My $500 270DA.

Thank you so much for the pictures!
Love the helm. That's pretty much exactly what I'm gonna do.
I found someone local selling a dual bench seat from a Crownline for cheap on Craigslist, I'm hoping it's still available...

And yeah, I definitely threw some of th aft cushions away on accident :lol: Oh well, I'l get it figured out. Very low on my list of concerns right now.

Here's some news: she moved! From next to my buddy's detail shop to a marina on the lake I'll be keeping her on (Lake St. Clair) - on their lot for a month while I work on her, then he'll launch it for me when it's water-ready.

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All settled into her new (temporary) home :)

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Gotta touch up that bottom paint!

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Debating on rebuilding the carbs myself or having it done.
Gotta get the motors fired up so I can move to the drives, which need everything.
Planning on doing all of that myself; that's what I need to concern myself with for the next month. Everything else can do be done on the water.

It's funny, I'm a mobile detailer and polish people's boats all week long, but I haven't had the chance to do my own yet :(

But getting so excited :) :) :)
My folks had a 370 Sundancer when I was a teenager, so I'm familiar with larger boats but I never dealt with the logistics (shore power, water, etc.), so this is a whole new level of boating for me.
Can't wait!

On a side note, I detailed a 27' Regal the other day, and dropped by my boat shortly after... man, they built these things big back then! My 270 made that 27' Regal seem dinky.
 
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A few little updates...

I was lucky enough to pick these up locally, and they will serve as replacements for my factory helm seat. As much as I dig the fold down jumper seats and the cooler and stuff, this is a much more affordable option than rebuilding the helm seat and having it reupholstered. I also think it will update things a bit.

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The captain's chair is beautiful, from a newer, larger Sea Ray, and the bench is from a Chaparral. I still have to decide how to mount the bench... I'm leaning towards mounting it on a pontoon seat base as opposed to pedestals, as it looks like it has sliders that I could potentially use, and I think it would give it a more finished look, and possibly some storage underneath.
Both seats have flip up bolsters and I think they should go nicely with the boat.

Adter looking at the carburetors (Rochester quadrajets) and the rebuild kits, I realized they are much more complicated than the 2bbl Holley I had on my last boat, so as much as I'd like to do it all myself, I'm going to have them rebuilt professionaly. The guy swung by and picked them up today and I am very confident he knows what he's doing.
He also took a look at my starboard starter for me, and it's not engaging, so I'm going to pull it and have it rebuilt, possibly by him as well.

Here's something exciting for me: shore power! I was able to turn all of my outlets on, which is very exciting for me :)

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I'm a little confused about it, however, to be honest; when I'm connected to shore power, and all four of my batteries are hooked up, do they automatically charge? Or do I need to find/turn on/buy an an onboard battery charger?
Also, what exactly does the A/C converter switch do?

And here's the state of things at the moment; sill waiting on carpet and a slew of other things, and I have a huge amount of teak at my house being refurbished, but it's starting to come together.
Haven't quite decided on what to do with the original coral colored carpet; I may leave the vertical surfaces this season, but I'd like to get it all out of there eventually, as it really doesn't suit my pallet.
I think with the right choice in floor carpet color and accents, it could look decent though.

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I'm having an extremely difficult time removing that starboard bow board, which is why it's still there. I'll take my impact screwdriver to it tomorrow.
I've already got the other one off, and am just planning on covering them with vinyl. Possibly light and dark wide stripes... not sure yet.

If I would have thought of it I would have brought a pillow and blanket and slept on her tonight on blocks in the marina lot, haha.
Now with my outlets working, I can put on my heater and be quite cozy in there. And after thoroughly washing all of the upholstery, no more nasty smells :)

That's about it for now; I'm a mobile marine detailer, so unfortunately my boat pretty much comes last :( I think I'm making decent progress though. Once the engines fire up, I'll service the drives, drain the gas tank and do a few other maintenance items, and she should be water ready!

Can't wait for this summer :)
 
Oh, and I also found the culprit for my water intrusion; it was the stupid anchor locker drain being plugged. The locker would fill up until it overflowed into the boat.
Now that I've cleared the drain out, she's been dry as can be :)
 
Looking good. Keep the updates coming. Been enjoying this restoration thread.
 
CK
Very well done
Noticed you had boat on 2 blocks one at front and one aft. General rule is you space them 10 feet apart. I would put at least one more in the middle also.
 
northern said:
CK
Very well done
Noticed you had boat on 2 blocks one at front and one aft. General rule is you space them 10 feet apart. I would put at least one more in the middle also.
Click to expand...
Duly noted; but the owner of the marina who has been doing this for 20+ years blocked it for me, he is quite familiar with this boat, and I very much trust his judgement.
 
Your project is coming along great, cant wait to see finished project. I wish I had the courage to start pulling ours apart to redo the interior. You are inspiring.
 
bahamabreisus said:
Your project is coming along great, cant wait to see finished project. I wish I had the courage to start pulling ours apart to redo the interior. You are inspiring.
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Thanks! I really appreciate it.
I've always been the type of person to just dive right in and figure things out as I go... usually it works, but sometimes it doesn't :lol:

The carpet, at least on my boat, came out very easily; don't let it intimidate you too much.
 
I'm a little confused about it, however, to be honest; when I'm connected to shore power, and all four of my batteries are hooked up, do they automatically charge? Or do I need to find/turn on/buy an an onboard battery charger?
Also, what exactly does the A/C converter switch do?
Click to expand...

That this the battery charger, it is usually labeled AC Converter on the panel. Obviously it will only charge when you are connected to shore power. Also leave it on when you are connected to shorepower and running 12v stuff, it will keep the batteries charged and run the 12v. Most people leave this on all the time when on shore power - just keep an eye on the water in the batteries, it will cook them off. Go in the bilge and trace wires from the batteries and you should find the charge - probably mounted on a bulkhead in the bilge.

This is just an awesome project - keep it coming!
 
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I have taken a really close second look at this thread and you have convinced me this is the boat I want too, same year and all, at least it has to be in the 80's don't really care as much for the 90's and up but the 80's are something to howl about! You are doing great and I really cant wait to see it on the water.
 
I have cut all new foam for my aft cabin. If you want any of the smaller pcs you are more than welcome to have them. I think I can ship Spee Dee to you for next to nothing. I'm doing my aft differently than what is factory. Looks like things are coming along great. Make sure your carb goy seals the well plugs on your carbs. Very important that this gets done. They are known for leaking. If you make any short drives when you go to start back up the engines will be flooded.
 
Thanks for love everyone, I appreciate it!
As usual, progress is slow... I've been so busy detailing boats I hardly have any time to work on my own.
I did finally get the chance to steam clean the whole bow and put some sheets on it, and hang new curtains; here's how it sits currently:

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I also wheeled out a test section, and she's gonna clean up beautifully!

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I found someone locally selling fabric and carpet, and picked up some fabric from them to recover those bow boards, and I'm thinking I'm going to pick up the roll of tan carpet they had ($30!) and taking a shot at doing the carpet myself.

I'll post updates when they come... hopefully I'll have more free time soon to work on her. The carbs are being professionally rebuilt as we speak.
 
I love the extra width those 270's offer.

Nice work.
 
OMG this thread brings back so many fond memories. Our very first boat was 1986 Sea Ray Sundancer almost exactly like this one. I have tried to locate her but with no luck. I'd love to find her and see her again.


You're doing a great job. Keep up and thanks for posting your your journey.
 
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