Official 280 Sundancer Thread

Congrats on your boat. We purchased a 05 last November. A couple of points: we redid our carpeted floor - in doing so I found that there is a low spot adjacent to the head and stairs - almost looks like a gutter so that's probably why that area on most boats is stained or wet (think water from the fridge and shower when you open the head door). Also there is a drain in the companionway step before you enter the cabin. Our drain had broken off underneath causing water entry into the back cabin. Feel free to ask questions either here or PM me. I installed all new filters, new Halon ER system, duckbill vales and holding tank filter plus a host of other things.

 

Thank you, and congrats to you as well.
The water comes in when it rains, so that's definitely a good place to start come spring time. Unless that is something I'd be able to easily see now, without using water(since its winter here in NJ).

 

My 280 that we owned for over 15 years did not sit on my dealers showroom 5 weeks and sold. 280 is one of the best boats SeaRay ever made IMHO.

 

This is probably an elimination approach. The easiest is to pour a small bottle of water into that step drain and watch underneath to make sure it doesn't leak there. Others have reported leaks from the arch and windshield.

Tony

 

Will do.
Thanks again,
Mike

 

That's great to hear!! Looking fwd to many years with this one.

 

Really digging this thread but not sure how to have it saved where I leave off each time. I'm currently on page 14, an it's a pita scrolling to get to where I left off. Can't imagine when I'm much further along.
Any help is much appreciated!!
Thanks!!

 

What I did is a bit cumbersome I ended up saving the last page I was viewing as a bookmark then next time after I viewed say ten pages replacing the old bookmark with the new one I ended on. That way I always went to the last page viewed. If anyone else has a better idea............

 

Ok, I've tried your method and its definitely easier.
Thank you.

 

on my boat, the water inside where the trash bin sits, came from a cracked sump box , it was cheap and easy to replace and from around the windshield wiper motor. water ran down the ceiling, and down the wall behind the refrigerator. I found that the water in the aft bed came from around the window above the bed, which had to be resealed.

 

The windshield mount screws can be the source of water in the aft birth. It's an easy winter check and fix. Pull the rubber screw cover at the windshield base, remove each screw, squirt caulk, re-screw, put cover back in.

 

I take a hammer and screwdriver and knock a hole in the top of the oil filter before I loosen it. The filter is empty within seconds.

 

The caulking around the radar arch can also let water into the aft cabin. As me how I know LOL

 

I usually use an ice pick, goes through easier.

 

Can anyone recommend a chartplotter that you upgraded to Specifically wanting to use it for reading engine parameters and being able to split screen the tachometers. TIA.

 

Chris, are your engines smartcraft equipped? If so, from what I understand, the Mercury VesselView Mobile would likely be the most straightforward solution. If you're looking for a complete glass dash functionality I believe Raymarine/Garmin/Simrad all have functionality like this, however you first need to be able to display smartcraft parameters over an NMEA2000 network for this to work. Not sure what all is involved in that as it's beyond where I was willing to go.

 

My 5.0mpis do have the smartcraft stickers on them and looks like the plugs to go with. Would like a streamlined install integrating everything into a garmin gpsmap 741xs I'm looking at now. You're right about going the mobile way for simplicity I do have twins though so.

 

I would certainly be interested in hearing about your experience with this if you move forward with it. I have a raymarine e97 on my 280 now and would love to have the option to display engine data eventually.

 

Curious to learn from anyone who has replaced their stock amplifier for the cockpit speakers. If you ran new, larger power and ground wires, how did you set it up? I've seen some write-ups wire directly to the battery with a fuse on the positive cable, I've also seen recommendations to tap into the battery switch and pick up power from there. I'm hoping to upgrade to a JL 400/4 from the factory 130W amp, but need to understand the scope of the project I'm getting into before I commit.

 

If you saved your old mic holder on the dash, let me know, I keep breaking mine, thanks. Kevin