Official 280 Sundancer Thread

[Presentation]

No one know this one? Or where I could find the info?

I searched the manual and parts manual. I could find no such specification.

It’s your boat. Make up a number you are comfortable with and enforce it.

If you do not want to be the jerk, have a adhesive sticker made. Then point to it when you are enforcing the rule.

Say “The boat says the maximum capacity is……” as you are pointing to the sticker.

 

[arenz]

Hey guy guys I just had a windlass installed last fall and was wondering what the average chain length should be. Currently I am only using rope but was having issues setting the anchor in rough water.

 

[jason78]

Hey guy guys I just had a windlass installed last fall and was wondering what the average chain length should be. Currently I am only using rope but was having issues setting the anchor in rough water.

I think that has alot to do with where you are anchoring most of the time and at what depths. My factory windlass has 20' of Chain attached to 100' of rope.

Other configurations just had 100' of chain according to the parts manual.

Personally, if I ever replace mine, it will probably be with all chain.

 

[Tonka Boater]

My factory windlass has 20' of Chain attached to 100' of rope.

Ditto. We're on a lake with a wide variety of bottom surfaces -- sand, mud, clay, rocks, weeds -- and this configuration works great for us in all situations. Our most common situation is the stupid milfoil and the chain/rope combo holds us quite well.

 

[jason78]

Ditto. We're on a lake with a wide variety of bottom surfaces -- sand, mud, clay, rocks, weeds -- and this configuration works great for us in all situations. Our most common situation is the stupid milfoil and the chain/rope combo holds us quite well.

The only thing I don't understand is why they put a chain stop on the bow instead of a cleat to tie the anchor line off to. With only 20' of chain, I am rarely anchored so shallow where I still have chain out on the deck. Is that what you have Tonka?

I know you are not supposed to support the boat from the Windlass alone but I really don't have a choice at this point since all I have is a chain stop.

Either I will change out to a cleat or I may switch to all chain by then. Not sure.

 

[Woody]

The only thing I don't understand is why they put a chain stop on the bow instead of a cleat to tie the anchor line off to. With only 20' of chain, I am rarely anchored so shallow where I still have chain out on the deck. Is that what you have Tonka?

I know you are not supposed to support the boat from the Windlass alone but I really don't have a choice at this point since all I have is a chain stop.

Either I will change out to a cleat or I may switch to all chain by then. Not sure.

I don't have a chain stop on my '05. Do you have the little cable thingy to hook to your anchor so it can't accidently drop. If you don't have the cable, then I think that is the purpose of the chain stop. If you had all chain then the chan stop would be able to serve both purposes. I would just add the cleat .

 

[Tonka Boater]

The only thing I don't understand is why they put a chain stop on the bow instead of a cleat to tie the anchor line off to. With only 20' of chain, I am rarely anchored so shallow where I still have chain out on the deck. Is that what you have Tonka?

I know you are not supposed to support the boat from the Windlass alone but I really don't have a choice at this point since all I have is a chain stop.

Either I will change out to a cleat or I may switch to all chain by then. Not sure.

I have a cleat as you can see in the picture. I only tie off to the cleat when it's windy. The tension that you see below is about as tight as it ever gets unless a boat passes...in that case the tension is minimal and temporary.

 

[saopm]

How do you Polish out that non skid? Looks as good as the smooth areas.

 

[bajturner]

The only thing I don't understand is why they put a chain stop on the bow instead of a cleat to tie the anchor line off to. With only 20' of chain, I am rarely anchored so shallow where I still have chain out on the deck.

I have a related question. I do not have a windlass, and when I bought the boat last fall I noticed the anchor had no chain, only line. There is a cleat and no chain stop, in addition to the safety cable.

My plan is to add about 20' of chain or so this spring, but how will I secure the anchor in place when not in use with the chain and cleat?

 

[Tonka Boater]

How do you Polish out that non skid? Looks as good as the smooth areas.

Starbrite Non-Skid Deck Cleaner. The stuff is magic....I've never waxed the non-skid.

 

[Tonka Boater]

I have a related question. I do not have a windlass, and when I bought the boat last fall I noticed the anchor had no chain, only line. There is a cleat and no chain stop, in addition to the safety cable.

My plan is to add about 20' of chain or so this spring, but how will I secure the anchor in place when not in use with the chain and cleat?

Do you have a picture of your current setup?

 

[Henry Boyd]

I have a related question. I do not have a windlass, and when I bought the boat last fall I noticed the anchor had no chain, only line. There is a cleat and no chain stop, in addition to the safety cable.

My plan is to add about 20' of chain or so this spring, but how will I secure the anchor in place when not in use with the chain and cleat?

In Tonka's picture you can see the anchor safety lanyard. The stainless U-bolt and plastic covered steel wire & hook. The length of the the cable is exactly the distance from the U-bolt to the anchor stem. The practice with a windlass is to pul the anchor up, attach the safety lanyard and then release the tension on the rode so that the safety lanyard is carrying the weight of the anchor and not the windlass.

You could also install a chain stopper on the deck. This is basically a piece of metal with a vertical slot. You drop a link into the slot and depending on model there may also be a safety pin that then locks the link in place.


Henry

 

[arenz]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’m leaning towards all chain.

 

[Bucit]

Starbrite Non-Skid Deck Cleaner. The stuff is magic....I've never waxed the non-skid.

I just used the Woody's Wax for non skid and that stuff was amazing. Expensive ($50 a bottle) but I like the results. If the Starbrite is just as good, and pobably cheaper I may try it next.

 

[bajturner]

The practice with a windlass is to pul the anchor up, attach the safety lanyard and then release the tension on the rode so that the safety lanyard is carrying the weight of the anchor and not the windlass.

Thanks Henry. I was incorrectly thinking the safety lanyard should not carry the weight of the anchor, but rather only be there for backup. I appreciate the explanation.

 

[Subaru06]

If I am incorrect I am sure someone will tell me: I think it is a mistake not to tie the anchor line off on the cleat. We take some pretty good tugs owing to the wind and wakes of other boats. I would prefer the force stop at the cleat and not at the winch.

 

[jason78]

I don't have a chain stop on my '05. Do you have the little cable thingy to hook to your anchor so it can't accidently drop. If you don't have the cable, then I think that is the purpose of the chain stop. If you had all chain then the chan stop would be able to serve both purposes. I would just add the cleat .

Yes, I do have that safety cable for the anchor as well. I did see the chain stop in the parts manual. I would have thought this would have only been put on boats will the all chain option but maybe it was a mistake.:huh: I have never looked close enough at any other 280s in my marina to notice what they had. I am considering going all chain so that will probably be the deciding factor whether to switch to a cleat.

I have a cleat as you can see in the picture. I only tie off to the cleat when it's windy. The tension that you see below is about as tight as it ever gets unless a boat passes...in that case the tension is minimal and temporary.

Thanks for the pic Tonka. If I decide to change out to a cleat that gives me a good idea of the spacing.

Great looking bow! I need to add a gutter on the end of my slip. The end of the bow sticks out just enough to catch the dirty roof rainwater dripping down and makes a mess on mine all the time.

 

[Gunn]

Starbrite Non-Skid Deck Cleaner. The stuff is magic....I've never waxed the non-skid.

I just used the Woody's Wax for non skid and that stuff was amazing. Expensive ($50 a bottle) but I like the results. If the Starbrite is just as good, and pobably cheaper I may try it next.

I've read elsewhere on this site that others use both the Starbrite Non-Skid Deck Cleaner with PTEF first and then the Woody's Wax afterward. That's my plan this spring.

I've seen WestMarine has Woody's Wax for ~$35.00 per bottle...

 

[Tonka Boater]

If I am incorrect I am sure someone will tell me: I think it is a mistake not to tie the anchor line off on the cleat. We take some pretty good tugs owing to the wind and wakes of other boats. I would prefer the force stop at the cleat and not at the winch.

You are correct about tying to the cleat under the conditions you mention. If it's windy, waves, etc then it makes sense to keep the stress off the windlass. If you're at anchor with plenty of slack like you see in the picture then I don't think it matters if you tie off to the cleat. I personally don't like to drop anchor in an area that is excessively windy or wavy so it's never really an issue for me.

 

[Sea STAT]

Dinghy questions for 2007 280..

hey all,

I have read just about every dinghy thread on sea ray club i can find.. and still wanted some opinions..
I have a few questions..

we have a 2007 Sundancer 280. We just bought a 8'8" Air Deck Dinghy for the boat.. we have two questions.. one about engine size, the other about storage... as you will see, they are intertwined

Here is my ultimate goal.. I would love to be able to use the dinghy as not just a boat to get back and forth from places, but also as a little water craft that can plane with 2-3 light adults on board, and be able to use it to have some fun with.. The dinghy i bought is actually rated for up to a 10HP engine, so comparatively, thats a pretty good sized engine compared to most 8'8" inflatables.. the boat is 90lbs total..

The second goal would be to keep the Dinghy stored on the swim platform in the horizontal position.. This would allow me to easily launch and recover the dinghy, and if it is stored in the horizontal position, we would be able to keep the engine on it all the time.. Therefor, that could impact our decision of engine size.. if we can keep it on the swim platform horizontally all the time, i am not worried about going with a heavier larger 8-10hp (88lbs).. if we need to remove it to swing the dinghy up each time (vertically like with the weaver davits) we will prob go with a smaller 6hp (55lbs) engine which is lighter and easier to store somewhere on our boat..

so you can see my question is twofold.. what do you think the best engine size would be to get it up on plane and use it to have fun.. and two, do you think we could secure the dinghy safely on the swim platform in the horizontal position? I think the swim platform on the 280 is a little over 3ft wide.. the beam on the dinghy is about 5ft wide.. so it would hang over by about 2ft..

any advice would be greatly appreciated..

thanks

safe boating all..
j