300 Sundancer questions.

[bajturner]

Good data point ZZ. Was that with full tabs?

 

[ZZ13]

Good data point ZZ. Was that with full tabs?

It never occurred to me to try to use the tabs to help out until after I got home and was analyzing the situation after the fact. So, tabs were fully up at the time. They weren't trying to help push the bow down at all. I'll try them if I'm in the situation again.

 

[bajturner]

Re: Help!!!

I think you would have found it makes a dramatic difference. I haven't taken delivery of my 300DA yet, but I do have some relevant experience from my 280DA. The biggest load I ever had on it was 7 guys on a camping/fishing weekend (over 1400lbs total...one big guy was on the foredeck!), one small woman (long story...she was mid-canoe trip with another buddy); 4 large, loaded coolers; four 24s of beer and 2 cases of water as far forward as possible; 8 kit bags; full water; pretty much full fuel; plus all the regular food, tools, and stuff that is typically on the boat for our family of 4. With full tabs the 4.3s/Alpha 1s got us onto plane with not much trouble...while pulling an 8th guy on a tube! Without tabs we couldn't do it at all. Oh, we also had a 14' canoe on the swim platform!

 

[ZZ13]

Re: Help!!!

I think you would have found it makes a dramatic difference. I haven't taken delivery of my 300DA yet, but I do have some relevant experience from my 280DA. The biggest load I ever had on it was 7 guys on a camping/fishing weekend (over 1400lbs total...one big guy was on the foredeck!), one small woman (long story...she was mid-canoe trip with another buddy); 4 large, loaded coolers; four 24s of beer and 2 cases of water as far forward as possible; 8 kit bags; full water; pretty much full fuel; plus all the regular food, tools, and stuff that is typically on the boat for our family of 4. With full tabs the 4.3s/Alpha 1s got us onto plane with not much trouble...while pulling an 8th guy on a tube! Without tabs we couldn't do it at all. Oh, we also had a 14' canoe on the swim platform!

That is great to hear. How do you do it? Do you put the tabs all the way down while you are at no wake speed, before you floor it? Or do you floor it and then start push down the tabs as you are accelerating?

 

[bajturner]

Re: Help!!!

That is great to hear. How do you do it? Do you put the tabs all the way down while you are at no wake speed, before you floor it? Or do you floor it and then start push down the tabs as you are accelerating?

It's best to put the tabs down before starting to accelerate onto plane, either when in neutral, at idle in gear, or at any hull speed. You can then come onto the throttle more gently to avoid ventilation/cavitation, and may not even need to go to wide open. Once the boat starts to climb up you can then begin retracting the tabs. As they retract you will notice the bow rise a bit and will feel your speed surge.

 

[ZZ13]

Re: Help!!!

It's best to put the tabs down before starting to accelerate onto plane, either when in neutral, at idle in gear, or at any hull speed. You can then come onto the throttle more gently to avoid ventilation/cavitation, and may not even need to go to wide open. Once the boat starts to climb up you can then begin retracting the tabs. As they retract you will notice the bow rise a bit and will feel your speed surge.

Thanks. Here's a new one for all of you. Over time I can collect rain water in the compartment under the helm. Seems its caulked all the way around at the base, but I guess not well enough to seal it up perfectly. So it gets wet, moldy and smelly in there at times. I am thinking of removing all the caulk on the aft side of the base behind the seat that is mounted to the engine hatch. That's so water can just run out and into the drain channel around the engine room opening. Any of you do something similar?

 

[JimFromMD]

Re: Help!!!

Thanks. Here's a new one for all of you. Over time I can collect rain water in the compartment under the helm. Seems its caulked all the way around at the base, but I guess not well enough to seal it up perfectly. So it gets wet, moldy and smelly in there at times. I am thinking of removing all the caulk on the aft side of the base behind the seat that is mounted to the engine hatch. That's so water can just run out and into the drain channel around the engine room opening. Any of you do something similar?

Bill,
I found out about that the first few times I washed down the cockpit. Didnt really understand why they designed the starboard side of the helm that way without a drain or some way for that water to escape. So far I've been lucky in that I dont get too much rain water inside with the camper canvas up, but I'm sure it would be more with the cockpit cover on. When I do a washdown, I towel out what water gets back in that corner with one of those Costco/Sam's microfiber towels, and also leave open the hatch door to the storage under the helm seat when I'm finished. I also store some life jackets and floaty toys under there, and will do the same if they have not had a chance to fully dry. At least that way it doesnt get really funky since the space can breath.

James

 

[jkim1990]

h the G4 15 bulb tower from LEDwholesalers.com. They are a little shorter than the 18 LED tower from superbrightleds.com so they fit just fine sticking straight down. They seem to be a tad less bright than the stock 10w halogen but they light up just fine. They are about half the price of the 18 LED tower from superbrightleds, so I put them in my 6 swivel fixtures as well.

Hi Bill - Just about to order the bulbs for the directional / overhead lights. I know 18 LED is slightly taller than 15 but there would seem to be plenty of room in front of the lens and 18 would be brighter. Did you try the 18? 15 close to original brightness?


Thanks and hope all is well.


Jason

 

[ZZ13]

Hi Bill - Just about to order the bulbs for the directional / overhead lights. I know 18 LED is slightly taller than 15 but there would seem to be plenty of room in front of the lens and 18 would be brighter. Did you try the 18? 15 close to original brightness?


Thanks and hope all is well.


Jason

There is plenty of room for the 18 bulb towers. JimFromMD has them on his swivel fixtures. I was on his boat and they fit and work just fine. I didn't compare the brightness of the 18 and 15 side by side so not sure how much difference there is. The 15s are plenty bright for us, though. I do recommend the warm white over the bright white.

 

[jkim1990]

Re: Help!!!

Bill,
I found out about that the first few times I washed down the cockpit. Didnt really understand why they designed the starboard side of the helm that way without a drain or some way for that water to escape. So far I've been lucky in that I dont get too much rain water inside with the camper canvas up, but I'm sure it would be more with the cockpit cover on. When I do a washdown, I towel out what water gets back in that corner with one of those Costco/Sam's microfiber towels, and also leave open the hatch door to the storage under the helm seat when I'm finished. I also store some life jackets and floaty toys under there, and will do the same if they have not had a chance to fully dry. At least that way it doesnt get really funky since the space can breath.

James

Mine lets a little water drain on starboard side towards stern and into rear of cockpit but very slowly, any leaves or anything get caught and forget it. I had lots of water in the storage area as well, re-caulked the front part of the storage area or at my feet in the helm area and seemed to help. A lot of my caulking on the top side is shot from few years in Florida....

re-calking did seem to help and I get minimal water during cockpit wash down. I think the little that leaks is from the starboard side of the storage area that I could not reach with caulk gun.

Speaking of water, headed to boat to make sure she is not leaking due to torrential rain in NE today.....

 

[Ididntdoit]

Re: Help!!!

Bill,
I found out about that the first few times I washed down the cockpit. Didnt really understand why they designed the starboard side of the helm that way without a drain or some way for that water to escape. So far I've been lucky in that I dont get too much rain water inside with the camper canvas up, but I'm sure it would be more with the cockpit cover on. When I do a washdown, I towel out what water gets back in that corner with one of those Costco/Sam's microfiber towels, and also leave open the hatch door to the storage under the helm seat when I'm finished. I also store some life jackets and floaty toys under there, and will do the same if they have not had a chance to fully dry. At least that way it doesnt get really funky since the space can breath.

James

i had the same problem - not so much collecting large amounts of water but everything did get moldy....my fix was to mill two large slots in the door (10"x1") these allow circulation and i have never had a problem since - i got the idea looking at another boat and copied it - looks factory

 

[ZZ13]

Re: Help!!!

i had the same problem - not so much collecting large amounts of water but everything did get moldy....my fix was to mill two large slots in the door (10"x1") these allow circulation and i have never had a problem since - i got the idea looking at another boat and copied it - looks factory

Can you post a pic at your convenience.

 

[jkim1990]

Re: Help!!!

Can you post a pic at your convenience.

Absolutely!!!!

 

[J-Rod]

Re: Help!!!

I just took delivery of my 03 300 Sundancer. It had stains on the two front birth side cushions where they meet the center cushion when I cleaned the boat before delivery. We had heavy rain last Friday and when I checked the boat the next morning, it was wet in the same area. I checked the overhead hatch and it looked ok. I'm thinking it could be from the bow rail points at the hull. Anybody have a similar leak?
Thanks,
J-Rod

 

[ZZ13]

Re: Help!!!

I just took delivery of my 03 300 Sundancer. It had stains on the two front birth side cushions where they meet the center cushion when I cleaned the boat before delivery. We had heavy rain last Friday and when I checked the boat the next morning, it was wet in the same area. I checked the overhead hatch and it looked ok. I'm thinking it could be from the bow rail points at the hull. Anybody have a similar leak?
Thanks,
J-Rod

There was an earlier post in this thread of a similar symptom, but more to the port side rather than the center. Here it is:
http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/458-300-Sundancer-questions?p=661263#post661263

 

[J-Rod]

Re: Help!!!

Thanks, I will pull both port/starboard lights and investigate. It is possible because the location is close. the leaks are on both sides. Has anyone had any leaks that were confirmed to be coming from the bow rail mounting points? I had different surveyor's suggest the bow rail as the problem.

 

[bajturner]

I have a question about the SmartCraft "Fuel Used" reading. There are 3 readings, one on the port tach, one on the starboard tach, and one on the speedometer. This boat is new to me and I suspect the calibration is all out of whack, which I will correct. My question is regarding the reading on the speedo. If I understand correctly, the speedometer is connected to the starboard engine, but is the "Fuel Used" on the speedo for both engines or just the starboard one? It is giving a reading very different from either the port or starboard tach, but not 2x either of them. The reason I ask is so when I calibrate I know what fuel amount to enter (or maybe if I enter the total amount it will roughly be the total regardless of what it is measuring).

I also have fuel tank senders that don't seem to work so this will be my method of determining how much fuel I have left, at least until I replace the senders with something else that works like the Royce ones.

 

[ZZ13]

I have a question about the SmartCraft "Fuel Used" reading. There are 3 readings, one on the port tach, one on the starboard tach, and one on the speedometer. This boat is new to me and I suspect the calibration is all out of whack, which I will correct. My question is regarding the reading on the speedo. If I understand correctly, the speedometer is connected to the starboard engine, but is the "Fuel Used" on the speedo for both engines or just the starboard one? It is giving a reading very different from either the port or starboard tach, but not 2x either of them. The reason I ask is so when I calibrate I know what fuel amount to enter (or maybe if I enter the total amount it will roughly be the total regardless of what it is measuring).

I also have fuel tank senders that don't seem to work so this will be my method of determining how much fuel I have left, at least until I replace the senders with something else that works like the Royce ones.

Starboard Tach Fuel Used reading is for the starboard fuel tank only since last reset. Port Tach Fuel Used is for the port fuel tank only since last reset. Speedometer fuel used is for both tanks combined since last reset.

To reset any of the three fuel used screens to "0", press the MINUS button and the MODE button simultaneously. Generally most people reset them when they've just filled up the tank(s), in order for the fuel used to give a reading of the amount of the 85 gallons on each tank that has been used since fill up.

 

[BrianR]

Magma Grill mount on the 300?
hey guys, do any of you have a good recommendation on where to mount a party size kettle grill with a rail mount on the 300?
i tried it on the aft rail on the stern compartment but found it awkward to open and close the compartment when I need to access it.
i now have it mounted on the aft Bimini rail which functions well except for the grease dropping on the side of the boat when I use it.

thanks in advance

 

[ZZ13]

Magma Grill mount on the 300?
hey guys, do any of you have a good recommendation on where to mount a party size kettle grill with a rail mount on the 300?
i tried it on the aft rail on the stern compartment but found it awkward to open and close the compartment when I need to access it.
i now have it mounted on the aft Bimini rail which functions well except for the grease dropping on the side of the boat when I use it.

thanks in advance

I have the exact same grill and I mount it to the furthest aft vertical bimini pole using a horizontal rod/clamp that is made for the grill. Sometimes I stand on the swim platform to use it and sometimes I stand on the finger pier if at the dock. I don't seem to have any issue with grease droppings - guess I am not putting enough stuff on the grill. I only mount it when I use it. Otherwise I clean it up good and store it in the compartment under the cabin v-berth (the compartment that also stores the cabin table).