Official 1980's Weekender/Sundancer 300 thread

[TitanTn]

so I decided to remove the cockpit vinyl panels on the sides of the boat to recover with new vinyl.what I found behind was completely rotted shelves and wood by the radar arch mount.after 2 days of digging out the rotted wood.replaced the wood on the sides where the arch mounts and under the walk deck in that area.ended up cutting the glass shell on the inside to get the rotted wood out.its amazing the boats been wrapped since Nov and the wood is still wet.replaced the plywood on the deck and behind the arch and reglassed everything back in.its amazing how the musty smell is gone now,Its always had that "old"boat smell.now just need to wait for warmer weather so I can remove the shrinkwarp to lift the arch up so can seal its mounting holes to the hull.how stupid is it that there doesn't look like any sealer from the arch to the hull. any rain water was just running right in to the untreated wood.the plywood is now completely sealed before intstall and then glassed.I wasn't sure how to secure he new wood to the existing top deck but ended up using construction adhesive.

Sorry you had to go through that, but I think this illustrates how easy it is to improve on how these old boats are put together. Not dissing on Sea Ray, but I own a couple of boats from the 1980s and while there's good material used in them - they're susceptible to rot because of how they're put together. The good news is it's typically not hard to improve and make them last much, much longer.

 

[Pure84GTT]

I started with the Starboard impeller, and my god is it hard. I laid a blanket down over the top of the motor and removed the thermostat housings. I ended up losing a bolt I have to go searching for now, and I scraped up my hands pretty good.

The good news is the port side should be much easier.

 

[Savage-Tiger 1]

Ok folks, I'm a little embarrassed about this, but I have a question.
I have been off the water for more than a few years. Recently I had an offer that I was crazy to not take. I bought an 85' Sea Ray Sundancer 300 from an old family friend for WAY less than it was worth.
My question is if there is anything I should be wary of and making sure to address before getting carried away?
Right now the only thing I know is that I want to find the spoiler(radar arch) for it, and then some canvas.
Advice?

Update: I posted this on another forum and go bashed about buying an old boat, the fact that it surely is rotten. What have I gotten into? I'm not ashamed to say I bought it for $5,000.00 from friends that knew I would keep and care for what had been their baby.

 

[SCORPIO]

It probably has some soft spots but I don't think its 'totally rotten'. Common areas of concern are the engine stringers, transom and foredeck around stantions etc. If the boat is in decent condition otherwise, why not enjoy your new acquisition? Sounds like the previous owners took good care of the boat which is a big plus, as the probably tended to problems rather than ignoring them. These are great boats, roomy, wide beam, solid glass hulls, with great ride and a very functional cabin layout. I bought my 89 because of those attributes. Post a few pics of your new toy and we can see what you may need to do.
As to finding the radar arch, you will most likely have to have an aluminum arch made for it, the factory arches are hard to come by not all of these boats had them from new.

 

[trflgrl]

Ok folks, I'm a little embarrassed about this, but I have a question.
I have been off the water for more than a few years. Recently I had an offer that I was crazy to not take. I bought an 85' Sea Ray Sundancer 300 from an old family friend for WAY less than it was worth.
My question is if there is anything I should be wary of and making sure to address before getting carried away?
Right now the only thing I know is that I want to find the spoiler(radar arch) for it, and then some canvas.
Advice?

Update: I posted this on another forum and go bashed about buying an old boat, the fact that it surely is rotten. What have I gotten into? I'm not ashamed to say I bought it for $5,000.00 from friends that knew I would keep and care for what had been their baby.

If you didn't get a professional survey at purchase (I didn't on mine, either), consider doing that now if you want a little help identifying potential problems like those Scorpio references. A good surveyor will find structural as well as mechanical and other issues, and you'll have a to do list so you can prioritize by urgency, and start saving up boat bucks if needed.

And go back and read this thread from the start if you can afford the time commitment--it has a LOT of information on common issues owners of these classics have had and how they solved them, though in my short experience with this gang, nobody has balked at giving encore reports!!

The deck to hull joint can be problematic, as can window seals. Leaks in either may route water through the hull, which may appear in the aft bilge or just forward of it in the carpeted area under the aft berth. More than one person in CSR has re-bedded the joint screws, and redone rubber and/or flocking for windows. I second Scorpio's statement about stanchion leakage, too--I looked at several of these older models and watermarks were common where the stanchion through-bolts were visible, which made me assume there was leakage around the ones that weren't visible, as well. (I turned down one that had mildew across the entire headliner in the V berth area--guessing that had additional leakage around the hatches.)

But you know what? IMHO, if it floats, and gets you from point A to point B, you got a GREAT deal, even if it's a little leaky here and there!!! Sorry to hear anyone gave you crap about it!

 

[Savage-Tiger 1]

Need a quick answer. Will the Radar Arch from a 90' Sundancer 350 fit An 85' Sundancer 300.
Or, is there someone that can give me the inside width measurement from their arch?
I think it will be too wide.

 

[TitanTn]

Need a quick answer. Will the Radar Arch from a 90' Sundancer 350 fit An 85' Sundancer 300.
Or, is there someone that can give me the inside width measurement from their arch?
I think it will be too wide.

I don't know the measurement, but those two boats are not the same width. A lot changed in the Sea Ray designs in 1990. I seriously doubt it would fit. The 350 is almost a foot wider and the shape of the radar arches are different for those two boats.

 

[dwna1a]

I started with the Starboard impeller, and my god is it hard. I laid a blanket down over the top of the motor and removed the thermostat housings. I ended up losing a bolt I have to go searching for now, and I scraped up my hands pretty good.

The good news is the port side should be much easier.

My slip neighbor says this every time after working on his, " If you're not bleeding, it's not fixed"

Get a good magnet then you will find the bolt

 

[Pure84GTT]

My slip neighbor says this every time after working on his, " If you're not bleeding, it's not fixed"

Get a good magnet then you will find the bolt

you wouldnt believe what I found under the engine lol

previous owner apparently had butter fingers.. I found 2 new spark plugs that were never ran

 

[Pure84GTT]

Need a quick answer. Will the Radar Arch from a 90' Sundancer 350 fit An 85' Sundancer 300.
Or, is there someone that can give me the inside width measurement from their arch?
I think it will be too wide.

the only other boat the arch will work from outside of 85-89 300 SD/WE is a 1989/90/91 280 Dancer. it is essentially the same hull with an integrated platform.

 

[dwna1a]

you wouldnt believe what I found under the engine lol

previous owner apparently had butter fingers.. I found 2 new spark plugs that were never ran

BUT, did you find the bolt?

 

[Savage-Tiger 1]

Thank you, that is information I've been trying to find.

 

[milledon]

1988 Sundancer 300 Bench Seat Repairs
So I had someone of rather large grits seat on my bench seat in the back of the boat last summer and one of the legs broke. Looking for substitute legs for the seat. Any ideas on replacements?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[dwna1a]

I have two legs in the shop. Shout if you need them.

other than that you could make one out of teak using the unbroken parts.

 

[trflgrl]

This is what I used to replace the legs on our bench seat--metal brackets rather than plastic, and they're holding up well. We cut them to the length we wanted and were good to go. (Note: this is NOT a multipack; price is for a single leg w/hinge. Disappointing that the listing still says so even three years later, but customer service was great at straightening out the problem.)

We also got replacement tips that are larger/white and more like the original--Walmart, Home Depot, etc. have them. We figured they'd hold up better than what came with the legs, since guests on our boats have some grits, too!

http://www.amazon.com/Topline-Table...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

 

[Pure84GTT]

little update.

the cushions are here ! built to the specs that Titan supplied. They match the other upholstery work I had done a few years ago perfect.

We also started building a copy of the oem seat base.

And I found the missing bolt that fell under the starboard engine ! Now just to finish up the engine work.. new thermostats, gaskets, and hoses..

 

[TitanTn]

little update.

the cushions are here ! built to the specs that Titan supplied. They match the other upholstery work I had done a few years ago perfect.

We also started building a copy of the oem seat base.

And I found the missing bolt that fell under the starboard engine ! Now just to finish up the engine work.. new thermostats, gaskets, and hoses..

Looking good! I'm looking forward to seeing how the base come out.

I'm still working on my interior panels and the carpet behind them. I pulled the starboard side out this weekend and the rear bench backrest. Much to my surprise, the backrest wood is completely rotten. Nothing else on the boat is. So that's my current project.

 

[Pure84GTT]

every panel on mine needs to be redone this year due to rot.

we are starting aft and working forward.

 

[dwna1a]

The Helm seat base. Did you build that? Or buy it? I need one bad! I don't need the seat just the base

 

[Pure84GTT]

The Helm seat base. Did you build that? Or buy it? I need one bad! I don't need the seat just the base

mine is oem.

I used copycatupholstery.com/ for my other seats. You remove the skins carefully from your seats and they send you back a identical copy. I chose to go with arctic white and maroon piping over the original sea ray designs.

I did have to rebuild ALL of the seat framing though. I made it out of 3/4" oak ply and coated it in white epoxy.

we tightened up the fit on the skins a little more after these pics, plus after about a year of sun exposure the vinyl tightened up and looked way better than when they were finished.