This could be the week - possible new 260DA owner

G

GrimmSpeed

New Member
Jul 1, 2009
160
Stillwater/St. Croix River, MN
Boat Info
1998 330 Express Cruiser
Engines
7.4 454
Hey guys, I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of years now but never had a boat. My wife and I have been eye-balling the 260DA for a long time now and this week we might finally get her! We purchased a slip at our local marina(Sunnyside Marina on the St. Croix in Minnesota) and rented it out this year with the intention of buying a boat next year. Well long story short my dealer got a 05 260 with the 496 and every option.... and is extremely clean. Needless to say i couldnt pass it up.

Sea Trial/survey is on wednesday and then possible delivery on friday.

seriously you guys, i'm so dang excited right now i cant event sleep!! I've already read the entire 260 official thread and i dont even own one yet :huh: lol

Justin
 
Good Luck with your upcoming purchase, assuming the sea trial / survey is good!
 
Remember to keep emotions off the table when it comes to deal making time.

That aside, good luck and I hope everything goes well for you!:smt038
 
Good luck with the purchase - I had the previous generation 260 with a big block - it was a nice running boat with a big block.
 
That is exciting. Keep us posted so we can officially welcome you to the 260DA club if it all works out. I like Dennis' advice. Keep emotions out of the deal. There are other great boats out there. Good luck.
 
Way to go! Trust me. Once you get used to how she handles, you are going to love her.

This is my first boat, too. This is the beginning of my 3rd full season with the boat. I can say that I am finally used to how she handles and feels under power.

A few pointers:

You are sitting way above the waterline, the boat will tip from side to side and it will feel like you are going to tip over. You aren't going to. Trust the boat, she knows how to ride - don't mess her up.

Drive trim - Start with the drive all the way dowm and gradually raise it up as the boat comes up on plane. The boat will lean to one side or another as it comes up on plane. Trim the drive to get the least amount of lean possible.

Trim tabs - only use ONE at a time to level the boat AFTER the drive has been trimmed out. Remember which tab you used so that you can use the same one if you need to change the settings. Don't put both of them down at the same time AT ALL until you have quite a few hours running the boat under your hat. The boat can get pretty touchy from a handling perspective if you use them both incorrectly. Once you are used to the boat, you will find that a small amount of both tabs can be beneficial in certain circumstances. 99% of the time, only 1 is needed to correct for lean. You won't be missing out on anything using only one at a time.

She's a great boat. I wouldn't trade mine for anything (until I'm ready for a bigger Sea Ray, that is). You'll love the attention that you get. She's a very stylish boat, and we get compliments on her everywhere we go.

Keep track of your fuel burn numbers. I've been wanting to compare mine to another 8.1 equipped 2005 260DA for a while now.
Welcome aboard!
 
Good luck on the purchase I hope it stays dry long enough to enjoy the cruise.

On a side note I was thinking of slipping at sunnyside next season for a change
 
Welcome from another St Croix boater. :thumbsup:

The 260DA or the 280DA will likely be our next boat in a year or 2.

So, you going to kick your slip tenant out? :huh:
 
Wow, great to see some other St. Croix boaters on here!

I didn't want to have to kick our renters out of our slip so we are going to end up just renting another slip for this year.

skibum - Thank you so much for the info! I'll give your techniques a try and report back with any questions I have. What is the easiest way to keep tabs on fuel burn?

Justin
 
There is a "mode" button on your Smartcraft gauge. Press it a couple of times until you see a screen with GPH showing on it.
 
Enjoy the boat Justin and don't forget to read all our posts on how to bring her up on plane and keep her level. These particular 260DAs are enjoyable but can be a handfull if you don't know how to operate them.

Dave
 
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Thank you guys! This weekend went mostly smoothly. I have to give props to you guys for helping me learn how to handle the boat before I got out there. It really wasnt too bad just using the tips you guys have me. It really is a great boat and my wife and I are very excited for our new life on the boat.

One problem we did have, the windlass is broke. If you dont use it for awhile it will work for a minute or so. Then it starts blowing breakers. The box still sounds like it is clicking. I think something in the motor is binding and popping the switch. I tried to manually loosen the top of the windlass but i couldnt even get it to budge. Not sure what to do.

Justin
 
congrats on the new boat. we got a 06 260Da this year and love it. the tips given for leveling and triming are spot on.
takes a bit to get used to but the boat does what you tell it to.
it does act like a sail in the wind so be careful with that.
enjoy
ron
 
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