Official 280 Sundancer Thread

floriduramax1, good to see you still here on the forum. I have always loved what you did with your boat. And I do completely agree with you on all of the boat upgrades. You like things to be just so, and to be perfect, clean and neat. So maybe you didn't need to do the upgrades you did, but...you did! Nothing wrong with that.

We've been considering selling our boat for awhile now...boy, I hate to think I've taken too good of care of her!
 
Oh, and the reason why I'm here, and coincidentally I saw the topic recently mentioned...

My starboard navigation light went out. It turned out to be just a lose bulb, but I decided to upgrade them to red and green LED bulbs. When I got them, they fit great, but neither would work. I found they are polarity sensitive LED's.

Has anyone removed the housing and checked out the wiring? I'm hoping that I can remove the housing (easily?) and there is a few inches of wiring exposed that I could swap. I'm guessing that Sea Ray wired the center wire to ground, and the housing to positive? Seems odd, but that's what these bulbs require. Neither one would work, so I'm assuming that's the problem. I need to bench test them to be sure...

Thanks,
 
floriduramax1, beautiful work on that boat! I really like what you did with the drawer in the compartment to the left of the frig! One of the things that bug me about ours is lack of storage space for silverware, etc. May look at doing that for our's!
Thank you. We were trying to make staying in a boat this size as comfortable as possible. It was nice to trailer to Miami and marina hop for a week! Then trailer to Clearwater or wherever else and not have to pay a captain or drive across the ditch to get to the other side of Florida. When we get older and able to take time off, I will get a larger boat, but for now, we have to go the way of a big center console (with twin Yamaha 300's "zoom zoom") to satisfy everyone's needs. At least I get to stay enjoying the water.
 
floriduramax1, good to see you still here on the forum. I have always loved what you did with your boat. And I do completely agree with you on all of the boat upgrades. You like things to be just so, and to be perfect, clean and neat. So maybe you didn't need to do the upgrades you did, but...you did! Nothing wrong with that.

We've been considering selling our boat for awhile now...boy, I hate to think I've taken too good of care of her!
Good to see you too! You guys all saw my boat when I purchased and joined. She was in very good shape. I just wanted her better..lol

I saw your PM. That is a lot of typing so I gave you my number. Some evening call me and I will detail how to pull it and probably tell you what you need to fix the leak! I know this thing like the back of my hand..lol
 
Has anyone taken on the job of having the interior upholstery redone? The 2004 280 we bought has a dark grey patterned material in the bolsters, cushions and aft berth that the admiral would like to change to something brighter and without the pattern. I'm curious about the amount of fabric that you need to purchase, and what your approximate costs were through an upholstery shop to have this done. One benefit to having this done is that I'd like to have the upholstery shop add significantly thicker cushions in the V-berth which would hopefully eliminate the need for the memory foam topper.
 
Has anyone taken on the job of having the interior upholstery redone? The 2004 280 we bought has a dark grey patterned material in the bolsters, cushions and aft berth that the admiral would like to change to something brighter and without the pattern. I'm curious about the amount of fabric that you need to purchase, and what your approximate costs were through an upholstery shop to have this done. One benefit to having this done is that I'd like to have the upholstery shop add significantly thicker cushions in the V-berth which would hopefully eliminate the need for the memory foam topper.
I'd trade you. I have an 02 with the light colored seats and cushions.
 
So apparently there is a little adjustable set screw on the tabs that keeps the porthole windows shut tight.
 
Hey guys, currently looking around for a boat just right for me and had a quick question. Exploring pros and cons between 280-290-300. Is the bow of the 280 comfortable for laying out on? I haven't seen any oem cushions for them online but wondered if it's comfortable to lay out on if I just found my own cushions. I've read somewhere that the 280 bow is a bit more rounded than the 290/300. Thanks in advance for any help and I do apologize if there was a thread on here with similar topics as I'm new to this forum.
 
Hey guys, currently looking around for a boat just right for me and had a quick question. Exploring pros and cons between 280-290-300. Is the bow of the 280 comfortable for laying out on? I haven't seen any oem cushions for them online but wondered if it's comfortable to lay out on if I just found my own cushions. I've read somewhere that the 280 bow is a bit more rounded than the 290/300. Thanks in advance for any help and I do apologize if there was a thread on here with similar topics as I'm new to this forum.

I just recently purchased a 280 and had folks out on it last weekend. My wife and her friend both laid out on the bow and were comfortable. The 300 with the extra beam seems like a much bigger boat, but the 280 seems to have plenty of room for two to sun on the bow comfortably. They just laid some towels down.
 
Question for the 280 owners. Has anyone done anything interesting/useable with the CD storage area under the radio? I was thinking of removing the vertical dividers and replacing with a horizontal divider to make a nice spot to hold wine and/or liquor on board. Curious to hear if anyone has done anything with theirs that I can get ideas from?
 
Hey guys, currently looking around for a boat just right for me and had a quick question. Exploring pros and cons between 280-290-300. Is the bow of the 280 comfortable for laying out on? I haven't seen any oem cushions for them online but wondered if it's comfortable to lay out on if I just found my own cushions. I've read somewhere that the 280 bow is a bit more rounded than the 290/300. Thanks in advance for any help and I do apologize if there was a thread on here with similar topics as I'm new to this forum.
If you can afford a 300 then I'm sure it'll be bigger and you won't regret it.
 
Hey guys, currently looking around for a boat just right for me and had a quick question. Exploring pros and cons between 280-290-300. Is the bow of the 280 comfortable for laying out on? I haven't seen any oem cushions for them online but wondered if it's comfortable to lay out on if I just found my own cushions. I've read somewhere that the 280 bow is a bit more rounded than the 290/300. Thanks in advance for any help and I do apologize if there was a thread on here with similar topics as I'm new to this forum.

Another tip to build on Chris' comment, go look at and if possible, sea trial all 3 boats. I was focused on the 280 when I bought mine, as I knew it had the size, economy, and features we really wanted, but when I saw a 300 come by my slip the other day I was a bit shocked to see just how much bigger it really is than my 280
 
My steering is really light and easy sometimes and other times its hard to turn the wheel. Is this how everyone elses behaves? Twin b3's
 
Has anyone had any experience with SeaDeck flooring in their 280? The faux teak seems to look nice. Just curious about roughly how much it runs and if its good quality stuff.
 
Has anyone had any experience with SeaDeck flooring in their 280? The faux teak seems to look nice. Just curious about roughly how much it runs and if its good quality stuff.

I just got a quote from them for my 280 as we are going to order the kit for the entire cockpit over the winter. If you email them they have a template from a 2005 280 that should work for all 2001-2010 models, however they send all dimensions of each piece so you can measure and confirm the fit for yourself. We love the look and are going for it. The hardest part of the job will be the removal and fill/seal of the existing snaps for the snap in carpet, as you can't put the seadek over these. Simple job, just time consuming. They quoted us around $1400 for the whole custom cut set.
 
My steering is really light and easy sometimes and other times its hard to turn the wheel. Is this how everyone elses behaves? Twin b3's

I have a different power setup than you, but mine is consistent and has a not too easy, not too difficult feel to it. obviously the feel is different at changing speeds (on plane, vs. no wake, vs. hull speed) but I don't notice it getting "light" then "heavy". Any noise from the power steering pump/system?
 
So apparently there is a little adjustable set screw on the tabs that keeps the porthole windows shut tight.
Yes there is. I have a 2001 280 and each porthole has three tabs to lock the window. At the end of the tab, away from the pivot, there is a very small set screw that can be tightened. It applies pressure to the window when you close the tab. Go easy, maybe a quarter turn at a time, until the window is snug when closed and locked with all three tabs. Hope this helps.
 
I just got a quote from them for my 280 as we are going to order the kit for the entire cockpit over the winter. If you email them they have a template from a 2005 280 that should work for all 2001-2010 models, however they send all dimensions of each piece so you can measure and confirm the fit for yourself. We love the look and are going for it. The hardest part of the job will be the removal and fill/seal of the existing snaps for the snap in carpet, as you can't put the seadek over these. Simple job, just time consuming. They quoted us around $1400 for the whole custom cut set.
I heard you have to sand the finish off the fiberglass before that stuff will adhere. Any idea on the prep involved prior to installation?
 
Whats everyone's favorite oil filter to use on their merc 5.0's? Other than the marine ones. I'm reading the Purolator ones have better flow, filtering and are cheaper.
NAPA/WIX FILTERS ARE AMONG THE BEST, AND INEXPENSIVE. CHANGE EVERY 100 HOURS OR ANNUALLY (WHICHEVER COMES FIRST)
 

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