Official 280 Sundancer Thread

JimT said:
I would use 3M 4000 and also screw it in.
Click to expand...

They are just glued in, granted some better than others. I replaced one of ours because it had cracked. When I removed it, gelcoat was pulled off the hull.

I wouldn't try screwing them in. They were not designed for a mechanical fastener and you might end up causing the new part to crack.

4000 is a good choice, adhesive wise, but I'm not sure about how long it will stay white. Some of these adhesives turn brownish yellow after being exposed to sun light. You might want to research this before using it.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Henry Boyd said:
They are just glued in, granted some better than others. I replaced one of ours because it had cracked. When I removed it, gelcoat was pulled off the hull.

I wouldn't try screwing them in. They were not designed for a mechanical fastener and you might end up causing the new part to crack.

4000 is a good choice, adhesive wise, but I'm not sure about how long it will stay white. Some of these adhesives turn brownish yellow after being exposed to sun light. You might want to research this before using it.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
When the cover on my 280DA fell off into 35' of water at the dock I figured it was a $100 piece so I went to the dealer to get a new one. When I learned it was $900 without gelcoat I hire diver to retrieve the piece. I drilled two small guide holes in each end then ran in with a screw that I sunk below the surface and gelcoated over so the holes didn't show. Also attached with 4000 adhesive which is UV resistant and doesn't yellow. The cover stayed on for the rest of the time I had the boat
 
Henry Boyd said:
They are just glued in, granted some better than others. I replaced one of ours because it had cracked. When I removed it, gelcoat was pulled off the hull.

I wouldn't try screwing them in. They were not designed for a mechanical fastener and you might end up causing the new part to crack.

4000 is a good choice, adhesive wise, but I'm not sure about how long it will stay white. Some of these adhesives turn brownish yellow after being exposed to sun light. You might want to research this before using it.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Thanks Henry. Point taken with the screws.
 
Do you still have the cockpit cover you where looking to sell. I have 2007 280 Sundancer. Was wondering if you had any pictures. Thanks
 
Just and update on my 280... FWIW.....

I'm going on ~3 months of ownership, worked all the little issues out of it and happier than heck with this boat. I've had bigger and smaller, but this one fills a nitch for Florida west coat, inter coastal cursing, and it's dirt cheap to operate. The engines and outdrives are cheap and easily replaced (if needed). I've found deal on a lot of parts, which I've either installed or put in stock for future use.

Right now everything works and either I or one of my partners is out on it 2 or 3 times a week. Between all the partners, we've done a lot of cruising, but no overnights. So, we're planning some overnites soon, which should be easy.

What we've done:
Replaced anything "marginal", like one tilt assembly, trim actuator, R&R one of the drives and replaced the impeller, serviced the prop, etc. Fixed a minor leak on one of the tilt actuators, got new data base for the GPS, cleaned the water supply and vent line, and a bunch of other small things.

Currently doing: Brand new "music" system (partner is doing that). New depth recorded to display on the Garmin Chart plotter. Thinking of teak deck, radar arch spotlight and a few other things.

We're getting a solid 30 kts at 2300 rpm and 38 to 40 at wide open, so it's reasonably quick. But, I'd always like more power.... but not a huge issue.

What I miss in my other boats.......
Space..... which is very limited in the 280, even my 270 had better space options for a lot of things. The 280 has very limited space in the cockpit, only one. My 310 Formula had 5 times the space for storage (but cost triple to buy and double to operate and the reason I sold it was too hard to get off the lift when the tide was out.) Another thing I don't like is the aft cabin is like a cave, however really need to get above 30 ft to solve that, so I'll live with that. I also miss the quality switches on the Formula and my old 270 dancer... I hate the switching pads, very bad design and horrible on maintenance. My next boat will not have those.

But overall, this boat is dirt cheap to own an operate for our mission, and really not that hard to work on which I didn't expect. Also, very easy to operate with not major issues. (I'm still learning to dock it in a wind.....)

Very happy.

AND, I really appreciate all the help from posters here with great info, and I'm getting to a point where I can reciprocate with my experience. Not a professional boat mechanic, but am an aircraft mechanic and there's a lot of similar things. Not sure which is worse......but boats have MUCH more failures.
 
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Hey Seevee, your numbers have to be off. I have the same boat/setup but 2 years newer. I run 28mph at 3200rpm's and wide open I'm upper 40's. I hit 49.9mph SOG on GPS once but had no weight in the boat. Average WOT is around 46mph.
 
Bucit said:
Hey Seevee, your numbers have to be off. I have the same boat/setup but 2 years newer. I run 28mph at 3200rpm's and wide open I'm upper 40's. I hit 49.9mph SOG on GPS once but had no weight in the boat. Average WOT is around 46mph.
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Bucit,

That's about right, mine are in knots.... 30 kts at 3300 is pretty light, as is 38 to 40 WOT. 34 mph cruise, 43 WOT. I didn't run WOT long so could be off a bit. Ill typically cruise 25 to 30 kts, between 3200 and 3300.

Will check again next time out, but I'm happy with the performance.
 
Bucit said:
Hey Seevee, your numbers have to be off. I have the same boat/setup but 2 years newer. I run 28mph at 3200rpm's and wide open I'm upper 40's. I hit 49.9mph SOG on GPS once but had no weight in the boat. Average WOT is around 46mph.
Click to expand...

Bucit,

Just did another run today. Only myself on board, full fuel, a few supplies, tools, etc....
3200 rpm gave ~27 kts, 3325 gave 30kts, WOT gave 39.5 kts. Westerly wind about 10 to 12 kts, (crosswind), water, slightly choppy.

Would like to consider a fuel flow meter, but don't want the hassle of calibrating it. Anyone have one? Other that that, a resistance tank gauge would tell me how much fuel on board.

(Corrected rpms, had airplanes on my mind which I deal a lot more in).
 
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Seevee,

If I ran 2200 rpm's, I'd be plowing, we have the same boat... Even if I got up on plane, came down to 2200 rpm's, I'd still plow. I too, think your numbers are off.

Kevin
 
LiL Nauti said:
Seevee,

If I ran 2200 rpm's, I'd be plowing, we have the same boat... Even if I got up on plane, came down to 2200 rpm's, I'd still plow. I too, think your numbers are off.

Kevin
Click to expand...
Seevee, what is your WOT RPM?
 
I haven't ran WOT in a long time, I have a general idea, but I'l wait for Seevee to post his first...
 
LiL Nauti said:
I haven't ran WOT in a long time, I have a general idea, but I'l wait for Seevee to post his first...
Click to expand...


I think it's in the mid to high 4s... 4600? I'll pay more attention next time. Didn't run it long, but spent time messing with the tilt to get the best speed for a few minutes.

And, yes, I'm clearly on plain at 3200 rpm.

When I'm just cursing around, with not place to go, I'll push the throttles up to mid 3s, 33 to 3500 rpm and when on plain will drop back to 3200 and just cruise around.

Note, when I said 2200 rpm I was thinking airplanes.... sorry. All cruising and plaining is in the 3200 range and up.

What we really need to for comparison is digital fuel flow. That tells a lot.
 
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Yes, those numbers are about the same as mine, think I've got too much weight in the boat to stay on plane at 3200 though... Has to be smooth as glass and a stiff breeze behind me...
 
I'm transitioning to all LED's throughout the boat. In the galley above the stove there is a round recessed fixture. I see what looks like a small allen screw head on the side of that chrome ring which holds the glass up. But there isn't a Allen wrench that will work. Don't think it's stripped yet, don't know what the heck it is or how to get that chrome ring off to know what LED bulb I need... Anybody take this fixture down, and anybody know what LED bulb works here? Thanks.

Kevin
 
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I may add a solar panel to charge my batteries, while I'm waiting for my marina to hook up their shorepower lines. Anyone know which battery feeds the bilge pumps? Obviously, that is the battery I will connect my solar charger to.
 
2005 280 4.3 MPI's WITH ALPHA ONE GEN 2

On our sea trial today the speedometer needle and the analog display got stuck at 50mph. If I shut off the starboard engine both the needle and gauge go to zero, Start it up the engines and put it in forward gear it jumps back to 50mph. A little history: The mechanic just replaced bellow’s, gimbal bearings, impellers, trim sensors , T-stats and sparkplugs. All the other gauges seem to be working fine. I do see the word PILOT in the lower right corner of the gauge? Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Threejays
 
I would say if I had to choose one gauge that didn't work, it would be the speedometer. I can't remember when I last looked at that gauge. As a matter of fact, I don't even know if mine works. I use the tach and keep it at 3500-3600 while on plane (with the 496 single). I wouldn't worry about the speedometer, just get a cheap GPS unit, or use your cell phone if you really want to see how fast you are going.

If the word is pitot and not pilot it may refer to a tube that picks up the flow of the water, which translates speed to the gauge. On airplanes it's called the pitot tube (if I remember correctly). It could be clogged.

BTW, disregard my last post above. I'll disconnect each battery and just turn on the switch on the pump, and see which battery powers it. Easy test!
 
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