260 Sundancer Thread.........Comments questions and answers

Thanks Kevin. I hear what you are saying. Maybe the B3 is the only proper drive. Seems they must've equipt the 260DA with the B2 before they rolled that out though. Maybe that combo sucked. Sigh, my hope is to just have a drive more suitable to salt water conditions. Perhaps there is no good solution in Mercruiser. I read about the composit drive fiasco. Likely it was developed because of people like me. Perhaps I should just consider this a trailer boat. I do have the correct anodes on there. I'll be putting on several coats of Primecon and also Trilux 33. Maybe the dock was hot last Summer. I don't know. Reading about bonding and dock testing for the most part sounds like some form of dark art/magic. The mechanic thinks I should go to B2. Not sure he has any 1st hand experience with that on the 260DA though. At ~$10K it's an expensive gamble.
 
The B3 took over for the B2 because of the increased performance. The B2 is a step up over the Alpha or a B1, and the B3 is a step up over the B2. Customers wanted the B3 so it became the norm and although still a good drive, the B2 pretty much went away with Sea Ray.

As long as you stay on top of the maintenance (painting, anodes, etc), you can absolutely keep it in the water. Lot's of people do it successfully. But, sure, it does take more work over an outboard or an inboard. Make sure you have the PROPER anodes for your particular water - and don't buy the cheapie ones. No, testing the water around the boat is NOT dark magic... it is smart to do that. Also check your Mercathode system.

What does "significant" mean in terms of how much the drive was eaten up? Post a pic?

FYI... you're in the wrong 260DA thread - this one is primarily the next model from yours. Look for the '99-'04 260DA thread.
 
Kevin, noted. Thanks. I would trade some amount of performance though to avoid having to massage and powder the drive on a daily basis and have my onboard electrochemistry set.
 
Whoops, that was supposed to also address Lazy Daze. Thanks for your reply and pointing out my error in the posting place. Totally missed that. I'll post some pictures in a couple of hours when I'm on wifi. I appreciate any comments, other than gasps...
 
Here are some photos. I haven't done any sanding or anything yet.
 

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Here are some photos. I haven't done any sanding or anything yet.
Honestly, I see very little, if any, 'true' corrosion there. Primarily what I see is paint lifting with the start of a tiny bit of corrosion because the paint is not there (which should have been addressed eariler, obviously). That 'could' be explained by something as simple as having the wrong anodes on there. Do you have the proper anodes (composition) on there for the water you are in?

It's really not that hard to keep a B3 in good shape. More maintenance than other setups, sure, but it's not rocket science and really doesn't take all that much.
 
Lazy Daze that is reassuring. It may not have come through in the photos but there definitely is missing metal/corrosion. I have the right anodes as far as I know. You cant get actual zincs anymore because of environmental laws. At least around here anyhow. What they have now are some form of aluminum alloy, then magnesium for fresh water. I haven't found a good reference for checking the mercathode system. She's on a trailer now so no dock to check at this point.
 
Can someone tell me the best way to remove gas from tank? Not sure how much is in there, and I want to put in fresh anyway. Dont know how accurate gauge is, boat is fairly new to me. I tried to put hose down filler neck but think there must be a screen or something stopping it. Thanks Will
 
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day!

I was hoping to get some thoughts about my boat’s performance yesterday. I have a 2007 260DA with 350 MAG and BIII. Boat has been running great so far this year after plugs, cap, and rotor changed. Hit the water yesterday with full fresh non-eth. fuel, loaded coolers, full fresh water tank, 5 adults and 2 kids. All was good until I tried to get on plane to get to our spot. Boat would not plane, best rpms at about 3200 and top speed of 17-18. Noticed water temp never got above 145-149. Moved everyone forward, no change. Trim tabs down, drive full down. No luck. Got to spot and thought about weight. Dumped fresh water and fuel was down to 3/4. Headed home, speed dropping to 13, down to 10. No alarms, all gauges read good.

Any thoughts? If I should cross-post this to another thread, please let me know.

Thanks!

Kenny
 
Any water in the bilge? I made the mistake once of not checking the drain plug after pulling the boat for service. It wasn’t in tight and of course this was the exact time the float control for the bilge pump decided to quit. When I couldn’t get any speed and turning was difficult I checked the engine room and much to my horror there was lots of water! Fortunately I was close to my trailer and was able to get it pulled out. When I could remove the drain plug without a wrench I figured it out, but a hose letting go or leaking elsewhere could be a culprit.
 
Lazy Daze that is reassuring. It may not have come through in the photos but there definitely is missing metal/corrosion. I have the right anodes as far as I know. You cant get actual zincs anymore because of environmental laws. At least around here anyhow. What they have now are some form of aluminum alloy, then magnesium for fresh water. I haven't found a good reference for checking the mercathode system. She's on a trailer now so no dock to check at this point.
 
Find a way to check your mercathode system. Mine went and in short order the results were horrifying. Not an expensive fix.
 
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day!

I was hoping to get some thoughts about my boat’s performance yesterday. I have a 2007 260DA with 350 MAG and BIII. Boat has been running great so far this year after plugs, cap, and rotor changed. Hit the water yesterday with full fresh non-eth. fuel, loaded coolers, full fresh water tank, 5 adults and 2 kids. All was good until I tried to get on plane to get to our spot. Boat would not plane, best rpms at about 3200 and top speed of 17-18. Noticed water temp never got above 145-149. Moved everyone forward, no change. Trim tabs down, drive full down. No luck. Got to spot and thought about weight. Dumped fresh water and fuel was down to 3/4. Headed home, speed dropping to 13, down to 10. No alarms, all gauges read good.

Any thoughts? If I should cross-post this to another thread, please let me know.

Thanks!

Kenny
Sounds like a couple things I had going on a while back.
  • Dirty bottom. A fouled bottom or running gear could slow your down. Or if the bottom paint is really rough like mine was before it was stripped.
  • Fouled injectors. My cool fuel unit flaked paint into the fuel lines, and clogged the injectors. I couldn’t hit proper rpms it get on plane. Cleaning the injectors (sending out for service) and taking care of the flaking paint solved it.
 
Any water in the bilge? I made the mistake once of not checking the drain plug after pulling the boat for service. It wasn’t in tight and of course this was the exact time the float control for the bilge pump decided to quit. When I couldn’t get any speed and turning was difficult I checked the engine room and much to my horror there was lots of water! Fortunately I was close to my trailer and was able to get it pulled out. When I could remove the drain plug without a wrench I figured it out, but a hose letting go or leaking elsewhere could be a culprit.

No water in the bilge other than the usual that's not enough to trigger the bilge float.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like a couple things I had going on a while back.
  • Dirty bottom. A fouled bottom or running gear could slow your down. Or if the bottom paint is really rough like mine was before it was stripped.
  • Fouled injectors. My cool fuel unit flaked paint into the fuel lines, and clogged the injectors. I couldn’t hit proper rpms it get on plane. Cleaning the injectors (sending out for service) and taking care of the flaking paint solved it.
Hey Brad,

The bottom is freshly painted so that is not the culprit. The injectors could be a possibility though. I will do some research on that.

Thank you!

Kenny
 
any chance that you may have crossed 2 spark plug wires when replacing the cap and rotor? Not sure if it would even start like that but it is a possibility.
 
Here are some photos. I haven't done any sanding or anything yet.

Captain, my personal experience w a Bravo I drive that I wet slipped at Dania Boat Club in Florida is that what you are seeing is in fact electrolysis. It is not corrosion nor mere paint chipping.

I tried everything including hanging huge zincs off the stern, off the dock all around the SS prop, to no avail.

I bead blasted the outdrive primed and painted and all that did was improve the appearance temporarily.

Once you have electrolysis you can’t get rid of it. I fought it for two years until eventually the lower unit at the front of the torpedo ahead of the prop split wide open.

After all this the marina manager, the marine electrician I hired, and many club members told me something I’ll never forget nor do again.

They said “...never keep an IO in salt.”

I understand many people do and the subject is as controversial as “what’s the best oil” etc but I’ll never go through that again.

Best of luck w your boat.
 
Hello all, i'll be joining the 260 club tomorrow. We are purchasing a 2002 260 and are really excited. One thing i'd love to get installed on this boat is a spotlight on the bow or rail. Does anyone have experience installing one of these? Curious what brands are the best and how difficult the wiring can be. Thanks in advance.
 
Hello all, i'll be joining the 260 club tomorrow. We are purchasing a 2002 260 and are really excited. One thing i'd love to get installed on this boat is a spotlight on the bow or rail. Does anyone have experience installing one of these? Curious what brands are the best and how difficult the wiring can be. Thanks in advance.

You will be much better off getting a 12v handheld unit. Much easier to aim and shoot.

Bennett
 
@bbwhitejr thanks for that info. I have read that on a few other threads lately. Is that mainly for coming into dock? Or for maneuvering/driving in the dark? I could see using a handheld for parking at dock being very helpful, but it seems driving in the dark would be difficult with a handheld, and would benefit from a spotlight up front. Thoughts?
 

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