Official 280 Sundancer Thread

I can tell you that I kick myself for not getting at least a 340DA when I purchased boat #2. I also made the same mistake when I got boat #3, the 280DA seemed so roomy. Before the first weekend was over I regreted it. I was new to boating on Lake Superior and didn't know that I was going to like it like I do. Could have saved alot of money by going directly to a bigger boat.
 
eastbay coaster said:
What's the best portable marine generator for a 2004 280 sundancer?
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ut ohh!!! :wow:

eastbay - You may want to do a search here on portable marine generator. Just put the word "generator" in the search field. They are dangerous and HIGHLY frowned upon.

I am not going to say anything further... just so a search and you will know why. There are a LOT of heated discussions here about them.

Good Luck.
 
Took delivery of our new 280DA a couple of weeks ago and have found this thread to be great help. It took a couple of days of intermittent reading but there is great info here.
 
To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing a a generator that is both portable, and marine. As was mentioned, a search on portable generators will give you plenty of reading materials.
 
keokie said:
To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing a a generator that is both portable, and marine. As was mentioned, a search on portable generators will give you plenty of reading materials.
Click to expand...

That's not completely accurate. My firm just did some work on a group of Cat C-15 Marine generating modules mounted in 20' ISO containers, with switching gear, fire suppression and fuel tank. These are used on barges to power refrigerated containers. The C-15 is a marine genset, and inside a 20' box they are certainly portable....:smt043:smt043:smt043:smt043

Henry
 
hi Folks -

Brand new to this forum - nice to see all you fellow 280 captains and crew. I'm just starting my third season with my 07 280 DA, and on the whole me and my family love it.

Wondering if any of you have had issues with the shower faucet in the head... In the past year, the hot water valve started slow leaking, but I was able to control that with the shower head shutoff. Shortly after that, the shower head has started to leak like crazy.

Has anyone seen this problem? Any advice on repairs? The fixture is made by grohe, and the parts seem expensive and very hard to find. I'm considering replacing the whole fixture with something from home depot just so I can use more standard plumbing parts if anything else goes wrong.

Any advice appreciated - thanks!
 
Welcome,

On the shower head have you investigated the possibility of crud in the lines/ shower head strainer screens, etc.? Even using a whole house water filter to pre-filter our tank water I have to clean that stuff every year.

Henry
 
Henry Boyd said:
Posting in a new direction, but definitley 280 related. I have had irritation levels of water in the ER for the past couple years. After fixing the bellows, and then doing the steering arm seals with the gimbal ring this spring I thought I had finally gotten the leak. But no it wasn't so.

Before it starting raining here I cleaned everything out and got the bilge dry. I went to check on things after the first week of rain and found fresh water in the bilge. I also found a little water in one of the ER vent hoses.

Even though the caulking looked good in a move of desperation I got out a tube of 3M silicone and caulked the top seal of the clamshell air scoop/ vent cover. It presently looks like h_ll. But after a week of rain everything is still dry!

So today's helpful hint is that caulking the top of the vent covers will pay off.

Henry
Click to expand...

Henry,

I have the same issue, just did about 3 Grand worth of work to include Bellows and steering cable (plus tune-ups and some other stuff) and I was really hoping to have a dry bilge, but no such luck! I am going to try this next time I'm out, also I am getting some water in the bottom of a battery tray, I believe that it is associated and I really want to fix that!
 
Since my posting on caulking the vent scoops/covers, we have had yet another week of rain and T-Storms. I can now report that other than condensation surface wetness the engine bilge is still dry. Once things dry out around here, I'm going to peel off the messy caulk and redo in a neater fashion.

Inmotion, 'water' in the battery trays would suggest that the batteries were boiling over. This could be from excessive charging, or that the battery was overfilled. Be careful as the contents of the battery trays will be acidic. While it might only be mildly acidic, treat it as it were concentrated acid and very dangerous. Rubber gloves, old clothes, safety glasses and plenty of clean fresh water on hand are the order of the day when you decide to clean it up.

Henry
 
I like some of what they did... but not all... can you guess which mod I think looks stupid..and which one is a great waste of space...?

http://www.earmarkmarine.com/install_searay280_audio.asp

EDIT
Getting some ideas as I getting ready to to pull out the Clarion stock speakers and amp and move to JL system. Decided not to upgrade the size of the speakers or add a subwoofer. Just wanted a better sound from the current head unit and I think the 6 year old speakers were showing their age when I cranked them up a bit.
 
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Henry Boyd said:
Welcome,

On the shower head have you investigated the possibility of crud in the lines/ shower head strainer screens, etc.? Even using a whole house water filter to pre-filter our tank water I have to clean that stuff every year.

Henry
Click to expand...

Henry - thanks for the reply. I do the same thing - my galley sink was down to a trickle when I opened her up this year, and once I unscrewed the screen it was niagara falls hehe. The head fixture is literally spewing water out of a pinhole in the rocker switch that shuts off the flow, so its definitely a replace situation.
 
Hello all...I was hoping we could compare notes on the readouts for the smartcraft system since all you can find is the MPG(1.5). I was wondering what everyone else is getting in the water psi and oil psi readouts. Here's what I get with T5.0 and Bravo 3 Drives
Minimum Plane speed RPM=3100 so I usually cruise @ 3200 for waves and wind
Oil pressure= 56 psi @3200
Water Psi= 11.0-12.0 @ 3200
Temp= 170 @3200
Gph 8.5-9.5 as measured through smartcraft which results in the "magic" 1.5 mpg we all roughly get.
If we can get some baseline numbers then maybe we can head off some problems at the pass(i.e. impeller condition...oil issues..etc) Thanks for the input! :smt024
 
I want to upgrade my tv/dvd to digital and would like a larger screen. I believe starting in 2005 and later Sea Ray began installing either 13" or 15" instead of the 9" that my boat has. Can someone let me know what brand that may be and is it digital? Any recommendations on a unit that will fit in the opening and is easily installed on the pull out shelf?
Thanks, KV
 
Yup, I just did this and found a good replacement in the Jensen 12V digital tv. It doesn't need a converter, delivers a fantastic picture from the round antenna and is 12V so can be used underway or on the hook. It was a very easy install and fit right on the pull out shelf.
A bit pricey but unlike Walmart, it is made for marine use.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|344|132903|1112766|1112769&id=860872
 
I bought a 15" initially and returned it to go with a larger 19" digital tv/DVD player from Costco. I mounted it to the wood frame and removed the drawer but you can easily mount it to the drawer using the right bracket. The tv has a great picture - and has digital channels from our local cable company on the dock. It did not have 12v input but no problem there as a inverter costs about $20 and we leave that on the boat. It does stick out in front of the opening which is not a big deal. My plan is to get one of the thin LCD's when they come down in price. Picture is in the CSR gallery.
 
With all the rain in our area this summer, I have been reading up on solving leaks...lots of good threads. While on Martha's Vineyard over the 4th, the leak coming from the walkthrough windshield (and down both port and starboard sides, over the VHF speaker, onto the port seat and carpet, etc.) became intolerable. Having read about the 'gutter' in the fiberglass that seems to be designed to channel the flow off the boat, I realized that my windshield seal had effectively closed off the channel. When the leaks became too much, I pulled out my trusty knife and cut a wedge out of the seal on both sides, then built a silicone dam as others have suggested to channel the water overboard. Not sure yet if it worked...and feeling a little sheepish about having cut the seal in frustration. Was this a dumb thing to do? :huh:

Amazing how much water gets on board a few drops at a time. We were pretty wet after two days of solid rain.
 
bport said:
With all the rain in our area this summer, I have been reading up on solving leaks...lots of good threads. While on Martha's Vineyard over the 4th, the leak coming from the walkthrough windshield (and down both port and starboard sides, over the VHF speaker, onto the port seat and carpet, etc.) became intolerable. Having read about the 'gutter' in the fiberglass that seems to be designed to channel the flow off the boat, I realized that my windshield seal had effectively closed off the channel. When the leaks became too much, I pulled out my trusty knife and cut a wedge out of the seal on both sides, then built a silicone dam as others have suggested to channel the water overboard. Not sure yet if it worked...and feeling a little sheepish about having cut the seal in frustration. Was this a dumb thing to do? :huh:

Amazing how much water gets on board a few drops at a time. We were pretty wet after two days of solid rain.
Click to expand...

I'd like a solution to this also. I get water channeling along the inside of the starboard side windshield, down past the speaker and creating a pool under under the helm seat. The carpet under the helm is constantly soaked. Drives me crazy.

.
 
KV, the tv does not have a built in dvd, correct. Guess I'll have to tough it out!

As far as the water leaks from the windshield covers, mine is all wrinkly from snap to snap and doesn't seal very well either. I guess replacement is in order to stop the leaks?
 
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