The big old 80's 340 owners thread

wileecoyote said:
Here is the back side of where the bolts come through. The plywood is already removed and the wood texture is actually molded into the foam after it hardened. The hard foam takes up the space in the fiberglass mold so when you tighten the bolts there is something to support the pressure. You can see one of the bolt holes in the lower left where the foam has been removed. The foam hardens about as hard or harder than drywall and makes a hell of a mess when it oozes out.
Removing the cockpit panels is simple compared to that repair!
This is the only photo I have on my laptop, I will see what else I have when I get home.
View attachment 33931
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Well, now I can see why tightening the bolts isn't going to help much if the foam is disintegrated. Hmmm....
 
northshore said:
For the 88-89 crew with the full size v-birth does anyone know off the top of their heads what the length/width of the mattress is at its widest and longest point?

Thanks in advance,

-Mike
Click to expand...
I do not know the exact dimensions but I did use King size sheets and bedding.
 
NorCal Boater said:
I do not know the exact dimensions but I did use King size sheets and bedding.
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Thanks! The Admiral and I are going to pick up a mattress topper and see how that works out for a season before pulling
the trigger on a complete new mattress.
 
In that case you will have a problem. The mattress is wider than a king so the topper won't fit without some cutting and sewing. I replaced the original matress by going to IKEA and buying their best latex foam mattress. I cut the corners from the mattress and glued them to the sides and then trimmed everything to the proper size.

I loved that bed. My wife and I plus 2 85 pound dogs slept very comfortably.
 
+ 2 85 LB. Dogs!? :wow: Whoa!

Those are damn nice mattresses! The Admiral and I bought the Sealy latex foam one about 8 years ago and the thing is still fantastic!
We had actually batted around the idea of moving that mattress to the boat but its still in too good of shape. Paid an arm and a leg for it but worth every penny.

The topper is a stop gap for a year possibly two. Jason turned us on to the place that made his mattress and will probably pull the trigger on that next winter.
 
My '86 DA doesn't have a hatch above the dinette/galley walkway like most all 340's I've seen on here....why would that be? I'm thinking of adding it for more ventilation, although the thought of cutting a big hole in my boat is not pleasant!
 
well..lit the old girl up saturday and all is well after the long winters nap
fired right up and ran to operating temps
even the old onan fired right up ...but gawd it smoked for a while
 
And did some teak over the weekend
the cockpit and bow rails hadn't been touched in years



 
Well, I started this forum way back when in 2009 when I got my 89 340. I had many good times with her (along with a few bad). It was a great experience owning it and I enjoyed all the info we shared over the years in this forum. I sold her Tuesday and am moving on up to a 2000 400 sedan bridge. Good luck to everyone here and ill stop in time to time to see how all the little people are still doing. lol.

See you out there!
 
Kieth, I saw you post something in another thread. Best of luck and please share photos...
 
Keith
Good deal! Congrats! Hope you found your old girl a good home.
 
Hello All,
I currently have a 89 Sea Ray 260cc 7.4 / bravo ( 600 hours ) that has treated my family of three wonderfully. Over the winter we considered an upgrade. During my searching, I came across a friend 88 Sea Ray 340 DA docked at our local marina. Boat appears to be in good condition and mechanically ( 640 hours eng and 900 gen ) appears almost as well cared for as ours. And only saying almost, because you could eat or sleep on my 260s motor. Other than the boat needing a good scrubbing and something done with a broken ice maker seems like a wonderful deal. The added bonus is they want our boat and are willing to trade w/ boot.
Now is where my questions start. Any hidden things that I need to be concerned about? Any surprise costs or yearly repairs? What should I expect with an upgrade of this type? Is it worth the 4K to boot and trade?
 
lawdog453 said:
hello all,
i currently have a 89 sea ray 260cc 7.4 / bravo ( 600 hours ) that has treated my family of three wonderfully. Over the winter we considered an upgrade. During my searching, i came across a friend 88 sea ray 340 da docked at our local marina. Boat appears to be in good condition and mechanically ( 640 hours eng and 900 gen ) appears almost as well cared for as ours. And only saying almost, because you could eat or sleep on my 260s motor. Other than the boat needing a good scrubbing and something done with a broken ice maker seems like a wonderful deal. The added bonus is they want our boat and are willing to trade w/ boot.
Now is where my questions start. Any hidden things that i need to be concerned about? Any surprise costs or yearly repairs? What should i expect with an upgrade of this type? Is it worth the 4k to boot and trade?
Click to expand...
hello,the biggest cost difference is going to be fuel. These 340 get a mile a gallon!!!!! They love fuel!!! But , u are push 12,000lbs. Docking and turning is alittle different with inboards, but just a learning issue. Also the hull has pockets for the props, so u can run in same water depth as your 26. I have had a 260 sda,,a 277 sda, now this 340 sda. Nice big boat, nice big beam. Again , fuel is the biggest difference. How is canvas?? I knew buying my boat it would need canvas. Cost 5700$$. Good luck , enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hello, biggest difference is fuel usage. These 340 get a mile a gallon!!! But you are pushing 12,000 lbs. Docking and turning is a little different with inboards, but you will get use to it. Make sure to get survey on boat. Dont want to get into strigger issues, but you would do this buying any boat.what shape is canvas?? I knew when i purchased mine, boat needed new canvas, cost 5700$.nice thing on these 340 , the props are in a pocket or tunnel. U should be able to go in same water depths as your 260. Good luck..enjoy!!!!!!!!!!
 
flash gordon said:
Hello, biggest difference is fuel usage. These 340 get a mile a gallon!!! But you are pushing 12,000 lbs. Docking and turning is a little different with inboards, but you will get use to it. Make sure to get survey on boat. Dont want to get into strigger issues, but you would do this buying any boat.what shape is canvas?? I knew when i purchased mine, boat needed new canvas, cost 5700$.nice thing on these 340 , the props are in a pocket or tunnel. U should be able to go in same water depths as your 260. Good luck..enjoy!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Wow! 5,700$ for canvas.. It appears to be 60% condition now. Would want to replace it in the near future. Owner says bottom paint is due as well. The marinas around here higher than tommy chong. Things are getting expensive fast. Wondering if I should be looking for a 260 sundancer on a trailer and forget the 340 for now...
 
It's location when it comes to canvas prices... I was quoted 3k to do mine last year and that was fully custom.

The 340 is a fantastic boat. You will want to check the water tank, I just found out that mine is plastic as others are aluminum and they leak. You will also want to check how the arch attaches to the side of the boat. If the front of the arch is "toed" out then the underlying wood is rotten and that will be $$$$. It was a design flaw from the factory that no one ever thought about. You will want to go over the engines and make sure that the proper maintenance has been done. The fuel usage is going to be more then your 260 but the safety and ride will be night and day. I have taken mine out into 5-7ft Lake Erie chop and never had a worry. These boats were built well and are Heavy. Mine with full fuel was 9 tons! But the difference in the handling and ride is with the added cash to me. I prefer the older boats because I can customize it the way I want and not have to worry about the other on board systems. The other advantage to these ol girls is they used every bit of available space for something.

Bottom line... It will be a little more money overall but it comes down to what you are really looking for? I use mine basically with two people full time. We do have guests that will stay with us and have had 7 adults on board and no one was cramped. It really comes down to what you are willing to do. If you'd like some more information send me a PM and we can chat. I'm here to help.
 
hello LAWDOG,,,
i dont know what area u are in, but i am on lake st.clair and i priced about for the canvas. quotes were from 4500-7200. i went a good shop that several people recommended, MILLERS. they did an excellent job. the bottom, another issue, mine had 20 yrs of bottom paint on it. Was not blistering , but was starting to fake off, looked bad. I had bottom soda blasted, cost 1200 bucks, then I applied interlux 2000 epoxy paint, 6 gallons, then 2 coats of micron extra. again , this could happen to any boat, but issue here was some many years of bottom paint. so now, its like boat has new bottom.
again , as mentioned by others , get a good survey. glad to help.ps, i have 1100 hrs on my 454's they run fine.
gordon.................
 
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