Mid-90's 270 Sundancer Thread

Re: Windlass wiring from Bow to stern/batteries

saxonj said:
Guys... Any ideas on how to run the windlass wires from the batteries to the bow? I tried a snake, but it seems like the area is too tight and it never makes it to the batteries....
I gave a somewhat crude description of this earlier in this thread. You're not gonna run a snake the entire length. There are several 'segments' and each has to be done seperately and may require different techniques. Port side, bow-to-stern...

From the anchor locker to the microwave cabinet - you can remove the vinyl-covered padding at the hull-deck joint (Sea Ray calls this a 'Muff, V-Berth Gunwale Port') by removing about 3-4 screws that are hidden in the pleats. This gives you complete access to the area needed. Just be sure to locate the wires so that they won't be pierced by the screws when you reassemble.

Next you'll be winding thru the cabinetry - inside the cabinet to the right of the microwave at the top rear is a zippered compartment. I was able to get a snake in here and work it over to the area behind the electrical panel. DISCONNECT SHORE POWER and pull the electrical panel out for access. From here, you can run down to the bottom of the cabinet, behind the drawers.

You will need to remove the piece that runs along the bottom of the aft cabin under the mirror. The screws for this are easy to find and have the plastic covers on them. You don't have to completely remove this piece - just pivot it out of the way. The pressurized water lines are routed here - just follow the same route. You may need to carefully enlarge the hole (or drill a new one) to get into the engine compartment. Sea Ray put sealant here and you should also to avoid inviting fumes into the cabin.

Once in the engine compartment, just strap on to the existing wiring harness back to the batteries. Somewhere along the way, I assume you'll be installing a solenoid and circuit breaker. Put the breaker as close to the batteries as feasible.

And be sure to pull extra pieces of string in each segment so that the next project will be much easier! Good Luck!
 
New owners of a 95 270 with a question...

How have people mounted displays for FF, Charplotters, radar, etc?

There is a big flat area between the wheel and the gauges, but the gauges would be blocked if you mounted a couple 70sq in screens.

Any ideas - pics?
 
Just Right said:
New owners of a 95 270 with a question...

How have people mounted displays for FF, Charplotters, radar, etc?

There is a big flat area between the wheel and the gauges, but the gauges would be blocked if you mounted a couple 70sq in screens.

Any ideas - pics?

JustRight,

Your boat is pretty much identical to mine. Without an after-market radar arch I am not sure how you plan on mounting the radar itself. That leaves you with one screen for a chart plotter/depth sounder combo. We have a small Lowrance mounted to the right of the steering wheel. It is sitting in a bracket (rather than being flush-mounted - allows for easy removal when not boating.

As to your location, do you ever boat on Folsom Lake? We have a group of Sea Rays (and a couple of other brands) between 25-30' that like to hang out in Deep Ravine (off the South Fork) on weekends. You can tell 'members' either by the DRYC (Deep Ravine Yacht Club) pennants flown off the bow rail or by the 'glitter streamer' flown off the antenna. The group usually rafts up back in the ravine. You'll see anywhere between 4 and 15 boats at a time...pretty fun group. If you get a chance, stop by for a cold one or a glass of wine!
 
I don't have anything permanently mounted yet, as I have not come up with a good solution. But the area you describe is for charts and other paperwork. You should have a plexiglass cover there that will hold charts in place.

I have a depth sounder mounted on a piece of wood that sits just behind the windshield on the port side. Also have a Garmin 2210 that is temporarily mounted on wood that sits in the recessed area just ahead of the port lounge seat. That actually works quite well in most situations. But I would like to have the Garmin mounted between the two vertical windshield supports over the cabin door. I have not come up with a good mounting scheme for that though.

How would you install a radar, as these boats normally have no arch?
 
gengiant said:
JustRight,
As to your location, do you ever boat on Folsom Lake? We have a group of Sea Rays (and a couple of other brands) between 25-30' that like to hang out in Deep Ravine (off the South Fork) on weekends. You can tell 'members' either by the DRYC (Deep Ravine Yacht Club) pennants flown off the bow rail or by the 'glitter streamer' flown off the antenna. The group usually rafts up back in the ravine. You'll see anywhere between 4 and 15 boats at a time...pretty fun group. If you get a chance, stop by for a cold one or a glass of wine!

GG, is this a "real" yacht club, or an informal group with a pennant? Maybe if I had one of these 'glitter streamers', I could sneak in?

I will have to go look at the location you describe for a possible location for my depth sounder. It is not too large.
 
Dave M.,

I have to think hard now (tough on a Monday morning...), but I think my chart plotter is mounted just below the chart layout area you mentioned. My Lowrance isn't very big (I think it's a 7" screen), but for most of the boating we do it's enough. I am thinking about upgrading to a newer color plotter this Christmas, however, as we will be headed up to the San Juans on '08. I did see your name added to the list (posted in another thread). It'd be fun to meet up with all of you somewhere.

As to mounting a larger screen, I too have thought of the area between the 2 windshield posts. I am worried about visibility, however, as I like to drive sitting down. There's got to be a better place! :smt017

As to radar arches, they make some pretty nice tubular aluminum aftermarket arches. Not real cheap, though, and as we rarely venture into locals where a radar would be considered a must-have item, I haven't been able to convince myself of the need to spend that kind of money.
 
Dave M. said:
GG, is this a "real" yacht club, or an informal group with a pennant? Maybe if I had one of these 'glitter streamers', I could sneak in?

Dave,

Naw, not a stuffy "real" yacht club. :lol: Just a group of boaters that like to hange out for the weekend and get away from the normal stresses of life. Some of the people in our group are retired or semi-retired, others successful business men & women, there's a mechanic (he's good to be friends with for obvious reasons :wink: ), a rancher,...you name it. The core group has been getting together for something like 20 years. We just joined them last year....
 
gengiant said:
Just Right said:
New owners of a 95 270 with a question...

How have people mounted displays for FF, Charplotters, radar, etc?

There is a big flat area between the wheel and the gauges, but the gauges would be blocked if you mounted a couple 70sq in screens.

Any ideas - pics?

JustRight,

Your boat is pretty much identical to mine. Without an after-market radar arch I am not sure how you plan on mounting the radar itself. That leaves you with one screen for a chart plotter/depth sounder combo. We have a small Lowrance mounted to the right of the steering wheel. It is sitting in a bracket (rather than being flush-mounted - allows for easy removal when not boating.

As to your location, do you ever boat on Folsom Lake? We have a group of Sea Rays (and a couple of other brands) between 25-30' that like to hang out in Deep Ravine (off the South Fork) on weekends. You can tell 'members' either by the DRYC (Deep Ravine Yacht Club) pennants flown off the bow rail or by the 'glitter streamer' flown off the antenna. The group usually rafts up back in the ravine. You'll see anywhere between 4 and 15 boats at a time...pretty fun group. If you get a chance, stop by for a cold one or a glass of wine!

We used to overnight on Folsom 4-5 times a year in the mid-90's, mainly at Wild Goose Flat on the NF. We spend a night in a SF cove across from, and slightly downstream of, New York Creek: It was strange waking up to mtn bikers zipping by 50 feet off our stern. We'll look for you in the future.

As for radar, we are planning to get a combo radar/wakeboard tower (our wake is the envy of all those goombas, moombas, or whatever they are) that will hinge to get under some of those delta bridges without waiting for a raise.

I'll go sit in the boat with a cold one tonight and imagine some screens in those areas everyone has suggested. Still, some pics would help my visions of mega pixels around the helm...

Thanks everyone!
 
Just Right-

Here is a shot of how our 270's 3 in one screen was set up. I did not mind the location at all and it did not interfear with any other gauges.
Mike
 
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JustRight,

Escapade's picture made me remember where mine is mounted. It is located just to the right of the factory depth gage, above the trim tab and windlass switches.

I am thinking about upgrading chart plotters in preparation of next year's trip to the San Juan Islands, however, and, assuming that the screen will be a little larger than the one I currently have, I am definitely following this thread with much interest.
 
Just an Idea, but, remembering how the dash was set up on ours I bet you could mount a Raymarine C70 Multi funtion display in the middle of the chart area. If you could make a shroud elevating the top up to a height of 3" and dishing in the bottom 3 " and adding a weep hole and drain tube to the bilge in that dished area. See sketch.
Mike
 
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That in-dash looks good, where's my Roto-Zip!

Oh, gotta buy the unit first...

-B
 
Does anyone know what it would take to upgrade form one unit to another (same manufacturer)? I have an old Lowrance LMS 160 and am interested in the new LMS 525.....
 
gengiant said:
I am definitely following this thread with much interest.

I am following too, but I am not going to cut my dash. I like to use the chart area. So I have to find something else. I normally drive standing up, so I am not discounting the area between the windshield supports.
 
Here's my Garmin 178C in place. Pic was taken from about eye level when sitting. Only thing blocked is the gas gauge. I usually stand anyway so nothing is blocked. The Gramin mount is extremely flexible (as I suspect most others are).

178c_102.jpg
 
Blow-out, Tandem Axles, Carlisle Tires

FYI - I have had three recent failures of my trailer's ST225/70R-15 "E" tires: a serious sidewall crack from bead to tread, a stell belt separation (blow-out) while driving, and then the tire behind the blown-out tire showed evidence of a separation and pending blow-out. The tires were installed April 2006 and had less than 1200 miles on them.

America's Tire contacted the manufacturer who okayed replacement of all the tires, except the spare. No word if they had a special treatment for these tires, but in reading the RV.net and other travel trailer forums, carlisle tires had a high failure rate in the year or two past. Of course, with our experience with our 28' travel trailer, the tires (closely followed by the axles) are the weak link in the GVW and the dry weight is always understated. If they say that the payload is 1500, count on only 800.

These tires were run usually within 5 psi of the max pressure and speeds were usually about 65 mph.

Lessons learned/reinforced:

1. Trailer tires must be run at max psi, lower pressures contribute to separation.

2. Make sure the tires are rated for your gross weight including full tanks, gear, toys, ice chests etc. Get your trailer weighed.

3. If you have tandem axles and a tire fails, replace the other one on that same side as it will have be subjected to as much as a 50% over weight-rating load. Plus if the failure was due to road hazard, excessive weight or heat, or low pressure, the tire in front or behind was likely subjected to the same fate. Now I am carrying two spares.

4. Trailer tires are rated for 60-65 mph MAX! Read your warnings on the sidewalls.

Stay Safe & Have Fun!
 
JustRight,

Sorry to hear about your string of bad luck! The thought of a blowout on my boat trailer allways scares me. We had one last year just on HWY 99 just north of Galt. With the weight of the boat and trailer riding on a single tire on the side the other one blew, the tire was actually riding on the underside of the fender. It completely burned the paint off the top side of the fender. Thankfully, this second tire held up and in combination with my spare lasted the rest of the trip to Monterey and back (I did stop in Galt to replace the spare before proceeding). Upon my return home I did replace all of the remaining old tires I had "inherited" when I bought the boat a couple of years earlier. Now I just need to make sure that none of the newer ones are the Carlisle brand. :smt009

When we had our trailer refurbished last year I did have DHM weld 2 spare tire mounts to the trailer...
 
I went out and looked at my tires, and they would be overloaded if I had a blowout. But I think it would handle OK. I have a triple axle trailer with torsion tube suspension, so I think the clearance would remain OK. The springing is pretty stiff.

Replaced my gimbal bearing, swim platform installation in progress.
 
I've done several major mods including genset and windlass installs and a bunch of smaller projects...

Thinking about doing the windlass as my first big $$$ mod. Can you give us some insights and pics on your setup?

One general Q about windlasses: after setting the anchor do you have to still tie-off the line or can the windlass take over that job?
 

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