Launched our 1982 260 Sundancer today!

N

Nate-n-Annie

New Member
Aug 1, 2009
23
Minnesota
Boat Info
1982 Sea Ray Sundancer 260
Engines
Twin 3.8 Liter OMC V6
Many thanks for the tips for outdrive parts from ebasic :thumbsup: They worked great!! Rebuilt both upper gear cases and it ran great! Wish us luck on a long weekend cruise!!

~Loving our boat!!

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Also, does anyone have tips on what to do with these vintage cushions?? Everything is in perfect condition in the cabin, it just feels a bit dark. Would like to brighten cushions, do they make cushion covers?

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I would take them all out to an upholsterer. Pick your fabric and let them go at it!

Having said that, if you are handy with that sort of thing, it's not too terribly difficult to do it yourself.

Be sure to use Stainless Steel staples, but other than that, it's pretty straighforward.

Cheers,

Randy.
 
Reupholstered Cushions

I redid mine with marine grade canvas in marine blue. Is it a factory quality job, No but boy did it make a HUGE difference in the appearance of the cuddy of my 1979 24ft SRV. It was 10.99 at our local Jo-Ann Fabrics Store. I used a coupon that they give out every week in the paper and got 40% off. I only used 4 yards to complete the whole interior with the cushions included. Definitely use SS Staples. Previous owner did not and they all rotted pretty bad. Most pulled out and they all left stains of rust.

Good Luck,

John
 
Interesting, I never thought of trying to recover these by myself-it seemed like a very ambitious task...but I guess if hubby can overhaul the outdrives, I can do my part :lol:

We do have a fabric store in town. When we say stainless steal staples, are we talking a standard paper stapler or a staple gun (very new territory here!!).

We have a very dark tint on our windows-is this standard for this year of boat? Can a person change these or is routine for keeping the cabin cool?

Also, what about these curtains with the strange slider hooks? Any easy way to incorporate updated curtains?? I loved the 80s...but I need to update just a little. Thanks all for the input!
 
Use a hand staple gun. Only $19.00 at any hardware store. They very depending on the crown *(Width of the Head)** and the length. Measure the thickness of the wood and purchase the proper length staple so it doesn't poke through the other side. The wider the crown the better. Depending on which staple gun you purchase they can use many different crowns. Get a staple gun to accommodate the larger crown staples. You will need at least a 1/2" or 5/8's crown for fabric. Don't waste your time on 1/4"

John
 
Nice looking interior. Surprising to see a real stateroom-with a door- on a 26'. Nice feature.
Looks like some of the cushions don't have solid backs, if that's the case you won't need the staples...
Might consider vinyl, if the budget allows, Ultraleather. Especially if kids are around...spills, wet bathing suits, etc...much more durable than fabric.

BTW, there's no such thing as stainless steel staples. They're made from Monel (another rust resistant alloy), available at the big box home improvement stores.
 
Most of the cushions are free-only 4 are attached around the table I believe. I want to re-do the counter, table top and fridge panal also, but that will wait untill next summer. The table is odd. I am not sure if it was aftermarket, but it appears that the boothes were equipt for the table to drop down, as there are wood runners on the bottom, but the table is screwed into the with a steel post which is screwed into the table top.
 
We re-did the V-Berth and Aft Berth cushions on our 87 30' Sundancer. We bought the fabric and had a friend who is an upholsterer do the job. They look better than factory.
Before we got around to doing the Aft Berth I stripped the old covers off, washed them, and re-stapled them on myself. It was really easy.
We had the upholsterer friend do the new fabric because he was available, and we felt that with the fabric we picked he could do a better job of lining the patterns up on the cushions.
We didn't have to do the dinette because it is vinyl and in great shape, but if and when the time comes it looks like it also comes apart pretty easily.
Now I just need to find someone willing to replace the carpet in the cabin for a reasonable price.........
 
Nate-n-Annie said:
Most of the cushions are free-only 4 are attached around the table I believe. I want to re-do the counter, table top and fridge panal also, but that will wait untill next summer. The table is odd. I am not sure if it was aftermarket, but it appears that the boothes were equipt for the table to drop down, as there are wood runners on the bottom, but the table is screwed into the with a steel post which is screwed into the table top.
Click to expand...

The table was made to convert to a bed. Table base had a pocket in the floor and table bottom. Pull it apart, stash the pole and then the table top rested in the wood runners on the bench edges. Cushions from the side fit over the table top to make a bed.
 
Nate n Annie
did you ever get feed back on the curtain with the slider - I just took my down from the aft cabin and need to replace some of the hooks and the curtain.
 
I have a 1980 260 that appears to be the same as yours. I redid the cushions two years ago, using white vinyl that was about $12 per yard and a staple gun. The only tricky part was cutting and stapling the corners, but it worked out well though I have no real experience in this stuff. And you can't beat the price. It gave an entirely different light in the cabin! I recommend the vinyl, does not get molden and just wipe off the dirt. This year I removed the glued-on carpet, which had gotten real old and unpleasant. That was serious work, especially getting rid of the glue residue, but once done I painted it white and installed a flexiteek floor. It's like an entirely different boat.
album.php
 
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Don Sr said:
Nate n Annie
did you ever get feed back on the curtain with the slider - I just took my down from the aft cabin and need to replace some of the hooks and the curtain.
Click to expand...


No responses to the slider curtain. I am going to see if i can find some sort of aftermarket curtain that will work, or just take it down now if i can figure out how.
 
Scornell said:
I have a 1980 260 that appears to be the same as yours. I redid the cushions two years ago, using white vinyl that was about $12 per yard and a staple gun. The only tricky part was cutting and stapling the corners, but it worked out well though I have no real experience in this stuff. And you can't beat the price. It gave an entirely different light in the cabin! I recommend the vinyl, does not get molden and just wipe off the dirt. This year I removed the glued-on carpet, which had gotten real old and unpleasant. That was serious work, especially getting rid of the glue residue, but once done I painted it white and installed a flexiteek floor. It's like an entirely different boat.
album.php
Click to expand...


Did you pull the carpet out from under the cabinets also? Hubby and I are worried that could be quite a project. We bought a gray piece of carpet and cut it to shape and threw it down for now. Flexiteek floor sounds outstanding!! Do you have pics? These avacado marble colored counters are a bit too dark and retro for me too...but I can't imagine where to start first, lol..
 
Scornell, how difficult was it to install the flexiteek in the mid cabin? That sounds like a wonderful idea - would you mind posting a picture to show the end result?
 
Well, the problem was that Sea Ray in those days first put in the carpet and only then stuck the cabinets on top of it! I removed the small cabinets that form the dinette, and all removable woodwork especially around the step down from the cockpit. But I did not remove the galley and head cabinets, that would have been too hard, so I just took a very sharp boxcutter and cut as far in as I could, but the only place was around the head door and bulhead. Removing the carpet was not too bad on the floor, since the glue had been softened by years of moist and water. The vertical areas along the sides were harder - actually the carpet could just be pulled off in most places, but the glue residue behind it was pretty thick, meaning I couldn't just paint on it. So I used a pretty strong citrus-based glue remover, RemovAll 700 (http://www.biowash.com/products/product.php?pid=37), scrubbed off as much as I could, then when dry used first one of those wire wheels you can add on a drill/driver to remove the rest, and a dual-action sander for the finish. Vacuumed up the residues, let dry, put a coat of primer and then two coats of Interlux Brightside white paint. It took a number of hours of work over three weekends in spring, with a lot of beer that made it easier. You can see the difference: I tried to upload pictures, see if they work, if not let me know:

1. The "before" ugly carpet at
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1175
2. What it looked like under the carpet!
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1180
3. The cleaned and sanded mid-way:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1176
4. What it looks like now:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1178 and
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1177.

As for the flexiteak, that was easy because I did not glue it. I made a pattern on a roll of paper, then sent it off to TT marine (http://www.ttcustommarine.com/) and a few weeks later got the package in the mail. It turned out a little small because I made the pattern before removing the carpet, didn't think the carpet takes up some space. But I just put it in there, it stays steady and whenever I need to clean it I can just remove it to the dock.

It was some work, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat since it feels like a new boat!
 
Scornell said:
Well, the problem was that Sea Ray in those days first put in the carpet and only then stuck the cabinets on top of it! I removed the small cabinets that form the dinette, and all removable woodwork especially around the step down from the cockpit. But I did not remove the galley and head cabinets, that would have been too hard, so I just took a very sharp boxcutter and cut as far in as I could, but the only place was around the head door and bulhead. Removing the carpet was not too bad on the floor, since the glue had been softened by years of moist and water. The vertical areas along the sides were harder - actually the carpet could just be pulled off in most places, but the glue residue behind it was pretty thick, meaning I couldn't just paint on it. So I used a pretty strong citrus-based glue remover, RemovAll 700 (http://www.biowash.com/products/product.php?pid=37), scrubbed off as much as I could, then when dry used first one of those wire wheels you can add on a drill/driver to remove the rest, and a dual-action sander for the finish. Vacuumed up the residues, let dry, put a coat of primer and then two coats of Interlux Brightside white paint. It took a number of hours of work over three weekends in spring, with a lot of beer that made it easier. You can see the difference: I tried to upload pictures, see if they work, if not let me know:

1. The "before" ugly carpet at
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1175
2. What it looked like under the carpet!
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1180
3. The cleaned and sanded mid-way:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1176
4. What it looks like now:
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1178 and
http://clubsearay.com/forum/album.php?albumid=211&pictureid=1177.

As for the flexiteak, that was easy because I did not glue it. I made a pattern on a roll of paper, then sent it off to TT marine (http://www.ttcustommarine.com/) and a few weeks later got the package in the mail. It turned out a little small because I made the pattern before removing the carpet, didn't think the carpet takes up some space. But I just put it in there, it stays steady and whenever I need to clean it I can just remove it to the dock.

It was some work, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat since it feels like a new boat!
Click to expand...

Wow!! The flooring looks fantastic, and it is amazing how it brightens the cabin. Did you redo the counter top also?
 
Yes, it does make a difference. The countertop seemed OK to me for the time being. I'm pretty happy with the cabin for now and have some other work, like changing the railing fittings to the hull is the next project, some have cracked metal. I also want to get a new engine hatch/cover, since I have an old wooded one that's in bad shape. But teak's too expensive, and I'm looking for ideas on what to do. Anyone have an idea?
 
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