300 Sundancer questions.

[Bridog]

I try to avoid using the generator too much. It burns a ton of fuel and ends up creating a huge mismatch in the two tanks. Especially now in the winter, I find I don't need it too much.

Jason

Jason, Do you know how much fuel your burning? Mine is less than a gallon an hour even under full load. It's a Kohler 5E

 

[Bugsy24]

Jason I have that cover for the Dash, go on the Sea Ray site and check the parts for your year and model Boat. I am going to guess that it's in there and probably made by Great Lakes Canvas who makes the OEM canvas for Sea Ray!!

 

[drjjames]

Bridog,

i have no idea how much gas the generator uses. I have to re-calibrate the SmartCraft because it has been very inaccurate so far. I will look into it ASAP though.

Marshall, I looked online, and did not find a dash cover for the 300, some of the other models do have it though. Thanks for any advice.

Jason

 

[Bugsy24]

Jason, call Great Lakes Canvas direct and speak to customer service! They are one of the sponsers here and are great to work with, they will let you know if they make it for your Model!

 

[Bridog]

Jason, call Great Lakes Canvas direct and speak to customer service! They are one of the sponsers here and are great to work with, they will let you know if they make it for your Model!

Let us know what they say. I might be interested in one as well. I know it wasn't an option on the 300DA but maybe someone already had one made, so they may have a template on file.

 

[JimFromMD]

Let us know what they say. I might be interested in one as well. I know it wasn't an option on the 300DA but maybe someone already had one made, so they may have a template on file.

So how do you all envision this working and being attached? I looked into having my cockpit cover modified to go up over the windsheld to keep the sun off while on the lift, but that was expensive. So I've just been going with the trusty beach towel method for now. I dont have any snaps or attachments up there, but it would probably be easy to add some fishing weights into the top side and let it hang like you would a gunwhale boarding mat.

James

 

[Bugsy24]

So how do you all envision this working and being attached? I looked into having my cockpit cover modified to go up over the windsheld to keep the sun off while on the lift, but that was expensive. So I've just been going with the trusty beach towel method for now. I dont have any snaps or attachments up there, but it would probably be easy to add some fishing weights into the top side and let it hang like you wood a gunwhale boarding mat.

James

Mine came from the Factory with Snaps, I'm the second owner so I'm guessing it was an Option or it came standard with the rest of the "Bells and Whistles"! I don't think it was 3rd Party!!

 

[Bridog]

I've seen Marshalls, and my old neighbor had one on his 260DA. They look nice. Not sure what year SR started adding this option. Marshall, do you have picture of yours to show? Brian

 

[Bucit]

Jason, check out www.Vivaladeals.com . I bought a 19" AC/DC HD TV with DVD player for less than $175. I searched online for a coupon and it saved me like 20% and free shipping. I bought it in the summer. The picture is good and my little girl loves to watch DVD's while we're at anchor.

 

[ZZ13]

I've seen Marshalls, and my old neighbor had one on his 260DA. They look nice. Not sure what year SR started adding this option. Marshall, do you have picture of yours to show? Brian

My 04 has one on it - I will snap a pic when I go back out to the boat Friday and post it.

 

[ZZ13]

My 04 has one on it - I will snap a pic when I go back out to the boat Friday and post it.

 

[Bridog]

Thanks for the pictures. Did the previous owner have this made? I seem to remember the other ones going around the steering wheel. Brian

 

[JimFromMD]

Interesting. I never thought about covering the throttles and wheel for some reason. I had just been putting a towel from the compass all the way down over the guages and GPS. Thats a good idea though. First example I've seen of something actually thought out and made for this application.

Funny, although it bother's me, thats where my boat hook lives too. For now anyway!

 

[ZZ13]

Interesting. I never thought about covering the throttles and wheel for some reason. I had just been putting a towel from the compass all the way down over the guages and GPS. Thats a good idea though. First example I've seen of something actually thought out and made for this application.

Funny, although it bother's me, thats where my boat hook lives too. For now anyway!

I am almost sure it was custom made by the local canvas shop. I will check with them.

I need the boat hook right by my side. I am not smooth enough yet.

 

[JimFromMD]

I need the boat hook right by my side. I am not smooth enough yet.

Funny, I keep my boat in a lift, so I'm super comfortable doing that, but its always "exiting" backing her into a slip. Aside from needing more practice, I only end up having to slip the boat when staying over in a marina... which means guests aboard, and dock crew waiting. Real nice audience, and added unnecessary pressure to be good at it!

A friend of mine keeps his boat in the water, and is all white knuckles when I head straight for the end of the pier, pull back into neutral, and the 85% reliable breeze directly across the end of the pier moves me into position without so much as kissing a piling. (He's only been there once when I had to back off becuase my reliable breeze was missing... of course it happens more.)

James

 

[JimFromMD]

LED light retrofit... Posting this here since it's for our model, but writing it up based on some discussion in the 280 forum. All the bulbs were ordered from superbright LEDs. I was having trouble finding solid links to the appropriate pieces of their pages but you can find all these under the Boat/RV listing.

Directional / “reading lights” in the cabin.
G4-WHP18-TAC. (w=warm white, cw=cool white) This has 18 led’s on a tower that gives 360 degree coverage plus some directly out the front of the fixture. I tried the one with 15 LEDs and it wasn’t bright enough for me. I also tried the G4-CWHP18-TAC but the cool color was a bit harsh for my preference. One thing I have noticed though, is that if I’m out on a rough day in the bay, I did have two of them shake loose. The front of my fixtures capture the bulb, but I did have to slide them back in. Perhaps I need to just crimp the sockets a little so they hold on the 2 pins more tightly.

Arch lights – My arch fixtures are like this (google for image) Perko 1146DP112V model which has a festoon bulb in it. For these I went with the 4210-BHP6 bulb. This has 6 high powered LEDs on a flat wafer all facing the same direction. Originally I tried the 4210-BHP12, which has 12 smaller LEDs going around the circumfrence of the entire bulb which gives 360-degree coverage. My fixtures aren’t reflective inside, so I felt I was losing light from the LEDs facing upward toward the black back of the fixture. I aimed the flat wafer straight down.

Stern light – Same Perko fitting as the arch lights. Used 4210-CWHP6 for the cool white look that matches the LED anchor light that was installed when I had my radar and sea view mount installed. This bulb is very bright, and while I don’t do much night boating, I had a friend watch as we left a fireworks display and he could see my light until we rounded a bend in the river. Well over the 2mile requirement.

My 2 cockpit lights and the one lighting the floor area by my helm were Attwood fixtures with a bayonet style base. I couldn’t find a blue replacement bulb that would fit in the housing with this style base. I found red, green, and orange from various sources, but that’s because the same style bulb is used in some nav lights. For these three, I chose to replace the fixtures with the same Perko ones as in the arch and used the 4210-BHP6 blue bulb installed facing slightly angled toward the floor vice paralell to the wall. This reduced the glare a bit while sitting in the cockpit at night. I personally hate seeing a light as opposed to indirect lights, but I never found a slightly opaque lense or frosted lense that would take some of the "hot spots" out.

Of course Murphy’s law was in full effect this year. We had an unusually large mayfly/midge season this spring and they stayed around through the summer. If you know these flies, they don’t bite, they just swarm and land on anything light colored that is lit up at night. So aside from being annoying, they leave behind green dots of either eggs or waste (not sure which) that usually requires a re-waxing to get off. So after all that effort, I only got to use my arch/cockpit lights a few times. Overall I like how it came out. Someone did make a comment though (which I never thought about, and don’t know how much I believe) which was that bug-zappers use blue lights for attraction, so maybe they’re not such a good idea. I think zapper lights look more violet however.

Hope this helps. I wish I knew what bulbs were in the overhead fixtures in the head and galley. Some are 12v and some are 110v. Guess I’ll think about that for the next few months until the shrink wrap comes off again!


James

 

[drjjames]

ZZ13, that cover looks perfect. I wonder how much it would cost to have it custom made. Marine Max wants $350-400 to custom make and install one. I'm sure someone local can do it cheaper.

Jason

 

[ZZ13]

LED light retrofit... Posting this here since it's for our model, but writing it up based on some discussion in the 280 forum. All the bulbs were ordered from superbright LEDs. I was having trouble finding solid links to the appropriate pieces of their pages but you can find all these under the Boat/RV listing.

Directional / “reading lights” in the cabin.
G4-WHP18-TAC. (w=warm white, cw=cool white) This has 18 led’s on a tower that gives 360 degree coverage plus some directly out the front of the fixture. I tried the one with 15 LEDs and it wasn’t bright enough for me. I also tried the G4-CWHP18-TAC but the cool color was a bit harsh for my preference. One thing I have noticed though, is that if I’m out on a rough day in the bay, I did have two of them shake loose. The front of my fixtures capture the bulb, but I did have to slide them back in. Perhaps I need to just crimp the sockets a little so they hold on the 2 pins more tightly.
James

Thanks. I am interested in replacing the 6 swivel/reading lights in the cabin. So I should get G4-WHP18-TAC, is that correct? What about the two ceiling A/C lights in the cabin. Did you look at a replacement for those bulbs?

 

[JimFromMD]

Thanks. I am interested in replacing the 6 swivel/reading lights in the cabin. So I should get G4-WHP18-TAC, is that correct? What about the two ceiling A/C lights in the cabin. Did you look at a replacement for those bulbs?

The 18 LED warm white was closest to the current stock NonLED bulb that I could find... both brightness and color.

The warm white vs cool white is really a matter of preference. I tried the warm and cool 15 led lights. Didnt like the cool personally, and the 15 warm was too dark for me. So i went with the 18 LED warm white. Never tried the 18 led cool white. Like i say, they were really flexible with me, so if you want to order one of each and try, you can. Then return the three you dont chose, and buy the rest in whatever color/LED count you like.

I didnt get to the celing fixtures. Thats on my spring list of to-dos. Maybe you'll get to it before I get my shrink wrap off... and educate us all

 

[kevin27]

I will soon be looking to add an autopilot to my boat. Anyone with real world experience on a bravo 3 setup? I will report back when I find out what options are available.