300 Sundancer questions.

Re: rod holders

jrcinnh said:
Steve, I'm thinking of adding rod holders next spring, any surprises? Which ones did you use?
Click to expand...

John,

I bought stainless Perko. Cost = about $70 each. They are angled at about 60 degrees, sit flush, and have rubber weather caps. A year ago, I bought some stainless West Marine rail mounted rod holders (half the price of Perko) for my Whaler, and they discolored in 2 months. Back they went, and I replaced them with Perko. The old addage, "You really do get what you pay for!"

Installation was pretty straight forward. Removed the rear bench, accessed the underside of the gunwales through the access panels, held the rod holder up unside to check for clearances (plenty), as if I recall, the only thing in there is the fuel filler hose. Measured and transferred the measurements to the top of the gunwales. Then I cut the clear plastic front panel from the Perko package, which is designed to be used as a guide for drilling at the proper angle. Then sealed the self tappers with 4200. Note: the rod holders don't come with SS screws, you'll have to purchase them seperately. Both done in 1 1/2 hours. Good luck... :thumbsup:
 
Since we are talking rod holders. Has anyone tried putting those "clamp on" style rod holders horizontally on the aft storage compartment rail? Would you still be able to open it up all the way with the rod holders there? That spot might be useful as well to use a Magma stlye grill with the rod holder base and grill off the swim platform. Any thoughts? Thanks, Brian
 
Rod holder tip: if you install the 60 deg holders canted a few degrees outward, this will insure the pole and lines miss both the bimini top and swim platform. A slightly more difficult hole to cut, but with this method, they can be mounted on any section of the gunwales and also be positioned in a convenient location to mount the Magma grill with the rod holder adaptor.

Regarding trim: I find trimming up past 20% while on plane causes cavitation or as some would insist “ventilationâ€. Whatever the correct term, you can hear it immediately if raising up even a wee bit too far.
 
I bought the cheap plastic clamp-on rod holders this fall. It was near the end of the season so I only used them a few times. I couldn't use them on the aft compartment rail. The bottom of the holder hit the compartment door before the holders were perpendicular. The rods would lean forward and hit the camper top. I did use them on the arch rails. They worked pretty good, a little awkward to manuver around the bimini poles. But we did catch a few lakers trolling with lead line. :thumbsup:

If I can get over the fear of cutting big holes, I'll add the permanent ones in the gunnels, this spring. Thanks for the advice, I was thinking that you cut the hole straight down and little oversize to allow for the angles. I didn't think you cut the hole at the angle, it seems like it will be hard to get started. I also wondered why the holders are usually angled back, why not straight out to the side of the boat?
 
jrcinnh said:
If I can get over the fear of cutting big holes, I'll add the permanent ones in the gunnels, this spring. Thanks for the advice, I was thinking that you cut the hole straight down and little oversize to allow for the angles. I didn't think you cut the hole at the angle, it seems like it will be hard to get started. I also wondered why the holders are usually angled back, why not straight out to the side of the boat?
Click to expand...

There is not enough width in the gunwale to mount them straight out toward the side. Mine are positioned at about a 30 degree angle out toward the side, but mostly facing rearward. You'll need a deep hole saw, with a pilot bit extended out so as to guide your angled hole, which is about 60 degrees from vertical. The whole secret is to hold them in position at the underside of the gunwale to check for clearances before you drill, and use the package as a guide for the correct angle. :thumbsup:
 
John,
I have a brand new extra Perko stainless flush mounted rod holder with rubber cap, just like the one I installed on my port gunwale. It fits and looks great. You are welcome to it if you'd like as I won't be using it. It is unopened and in original packaging with screws and instructions.

Joe
 
jg300da said:
John,
I have a brand new extra Perko stainless flush mounted rod holder with rubber cap, just like the one I installed on my port gunwale. It fits and looks great. You are welcome to it if you'd like as I won't be using it. It is unopened and in original packaging with screws and instructions.

Joe
Click to expand...
Wow Joe that is very nice of you indeed. I'm sure John agrees. Now....do you have any extra dingys or chartplotters that you dont need. :grin: I'm very glad to be part of such a fine community of people.
 
Glad to help. It has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year and it needs a nice home. Here's a pic;

DSCN0606.jpg
[/img]
 
Oil Leaks

Hi Guys,

Thought of an issue I had this summer and wanted to see if any one else has had this same thing happen to them. On my 95 with twin 350 inboards I had oil leaking from the engines. Both of them. The boat is new to me this summer but I found this very strange. After searching the leak I found two oil lines that go to two fittings in a round plate. The fittings were loose on the round plate and thats where the leak was coming. I had to loosen the fittings, tighten the round plate and then screw the oil lines back into the fittings. And the same thing happppened on the other engine. UNBELIEVABLE.. Anyone have that happen to them??? I asked the prior owner and he said he never took those lines off but I can't understand how they would have got loose......
 
It's very simple. The guy who was responsible for that fitting was in the tightening phase when:

The phone rang
The "Break" whistle blew
Nature called
His torque wrench was outside of the boat on the work bench
That hot chick from fiberglass walked by
Worst case - Shift change

It seems that they were either never tightened, never checked, or never tightened to specs.

I doubt it continues to be a problem unless they are missing some sort of securing system like a lock washer (although a lock washer would not be appropriate on an oil line, but you get the idea).

I'd say you found a problem, solved it, and it won't happen again.

Congratulations.
 
Does anyone have an onboard storage solution for a small (3-5 HP) four stoke dinghy motor? It doesn’t look like one will fit in the “trunk†of the 300DA and storing it below deck is not a very attractive option.
 
Jim, Maritime Solutions, in Annapolis (right next to the Chart House,) has a bunch of dinghy and engine mount systems on display. You might be able to pop in and get some ideas.
 
Stupid newb question

The 4 trim buttons on the left of the wheel...How are they to be properly be used?

This is what I know...When I get on plane and i'm leaning right/left I use those to balance me out

When I'm on plane and want to relieve stress on the motor I use the trim tabs

A. Should I use the buttons on a regular basis?
B. What conditions call for the use of the trim buttons
C. How can I ensure that the trim is even so I Don't have to mess with it and when I get on plane i'm even
D. Does it have anything to do with counteracting uneven weight distribution?

Thanks in Advance

Aaron

**Also does anyone do water sports with their 300?

and has anyone mounted a TV on the aft deck? I did and i'm just curious if anyone else has and how they did it.


****Thought of one other thing..Does anyone tow their 300? I know you need a CDL, but just curious
 
I use my tabs when I want to balance out the boats attitude when on plane. Uneven load and cross winds have an effect on
hull list you may see while underway.

On occasions when I'm powering up against the current and full fuel tanks, I'll use the tabs to help the boat plane off quicker. This is true if we have several in the cockpit too. If the river is choppy from wind or a lot of weekend traffic, I'll throttle back and use a combination of drive trim and tabs to soften the ride.

Once the boat is on plane, I'll trim the drives slighlty up (out) using my trim gauge on the Smartview to get them close to the same. From there I only use my tabs as mentioned above. I use the bow rails as my level if adjutment is needed due to load or wind...

Since there is no trim tab indicator, I count 1..2...3 on each button to get them close before putting the handles down. It's not exact but darn close.
 
On my 300, I only ever used tabs to even the left/right effects of weight, usually pasengers. If I would ever try to trim the outdrives more than one quick click on the trim switch, the outdrive would get very noisy. An indication they weren't "happy." I've had conversations with other 300 owners that had similar experience. When I eventually went to all chain for the anchor rode, I'd be able to hit the trim switch a couple of quick times, but that was it. Bottom line, the 300 runs pretty efficiently without any trim from drives or tabs, just use the tabs to adjust for weight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,182
Messages
1,428,060
Members
61,088
Latest member
SGT LAT
Back
Top