290 sundancers 1994-midyear 97 "We need a thread"

bouttime,

I see you have twins so that means you have a 11gal. holding tank, is that working out ok, or does it seem like you have to pump out alot?
I have twins to. I have not used the boat yet do to up grades being done. The 11gal. tank was a concerned when I got the boat. My last boat had 18 gal. that was fine.
 
Time

It has not been an issue so far but with just getting the boat late last August we haven't done any anchoring out yet. Most trips last year were for the day out in the river and one to Cedar Point so the head has not been worked too hard yet. If I can get the Admiral to go to the North Channel like I want we will find out.

Jeff
 
What's the 290's been up to? Is every one back in the water?

MINE IS STILL AT THE UPHOLSTERY SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!(':smt021')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt013')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt017')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt009')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt101')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt089')
IT WILL BE DONE NEXT WEEK(':smt100')
WHEN IS NEXT WEEK GOING TO GET HERE????????????(':smt119')
 
I GOT MY BOAT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!Tell me what you think, I will post more pic's latter.
:smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038
 
Last edited:
TIME WELL WASTED said:
I GOT MY BOAT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!Tell me what you think, I will post more pic's latter.
:smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038 :smt038
Click to expand...

Looks pro Time. You're going to enjoy that!

Sadler
 
What has everyone in our little navy been up to?

Admiral and I had a nice 3 night adult only stay on Kelley's Island that was great except for the bloody water snakes - I hate snakes.

This weekend (Canada Day) we are venturing to the SE corner of Lake St. Clair to the Cove Marina with out daughter and another boating couple who have 2 kids. It is a nice 40 mile run from our marina and the weather is supposed to be perfect. I can't wait.

Jeff

P.S. the boat is performing flawlessly, well except for that whole changing the waste pump for the head. You probably can imagine.
 
Jeff,

We skipped last weekend on the boat, were there the previous weekend, and will be down there this coming weekend. We'll probably overnight in a slip Friday and shoot down the ICW Saturday 20 or 25 miles to one of my favorite anchorages. Water snakes we don't have to contend with, but no-see-ums are bad enough.

Right after I bought my boat, the mascerator pump stopped working, and I had to replace it. Sounds like the same pump you're changing--the one just to the right of the holding tank. Not only was it stinky, but getting to the screws required painful contortions of my arms and upper body.

Sadler
 
Sadler,

Mine has the electric head with the pump / macerator mounted in the base of the toilet itself. The pump unit itself wasn't too bad but contorting myself to do the wiring inside the vanity was another matter. My marine store owner must have felt sorry for me as West Marine in the states list this unit @ $475 U.S. but he broke up a complete head system and sold me the pump for $230 Cdn. Kicker is that after I changed it I was talking to a much more experienced friend at our marina who told me it was most likely just a dry and stiff $35 impeller - oh well spares are not a bad thing right? I will order the impeller and rebuild the old one to keep.

Jeff
 
Jeff,

I should have remembered what you got into. I had a 1995 290, and someone put something unthinkable down the head and I had to dissasemble it. Uhhhhh. I now give specific head use instructions along with my safety review whenever someone new comes aboard.

Sadler
 
Time,

The 11 gal holding tank is proving to be an issue and we haven't even anchored out for an extended period yet. I looked behind the panel and there is room for a much larger tank provided the dimensions are correct. The height and depth have to be close to the original but you can easily fit a tank with 12" more length.

I was thinking of installing a valve in the water line near the toilet so I can slow down the amount of water being flushed into the tank. I believe this will help as long as I don't totally choke off the water flow and cook the impeller - any thoughts?

Jeff
 
Wow, not sure why it took me this long to realize there was an ongoing thread for mid-90s 290 owners! Newbie here, got our first boat this past fall and are now in the middle of our first full year, still figuring things out. 1994 290DA with twin 4.3LX. Coupla questions for anyone out there:

1. We just got a factory replacement canvas set from Great Lakes Boat Top, camper enclosure and convertible bimini (apparently true biminis were not made for this model.) Those of you with the convertible - what/how do you do with it when you're driving? Do you fold it back and tuck it into a boot (which we don't have)? What's the one-sided zipper thingy halfway back on one of the frame pockets, can/does that somehow zip to the radar arch area and contain the whole thing folded back?

2. I'm reading this thread about the holding tank - twin engines = 11 gal tank? We haven't had an issue (yet) but if we do have an 11gal I'll have to be very wary of it - where is the tank located?

3. Any input on fuel consumption? Have only done one long trip (2.5 hrs each way) and filled up upon returning, so it seems we're at around 18gal/hour total and maybe 1.4-1.5mpg?

4. Getting some stinkyness from hot water (heater onboard), but not cold...just dirty lines? Bought West Marine water cleaner, will be using it soon.

Love the great info on this board, invaluable stuff for novices like me. Will be doing a big (for me) stereo redo soon (multiple cockpit speakers, subwoofer, amp) so I'll be posting some pics.

Thanks!
 
Umpyman said:
Wow, not sure why it took me this long to realize there was an ongoing thread for mid-90s 290 owners! Newbie here, got our first boat this past fall and are now in the middle of our first full year, still figuring things out. 1994 290DA with twin 4.3LX. Coupla questions for anyone out there:

1. We just got a factory replacement canvas set from Great Lakes Boat Top, camper enclosure and convertible bimini (apparently true biminis were not made for this model.) Those of you with the convertible - what/how do you do with it when you're driving? Do you fold it back and tuck it into a boot (which we don't have)? What's the one-sided zipper thingy halfway back on one of the frame pockets, can/does that somehow zip to the radar arch area and contain the whole thing folded back?

2. I'm reading this thread about the holding tank - twin engines = 11 gal tank? We haven't had an issue (yet) but if we do have an 11gal I'll have to be very wary of it - where is the tank located?

3. Any input on fuel consumption? Have only done one long trip (2.5 hrs each way) and filled up upon returning, so it seems we're at around 18gal/hour total and maybe 1.4-1.5mpg?

4. Getting some stinkyness from hot water (heater onboard), but not cold...just dirty lines? Bought West Marine water cleaner, will be using it soon.

Love the great info on this board, invaluable stuff for novices like me. Will be doing a big (for me) stereo redo soon (multiple cockpit speakers, subwoofer, amp) so I'll be posting some pics.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Steve,

Welcome to the unofficial mid 90s 290 Owners Club! I may be able to answer a couple of your questions. I had a '95 290 before I bought my current '97 290, and as I recall, the bimini had a zippered sleeve that went around the folded up bimini. The sleeve had in turn a zipper that zipped to the radar arch. I put all that up once, but decided it was too much work and just ended up leaving the bimini up all the time. Those UVA and UVB rays do a number on my skin.

I don't know where your holding tank is. On my single 7.4l engine boats, it was/is outboard of the engine, on the port side.

As for mpg, you have to be clear on what you mean. If I'm up on plane and the tide is slack, I usually see about 1.5 to 1.6 mpg on the FloScan. However, if I average over time, with some low speeds mixed with the planing speeds, I'll get 1.8 to 1.9 mpg. But all of this is with the single engine 290, not the twin you have.

The water cleaner should fix up your water stink. I do mine once a year, usually in winter when things are slow, and it turns mildew smelling water into normal water.

The twin 290 boys will probably have better answers for you. They'll show up soon I bet.

Beautiful 290 by the way.

Sadler
 
Steve

Welcome to our little navy.

I haven't crunched my fuel burn numbers - does it really matter? but yours sound about right. The waste tank is located behind an access panel on the port side in the aft cabin. Four screws and there she is. I really hope to find a larger tank that will fit, probably a project for this winter.

Not to hijack Steve's thread but any of you guys have experience with the 12 volt side of the refridgerator? I have 12 volts coming into the switch and 12 volts going out when I turn it on but the switch light does not come on and the fridge is not running on the 12 volt side.

Jeff
 
bouttime said:
Not to hijack Steve's thread but any of you guys have experience with the 12 volt side of the refridgerator? I have 12 volts coming into the switch and 12 volts going out when I turn it on but the switch light does not come on and the fridge is not running on the 12 volt side.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Hijack away - I have the same issue, and it's the #1 issue driving my wife nuts. Fridge runs on shore power, not off (12V). Breaker is fine, switch on console is on (but doesn't light up), but no 12V power. Someone on the dock said to me "oh, that's the relay switch - very expensive to replace"... sound right?
 
Regarding the fridge problem, I don't think there's an external relay and instead the fridge does the switching between 12v and 120v, so either the fridge is not getting 12 volts in, or the fridge itself is bad. Below is a description at Westmarine that looks like the same fridge I have on my boat.

"Coolmatic RD series refrigerators are a terrific value. They operate using a Danfoss BD35F compressor, which lends the following: steady, quiet-running operation with minimum power consumption. Operates on either 12V DC or 24V DC, with automatic switchover. Switches over to 115V AC when 12V/24V DC is unavailable."
 
Yeah, the comment about the bad relay switch I believe meant the automatic switch within the fridge itself - he meant it's an expensive part and a job & a half removing the fridge to replace it. I'm hoping there's some magic easy answer out there to avoid all of that...
 
I did not check that the fridge was receiving 12 volts but I suppose it would be easy enough to pop out the cook top and reach in there with a meter. Would there not be a transformer on the 12 volt side (in the fridge)? Maybe that is what is bad.

Jeff
 
My understanding is that the fridge has two power lines coming in--a 120v and a 12v--the 120v from shore power and the 12v from the battery, so all you'd have to check is to see that the fridge is getting both. No transformer.
 
I had a thought since yesterday that there may be an inverter in the fridge to convert 12v dc to 120vac. If this were bad, it would do what you're describing--work on 120 vac but not on 12v dc.
 
Welcome,
Umpyman,Yes I'am sure your holding tank is 11gal. It is next to the port engine.
 
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