Ha.

FWIW I've used zip ties on my seacocks in the past as well. Taking the handle off is a pain in the rear. And for me that loose handle would immediately have an 80% chance of being placed somewhere I'd never find it...ever...even if in plain site in the engine room.
 

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