Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

Went out between the heavy downpours, Seahorse ran so damn well it scared me.....heat exchanger cap came off about three miles from her dock and Port engine shut down....limped in on one pulled the cover, cleaned up the mess, and replaced the cap. Gotta love boating :smt009
 
It doesn't really matter what platform you use. You will need to dither down your pics to a very tiny size. The site puts these limitations on your pictures unless you pay a membership fee. A workaround would be to sign up for a photobucket account.
 
ok, I got a question on bilge vents. Ive owned two 1988 sea rays and when I took ownership of both of the them, both vents on both sides faced back. So I always assumed that's how they went. I talked to a guy this past weekend that said the fronts are supposed to face forward to "scoop" the air, and the back ones face rear to expel it rearwards. My question is which way is right ?
 
Front one face towards the bow, rear towards the stern. Front forces the fresh air in, blowers force the bad air out
 
Right, which ever blows goes back, whichever is set up to intake scoops forward. Honestly, I don't think it really matters, though.

My issue with the vents is where they are placed. Water is the issue. Right where the side deck ends, it points the water right down the vent. I only have a temporary solution at them moment and it's not pretty. Any ideas? I was thinking of mounting a dam or deflector on the top to spout the water over.
 
Do we have Perko sea strainers on our 88 boats? If so does anyone know the model #?
 
looks like I better flip the front set of mine around... my problem is I notice they leak water into the outbourd most stringers and you can never get it out. then it turns black and stagnant and smells
 
Tritone said:
I know what you mean. i just went through this. In the end it was a particularly helpful and knowledgable person at Home Depot who got me going. I ended up using lots of "SHark Bite" fittings. The stuff is not cheap, but man, it was worth it in terms of saving the job as well as vastly reducing the veins popping out of my head and the cursing associated with limited access and impossible to find sizes. If you have the grey colored pipe like I have, the Shark Bite stuff hooks right up to it. Anyone who has used it could testify to how remarkably easy it goes together. I put in a dockside water inlet, a hot/cold transom shower, a water accumulator, a cockpit washdown spigot, and a new faucet in the head this winter. I can tell you about frustration with West Marine and not finding the right parts. The faucet was the toughest part. I attributed it to the fact I bought it at Ikea and I should have learned the last time that their plumbing sizes are *&^%$. I had to go through a few fittings on each line to get it to adapt.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all your info on the plumbing, somehow I lucked out by buying a Moen bar faucet on Amazon of all places and it actually fit the same gray pipe and white adaptors, but what I found strange after being couped up underneath the kitchen sink for a ridiculous amount of time...was that there were actually 2 white fittings hooked together and then on to the faucet fitting (with what I assume was the original plastic faucet)...

Now my wife likes that one so much she wants me to change the one in the head...I am hoping I can access that via the head sink rather than crawling back in under the kitchen sink and going sideways into the head.

Really appreciate this site! Learning more and more about the Weekender! Bill

PS - Still working on pics (easiest way - I am not IT oriented)
 
Disposable Income said:
looks like I better flip the front set of mine around... my problem is I notice they leak water into the outbourd most stringers and you can never get it out. then it turns black and stagnant and smells
Click to expand...

Make sure the cowl is correctly butted up against the inside of the gunwale. Unfortunately, they way they slapped them on was to just drill through. If you don't have an extra pair of hands, it might not line up correctly and there might remain a gap. On my boat, the cutout was not the right size, and oh well, just get it out the door. There was a gap and horror of horrors the bilge blower was just venting back into the boat on that side in addition to creating a water leak. So after fixing that factory defect I did get a good look at this part of the boat. The screws not only hold the vents on, but they hold the cowl itself up to the inside of your boat. Probably one of the worst design decisions on the vessel lies in this area. Watch when it rains or when you wash down the deck. Water will run all the way down the side decks to the point where the side deck ends. When it does, it goes overboard. Well, almost overboard; it will go right down the aftermost of the two side vents! Left alone, your bilge fills with water and mold will form on the supports that hold the cockpit deck up. I've seen some such boats with this very important structure rotted out from long-term damage. On my boat, I was lucky the previous owner had it stored indoors for a good portion of its life. But it was out enough to cause some damage. I had to replace the wood backer on the section of rub rail below the vents. If you ever wondered why lots of these boats have loose or popped-off rub rails there, the reason is the vent leak that has been left to its own devices. I have a temporary fix guttering the leak overboard and it's not pretty, but at least it's buying me time until I come up with a permanent, more aesthetic solution. I need to find a metal fabricator to bend me some SS sheet for some vent guards or something. If only Sea Ray just cut them into the hull sides like they did on many of their other models, like the 34, this would never be an issue.
 
Last edited:
Honey Badger said:
Thanks for all your info on the plumbing, somehow I lucked out by buying a Moen bar faucet on Amazon of all places and it actually fit the same gray pipe and white adaptors, but what I found strange after being couped up underneath the kitchen sink for a ridiculous amount of time...was that there were actually 2 white fittings hooked together and then on to the faucet fitting (with what I assume was the original plastic faucet)...

Now my wife likes that one so much she wants me to change the one in the head...I am hoping I can access that via the head sink rather than crawling back in under the kitchen sink and going sideways into the head.

Really appreciate this site! Learning more and more about the Weekender! Bill

PS - Still working on pics (easiest way - I am not IT oriented)
Click to expand...

I changed the faucet in the galley sink this year. Thank God for the Sharkbites. Anyway, I changed the one in the head a couple of years back, and replaced it with one from an RV. Oddly enough, I didn't have the same issues with the fittings when I did that one, but it was a lot tighter in there than under the galley.
 
Tritone said:
Make sure the cowl is correctly butted up against the inside of the gunwale. Unfortunately, they way they slapped them on was to just drill through. If you don't have an extra pair of hands, it might not line up correctly and there might remain a gap. On my boat, the cutout was not the right size, and oh well, just get it out the door. There was a gap and horror of horrors the bilge blower was just venting back into the boat on that side in addition to creating a water leak. So after fixing that factory defect I did get a good look at this part of the boat. The screws not only hold the vents on, but they hold the cowl itself up to the inside of your boat. Probably one of the worst design decisions on the vessel lies in this area. Watch when it rains or when you wash down the deck. Water will run all the way down the side decks to the point where the side deck ends. When it does, it goes overboard. Well, almost overboard; it will go right down the aftermost of the two side vents! Left alone, your bilge fills with water and mold will form on the supports that hold the cockpit deck up. I've seen some such boats with this very important structure rotted out from long-term damage. On my boat, I was lucky the previous owner had it stored indoors for a good portion of its life. But it was out enough to cause some damage. I had to replace the wood backer on the section of rub rail below the vents. If you ever wondered why lots of these boats have loose or popped-off rub rails there, the reason is the vent leak that has been left to its own devices. I have a temporary fix guttering the leak overboard and it's not pretty, but at least it's buying me time until I come up with a permanent, more aesthetic solution. I need to find a metal fabricator to bend me some SS sheet for some vent guards or something. If only Sea Ray just cut them into the hull sides like they did on many of their other models, like the 34, this would never be an issue.
Click to expand...

I was thinking while I had the vents off I could run a fat bead of silicone between the cowl box and the gunwale all along the bottom and up the sides. then when water collects in there it should run out to the outside and down the gelcoat. properly cleaned and done right, it should be pretty water tight. just a thought
 
Disposable Income said:
I was thinking while I had the vents off I could run a fat bead of silicone between the cowl box and the gunwale all along the bottom and up the sides. then when water collects in there it should run out to the outside and down the gelcoat. properly cleaned and done right, it should be pretty water tight. just a thought
Click to expand...

It might work. The issue is that it's tough to get in there properly with a caulk gun and also the cowls are thin and flexible plastic. It might not hold in the long run.
 
hello, all. getting lined up to purchase a very clean 88 300 weekender with twin 5.7 inboards, all original. the owner has kept boat very well maintained and there is around 780 hrs on the boat... dont really want to have boat surveyed so is there any common things to look for on this model. I have fell in love with this older look and layout and love the wide beam. I have had several boats through the years but this is my first one of this size and with twin motors....any insight from you guys is greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
 
Leaks around the port holes...and all the maintenance records you can get
 
One other thing. If you don't want to get her surveyed at least have the motors and transmission completely checked out, compression tests will go a long way in helping with engine health
 
Well it looks like I'm stuck in the slip for another two weeks. Good news is I didn't blow a head gasket, bad news is one of my exhaust manifolds is cracked. New manifolds and risers are already ordered and will be in next week. I'm going to order another set next month for the other engine. 10g's for a new fuel injected 350's isn't looking but so bad. I also had compression tests run, two low cylinders at 115. Shop says the girls are tired and close to retirement. Both are at 1600 hrs
 
dwna1a said:
Well it looks like I'm stuck in the slip for another two weeks. Good news is I didn't blow a head gasket, bad news is one of my exhaust manifolds is cracked. New manifolds and risers are already ordered and will be in next week. I'm going to order another set next month for the other engine. 10g's for a new fuel injected 350's isn't looking but so bad. I also had compression tests run, two low cylinders at 115. Shop says the girls are tired and close to retirement. Both are at 1600 hrs
Click to expand...

my port engine has low compression on cyl #1. (around 95psi when all the others are 175-+) not sure how long its been like that but has been running for me for four years, knock on wood, motors have around 1100hrs
 
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