- Sep 25, 2016
- 1,257
- Boat Info
- 300 Sundancer 1994, trailered tri-axle LoadRite roller
- Engines
- Mercruiser 5.7 260HP Alpha One Gen II, twin
Starting a thread to describe the challenges involved and the findings in my "new" 1994 Sundancer 300DA
The story to start, bought the boat in August 2016, Twin Mercruiser, 260 HP, Alpha One, Gen II, AC, no generator (yet).
A fresh water kept boat in Lake Wylie area of South Carolina, bit more outdrive corrosion then I would have hoped for, but stainless steel and aluminum in fresh water is actually worse than in saltwater.
We are going to trailer it, never liked leaving a boat alone in the water. And we intend to take it to the coast and South Florida often, where we have family and spent 20+ years. So we bought with it a 2011 Load Right 15,000lb Tri-axle galvanized roller trailer. The boat and trailer weighed in at 12,800 which puts the boat at 8,400lb plus 1,200lbs of fuel this matches the Sea Ray specifications. Wide Load 10ft 6in.
Not going to get into all the purchase drama let's just say "my wife wanted it". In full disclosure I'm an ex Coast Guard MK1 (machinery technician). I have maintained and piloted boats from 20' Penn Yan tunnels, 25' SeaOx, 36' SRB, 41' UTB, 44' MLB and 95' Patrol Boats and have had personal boats in the past. But its been 25 years since I owned my own 22' Mako center console w/ twin Johnsons. And yes the thought of owning a cruiser was interesting at this stage. We have family in Florida with boats and have SCUBA dived all our lives.
Interior and exterior are in good shape, has all new exterior vinyl. Carpet in salon had staining from obvious refrigerator leak/spills. But the rest of the interior excellent. I checked all the machinery and for the price it all seemed acceptable. It is after all a 22 year old boat.
I did not have a survey done, should have, know better. (Did I mention "purchase drama"?) But I did check out the stringers in the engine room and the transom all that is solid.
So it's the end of the season really and didn't plan on going anywhere til spring. So brought it home and started to work on the trailer. Got it tagged and titled (no easy task in South Carolina for a trailer). Wide load permit. Prepared it for launching by just my wife and myself. Upgraded the brakes to Electric over hydraulic, electric winch, storage box, spare tire and hub, etc. (trailer could be its own thread). Did a few upgrades to the truck as well.
When satisfied it would be safe towing moved on to the boat. Its November 2016 now so started winterizing the systems. We do get freezing temperatures here for short periods.
So started with the typical oil change, filters, flush engines. First problem...
360 hours on the engines, warm up port engine, remote filter gets hot, drain and change. No Problem.
Starboard engine warm up, remote filter cold as ice! WTF? Start crawling around engines the hoses are reversed for the remote filter head. Starboard engine oil filter has been bypassing for 22 years? No mechanic/owner ever noticed this? Good thing only 360 hours, but a sign of troubles to come.
Started to upgrade the electrical systems and helm, gauge needles falling off several. Some corroded and burned terminals on breaker panel. A lot of excess cable in the way. Sea Ray must use the same cable harness up to 50ft, had almost 15' just wrapped up stuffed under console. Nothing surprising for 20+ years.
Then...
Was working in the Aft Berth checking wiring and light fixtures. Knelt on the aft berth and it gave way under my knee. Removed the cushions and I had gone thru the hatch to a compartment.? Hatch was rotten. Removed it and found the fresh water tank. Tank empty but completely surround up and over the top with water? Ok if tank leaks out, water would leak back in to an empty tank. This is not a good sign.
So pull the plumbing loose, remove the tank, vacuum out all the water. Check in the morning more water. Vacuum, water repeat again and again. Ok this is REALLY not good. Started probing the wood above the fiberglass tabbing all rotted. Opened up adjacent voids and water poured out. And kept leaching out for weeks. At this point google is my friend, found this forum searching for others with this problem. Only one or two threads related (I posted to another "94 300 buyer" looking into same issue.)
I am committed to repairing my Sundancer. Mostly because I can do it myself. If I had to pay labor for the repairs not sure. So started by fully covering the boat from the windshield back against the weather and demolishing the old stringers.
A full set of photos are posted here:
https://www.facebook.com/HughesPat57/photos_albums
There's a "before" album when we bought it and a "Repairs" album of the work.
Initial discovery:
https://youtu.be/Rq8wZGFx7Aw
https://youtu.be/mJRGvBMB2kg
Had almost completed all tear out and was setting up to start stringer replacement but...
Then found additional problems in the berth overhead/helm station platform.
Balsa coring in the aft vertical and half plywood/half balsa core in the helm station deck.
Balsa was almost all rotted and plywood soaking wet still aft six months on the hard and covered.
I will post photos and comments more often now that I'm making some progress.
Since I have it torn open I am also reworking all the wire paths up to the helm from the engine room. Since these all pass up the starboard side behind all the cabinet trim (now out of the way). I'll start a third photo album focused on the electrical work. Maybe another thread? For the electric and trailer? If anyone is interested in those aspects let me know.
The electrical work lead to another water entry point and some more, albeit much less critical, rot. Some plywood backing for the interior vinyl shelf trim had rotted away. Water was washing in the deck cutout up to the helm. The deck has about a 1" rise behind the trim panels, not much to keep wash water or rain out if it runs across that area. In some photos you'll see plumbing I'm using to create a duct for the control cables and wiring. I'm also going to install two short 2" conduit runs to support the wiring and guide it up to the helm from the battery switch compartment. Will make any future additions much easier.
So anyone else involved in such repairs and renovations?
Pat Hughes
Latest member of the "hole in the water" club.
The story to start, bought the boat in August 2016, Twin Mercruiser, 260 HP, Alpha One, Gen II, AC, no generator (yet).
A fresh water kept boat in Lake Wylie area of South Carolina, bit more outdrive corrosion then I would have hoped for, but stainless steel and aluminum in fresh water is actually worse than in saltwater.
We are going to trailer it, never liked leaving a boat alone in the water. And we intend to take it to the coast and South Florida often, where we have family and spent 20+ years. So we bought with it a 2011 Load Right 15,000lb Tri-axle galvanized roller trailer. The boat and trailer weighed in at 12,800 which puts the boat at 8,400lb plus 1,200lbs of fuel this matches the Sea Ray specifications. Wide Load 10ft 6in.
Not going to get into all the purchase drama let's just say "my wife wanted it". In full disclosure I'm an ex Coast Guard MK1 (machinery technician). I have maintained and piloted boats from 20' Penn Yan tunnels, 25' SeaOx, 36' SRB, 41' UTB, 44' MLB and 95' Patrol Boats and have had personal boats in the past. But its been 25 years since I owned my own 22' Mako center console w/ twin Johnsons. And yes the thought of owning a cruiser was interesting at this stage. We have family in Florida with boats and have SCUBA dived all our lives.
Interior and exterior are in good shape, has all new exterior vinyl. Carpet in salon had staining from obvious refrigerator leak/spills. But the rest of the interior excellent. I checked all the machinery and for the price it all seemed acceptable. It is after all a 22 year old boat.
I did not have a survey done, should have, know better. (Did I mention "purchase drama"?) But I did check out the stringers in the engine room and the transom all that is solid.
So it's the end of the season really and didn't plan on going anywhere til spring. So brought it home and started to work on the trailer. Got it tagged and titled (no easy task in South Carolina for a trailer). Wide load permit. Prepared it for launching by just my wife and myself. Upgraded the brakes to Electric over hydraulic, electric winch, storage box, spare tire and hub, etc. (trailer could be its own thread). Did a few upgrades to the truck as well.
When satisfied it would be safe towing moved on to the boat. Its November 2016 now so started winterizing the systems. We do get freezing temperatures here for short periods.
So started with the typical oil change, filters, flush engines. First problem...
360 hours on the engines, warm up port engine, remote filter gets hot, drain and change. No Problem.
Starboard engine warm up, remote filter cold as ice! WTF? Start crawling around engines the hoses are reversed for the remote filter head. Starboard engine oil filter has been bypassing for 22 years? No mechanic/owner ever noticed this? Good thing only 360 hours, but a sign of troubles to come.
Started to upgrade the electrical systems and helm, gauge needles falling off several. Some corroded and burned terminals on breaker panel. A lot of excess cable in the way. Sea Ray must use the same cable harness up to 50ft, had almost 15' just wrapped up stuffed under console. Nothing surprising for 20+ years.
Then...
Was working in the Aft Berth checking wiring and light fixtures. Knelt on the aft berth and it gave way under my knee. Removed the cushions and I had gone thru the hatch to a compartment.? Hatch was rotten. Removed it and found the fresh water tank. Tank empty but completely surround up and over the top with water? Ok if tank leaks out, water would leak back in to an empty tank. This is not a good sign.
So pull the plumbing loose, remove the tank, vacuum out all the water. Check in the morning more water. Vacuum, water repeat again and again. Ok this is REALLY not good. Started probing the wood above the fiberglass tabbing all rotted. Opened up adjacent voids and water poured out. And kept leaching out for weeks. At this point google is my friend, found this forum searching for others with this problem. Only one or two threads related (I posted to another "94 300 buyer" looking into same issue.)
I am committed to repairing my Sundancer. Mostly because I can do it myself. If I had to pay labor for the repairs not sure. So started by fully covering the boat from the windshield back against the weather and demolishing the old stringers.
A full set of photos are posted here:
https://www.facebook.com/HughesPat57/photos_albums
There's a "before" album when we bought it and a "Repairs" album of the work.
Initial discovery:
https://youtu.be/Rq8wZGFx7Aw
https://youtu.be/mJRGvBMB2kg
Had almost completed all tear out and was setting up to start stringer replacement but...
Then found additional problems in the berth overhead/helm station platform.
Balsa coring in the aft vertical and half plywood/half balsa core in the helm station deck.
Balsa was almost all rotted and plywood soaking wet still aft six months on the hard and covered.
I will post photos and comments more often now that I'm making some progress.
Since I have it torn open I am also reworking all the wire paths up to the helm from the engine room. Since these all pass up the starboard side behind all the cabinet trim (now out of the way). I'll start a third photo album focused on the electrical work. Maybe another thread? For the electric and trailer? If anyone is interested in those aspects let me know.
The electrical work lead to another water entry point and some more, albeit much less critical, rot. Some plywood backing for the interior vinyl shelf trim had rotted away. Water was washing in the deck cutout up to the helm. The deck has about a 1" rise behind the trim panels, not much to keep wash water or rain out if it runs across that area. In some photos you'll see plumbing I'm using to create a duct for the control cables and wiring. I'm also going to install two short 2" conduit runs to support the wiring and guide it up to the helm from the battery switch compartment. Will make any future additions much easier.
So anyone else involved in such repairs and renovations?
Pat Hughes
Latest member of the "hole in the water" club.
