OFFICIAL 250 DANCER THREAD

The wind finally died down and I got to try out my winter upgrades today. Here are the early comments.

4 blade propeller - I replaced a PowerTech SS 17.25 x 23p 3-blade propeller with a Hill Marine SS 18.25 x 22p 4-blade propeller. This is an awesome upgrade that I am really impressed with. The first thing that it is noticeable is the decrease in vibration compared to the 3-blade; this was even evident even at no wake speeds. The hole shot is much different and I can put the boat on plane at much lower RPM's than before. The cruise speed to get 2.2 mpg at 25 knots dropped from 3900 RPM to 3650 RPM. I get 4750 RPM at WOT and the top end speed dropped about 1.5 knots.

Bennett Automatic Tab Control - The 250DA has always seemed sensitive to weight shifts and I find myself adjusting the tabs quite a bit. The ATC virtually eliminates that at cruising speed. The install is very easy and using the keypad is intuitive.
 
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Phlorida said:
Bennett Automatic Tab Control - The 250DA has always seemed sensitive to weight shifts and I find myself adjusting the tabs quite a bit. The ATC virtually eliminates that at cruising speed. The install is very easy and using the keypad is intuitive.
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Was the ATC a plug & play or did you need to splice wires? I would love to do one on my boat as I am always adjusting them. what P/N did you use?

LK
 
alwhite00 said:
Was the ATC a plug & play or did you need to splice wires? I would love to do one on my boat as I am always adjusting them. what P/N did you use?

LK
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I previously replaced the tabs on my 250 and when I did that I replaced the HPU and the Sea Ray tab harness so it was plug and play on my boat. It would require splicing with the Sea Ray harness.
 
Phlorida said:
I previously replaced the tabs on my 250 and when I did that I replaced the HPU and the Sea Ray tab harness so it was plug and play on my boat. It would require splicing with the Sea Ray harness.
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What size tabs did you go with? Do they keep the boat level all the time or is there some "lag" when running on plane?

LK
 
LK - I went with 9x24 tabs which offers about 50% more tab surface than the originals. There does appear to be some trimming latency with the ATC but it isn't significant. I found myself turning the ATC off when I was making turns but that may not be necessary as I get more experience with it. I also have the Bennett automatic tab retractor which is an excellent addition if you trailer or dry store your boat.
 
TV looks nice! Very nice idea. One thing I noticed from your pictures - where did you get the large handle to slide your cabin door open/close, I hate the small finger grip used to open/close the door... Thanks for the TV idea!

Cheers, Pete.
 
That handle is stock, i think they started using thay in 97 sometime.

LK
 
alwhite00 said:
Do you have a picture installed? I assume there were extra holes to fill?

LK
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LK - I was looking at pictures on the phone and realized that I had never posted the ones that you asked for. Gel coat repair is high on the list of winter projects.

Holder1.jpg
holder2.jpg
 
I really like the port side cup holder, I have a panel for charts on the starboard side so that wouldn't work, Looks great, Nice job.

LK
 
alwhite00 said:
I really like the port side cup holder, I have a panel for charts on the starboard side so that wouldn't work, Looks great, Nice job.

LK
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The port side drink holder was the first one to go in because the OEM drink holder was worthless. When I redid the console and added the Garmin 740S I added the drink holder and it has been great.
 
I really like that port side cup holder. I'm with AL, that I enjoyed using the chart holder and wouldn't have wanted a cupholder on the starboard side. I did the flip down cup holder for the driver's seat that mounted on the starboard side of the interior.

Mike
 
Okay - here's a weird one. My son tried to lower the cockpit table and make a lounge/bed out of it, but the pedestal mount on the bottom is offset enough that it won't fit between mid and aft seats! It DOES look like the aft seat is mounted about an inch too far forward (after engine replacement :smt089 ), but the pedestal and mount are a lot more offset than that. Now I'm questioning whether the bilge cover is in the right way...

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jim
 
Just found this thread- looks like some really great ideas floating around here~!
Hopefully I'll be able to contribute as I have a couple of projects on deck: Installation of a solar trickle charger & some LED Ribbon lights. Happy boating!
 
jclack said:
Okay - here's a weird one. My son tried to lower the cockpit table and make a lounge/bed out of it, but the pedestal mount on the bottom is offset enough that it won't fit between mid and aft seats! It DOES look like the aft seat is mounted about an inch too far forward (after engine replacement :smt089 ), but the pedestal and mount are a lot more offset than that. Now I'm questioning whether the bilge cover is in the right way...
Click to expand...

Hi Jim - I don't believe that is possible to put the engine cover in backwards or sideways to it is very likely in correctly. I'm also not sure how one could mount the aft seat too far forward without drilling new screw holes so I believe that is unlikely as well. I don't believe that the cockpit table was designed to be anything but a cockpit table.
 
Phlorida said:
Hi Jim - I don't believe that is possible to put the engine cover in backwards or sideways to it is very likely in correctly. I'm also not sure how one could mount the aft seat too far forward without drilling new screw holes so I believe that is unlikely as well. I don't believe that the cockpit table was designed to be anything but a cockpit table.
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Interesting. On my 98, you actually can put the cover on "backwards". The pedestal mounting hole will be too far to port for the table to sit in the proper location. But it will go in. Also I have a short pedestal and separate pad that turns the table into a "sunpad".
 
jclack said:
Okay - here's a weird one. My son tried to lower the cockpit table and make a lounge/bed out of it, but the pedestal mount on the bottom is offset enough that it won't fit between mid and aft seats! It DOES look like the aft seat is mounted about an inch too far forward (after engine replacement :smt089 ), but the pedestal and mount are a lot more offset than that. Now I'm questioning whether the bilge cover is in the right way...

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jim
Click to expand...

Can you post a pic? Did you try flipping the table 180 degrees?

LK
 
mwph said:
Interesting. On my 98, you actually can put the cover on "backwards". The pedestal mounting hole will be too far to port for the table to sit in the proper location. But it will go in. Also I have a short pedestal and separate pad that turns the table into a "sunpad".
Click to expand...
That is interesting and must have been an enhancement after the 1995 model. My engine cover is two pieces and wouldn't lie flat if it were reversed.
 
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