Dashboard Popping Noise - 340 Dancer

[Handsome Transom]

What about the hull deck seam. . This is the weak link in the construction of our boats and would.make sense as you described the sound as the boat coming apart .. If all the easy things like toilets . Microwaves and loose things getting tossed about have.been eliminated I would remove the rub rail and inspect the seam at fall layup time so as not to lose out on boating time . .an improperly placed sling at launch time could be the start of this seam opening up . I won't let the yard use slings on my boat .

 

[August Lococo]

That is an excellent suggestion to check behind the rub rail and easy enough to do. I have the same problem on my 05 340. It sounds like fiberglass stressing and only on the port side when I’m hitting 2-3 footers from that side. I can’t believe that someone from Sea Ray doesn’t know what this is. I’ve emailed them several times with no reply’s. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[skibum]

I just finished the rub rail job on mine and there has been a substantial reduction in creaking, groaning, and crunching/cracking noises when going through waves. The boat also sounds much more solid when I go down in the cabin while under way and listen to the water rushing past and slapping on the hull.

The other thing I did which helped a lot was replacing the 2 strips of weatherstripping on the flip open part of the windshield. There is one under the tab that rests on the side of the windshield opposite the hinge, and another on the hinged side between the 2 sections when closed. That section rattled quite a bit before I did so.

 

[Handsome Transom]

They know they just don't want to let on and gave a bad reputation regarding this serious design flaw . If I ever have to do my seam it'll be done with a new plywood joined strip and 1 foot long 1/8" thick stainless strips along areas of higher stress . I would remove the1/8 thickness from the ply joiner strip to accommodate the steel . This with thru bolts should hold better than just plywood and screws that are used

 

[August Lococo]

Thanks guys, I’m going to do the same.

 

[scoflaw]

They know they just don't want to let on and gave a bad reputation regarding this serious design flaw . If I ever have to do my seam it'll be done with a new plywood joined strip and 1 foot long 1/8" thick stainless strips along areas of higher stress . I would remove the1/8 thickness from the ply joiner strip to accommodate the steel . This with thru bolts should hold better than just plywood and screws that are used

That's a pipe dream. There is no access from the inside. Best you could probably do would be to relocate the stainless rub rail so that you will have screws going into fresh wood.

 

[Handsome Transom]

That's a pipe dream. There is no access from the inside. Best you could probably do would be to relocate the stainless rub rail so that you will have screws going into fresh wood.

Now I know why you call yourself scofaw. Anyway if the plywood is cut out and new embedded from the outside why can't it be done right . I understand it's not easy but most things done well are not. .This is the challenge always when having to rethink things that need to be made right and it's always harder to fix things after the fact

 

[scoflaw]

Now I know why you call yourself scofaw. Anyway if the plywood is cut out and new embedded from the outside why can't it be done right . I understand it's not easy but most things done well are not. .This is the challenge always when having to rethink things that need to be made right and it's always harder to fix things after the fact

Understand how the boat is put together. The boat is built like a shoe box. The box/ hull has the plywood attached to the upper edge/perimeter of it. The topside/lid is dropped on top of the hull and attached with the screws thru the rubrail.

 

[skibum]

I wouldn't call it a design flaw. In the case of my boat, it was an assembly issue. Primarily, lack of adhesive along with some improper drilling. The design itself is sound.

 

[Handsome Transom]

Now I know why you call yourself scofaw. Anyway if the plywood is cut out and new embedded from the outside why can't it be done right . I understand it's not easy but most things done well are not. .This is the challenge always when having to rethink things that need to be made right and it's always harder to fix things after the fact

Could stainless backing strips be bonded in place on the inside behind cabinets and under the headliner material and then drilled through and tapped and bolted into from the outside ? I am by no measure an expert but I feel there must be away to make a good repair and solve the shoebox joint disign dilemma . Who knows how to get this joint right? My boat is 30 years old and remains tight and dry . Is this because it's much smaller than a lot of the bigger sea rays I hear of with the deck joint problems or is it a result of a heavier hull layup used in the older searays

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Could stainless backing strips be bonded in place on the inside behind cabinets and under the headliner material and then drilled through and tapped and bolted into from the outside ? I am by no measure an expert but I feel there must be away to make a good repair and solve the shoebox joint disign dilemma . Who knows how to get this joint right? My boat is 30 years old and remains tight and dry . Is this because it's much smaller than a lot of the bigger sea rays I hear of with the deck joint problems or is it a result of a heavier hull layup used in the older searays

I'm glad your 268 is tight and dry... I had the same year 268 with 454/bravo 1 drive and it was plagued with flexing issues, primarily with the wall directly below the helm (in front of the captain's feet). It was comprised of various pieces of vinyl covered wood or particle board all held together with brackets and screws. While sitting on a rolling sea you could actually see the top section flexing at a different rate than the lower section. Attempts to tighten the screws (or replace those that actually fell out) failed due to the screw holes becoming too large.
My current 2001 model is so much more solidly built and doesn't rely on multiple sections held together with some wood screws. Granted, its a bigger heavier boat but it isn't built to 30yr old thicknesses.

 

[Handsome Transom]

I guess it all depends on the boats use over it's life . When I see videos of people pounding trough the standing waves of inlets bucking the tide I can imagine the hull stresses those boats are subjected to and understand them breaking apart at the seams . I would not want to buy a boat that's been abused like those. Our boat is a Georgian bay freshwater boat with 700 hours of weekend family use over it's 30 year life .