Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

Well I found out that it is a Wilcox Critendon unit. They are long out of business. Looks like nobrebuild for me, time to replace the entire unit and scoop.
 
I would think they pretty much use all the same parts inside. I looked at that photo and the internet till late. Where did you find it?
 
Posted it on facebook boating groups and several people identified it right away. Looks like the company went out of business a long time ago before my boat was ever built. So how a valve from a company that went out in the early 70s ended up on an 89 300 is a bit if a mystery. Either old stock or a previous owner swapped in something they had.
 
I found something today that some of you may need. Many of my Warning signage was shot but none were a vinyl stick on type. All were a hard plastic. After some research I found the company that made them. Bernard Engraving makes almost all of them and have been great to work with
 
dwna1a said:
I found something today that some of you may need. Many of my Warning signage was shot but none were a vinyl stick on type. All were a hard plastic. After some research I found the company that made them. Bernard Engraving makes almost all of them and have been great to work with
Click to expand...
Got any contact info for them?
 
Guys I redid all of mine. The one I couldn’t find is a sticker that was above my fuel fills. I found a newer one that says the same warning. I also added a new one at the helm saying a CO warning.

yea it was kinda dumb to do, we all know the warnings but it makes the boat look cleaner. If I trade up this year every little thing will help
 
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Winter projects are almost done.
 

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Another member suggested Oil based Rust~Oleum. Mine was a dark teal green. Hand sanded then cleaned it with Beher paint wipes. Painted it sanded it and cleaned it again. Thinned the paint and did it again. Teak goes back in tomorrow.

the forest green matches the canvas
 
I'm considering an inverter. Found a cute little 600 watt "Cube" microwave so it won't take up what little space we have. I'm thinking a 3000 watt will be overkill since we don't have A/C - - Yet anyway! More on that later. My real question is how to wire it in. Is it easier to leave the inverter near the batteries and run a cord from the invert to the microwave? OR, do I get a massive cutoff switch that either points to the shore cord or the inverter? I know I'll need to switch off the charger when the inverter is running. I'm mechanical by nature and anything with more than a black and red wire and an on and off switch it is pushing my limits. I don't want to let the smoke out and have to start all over! I did have to replace a bad or shorted switch in the main panel but figuring this out is making my head spin, but I think it's easier than I'm making in.

With the first option, the inverter would just come off the batteries. Is the inverter safe in the engine compartment? I'm guessing it's not and needs to be elsewhere. So if I move it 8 feet, how big should the wires be from the batteries to the Inverter? Then a heavy duty extension cord to the microwave? I don't like having the extension cord floating around and would prefer to use the actual outlet.

With the second option, a switch at the panel to switch off shore power and the inverter on would run everything, but I'd have to run wires from the batteries to the panel and figure out how to wire that in and make sure my stove, hot water tank and charger are off. Is this easier than I realize or am I just barking up the wrong tree? What size wires for that run? 4 awg?

This might be worth a trip to the boat doctor!
 
First, you have to know how much current the inverter would draw. As a for-instance, if you get yourself a 2000W steady/4000W surge running ~85% efficiency, that puppy will draw 392 amps from your 12 volt batteries while it's delivering its max rated output! Assuming you have the battery capacity for that, you'd need at least #2ga wire, and that's if you keep the length to no more than 4 feet.
Based on what we see here, trying to run an A/C through an inverter really isn't practical. Thus, the need for an on-board generator for such things.
After all of that, your original question of where to locate the inverter comes down to the inverter's environmental needs and the length of the cables needed. Since wire size is dictated by current needs, remember that it takes ten times (and more) the current on the 12 volt side to equal delivered power on the 120 volt side. So, the closer you can get the inverter to the batteries, the easier and cheaper the wiring becomes.
 
Nater Potater said:
First, you have to know how much current the inverter would draw. As a for-instance, if you get yourself a 2000W steady/4000W surge running ~85% efficiency, that puppy will draw 392 amps from your 12 volt batteries while it's delivering its max rated output! Assuming you have the battery capacity for that, you'd need at least #2ga wire, and that's if you keep the length to no more than 4 feet.
Based on what we see here, trying to run an A/C through an inverter really isn't practical. Thus, the need for an on-board generator for such things.
After all of that, your original question of where to locate the inverter comes down to the inverter's environmental needs and the length of the cables needed. Since wire size is dictated by current needs, remember that it takes ten times (and more) the current on the 12 volt side to equal delivered power on the 120 volt side. So, the closer you can get the inverter to the batteries, the easier and cheaper the wiring becomes.
Click to expand...

Keeping the inverter close to the batteries would make sense, but I don't think they would be good in the bilge. Maybe just up the wall outside of the engine compartment? I'm thinking that makes sense and #2ga wouldn't be too bad. I guess I could run the microwave for a few minutes. An 800 watt A/C even for an hour to cool the boat down at night would require about 80 amps and that would totally wipe out a 100 amp lithium I'm guessing, if my calcs are right. We don't use the boat when it's that hot (95 and above) because it just doesn't cool down at night around here. I've carried a generator and could do that again, just to cool it off as we head to bed. I won't run it while we are sleeping. I still think a couple of lithiums 2 to 5 years from now might be the answer? Maybe prices will have dropped by then and I can AFFORD them! LOL!! We'll see! I see guys doing this in RV's with a ton of solar and a bunch of batteries, so I know it can be done. I'm just too cheap to spend that kind of money for the batteries!
 
I guess I’m spoiled with my Westerbeke.

Please don’t use a portable GenSet on the boat. There is nothing safe about them in a marine setting. It’s just not worth the risk of a life or the lives of others.

As for a inverter for a microwave, others here would know better than me. When I’m using the microwave it draws my genset way down. If anything else is running it really won’t work very well. Some of the boaters near me have tried this with no real luck. Gl to you.
 
Sundancer said:
I see guys doing this in RV's with a ton of solar and a bunch of batteries, so I know it can be done. I'm just too cheap to spend that kind of money for the batteries!
Click to expand...
That's really what it comes down to. Sure, it can be done, but, with most things battery powered, it's still the batteries themselves that are the limiting factor.
 
dwna1a said:
I guess I’m spoiled with my Westerbeke.

Please don’t use a portable GenSet on the boat. There is nothing safe about them in a marine setting. It’s just not worth the risk of a life or the lives of others.

As for a inverter for a microwave, others here would know better than me. When I’m using the microwave it draws my genset way down. If anything else is running it really won’t work very well. Some of the boaters near me have tried this with no real luck. Gl to you.
Click to expand...

I've used a portable genset many times. Sparingly and usually it's sitting on the dock as far away as possible. The other times it has been to charge batteries after staying put for 3 to 5 days. I used to have an Honda 2000, but recently found my old Honda EM 400 works. It's a tiny little sucker and can charge the batteries via the Pro-Mariner charger. I've used that once in the past 3 years I think. I know the risks and as I stated above, would never run it at night. I wouldn't run an onboard Westerbeke or Kohler at night either for the same reasons.

I pulled a set of Group 31's that are still holding a charge. I might put those back in next to the newer ones? That would give me a bunch of extra juice and probably would allow me to run the A/C for an hour or so. Might be worth a try. I just need to find one of the little portable A/C's to use.
 
My 89 300DA had a slight water leak for the last several years, only after launching from a trailer or after a run. I finally tracked it down to a loose bilge pump thru hull on the starboard aft quarter of the boat. I decided to replace all three of them (two bilge pump thru hulls and the larger deck drain) due to their age and being plastic. I replaced them with Forespar Marelon units. The fun part was gaining access to replace them. I had to remove my starboard trim pump, blower, exhaust manifold and elbow and the associated shift plate and wiring. I had to remove the main engine wiring connector, the wiring to the trim pump and the house battery. I also had to loosen my heat exchanger so it would move some on the hoses. After all that, I was finally able to squeeze into and out of the bilge enough to access those fittings and replace. An old bed pillow between the fuel tank shelf and the stinger made laying on my side on top of the rigging pipe tolerable.
I'm 5' 8" and about 175, if I were much bigger, I don't know if I could have fit in there. Getting back out is harder than getting in and I have the scrapes on my back and sides to prove it.
Doing the job single handed meant that I had to get in and out of there about 12 times so I got pretty good at it by the end.
A few pointers;
Use a heat gun to make removing and installing the hose on the fitting barbs easier.
If you single hand it, after applying sealer and installing the fitting, use some good duct tape to hole it in place while you crawl into the bilge to add more sealer to the back and install the nut.
Have all the tools in the bilge first and have anything you MAY need on the deck just above where you can easily reach it.
Use a flex drive with a 5/16 socket to remove and install the hose clamps.

On my boat, the fittings were 2" and 1 1/8" inches.

Now to put it all back together and replace my water pumps in the drives and It's about time to think about waxing.
 
Hello all. So glad to find this thread. I recently purchased a 1988 Weekender 300. She was never fit with the folding transom seat. Considering retro fitting. What is the consensus. Also after 30 years and 950 engine hours what is a good cruising RPM. I don’t want to beat her up at WOT. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
How did you bend the plywood?? I'm trying to do the same with my boat
 
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