Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

Get a piece of eisenglass about 4"wide and a bit longer than the vents.Loosen the rub rail above the vents enough to slip it under the rail so that water will be deflected away from the boat.Its cheap and easy to replace if needed.
 
not sure what eisenglass is but my rub rail is below my vents. I just used painters tape and covered them with plastic. bone dry now. I when back and forth deciding weather or not to pull my fuel tanks and my sensibility got the better of me considering the motors are out right now. the thought of pulling the motors a couple seasons down the road drove me crazy. so the port tank was in pretty good shape considering its a 1987 boat, very little surface corrosion on the outside and the inside from what I could see prior to the first baffle with a nifty borescope that interfaces with my phone looked pretty good accept for some black gunk along the aft lower weld with some minor corrosion radiating out from the gunk. the starboard tank I didn't even bother looking at the inside as I found some corrosion on the bottom of the tank where the tank sits on the rubber padding. A few pits one of which was about the size of a pea and at least halfway through the aluminum. As much of a #@%*@#$'r as it was to pull them Im glad I did.
 
Looks great!

Question about your cabin lights: Are any of them dual voltage? We want to replace our cabin lights with LED fixtures, but some of the fixtures(specifically the salon area & above the dinette) are both 12V and 120V. We're having a hard time locating LED fixtures that are dual voltage. We've found 1 option, but it is still incandescent and costs $154...

Thanks in advance!
 
not sure if mine are dual voltage but i don't think so. my motors are out and my elec system is not a complete loop right now. right now they will only power up if i hot wire the dc bus.
 
I'm putting new ignition switches in. are these typically the type that are push to prime? the motors that i pulled were mercruisers 5.7 and I'm putting in indmar 5.7's
 
mea3pk said:
not sure if mine are dual voltage but i don't think so. my motors are out and my elec system is not a complete loop right now. right now they will only power up if i hot wire the dc bus.
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Okay, thanks.
 
mea3pk said:
I'm putting new ignition switches in. are these typically the type that are push to prime? the motors that i pulled were mercruisers 5.7 and I'm putting in indmar 5.7's
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No push to prime. Just regular off-start-run ignition switches with the 3 terminals on the back.
 
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I have a super-newby question (so please be kind! - and I did search). I am looking at a nice 1989 300 Weekender that I can get for a good price (and this is my first boat). My only concern (other than problems I don't yet know about) is getting to the foredeck. I see pictures of people sitting on it, and I assume one has to get there to access the anchor. My question is how does one get to it 'safely'? Newer boats have walk-through windshields but it looks like the only way to access the foredeck on this boat is to carefully walk around the side, holding onto the windshield (which I did). I have two young granddaughters (and a wife) and I'm sure that at some point one of them (or I) would slip and crack their head before falling into the water. Is this just something to avoid on these boats or am I missing something? (Thanks for your kind and patient replies :wink:).
 
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posloke123 said:
I have a super-newby question (so please be kind! - and I did search). I am looking at a nice 1989 300 Weekender that I can get for a good price (and this is my first boat). My only concern (other than problems I don't yet know about) is getting to the foredeck. I see pictures of people sitting on it, and I assume one has to get there to access the anchor. My question is how does one get to it 'safely'? Newer boats have walk-through windshields but it looks like the only way to access the foredeck on this boat is to carefully walk around the side, holding onto the windshield (which I did). I have two young granddaughters (and a wife) and I'm sure that at some point one of them (or I) would slip and crack their head before falling into the water. Is this just something to avoid on these boats or am I missing something? (Thanks for your kind and patient replies :wink:).
Click to expand...


You're correct that access to the foredeck isn't as easy on the older boats, but it can be done. Another option is to go through the hatch above the v-berth. When I have the full camper canvas on, even getting to the side deck to go forward is a problem. We tend to go up and down through the forward hatch. There are many variables that you juggle in picking a boat, but I wouldn't let this one be a determining factor. Overall, I really like the boat - but of course I'm biased as it fits my needs.
 
One of my very few dislikes about these otherwise fantastic boats is access to the bow/foredeck. Especially on a windy or choppy day. My boat doesn't have the arch, so I hold on to the framework for the canvas and walk carefully. Sort of like a tightrope walker. When the canvas is down, I have to hold on to the windshield frame for balance, but that isn't the best idea.
 
It could be worse. My neighbor has a 28' Bayliner and the only way he can get up front is thru the windshield. That boat has no gunnels to walk at all.

My wife and the girls use my forward hatch when they want to come back and forth. While on the hook they do walk the gunnels. I don't know any other way but the gunnels and my arch just kinda gets in the way when I head that way.

While led doing my research for my boat I found that SeaRay made a hardtop 300WE. They only made the boat for 2 years and I guess one of her past owners loved that style. They had a nice hardtop made and I gotta tell you I love it.
 
posloke123 said:
I have a super-newby question (so please be kind! - and I did search). I am looking at a nice 1989 300 Weekender that I can get for a good price (and this is my first boat). My only concern (other than problems I don't yet know about) is getting to the foredeck. I see pictures of people sitting on it, and I assume one has to get there to access the anchor. My question is how does one get to it 'safely'? Newer boats have walk-through windshields but it looks like the only way to access the foredeck on this boat is to carefully walk around the side, holding onto the windshield (which I did). I have two young granddaughters (and a wife) and I'm sure that at some point one of them (or I) would slip and crack their head before falling into the water. Is this just something to avoid on these boats or am I missing something? (Thanks for your kind and patient replies :wink:).
Click to expand...

I have a Sundancer with arch. It is really not much of a problem to scamper up the side decks. Trick is to shuffle step - leg forward, then slide the trailing leg up to the leading but not to step ahead of it. Only takes a couple steps and you can hold onto the bimini tube above the windshield. I can go forward pretty fast, faster than through a windshield. Nice thing about the older Sea Rays is the nice flat deck. I take one of those folding cushion seats and sit there often. Kids sit and watch fireworks.
 
Happy New Year, all! Hope everyone's enjoyed some great time with family and friends, whether on the water or landside. For those who have to wait for boating season....the days are getting longer....!!!!



Does anyone know a source for replacements for the swivel directional lights over the dinette? Can't tell if these are original or not--rectangular housing mounted flush with two screws in opposite corners, with an eyeball type fixture accessible to pull out/drop in from above in the window shelf. The flared opening of the eyeball fixture hangs lower than the housing. Dimensions of the housing are 3.5" x 2.5"; bulb end of fixture is 1.5". I'm finding plenty of options with round housings online, but would like to avoid re-cutting the hole if possible. Finish is almost a matte/frosted looking silver metal, probably brushed nickel by today's color standards.

One of the two existing is damaged so we can't install a bulb in it properly; if I can find a close color/finish match, I'll get just one, but if I find the right dimensions I'd consider getting two and changing color if necessary. TIA!
 
trflgrl said:
Happy New Year, all! Hope everyone's enjoyed some great time with family and friends, whether on the water or landside. For those who have to wait for boating season....the days are getting longer....!!!!



Does anyone know a source for replacements for the swivel directional lights over the dinette? Can't tell if these are original or not--rectangular housing mounted flush with two screws in opposite corners, with an eyeball type fixture accessible to pull out/drop in from above in the window shelf. The flared opening of the eyeball fixture hangs lower than the housing. Dimensions of the housing are 3.5" x 2.5"; bulb end of fixture is 1.5". I'm finding plenty of options with round housings online, but would like to avoid re-cutting the hole if possible. Finish is almost a matte/frosted looking silver metal, probably brushed nickel by today's color standards.

One of the two existing is damaged so we can't install a bulb in it properly; if I can find a close color/finish match, I'll get just one, but if I find the right dimensions I'd consider getting two and changing color if necessary. TIA!
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Your description sounds different from what my lights look like. I know mine are original to my boat. You may be better off if yours are aftermarket. It would likely be easier to find a replacement that matches.
Can you post a pic of yours?
 
T, post me a photo or send it to my email please. I might be able to help
 
JVM225 said:
Your description sounds different from what my lights look like. I know mine are original to my boat. You may be better off if yours are aftermarket. It would likely be easier to find a replacement that matches.
Can you post a pic of yours?
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Are yours like this? It's the closest match visually/functionally, and there are lots available; one lists dimensions of 4" x 4" x 4" so that might be ok and require only a little little jigsaw work to seat properly in the existing holes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...oliid=IZ7UKDA5DHTZJ&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

It's really weird that I haven't found ANY square or rectangular single-light replacements, only round singles or oval doubles. It's the darndest thing!


dwna1a said:
T, post me a photo or send it to my email please. I might be able to help
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We may be out there this weekend so I'll snap a pic to share. And one of First Mate's friends tinkers with all things electrical, so there may be a long shot chance he could re-solder the socket or something and salvage it.
 
hi trflgrl, a question about your bottom paint/waterline. I took all my paint off a few weeks ago and the last couple of feet out to the bow seemed to drop down a couple of inches. I thought it looked a little goofy. yours seems to go nice and straight all the way out. how does it sit in the water with respect to the waterline? I was planning on bringing it up a bit out to the bow as there was a few barnacles above the paint line.
 
Typically, the water line is slightly below or about even with the paint line at the stern--sometimes slightly above it when we're fully fueled and watered--but always below the paint line at the bow by a few to several inches. If you magnify this pic, you may get a little better idea--at that time, the water line was even with the paint line at the stern, but more and more of the bottom paint shows as you go toward the bow.

We've always felt we were a little stern-heavy even without full fuel/water, but haven't been side by side with same-age 300s to be able to tell for sure. If this is a normal water position, a PO on yours might have wanted a more exact alignment between the paint line and the water line. I'm not that particular on the aesthetics, though, especially since this paint job seems to be in excellent shape!

PaintWater.jpg
 
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