2004 260 Sundancer SeaDek Template

[Marc Sherman]

Hi everyone,

Wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue with SeaDek. I received the dry fit template for my boat this weekend. I cut it up and laid it out and there were a ton of issues. To the point that I looked to make sure I ordered the right year. Holes not aligned. Holes missing were there should be a cut out. Pieces to short. Engine bay latch cut out on the wrong side. I spent over an hour making notes. Just seemed too far off to be a template for my boat, but it said 04 260 Sundancer. Wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue or if I just got sent the wrong template. Thanks in advance.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Templates from SD aren't made by SD. They're made by some Joe Schmoe that owned a 260DA. It's not uncommon to run into what you are seeing. Another reason is that not all 260DA's were made in the same plant so there can be variations. No big deal, though - make your marks and send it back. After they make the changes, get the dryfit again to double check.

If by "holes" you mean snap holes - those will never be aligned - there is no template for that when being produced - it's always done manually.

Cutout on the wrong side... did you have the template upside down?

 

[Marc Sherman]

Thanks for the response. So they will send another dry fit again? That would make me feel better just to verify I made the appropriate corrections.

Not the snaps. I have an deck plate in my cockpit floor which came installed with the boat (not added later) and there was just no cut out for it at all.

I did check that to make sure it wasn't flipped or upside down a few times because I thought it was. But after referencing the sheet and matching it up, it was correct, just the template was wrong. As long as they will send another dry fit I am happy with that. It's a lot of money to spend not to fit correctly. Thanks!

 

[Lazy Daze]

I believe the deck plate you're referencing is the one you'd open to stick a fire extinguisher into. That could definitely be something that would change from plant to plant.

You'll need to pay for another dry fit, though. But it's money well spent. If you paid someone to do this for you, that would be on them. But when it's you doing it, that's one of the associated costs - you could take a chance that everything is correct, but that's a big gamble since it's all on you - just like it would be for anyone.

I've done a couple dozen of these over the years - I always get the dryfit to start with (or a blank template kit) - and I always get the second dryfit to double check.

If you're getting a pattern in the SD that needs to match up from one piece to another, be sure to label everything well and make "match marks" from one piece to another. Overall, though, that cockpit is a pretty easy one to do.