Ok, I'll start.

Question #1,
My 240 has extremely easy and fluid power steering. You could steer with one finger. The 280 has much stiffer steering and the previous owner told me that was the way since day 1.
I recently saw a boatest video and the talking head said the steering was effortless, or something to that effect.

What are your observations.
Mine is single engine for what it's worth.:huh:

 

Not sure about the steering effort between the two boats, but on the subject, I replaced the fluid in my steering pump after about 50-60 hours and would recommend other to check it. The fluid I had in my pump had become very dark and seemed to lack viscosity. Pumped it out with a turkey baster and refilled with new stuff. For those with 2 engines, the starboard side is the one that is used.

 

My steering is actually easier than in my 240. In the 240 it got a bit stiff when the engine was at idle.

If the starboard side PS pump controls the steering on the twin engine boat what does the port side pump do?

 

Thanks for the responses. Guess I'll have to talk with the mechanic and see what's up.

 

Good point, I haven't changed the fluid in mine, I don't think it's ever been changed. One more thing on my todo list.

The wheel is easy for me to turn, at least no harder than my jeep.

I would like to see some pics of shelves put in some of the storage areas. I'm about to start drilling and before I do that, I would like to see some other ideas.

I've kept my junky tv alive this year with my iphone. put movies on the iphone and play it through to the tv. so far so good until I find a better option. I just bought a new laptop and I think i'm going to retire my 12" powerbook to the boat. not sure how i'm going to mount it to the lazy Suzan, still in planning stage.

I would also be interested in anyone that has an autopilot installed on their 280 and how it works. Also real world numbers on cruising at 10mphish and the fuel burn at this speed. I don't have a smartcraft read out but it seems like my boat sips gas at this speed and I wouldn't be against installing an autopilot if it works and the numbers crunch.

I'm sure that i'll think of a hundred more questions.

 

I would like to see some pics of shelves put in some of the storage areas. I'm about to start drilling and before I do that, I would like to see some other ideas.

Mike,

I am planning to make templates for adding shelves to the 'closets' by the V berth this weekend.

Our V berth is pretty much assembled full time and I have given thought to building a false front to block off the area under the table top. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Our boat didn't come with the TV, but have seen them and they consume a heck of a lot valuable storage space.

Henry

 

Current 280 Sundancer

Strengths:
Great lines / profile
Great cabin and cockpit layout
Big swim platform for this size boat. The swim platform completely covers the drives even when the drives are up all the way. This makes is safer for kids to jump off the swim platform.
This boat does many things well



Weaknesses:
Gas tank is too small at 100 gallons. I’d like to see 150
No room at the helm for flush mounted screens like a radar or multi function center
Needs more cockpit storage
The boat attracts blonds who sprawl out on the swim platform. See above post for a example. Or wait, is that a strength?

 

Current 280 Sundancer

The boat attracts blonds who sprawl out on the swim platform. See above post for a example. Or wait, is that a strength?

She's photoshopped. She's really the twin sister of Gary's wife.:wow:

 

I have carpet templates the the following on file at snapincarpte.com should anyone be interested. They turned out quite nicely.

Transom pass through
bathroom floor
companionway steps (3)

Keep us posted on shelves, that's on my short list of porjects

 

Gerry,

Does the TV fold out of the way to get access to the cabinet behind?

On our non tv boat the starboard cabinet has a full height door, and pitiful little coat hook (like the port side). We are planning to add shelves which will make storage space for light stuff like clothes and towels.

Henry

 

Does any one use a chartplotter on their 280? I've been thinking of getting one but I have no clue of where to mount one. The helm doesn't lend itself to any additional electronics so I'm looking for a bit of advice on what kind is recommended by other 280 owners for our helm.

1st. What make model do you recommend? I boat in the upper Mississippi & Illinois rivers above St. Louis. So, I'm not looking to go to fancy.

2nd. Do you have any picts. of your installation? If so, please post them up.

 

We had the dealer install a Garmin 440 w/ external antenna. This fit perfectly in the center of dash, in the spot normally occupied by the VHF radio. See attached picture.

Although I don't have a picture, the VHF radio was re-located on the lower left hand side of the dash. I'll try and send other pictures when I return to the boat. We orginally tried a Garmin 545, but it was too big to be flush mounted on a 280 dash.

 

I did a custom dash so I could add the Smartcraft display, but the reason for the picture is that I used a Ram Mount for the GPS display Raymarine RL 70 CRC. It works well with very little vibration and can be moved to suit the circumstances.

Henry

 

Hello everyone, just stepped up to a 280 Dancer. I love the boat, you can't beat it. I'm looking forward to conversing with fellow 280 pilots...

 

My 2004 has the Clarion with Sirius ready.
My question is if I install an antenna to the arch I assume it's relatively easy to run the wire down the port side of the arch. From there has anyone tried to run a wire from the arch to the stereo/electrical panel area? Any tips?

 

I haven't run any wires yet but I would think your best bet would be to pop out the port side cockpit speakers and fish the antenna wire along the speaker wires back to the stereo.

 

Thanks for the picts. on the plotters guys! So far all of the above installations look good. I spent most of the day yesterday looking for a plotter and have pretty much decided on the Garmin 430. My next question is... Do any of you use the "in hull transducer"? Since my boat is in the water all year long I was thinking about installing this type so I don't have to pull the boat just to install the transducer.(Through hull) Do any of you have any experience with this type of transducer? Also, how did you guys run your wiring down through the helm station to keep the wiring so neat looking? Also, on the ram mount, which one did you use?

 

Do any of you use the "in hull transducer"? Since my boat is in the water all year long I was thinking about installing this type so I don't have to pull the boat just to install the transducer.(Through hull) Do any of you have any experience with this type of transducer?

My 2007 already has the water depth transducer as a standard option. There was no need to install the Garmin transducer.

 

RiverRat,

The Ram mount is the basic unit that is sold by West. In keeping with the teak theme I used a piece of leftover to interface the Raymarine mount to the mounting plate on the ram. I'm not familiar with the unit you plan to use so you might go to the ram website, they have pre-set combinations for the newer GPS setups. That should provide a mount with a bolt pattern that matches your new GPS.

My wiring is inside of black plastic cable protector that is held closed with black wire ties. It is kind of complicated because in addition to the power and GPS antenna cable, there is also a NMEA out cable to supply Smartcraft with SOG, COG, time data. I am not satisified with way they go through the top of the dash and am looking for a better look than a 3/4" hole with wire protector sprouting out of it.

Henry

 

The cabin is really hard to push open. My surveyor told me that the door needs to be reailined. Any idea how that's done? Thanks

 

If you're talking about the cabin door, mine was hard to open and close when we bought it also. My problem was that the track was full of junk (dirt, hair ect....). I took a garden hose and flushed it out, let it soak a while and flushed it again. You might give that a try, it worked for me.

 

J,

This is one of the 280's quirks. I find that if you stand in the well and pull the handle horizontally it will move smoother. I have also found that dangling wires from the dashboard have a surprising negative influence.

If that does not help. Here is the bad news. There is no adjustment on the tracks. They work, or they don't.

I have been told the official fix is to remove the dash /helm assembly. This means as far as I can tell, removing the starboard windshield, and helm seat as well. I met another CSr member last fall who was thinking the 280 tracks could be replaced with the dash intact .I haven't heard how he made out. It may be time for an update.

Henry

 

J,
I have been told the official fix is to remove the dash /helm assembly. This means as far as I can tell, removing the starboard windshield, and helm seat as well. I met another CSr member last fall who was thinking the 280 tracks could be replaced with the dash intact .I haven't heard how he made out. It may be time for an update.

Henry

One of my punch list items was to replace the dash/helm as it had gel coat cracks in the textured area of the dash and the local dealership was unable to repair. The starboard windshield was removed in order to remove the dash/helm "pod". It sure would be tough to replace the track while the cabin door was in place.

 

A few 280 questions from a new owner. How many people can you have on the boat comfortably? Jimmy Buffet is playing in the Newport Folk Fest which you can watch from the boat and I now have a lot of new friends. LOL. For those with dinghy,s, how do you store your motor while cruising?. What is the most efficient cruising RPM with 4.3,s? Hopefully I will soon be able to answer questions instead of always asking.

Thanks, KV

 

How many folks you are comfortable with depends on your preferences... the size of the folks, etc. I have had up to 8 folks on board. I prefer to keep it to 4-6 when running around. Depending on conditions the 4.3's seem to run most efficient between 3000-3500. What year 280 do you have? If you have a later model... use smartcraft to determine your best burn rate. I am very close to getting a zodiac and a 2HP honda. The Honda looks to fit nicely under the rear cockpit seat and at 26lbs should not be tough to handle. It seems that you are able to lay the motor on a certain side without fluids leaking. I am planning to stow the inflated boat on the nose under a spider web type net (similar to those for truck beds). As we move from place to place while on the water. At the end of the trip.... the Zodiac (air floor) will be deflated. This is the plan. I will let you know how it works out in practice.

 

I was never happy with the UFO looking tv antenna (that didn't do much anyway) so I removed it and installed a XM antenna in that hole. I ran the new wire inside the arch on the port side to arch access panel. The arch is open on the bottom, but where it is attached to the boat required me to drill a hole. I removed the front port side speaker which gave me access to the bottom of arch area. Working from both the arch access and the speaker access, I used a rotary drill and drilled a hole connecting the arch to the area behind the speaker. The fiberglass was fairly thick and it's hard to see what you are dong, but I made it through. Make sure to keep the drill bit at the correct angle, up and down and side to side. Once that hole is made, it's an easy shot to the power panel-radio-CD cabinet.

 

Did you seal the hole well? If not you created a nice hole through the bulkhead that forms a barrier between the engine room and cabin. You may want to consider sealing your hole. The other wires come through the bulkhead just below the area you were working in and are sealed with a ton of sealant. You would hate for any harmful fumes to make it into the cabin.

 

I was never happy with the UFO looking TV antenna (it didn't do much anyway) so I removed it and installed a XM antenna in that hole. I ran the new wire inside the arch on the port side to arch access panel. The arch is open on the bottom, but where it is attached to the boat required me to drill a hole. I removed the front port side speaker which gave me access to the bottom of arch area. Working from both the arch access and the speaker access, I used a rotary drill and drilled a hole connecting the arch to the area behind the speaker. The fiberglass was fairly thick and it's hard to see what you are dong, but I made it through. Make sure to keep the drill bit at the correct angle, up and down and side to side. Once that hole is made, it's an easy shot to the power panel-radio-CD cabinet.

 

I have a 6.5' dinghy with a 2.5hp outboard. It fits nicely right on the swim platform. I leave the motor on the dinghy and strap it down to the D rings on the back. It leaves enough room to get on and off the boat without moving it. Once we get to where we are going, release the straps and push it off the platform. 2 minutes to pull it back up and strap it and we're off. Works pretty good.

 

here's a pic of my dinghy on the platform with the engine on it.

 

I've recently got the West Marine/Zodiac 8 1/2 foot dinghy with a merc. 4 hp. 4 stroke motor. I strapped the dink across the rear of the boat on it's side leaning against the transom and put the motor right in front of the transom door in the cockpit. I've only had the chance to use it once before the floods came and made it impossible to get to my boat so we are still in the experimental stages of dink hauling...

 

I agree with Turtletone. An 8'-6" Zodiac fits nicely on the swim platform. We have tried the upside down thing on the bow, deflating and inflating with power pump, and the simplest thing is to just pull it up on the platform and go.

As for removing the motor and storing on the boat, I will share something my sailing buddies all know too well; sooner or later you will drop the dink motor in the drink. Trust me, the Admiral will not be amused.

Henry

 

TT, Is that the GF or you under the dink cover? I think you should cover it "After" you get out of it!

 

Hope he's not pitching a tent.:wow: