300 Sundancer questions.

techmitch said:
2 or 3 on the bow while getting up on plane or while running on plane?
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Mainly to make it easier to get up but it does run better on the plane as well. We’re in Australia so my wife & others prefer to spend most of the time on the deck when running anyway. Even one person moved from the back seat up onto the deck is all you need unless you have 6 or more onboard. Alternatively you can have someone sit on the forward berth whilst going up.
 
Harry Harris said:
Mainly to make it easier to get up but it does run better on the plane as well. We’re in Australia so my wife & others prefer to spend most of the time on the deck when running anyway. Even one person moved from the back seat up onto the deck is all you need unless you have 6 or more onboard. Alternatively you can have someone sit on the forward berth whilst going up.
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Just an FYI but that is extremely dangerous regardless of where you are located and you as the Captain are responsible for your passengers safety not to mention it is illegal in most places.
 
techmitch said:
Just an FYI but that is extremely dangerous regardless of where you are located and you as the Captain are responsible for your passengers safety not to mention it is illegal in most places.
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Thanks for making the point Mitch. Everyone please take that onboard. I would not like to advocate anything either dangerous or illegal. It’s not illegal here in Australia & we wouldn’t have anyone on deck in any rough conditions. None of my crew have less than 30 years experience & we all take our safety seriously. An alternative is to have someone move forward in the cabin.
 
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Harry Harris said:
You don’t need the specific Sea Ray part. They are just a standard 3 inch rudder zinc. You can get them at any marine store. They’re sold as a pair to go either side of a rudder so You’ll need an extra bolt.
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They turned out to be regular round domed rudder zincs like you said (except 4"). The ones on there now are decent but I'll replace them anyways.
 
Harry Harris said:
Mine is the same, fully optioned but with 5.0s. She’ll struggle getting up onto the plane with more than 4 seated in the cockpit but if you have a couple up on deck the 5.0s do it fine. The secret with these is to overcome the aft heavy weight balance, it’s amazing how much difference it makes when you have 2 or 3 up on the bow! I’m adding 130lbs of chain to the anchor today not just for better anchor holding.
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Does putting the trim tabs all the way down help at all?
 
i only struggled to get on plane once. with six adults (which is usually my max gets to crowded after that) it has not been a problem so far but obviously the more weight in the aft makes it more challenging for the 5 liters. the one time i could not get n a plane i had 9 adults and 1 kid on board and 3/4 tanks of fuel. for some reason everyone wanted to sit aft or mid sec. after trying for about 2 min I asked three adults to go down below and sit in the v berth and then she popped right out on plane no problem.
 
chris sirizzotti said:
i only struggled to get on plane once. with six adults (which is usually my max gets to crowded after that) it has not been a problem so far but obviously the more weight in the aft makes it more challenging for the 5 liters. the one time i could not get n a plane i had 9 adults and 1 kid on board and 3/4 tanks of fuel. for some reason everyone wanted to sit aft or mid sec. after trying for about 2 min I asked three adults to go down below and sit in the v berth and then she popped right out on plane no problem.
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I haven't had much of a crowd out yet. Do your guests find it ok riding below deck when you're out at cruising speed?
 
Glad to have this group with you folks. I may need you to talk me down from the bridge (pun intended) as I have the bug to get a fly bridge. It doesn't help being on this site and seeing all these 40+ footers on the other threads!
 
Question for all of you 300 DA'ers ....

Since most boat-related charges are "by the foot" do you normally come in at 30 feet? Or 33 and change?

Sadly it's almost always 33.5 for me (LOA)

I am currently taking a USCG course on boating skills and seamanship, and the instructor made a comment that if the swim platform is a bolt-on, then technically that doesn't count towards the length (or something to that effect).

I could see that being the case for something like bottom painting, but not for getting a slip.
 
Marinas usually go by LOA because they want to know the entire length of the boat so they don't have swim decks or bow pulpits extending past the dock fingers.
 
Phil S said:
Question for all of you 300 DA'ers ....

Since most boat-related charges are "by the foot" do you normally come in at 30 feet? Or 33 and change?

Sadly it's almost always 33.5 for me (LOA)

I am currently taking a USCG course on boating skills and seamanship, and the instructor made a comment that if the swim platform is a bolt-on, then technically that doesn't count towards the length (or something to that effect).

I could see that being the case for something like bottom painting, but not for getting a slip.
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It depends on your ego...

The USCG is considering the legal length of the vessel which excludes anything that extends past the "hull"
So a molded in swim platform that is part of the hull counts, but not if bolted on
Similar for the pulpit, it may be molded fiberglass but if you look under most are not part of the "hull"
So this is what the boat is usually registered or documented at.

Then you have what the manufacturer wants to call it. 30 foot? which may or may not be the legal "length"
Or the Length Over All 33.5 ?
And of course the Water Line Length
 
I purchased a 2002 Sundancer 300 in summer of 2019. Boat was never launched last summer because of problems with the port engine. My mechanic never fully fixed or diagnosed the problem. I took the boat back from him and now have a new mechanic working on it. He says the engine must be replaced. He's looking at sending it to the machine shop he uses and seeing if the block can be reused or if it has to be replaced.

I thought now might be the time to replace both engines. My current mechanic said that if I go that route I should get CPO Mercs. I currently have 5.0 MPIs but he said they don't make those any more and that he recommends 5.7s. He thinks my (Bravo 3) outdrives are still good but says he'll have to assess the transfer assemblies but saw no problems with them when he removed the outdrives for winterization last fall.

He says I might be getting ahead of myself with two new engines and he's still willing to see what can be done with the port engine. But both engines are 19 years old (with 650 hrs) and are used in salt water (Great South Bay, Long Island NY) and the starboard has a circulation problem, too.

The hull, cockpit and cabin are in beautiful condition.

Anyone have any experience with this big of a job in these boats?
 
Yes - I repowered mine, one at a time - if your blocks are raw water cooled, replace them - plenty of room in a 300da so the actual labor is not that bad - my first one I had done with a new GM long block - total cost using my existing "bolt ons" was about 8k - the second one, i did all my own labor and had it rebuilt - was about 3k
 
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