Looking at a 83 260 Sundancer

D

DallasRich

New Member
May 24, 2011
37
Dallas TX
Boat Info
84 245 Sundancer
Engines
5.7 Mercruiser
First off, I am new to this forum. I have been looking at a bigger boat for my family and I think I have settled on a Sea Ray. I currently have an older fish and ski with an outboard. I do all the work on it myself and have been around boats my entire life. However, I am very new to this kind of boat. Nearly all my experience is with smaller outboard boats.

I was wondering if someone could give me some guidance on what to look out for on these early-mid 80s 260 and 280 sundancers? I have a few that I am considering but the primary one is an 83 260. The current owner has swapped out the motor and out drive for a newer generation 2 mercruiser 5.7l and mercruiser out drive. I spoke with him on the phone and he stated that the motor will intermittently shut off. He believes it to be an electrical problem. I have searched around and have found several things to check.

My primary question is, does anyone have any tips on what to check on a boat this age? Also, I would be trailering this boat to the lake. Does anyone trailer one of these boats and if so what do you pull it with. I have a 1/2 ton Suburban so I'm a bit worried that this boat would give me some trouble on the ramp.

Thanks,
Rich
 
I currently have a 1987 250DA and my first boat was a 1981 260 and loved it. Is the stall at idle, going in and out of gear, or just random while cruising? A little more info might help us help you. I'd suggest a professional marine survey. I'm sure it's a good deal but I did have mechanical issues with my 260 that cost me after the sale. As for trailering, I towed my 260 with my Tahoe Z71 with no problems but definitely would not tow long distances without something bigger. Hope this helps a little. I'm sure more members will post with more good info. Good luck and welcome to CSR!!
 
Thanks for the info on towing. I live 5 miles from the lake so distance isn't a problem. The thing that worries me the most is on the ramp. I'm not sure if the trailer has surge brakes or not. If not that would definitely be a problem stopping the thing in an emergency.

As far as the engine goes, thats about all the info I have on it. I've talked to him on the phone and I'm planning on going to see it this weekend so hopefully I will be able to catch it in the act. Those intermittent problems are the ones that are the hardest to diagnose.

While the engine is a bit of an unknown, I do all the work on my cars and my boat myself so it doesn't scare me as much as what I don't know about the hull and other gotchas. I was looking at that article on the front page about cored hulls potentially rotting on the inside and it has me a bit concerned.
 
As noted have a survey done. Make sure you don't buy a boat with rotten flooring or stringers.
Best of luck.
 
Make certain to buy a survey. It is $175 locally and will save you thousands if the deck, stringers, or worse transom is rotted. Deck & stringers are one thing, a rotten transom is a total financial ruin. I just bought a SRV260 super cheap and an fearing the worst. I need to inspect it now before running it.
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I actually just got off the phone with a guy that surveys boats here in Dallas and he said that it would run $700 for a survey. Since the guy is asking $4k for this boat he said it probably wouldn't be worth it to get a survey.

However, he was really helpful and gave me a-lot of information to check for including how to test the Transom. He recommended getting a marine mechanic to check out the motor. So I googled a place close to where the boat is located and called them. The guy I talked to started giving me a list of things to check for on the engine.

Unusual that I got two very helpful people that although I was calling to contract their services just freely gave me that much information.

Thanks again for all the info. If things go well this weekend, I might be a permanent member.
 
$175-$700, thats a huge range for survey costs. Wonder why the difference? Are there different levels of surveys?

I'd have to get a deal on it with motor problems like that. Like it was said, intermittant quirks are way harder to diagnos & fix than consistant ones.

There's nothing more aggrivating - or dangerous, than a boat that cuts out while you are docking or navigating in traffic.

Seems like the weight is between 6 & 7,000lbs without looking it up?
 
As others have stated, look over the transom and stringers. On a boat that old, you'll most likely see some cracking in the bilge paint. Ask the guy how much it sits in the water. Trailer queens last a long time.

That engine issue sounds miner and makes the deal a "Mechanics Special". Just check it out like any other. Run it hard for a bit then look at the blow by. Assuming 260 hp!.. wot rpms should be 4600 +/- 200 ish moving the boat at least 35 mph. Bring another person or two for ballast and your car gps with you if you can.

Pull the drive drain plug and check the magnet. A little fuzz is normal. Move the prop shaft in/out to check end play, you'll get some. If you can, check some others to get a feel for what to expect. During sea trial, when you shift the drive, shift with a quick positive movement. The drive should go into gear cleanly, no grinding.

Trailer: look over the rollers or bunks and check the frame around the supports.

Suburban: 4wd will pull it up the ramp with ease. Use "Tow Haul Mode" or 3rd gear selection. This will bring in an extra 1st gear clutch and take the strain off the low/rev sprag bearing.

Perhaps some other members will chime in with some more accurate "wot/mph numbers...

Let us know how things go
 
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100 gals fuel and 30 Gals water, 3 axle trl. 9000 lbs. 15k total pulled with 97 ram 2500 4x4 cummins. My 3 axle weighs 2 k per trail rite
 
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A 1/2 ton truck is ok for short hauls, however, things like springs, brakes, transmission etc are not tough enough to handle lots of towing. Look into a more heavy duty truck if you will be towing long distances at higher speeds. TC661 is pretty close. Loaded with fuel and water, you are looking at right around 9K + the weight of the trailer.

I've never seen a good marine survey for over $200 for a boat that size.

The intermittent cut outs sound like a corroded wire from the electronic ignition module to the distributor somewhere. Look for badly corroded connections especially if she's a salty.

These boats are notorious for wet transoms and stringers especially if they sat in the water. Fixing that stuff is a lot of work, but well worth the efforts for what you get in the end.

I completely rebuilt mine this past winter. Now she's a solid beast that takes heavy seas better than any other boat I've fished in (in that size range).
 
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Sorry for not updating everyone. I was out of town over the weekend and just got back. Thanks so much for the replies. Alot of great information. I've also been talking to several people here locally.

I went to look at the boat and here is the first thing I noticed:
badtransom2.jpg


Didn't need to see much more than that. It's a shame because the interior was in very good shape and overall the boat was nice. Called a well respected fiberglass guy here in town and showed him the picture. I was a little surprised when he said I would be looking at $3300 - $3800 to pull the engine, cut out the transom and replace everything. That is including replacing the Gimbal bearing while it was out. I would have thought it would be much more than that. I would offer the guy $1000 to get it out of his yard but from talking to him, he is very set on $4k.

I am going to look at another one potentially this afternoon. The guy I talked to here in Dallas was nice enough to give me some other suggestions of things to check.

One other question. Where on these boats can you access the stringers? He mentioned pulling up the ski locker but they don't have one. Forward of the engine compartment I couldn't see any access below the floor board. :huh:


BTW, the main reason I am looking at this boat is I get a yearly membership at a park 14 miles from the house. I'm only planning on taking this boat to that ramp. If I go fishing on another lake or just want to go for a quick trip on an afternoon I still have my little 19' fish and ski. I don't know how they do it but every week, I watch two guys launch and load a 31' boat behind an f150 on that ramp.
 
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Holy crap dude, I'd say that the entire stringer system is separated and waterlogged after seeing that crack. The hull is opened right up and it will take a ton of work to repair the ole girl. $3800, I doubt it. For just a transom, yeah, but you will need to go forward and fix the stringers too. You better double that amount conservatively. To cause a hull failure like that, the engine was actually moving around on accel and decel and in waves. Very dangerous.

I believe the 260 is real similar to my 268DA. You can access the stringers through the engine compartment hatch. The stringers will run full ship to the bow. The engine stringers are what the motor mounts are screwed into and those are most likely separated from the hull otherwise the crack would not look like that.

I'll bet he either hit something with the lower unit or decelerated quickly to cause a crack like that, but the transom and stringers were already bad. Regardless, if the stringers and transom were solid, you would not have seen that kind of failure.

For $4K I would walk away fast.
 
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WOW! - Definately walk away from that one, Probably a good parts boat.

LK
 
I would be surprised if it even floats. What a mess. Run Forest Run.
The stringers are 3/4" ply on edge. not sealed good at all.
Easy to sandwich more sheets of marine 3/4" ply up too, and into the aft cabin.
Then theres a closet, bathroom, and kitchen to deal with.
Maybe worth it if you started with a boat in good shape to begin with.

Water pools in the front motor mount holes where the lag bolts go into the stringers.
Sea ray used steel bolts in mine. I found out that after checking for tightness.
3/4th of the lag bolts were rusted away below the motor mount.
and my boat was in xlnt shape when I bought it.
 
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Yeah, the guy I talked to yesterday said to take a hammer with me and tap all the motor mount bolts on any boat I look at. I pretty much decided to walk on the first one as soon as I saw that crack in the transom.

Hoping the other one I'm going to look at is in better shape. It's an 80 that apparently was running when it was parked but won't start now. If the hull and out drive checks out I am willing to work on the engine some. The good thing is these aren't selling fast down here so I've been able to take my time.

On the one I'm looking at tonight I don't see a way I'm going to be able to launch it since it won't start. I guess once I've confirmed the hull, transom and stringer is in good shape the next biggest thing is the out drive. Here is what I'm thinking I need to look at:

1. Pull the plug and see if there is water in the lower unit oil
2. Check that the trim works and holds in the position it is put in
3. Check for play in the steering.
4. Check if I can put it into gear (forward and reverse) and if the prop spins in either.

#4 is the one that I'm a bit worried about. If I can't get it in the water or even start it with the earmuffs on I can't feel what it does when I put it in gear. I guess for the price I'm going to have to chance a few things.
 
Seems the deals are better on bigger trailable boats.
Most people do not have the tow Vehicle for them.
Trying to get the other boat started. Try priming with a little gas down the carb. Be careful of starting a fire though.
Maybe some spray crab cleaner if the jets got clogged due to gas turning to varnish.. You may need to prime the spin on
fuel filter also.
Pulling spark plugs. No rust. (Water in cyl), Plugs not black and oil fouled either. (Hopefully nice tan color)
No metal in the drive oil. Finding a good used boat can be very tough. They all need work.
Find one that is worth it to you to work on. Layout, floor plan, and size.
I'm so thankful my 26DA is my first boat. I could not emagine doing so much work, selling the boat, then starting the upgrades
all over again on another boat. like so many others do.
 
DallasRich said:
4. Check if I can put it into gear (forward and reverse) and if the prop spins in either.

#4 is the one that I'm a bit worried about. If I can't get it in the water or even start it with the earmuffs on I can't feel what it does when I put it in gear. I guess for the price I'm going to have to chance a few things.
Click to expand...

You can check the forward and reverse by having someone spin the prop by hand in the oposite direction it is supposed to go while shifting into gear. The prop should lock up right away and smoothly. While in gear, the prop should make a ratcheting sound when turned the proper direction. This won't tell you everything about the shifting, but it will tell you if the cables and gears are moving correctly.

But you are right, you are going to have to chance a few things looking at older boats.
 
DallasRish, the transom photo shown above, is the current seller telling potential buyers of this situation? Did he mention this crack to you on the phone, prior to you looking? No offense, but if he isn't he is wasting peoples time. That isn't a crack, thats a transom failure, and extremely dangerous if you ask me. At that point the boat seems to be worth parts, or a huge undertaking to fix. I just can't fathom a seller not mentioning the giant crack to someone interested in the boat.

Good luck on your search. There are a lot of these boats listed local to me for $500-5000 in need of some TLC or work.
 
No he was actually very terse on the phone. His son was there when I was looking at the boat and he called his dad when I asked about the crack and his dad said to tell me that he would fix if for me. Which really meant he would fill it with fiberglass epoxy. I knew as soon as I saw that the boat was a parts boat.

I actually decided to look at a 220da. I can't see getting one of these down my alley. I'm going to look at a 91 220 this week. Thanks everyone for the info. I Still obviously need to apply these same checks on the 220.
 
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