268DA and Weekenders

I have the twin 4.3s. It is simply awesome!!! Its my 4th boat and I have never had such a quick out of the water up to plane boat. Yet if I want to idle accross the lake I fire up one engine and sip gas. As far as OMC. I had heard 60% bad about them when researching my first boat. I bought a 98 Chris Craft Concept. Blew it up in two months. When I bought it i tuned up and replaced anything and everything any one suggested. The water pump housing rotated and it over heated. parts were not hard to find. But they have a dependibility issue. I will only own Merc now. Not sure what they do but they do it well
 
Here's my quick answer to cockpit seating. Those fold down seats are terrible, so I have a combo deal with my cooler and additional seating for guests and fishing crew.

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Hi Folks~

I recently purchased a 1988 268 Sundancer. She is currently in winter storage. I want buy a trailer to be able to launch her each year and to winter store her on my property. Right now its hard for me to get to the marina that the boat is currently at. So, I am looking for what the trailer dealer calls the "bow-eye to drain plug" lenght. Can anyone help me out? Also, any suggestions on a trailer I should look at? So far, I know it needs to have a load rating of about 8000lbs. Considering the trailer supports the boat with i/o and swim platform hanging over, will a trailer for a 25-26ft boat work, or do I need to go larger?

Thanks, Bob
 
I just measured my 268 for you. She's 23ft, 6" from the bow eye to the drain plug and 26ft, 6" from the drain plug to the tip of the bow (not including the bow pulpit or swim platform). The boat and trailer weighs 9320lbs with a little under a 1/4 tank of fuel and no gear or water on board. I would make sure the trailer is rated for 9000 lbs to be safe.

And I do not believe a trailer for a 25ft boat will work. These boats are true 26-1/2ftrs and heavy. They will crush a trailer rated for a 25ftr.

My trailer is a roller version and I really like it. I put easily 3000+ miles/year on the trailer. Definitely get a winch if you can afford the extra $$.

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Daddubo said:
The motor isn't the problem the 7.4 is a 454 Chevy, Volvo bought the OMC out drives check and see if they can get parts.
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I don't think OMC ever used a big block except in thier king cobra and that was a 460 ford.
 
OMC did use the 454 - 365hp with the king cobra in 90 my cousin had a 221 Liberator with it but not sure when the King Cobra came out. Volvo own it now but parts might be hard to come by. It might have the Alpha that Sea Ray had made in white and they think it is a OMC. There is a guy on here that has Cobra in his signature I can't remember who it is or what engine he has. If it is a Cobra drive then he is one up on the Alpha
 
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Daddubo said:
OMC did use the 454 - 365hp with the king cobra in 90 my cousin had a 221 Liberator with it but not sure when the King Cobra came out. Volvo own it now but parts might be hard to come by. It might have the Alpha that Sea Ray had made in white and they think it is a OMC. There is a guy on here that has Cobra in his signature I can't remember who it is or what engine he has. If it is a Cobra drive then he is one up on the Alpha
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I stand corrected. Omc used both the ford and chevy bigblocks. Parts for the king cobra are rare and really cost. If I knew what I know now when I purched my boat I would have looked for another one with a merc and a 454. You can get lots of stuff for the regular small block cobra plus sei makes an alpha drive and a way to adapt it.
 
Tune-up question:
Since I just purchased this boat, I want to buy some tune-up items for it but without going to the marina and pulling the old parts off, I don't know what the corrent part numbers would be to replace them. I'm hoping some one on this site can offer some help.
I have a 1997 454 (7.4L) Mercruiser engine in my 1988 Sundancer; Does anyone know the part numbers, or where I can find part numbers, for the oil filter and fuel filter? Also, what oil are you using for?
Thanks again for all the help I've received in the past. This is a great site with some wonderful and knowledgable folks...
 
Moat Merc parts like filters have numbers on them but you can get filters and tune up parts from your local NAPA Parts store. Their filters are made by WIX which is about the best on the maket. On the oil I used a 15/40. Go heer for owners manuals and parts manuals you might have to go up or down a few yeas to get what you are looking for. http://www.searay.com/Page.aspx/pageId/10136/Customer-Support.aspx

Good luck
 
Go to www.marineengine.com they have everything you will need to know about that engine, I have the same, make sure you have the engine serial number.
 
Hello All,

I am brand new to Club SeaRay. I've read a lot of the posts and it seems like you all share a wealth of info. I am looking at 268s now and have a few questions. I owned a 1987 230 Weekender with an Alpha 1 for 12 years, then sold her to buy a trawler. After a few years of cruising the ICW, and then selling the trawler, I'm back to looking for a smaller boat and have always loved the 268s.

My main question has to do with engine size. Would I be better off buying one with the small block 350 or the large block 454? I've heard that I'll get significantly better fuel economy wth the 350 and then I've heard that I need a 454 for the boat to handle well and get up on plane, even with just 2 people, dog, lots of gear (we like to cruise for several weeks at a time) and full tanks. What are your recommendations?

Second, besides having a survey, checking for dry rot in the stringers, transom, and deck and checking compression, what other things should I inspect?

Finally, will a 268 handle seas any better than my 230, which handled 2' well but very dicey with 3'?

Thanks. Looking forward to hearing from you all.
 
I would recommend the bigger engine like the 454 or twin 4.3ltrs. I don't think the small block has enough weight to make the boat handle well, plus not enough HP to get her on plane good and keep her there. If you get the single engine 454, get a good Michigan Wheel 16x16 prop. That will make these boats stay on plane at 18-19mph and therefore helps a bunch with fuel economy.

My boat eats 3-4ft Lake Michigan and Huron waves for lunch! No problem in big seas.

I happen to just run across this little gem this morning...
http://skipperbuds.com/Page.aspx/di.../view/Details/1988-Sea-Ray-268-SUNDANCER.aspx
 
If you can findone I would go with 2 3.4's if you are going in open water. if you are keepingit in the water I would go with a 270 for the extra width would make a big differenceon a extended trip. If you are going to trailer then the 268 would work.

as far acs checking for rot the transom, the bulkhead in the engine compartment and the side shelfs where the battety and water heater are and of course the stringers.
 
Daddubo said:
If you can findone I would go with 2 3.4's if you are going in open water. if you are keepingit in the water I would go with a 270 for the extra width would make a big differenceon a extended trip. If you are going to trailer then the 268 would work.

as far acs checking for rot the transom, the bulkhead in the engine compartment and the side shelfs where the battety and water heater are and of course the stringers.
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Thanks for your feedback, Daddubo and Getaway. I found a 268 w/twin 4.3s that I'm considering. If I like it and the seller and I can come to terms, I'll have it surveyed.

Three questions: 1) The engines have never had anything done to them except annual maintenance by a SeaRay dealer. I'm a little concerned about risers and manifolds since they are 25 years old, but the boat's only been in fresh water. Anything you can think of specifically that I should check other than compression? 2) Also, how do the twin 4.3s compare to the 454 on fuel economy? I wasn't considering twins, just the 454. 3) One more thing: owner says the boat planes at 3500 rpm, which seems high, but I don't know anything about the 4.3 V6 engines. On my 230 Weekender with a small block 350, I hit plane at 2800 to 3000.

Thoughts? Thanks, guys.
 
I have twin 4.3s in my 268. This is the first twin engine boat and the biggest Ive owned. With the last being a Bayliner cierra 245 which had a merc 350cin and Bravo III drive. I would say about the 3000 rpm is accurate, but what I wanted to ad is the boat gets up to plane EFFORTLESSLY. It doesn't "push or plow" like all my other boats have. Just like a sport boat it hops right out of the water. Which means you can back off on the throttle a lot sooner than if you had a single big block. I know several 268 owners with single engines and most of them have had drive work. The Alpha drives work way to hard for such s long boat. The twin V6s are a PERFECT set up for that boat. One thing I take advantage of is when I just want to idle across the lake, I use one motor, no higher than 1400 rpm and use VERY little gas.

Good luck and keep us updated.
 
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