Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

I didn’t know what to do so I painted it like a garage floor for now still looking for the right carpet
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Good evening folks. It's been a while since I logged in. Almost launch time. First let me say to Drifter, great looking floor!! With garage paint, you for sure won't have a slippage problem. Gave me a good Idea for haul out or next spring project. I have an issue with rough shifting on my 86 300 Sundancer. I am having both lower cables replaced. When I first joined CSR last year, I remember an article from Nater Tater showing ( with photos) how he opened the throttle casing and oiled his uppers but I can't locate the thread. I would like to try that before replacing them. On YouTube I found a gadget called a Motion Pro V3 that I would like to try. Tater's thread showed, in great detail, what he did. I would appreciate a re-post or someone giving me info to find it.
 
Took a week off of work to get ready for splash down finish buffing clean up and install 200 watt flexible solor panels on my Bimini top should be a great week with weather
 
Dumb question time: standard vs. counter rotating drives/props....how can I confirm what I've got? A "mechanic" said mine counter rotate, but that person also said some other things that I've learned don't jive, thus the quotation marks to use the term loosely! I do know the current props are right hand. If they're the originals--or appropriate replacements--for a '89 300 DA, then am I correct both drives are standard rotation? Wouldn't the boat behave oddly if someone managed to install a right hand prop on a counterrotating drive? (Is it even physically/mechanically possible to do that?)
 
All of the outdrive version from the factory have the same prop rotation. There are ways to reverse one side by getting a different outdrive, reversing the cables somehow so reverse is now forward (But, I BELIEVE this causes longer term wear problems since the drive is now using what was intended to be the reverse side of the yoke/drive gears and I don't think you can get full throttle with reverse on the Merc control handles) with a reverse prop on that drive and maybe some other way. I'd bet yours has been untouched and they both rotate the same way. If the put a reverse prop on one of your drives it WOULD go the opposite direction on that side when you put both in gear moving forward! You'd then have to put one in forward and the other in reverse to have them both going forward. Not a good thing and as I mentioned, I don't think you can get full throttle in reverse anyway.
 
T remember mine is an inboard boat. My helm side is the standard rotation. It’s my understanding it was done to reduce the torque on the boats running gear.
 
I want to put carpeting on my transom floor. Has anyone done or had it done, that could give me a little guidance? I am debating to use snaps or velcro, cover each of the hatches individually or one piece. My concern with individually sections is trip hazard. Any suggestions? By hatches I mean engine access covers.
 
I’ve been using Correthium carpets. They are a sponsor here. My spelling stinks tho If you can send them the pattern they can build it.
 
Not having a pattern is only part of the issue. I have the carpet and am able to install it myself. I just don't know the better set up. I was hoping someone may have had pictures i could pattern my layout after.
 
Still Shear Pleasure said:
Not having a pattern is only part of the issue. I have the carpet and am able to install it myself. I just don't know the better set up. I was hoping someone may have had pictures i could pattern my layout after.
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Not voting, just sharing thoughts. How often do you open your hatches? If it's rare, and if the type of carpet you're using is fairly manageable to roll out of your way when needed, a single piece might be a great choice to minimize trip hazards as you mention. If you open the hatches regularly--like for pre-launch inspection, checking/changing battery selections while on the hook, whatever--one piece may become quite annoying quite quickly.

As for Velcro versus snaps: have you used Velcro on other outdoor solid surfaces in your specific environment to know whether the adhesive will gum up, or start to roll/peel from the floor surface due to heat, cold, water, cleaning solutions, friction from people walking over it, etc.? And I'm wondering if the hook/loop surfaces themselves may pick up a lot of dust and other particles and become less "sticky" over time, despite or even because of regular cleaning. I guess if you started with Velcro and it didn't work out, you could switch to snaps, rather than drill holes and then regret it?
 
Thank you very much. I didn't think about trying velcro first. The carpet I am using is very manageable and light weight. I think I will do a cut out over the battery hatch since that is the one I will enter most often. I like to switch them off when I am leaving for an extended period of time.
 
I don't have pictures but I can describe how ours is setup. It just lays on the floor. There are snaps, but I didn't put any in the carpet when it was redone. It's a two piece with the first being the area between the seat and the dashboard. The second is an L-shape that goes into the stern corners and up the walkway to the steps into the cabin. There was enough leftover carpet, the PO had some small squares made up with the edges bound that he used on the dash, steps down and into the cabin.

I like the one piece because it keeps junk from getting down into the hatch raceways. If you had pieces cut for each hatch, I would agree with Trflgrl that a trip hazard would be an issue. It's easy to roll it from the starboard side to get in and check the engine, adjust the battery switch or whatever needs to be done. It rolls right over into the walkway out of the way of the hatches.
 
Thanks Dancer. After reading Trflgrl and you, I will most likely use a simular pattern as yours, still considering the battery hatch with Velcro. How did you keep the carpet from shifting with foot traffic on the fiberglass?
 
Still Shear Pleasure said:
Thanks Dancer. After reading Trflgrl and you, I will most likely use a simular pattern as yours, still considering the battery hatch with Velcro. How did you keep the carpet from shifting with foot traffic on the fiberglass?
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The bench and whatever we have sitting on the carpet keeps it in place. What you MIGHT consider over the battery hatch would be two slits to allow you to fold back the area over the battery hatch. Then you still have one piece and you could get to the battery without rolling the carpet from the starboard over to the port side. We usually have chairs sitting there and the bench seat down. Moving that to get to the battery is kind of a hassle. I tend to leave the switch in the "Both" position anyway. My solar panels keep them charged so I don't stress about the voltage, fridge, radio or anything that might be drawing from the batteries. You could try it with the slits and no velcro and add it later if you don't like it that way.
 
This is why I am glad to be a part of CSR. The ideas garnered from the posts and forums are priceless education. The slit idea is perfect for access even if velcro is used to prevent edge curling. So smart! Thanks again. I would to see pics of your solar panels and the hookup to your batteries.
 
The solar is nothing special. I ran two wires through the arch and ran them out through an old hole where a spotlight used to sit on top. It's been missing for years! The other end terminated on the side panel where I mounted the solar charge controller. I ran two wires down to the batteries and put the positive on one and the negative on the other. That way it charges both house batteries. As I mentioned before, I tend to run my switch in the "Both" position. When we stop somewhere, I can mount the flexible panels up on top of the bimini. Last year I just tied the two panels together and tied them to the windshield wipers and the other end to the arch. Wyrman suggested some magnets, so I bought some rare earth magnets that should hold it down and eliminate the ropes. The 200-watt panel was enough to recharge each day by around noon or so. I would turn up the fridge to make some ice in the afternoon when I had excess power! I typically run lights at night, the fridge on 12v, water pump, radio and GPS during a 24 hour cycle. This year, I may be running an all mode ham radio off that setup as well. Shouldn't be much of a problem!
 
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Thanks for all the in-put folks. Now if this Detroit area weather would cooperate, I could get my pre-launch work done by the mandatory April 30th launch date. SSP is still winter covered as are all the boats in the club. I want to change impellers and shift cables on both outdrives.
 
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