Official 280 Sundancer Thread

Henry Boyd said:
If its not too late to change, switch the eisenglass with Strataglass. Its a little bit stiffer, but you can actually see through it. We also found that with it up the cockpit area seems cooler as well.

Henry
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Thanks Henry, He doesn't use stratoglass as its real hard to work with and way more expensive, but I appreciate the info. Thanks
 
I recieved the Hi-Tek manifolds yesterday and boy do they look nice! I'm hoping to have them on by next weekend and then it's ready for the summer.
 
Bucit said:
I recieved the Hi-Tek manifolds yesterday and boy do they look nice! I'm hoping to have them on by next weekend and then it's ready for the summer.
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Good deal Perry, We're looking forward to seeing you and Kevin at Cali next month
 
Bucit said:
Me too, it should be a good time. Donnie, are you still trying to make it?
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I don't think it will happen:smt089 My new facility is almost ready to move in and I will probably not get much boating time in this summer :smt021 especially any distance from home. I probably won't make Bimini again this year either:smt101

We went from here...........



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to here.............




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If you would like to see some more....... http://s493.photobucket.com/albums/rr293/happy2bnfla/70 Mikelson Sport Fish/
 
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Can someone help me!? We have had wet carpet and cushions on and off for a month now. Marine Max has charged us oh about $600 so far for labor for changing out the sump pump under stairs (warranty only covered part) and for their labor to wet vac. They have no clue as to why we still have wet carpet and our forward berth back rest on the bottom is wet and mildewed. They'd like to send out 2 techs @ $110/hr one to spray a hose outside while the other looks for leaks inside. I really am done with the expense and I'm trying to diagnose this problem myself. I have removed the front cushion in the forward berth and the vinyl behind it is dry. They storage beneath where the table is stowed had about an inch of water in it today. We had torrential rains over the last few days here (Lake Lewisville, TX). So I KNOW there is a leak SOMEWHERE! I have been on the various forums for a couple of hours and it seems that this is a common problem and so many theories as to why but no one really knows.

Recent work we've had done: New anchor in winlass- we drove off with anchor down and it snapped (cracked fiberglass?) this was in July of last year. Nav lights both were out (January/Feb), Marine max fixed it.. did they not seal the lights correctly? Our boat is cleaned weekly, so even if there is no rain, powerwasher to blame.

Has anyone experienced this? Where is the damn water coming from?

Head is bone dry, aft berth? is bone dry, dinette area also dry.

Under stairs where the NEW pump is has water under the plastic box with pump in it, carpet is wet. forward berth bed is dry, but the side cushions on the bottom only is wet and mildewed. When I removed the cushion in the bow today and laid it on it's side, about a cup or more of water started pouring out of it.

Please help! Thanks! :grin:
 
You have to power hose the boat in small areas while someone is inside looking for the leak. Get a dehumidifier going inside ASAP, to stop the damage to your interior
 
My suggestion would be to stop the power washing all together. I know you can give instructions only to do the bottom, but unless you are there to supervise... If you stop this and then there is no new water intake you then will have a good idea of what is causing the water. Good news is this won't cost you $ 220 / hour, just some patience.

Now to attack the water itself. Water under the shower sump box is usually the result of leaks on the portholes. This can be either the porthole frame itself, or the port glass piece.

In the case of the former there will be no visible water because it will run down between either the fiberglass head liner/wall, or the foam padded vinyl. The leak is a result of a failure of the caulking of the porthole frame.

In the case of the latter, the porthole glass itself, I think it may be a combination of the fit of the glass and powerwashing. On the porthole frame there are three dogs that hold the glass tight against the gasket. First start by inspecting the gasket, if the gasket is good then look at the contact point of the dogs. There will be a small plastic screw on each dog. Turning the screw out increases the pressure on the glass. This is the most common cause of leak and will happen during rain. If I had to bet, I think you will find the dogs are ok, but the power washing is just forcing the water between the glass and the gasket.

In the forward v berth, I doubt water is coming from the anchor locker, its pretty sealed up there. When I had windlass problems a couple years ago I pulled most of the inside front wall apart trying to find an easier way to access the motor. Put simply, you can't get there from here. Water that would collect under the vee berth could come from the bow rail mounting points or nav lights. The bow rail points are under the round rosettes in the headliner. They are just held on with 'christmas tree' plastic fittings. They just pull off. using a thin screw driver (don't forget to pad the headliner material) pry the cover off and inspect. any source of wetness and that's a source. The cause would be bad bedding (caulking) of the mount. Ditto for the nav light mounting.

Where you have water from many different sources my guess the culprit is the power washing.

If your boat is in a slip get the AC on and set it for humidity control. There are instructions in the manual that explains the key sequence. If you are not, get a de-humidifer operating. IF you don't have electricity, get several chemical de-humidifier buckets (damp-rid) from a marine supply place like West. These are surprisingly efficient, although if you have a lot of water they will have to be emptied frequently, or they stop working.

Henry
 
dfwlaw said:
Can someone help me!? We have had wet carpet and cushions on and off for a month now. Marine Max has charged us oh about $600 so far for labor for changing out the sump pump under stairs (warranty only covered part) and for their labor to wet vac. They have no clue as to why we still have wet carpet and our forward berth back rest on the bottom is wet and mildewed. :grin:
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We had wet carpet. The problem is the pressure water connectors sea ray used under the sink. If you are connected to dock side water, it will keep leaking and spreading. There are numeroous posts about certain years with this recurring problem.

The dealer suspected the bow rail stantions - although that was not the culprit. Apparently, a common mode of water leaks on 280's result from tie off of fenders to the riser or rail. It only takes a small amount of damage to the stantion or seal to let in loads of water. The second most common is around the port holes.

Hope this helps.
 
You might want to take a look at the sun hatch gasket. If it is dirty it will leak espically if the boat is being cleaned with a power washer. The water could travel a bit on the ceiling before it drops.
 
Kurt said:
Does anyone know where I can get one of the rubber stoppers that mounts just below the front windshield for when it is open and resting?
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I noticed ours had gone missing after spring commissioning in 2008. I tried to get them from the dealer, and even ordered them. In the meantime I got a short piece of black rubber fuel hose. I cut this just slightly longer than the tip of the stud. They are still on the boat, and I am still waiting for the parts.

Henry
 
Kurt said:
Does anyone know where I can get one of the rubber stoppers that mounts just below the front windshield for when it is open and resting?
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I located some about a year ago at a Marine Max dealer and posted the information in this thread. Other 280 owners may have bought them all up. With any luck the dealer may still have one. The original bumper is no longer made. The "new" bumper has the same part number but is not the same bumper and does not work as well for the intended purpose.

Check post#1384 here for more information- http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/10064-Official-280-Sundancer-Thread/page139
 
It looks like I damaged a plug wire when installing my new manifolds. I started the motor and heard a loud crackling noise. When I looked down I could see about a 2 inch spark coming form the plug wire boot. What type and where can I get the plug wires? I installed new AC Delco plugs and I'm assuming NAPA would be the most cost effective?
 
Bucit said:
It looks like I damaged a plug wire when installing my new manifolds. I started the motor and heard a loud crackling noise. When I looked down I could see about a 2 inch spark coming form the plug wire boot. What type and where can I get the plug wires? I installed new AC Delco plugs and I'm assuming NAPA would be the most cost effective?
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Double check but it looks like the correct Merc Part number for the 4.3MPI is 84-863656A2 and run about $85/per set. I guess you could probably get a cheaper automotive set at NAPA for about $20-$30/set but personally I would not recommend using automotive parts as a substitute for any component of the ignition system with the exception of the plugs which are unmistakingly the same part. On the cables, they may be the same, maybe not.
 
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