410 Sundancer/Express Cruiser and 400 Sundancer/Express Cruiser **Official Thread**

[ocgrant]

This thing is going to be huge. Holy smokes.

I have that on mine (48 dancer) and love it. I switched to the electric winch though the cranking got old after one trip. Well worth the upgrade. Mind you I am pulling up a jet 500lb jet ski not a dink. Now tip of the day.... put key chain floats on the pins you have to remove from the winch, already had to dive and get one my kid dropped. If you stay with the hand winch, coat it with oil or Boeshield and keep it in the cabin. It will rust quickly if you keep it in the locker.

 

[carterchapman]

I hit a submerged stump that I could not see - it floated up for about 5 seconds behind me before it sunk again - one of my struts bent exactly like yours. Same thing – my shaft was straight as an arrow. Unfortunately they told me it couldn’t be straightened so I got to pay for four grand for a new strut.

 

[Stee6043]

I have that on mine (48 dancer) and love it. I switched to the electric winch though the cranking got old after one trip. Well worth the upgrade. Mind you I am pulling up a jet 500lb jet ski not a dink. Now tip of the day.... put key chain floats on the pins you have to remove from the winch, already had to dive and get one my kid dropped. If you stay with the hand winch, coat it with oil or Boeshield and keep it in the cabin. It will rust quickly if you keep it in the locker.

Great tip on the key chains! I'm on it.

I also went with the electric winch. Based on the videos I assumed my life would be greatly improved with less effort

 

[SeaNile]

Santa managed to buy a dinghy and 3hp Nissan motor for the kids.....for the boat we don't have yet! LOL. Nothing like the putting the cart before the horse. Wife is ready to road trip it to start boat shopping. Cant argue with that!

 

[Strecker25]

Dry fit today, strut went up easy with the original shim and aligns perfectly with the log. Put the shaft through without the cutless and up through the drip less and it’s nicely centered in the log. Once coupler attaches to engine it’s out, but that’s no surprise because I was messing with the engine alignment before taking it all apart

I’ll rough align the engine over the next month then wait for some warmer weather to rebed the strut.

 

[techmitch]

Dry fit today, strut went up easy with the original shim and aligns perfectly with the log. Put the shaft through without the cutless and up through the drip less and it’s nicely centered in the log. Once coupler attaches to engine it’s out, but that’s no surprise because I was messing with the engine alignment before taking it all apart

I’ll rough align the engine over the next month then wait for some warmer weather to rebed the strut.

View attachment 97009 View attachment 97010

Good deal. Note, don't forget to recheck and really dial in eng./trans. alignment after she is back sitting in the water for about a week or two in the spring.

 

[Strecker25]

Good deal. Note, don't forget to recheck and really dial in eng./trans. alignment after she is back sitting in the water for about a week or two in the spring.

absolutely, good tip! So glad I listed to all your guys advice and just tackled this myself. $125 to have the strut straightened plus my time, and I’ll know it was done right all the way around

 

[Tacoma290]

Looking good, Ryan!

 

[The Bill Collector]

absolutely, good tip! So glad I listed to all your guys advice and just tackled this myself. $125 to have the strut straightened plus my time, and I’ll know it was done right all the way around

I did shafts, couplers, props, and new cutlass this past spring. I rigged an all-thread with bolts (meant nuts), fenders washers, and a cordless drill to re-install the new cutlass's... It worked slick as snot - lol

 

[Strecker25]

I did shafts, couplers, props, and new cutlass this past spring. I rigged an all-thread with bolts, fenders washers, and a cordless drill to re-install the new cutlass's... It worked slick as snot - lol

haha I bet! I went for the strut pro tool to save a little time (and it doubles as my prop puller) but at $400 I bet yours was a lot cheaper

 

[The Bill Collector]

haha I bet! I went for the strut pro tool to save a little time (and it doubles as my prop puller) but at $400 I bet yours was a lot cheaper

Prop shop loans the puller for free and the all-thread etc. was under $20 @ Ace Hardware ;-)

 

[Turkanon]

what rpm are you shooting for, and what’s your current wot? Just curious as I’m doing the same thing

The Max recommended RPM for the Cat 3126 is 2800. Prop Tech recommended I shoot for 2850. My current WOT was 2600. Prop Tech said the Pros where in excellent condition and all they needed to do was adjust the pitch. They quoted me $350.00. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[SeaNile]

The Max recommended RPM for the Cat 3126 is 2800. Prop Tech recommended I shoot for 2850. My current WOT was 2600. Prop Tech said the Pros where in excellent condition and all they needed to do was adjust the pitch. They quoted me $350.00. I will let you know how it goes.

Thats generally the way to do it given the correct diameter. Remove a little pitch and maybe add a slight cup if needed.

 

[Tip sea]

Dry fit today, strut went up easy with the original shim and aligns perfectly with the log. Put the shaft through without the cutless and up through the drip less and it’s nicely centered in the log. Once coupler attaches to engine it’s out, but that’s no surprise because I was messing with the engine alignment before taking it all apart

I’ll rough align the engine over the next month then wait for some warmer weather to rebed the strut.

View attachment 97009 View attachment 97010

 

[Tip sea]

Hi getting ready to replace dripless shaft unit on 1998 sundancer 400 diesel anyone know shaft log size?

 

[ocgrant]

This thing is going to be huge. Holy smokes.

Did you get it installed? Pics?

 

[Stee6043]

Did you get it installed? Pics?

Nope, not yet. My new swim platform will not be ready until February. I have a rather relaxed timeline since my boat is stored indoors for winter, backed up to a wall with no room for the new gear. I hope to have everything ready so I can get the new platform/davit installed once they start launching boats in the spring. I just need them to slide my boat forward and then give me a few hours...with any luck.

 

[Xplicitlnck]

Hi getting ready to replace dripless shaft unit on 1998 sundancer 400 diesel anyone know shaft log size?

I'm pretty sure it's 3.5 inch . I could be wrong though. Wait til tomorrow and try cashing 1800srboats they should be able to get you the number

 

[Strecker25]

Dialed the alignment in some more today. Whoever recommended the harbor freight hydraulic tool with the jaw attachment - thank you much. It lets you do very incremental mount adjustments to get it really close.

I now have it to where the shaft droops slightly when the coupler is slid forward off the trans plate but it is vertically aligned. Tomorrow I’ll tighten up the bolts and adjust height to get the flanges lined up for as close as I can before the final adjustment in the water.

next up is drain coolant, replace all hoses, reinstall aftercoolers, new batteries, and install the new battery charger. Busy winter so far

 

[Riptide III]

Inside core and outside edge applied. I still haven’t gotten discouraged and thrown it in the dumpster! More shaping glassing and gelcote still left before I can flip it over.

View attachment 96057 View attachment 96058

Just thought I would post an update.
Core applied to underside for rigidity and looks.

Gel coat rolled on.

Board sander ready for another coat.

Topside leading edge lip getting glassed. And adding more core at point of attachment to arch.