Official 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Thread

I agree that more input here is better. The '98 to '01 are basically the same are they not? I know there are differences but I'll assume things won't be too different as to cause problems with information sharing.
 
Yes they are. My thinking was that someone with a 99-01 might not post here because the thread is for 1998.
 
I recently broke my radio antenna that is mounted on the arch approximately 1 foot above the base. I installed the new antenna but can't get the new antenna to feed down past the base of the arch. There appears to be a base to the arch or perhaps the base is actually the top of the gunell of the boat, regardless the wire will not go down to the floor of the boat were I need it to be connected. Has anyone removed the pad(4" high by 2' long convered in vinyl) on the inside of the arch, if so does this provide access to the wires. There are many wires that come from the arch, GPS, Sirius etc that make it to the floor. I have tried fish tape to no avail. Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated.
 
Great Escape said:
I recently broke my radio antenna that is mounted on the arch approximately 1 foot above the base. I installed the new antenna but can't get the new antenna to feed down past the base of the arch. There appears to be a base to the arch or perhaps the base is actually the top of the gunell of the boat, regardless the wire will not go down to the floor of the boat were I need it to be connected. Has anyone removed the pad(4" high by 2' long convered in vinyl) on the inside of the arch, if so does this provide access to the wires. There are many wires that come from the arch, GPS, Sirius etc that make it to the floor. I have tried fish tape to no avail. Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated.
Click to expand...

It pops off, and pops back in place with some sort of plactic fastener. Be careful not scratch the gelcoat. Put something soft under the prying tool against the gelcoat.
 
if you have a speaker in the arch, you can remove it attach a few strings to it, pull it down through the hole and use the strings to fish it back through.
 
Is there a way to edit the thread title? At the time there were no threads that included the '98 290 year model. Closest I saw was up to '97 and then '01+ in another thread. But of course, all are welcome as I said in the 1st post to this thread. The more info provided the merrier I say!

BTW, Party's in the shop right now. I've been getting an alarm on going to plane and sometimes while on plane which continued after a tune-up and oil/gas filter/separator changes. All gauges read okay each time. Kinda thought I had it narrowed down to a bad fuel pump since I knew I had good gas and Sea Foam in the tank. So I gave up and took her to a pro. Computer diagnosis as of today was bad main water pump on port engine and prop hub on the starboard had 2 cracks letting the prop spin a bit. I had been noticing fluctuating RPMs on that engine and some power loss. Anyhow, she's at Angler Marine getting re-hubbed, new pump, and the usual foot maintenance stuff, zincs & greasing taken care of while she's outta the water. Get to pick her up on Friday - after I pay the bill! I hope that alarm situation is cured now as it was driving me nuts. Will update later.
 
WOW WOW WOW, she jumps up outta the water now. I can't remember her running this good in a long time. I stopped and started 2 times on the way back just to assure myself it was that smooth. Looks like the Tune-up and new prop hub really helped the power loss problem. And guess what, no alarm on the 30 min. trip back to my marina. Looks like the new port circulating pump is doing its job. Saw the old parts, zincs were bad, impellers not bad but both were 3 years old. I did notice some fluctuation in the starboard rpms now, will keep an eye on that. Football Saturday but Sunday we'll be on the water, still in the 90's here in Alabama.
 
This thread has been quiet for too long, so...

1. How do I remove/disconnect the cabin entrance door (slider). Had a rough ride a few weeks ago, now door giving me problems opening.

2. Is ther any experience here rebedding the windshield? Can it be done a section at a time or does the whole thing have to come off as a unit?

Thanks.
 
I've been curious about that too. I've changed out the trucks before tho. Even had my grandson go chest deep thru the access door under the dash to clean out leaves once but he couldn't tell me anything about the door. We are just alot more careful about leaning against or putting weight on top of the door now.

Sorry, don't know about the windshield. I can't get to mine right now but is there anything in the parts manual?
 
From what I understand since the cabin door slide to starboard which puts it underneath the helm, the only way to remove and fix the door is to remove the helm. To big of a job for me. I keep my tracks very clean and I am very careful when opening and closing the door to use two hands and a foot sometimes to keep it square so no binding occurs. I also tried the cutting chips of bar soap and placing them in the track as suggested by someone else and it does help. Keeps things slippery without attracting dirt, dust like using other lubricants.
If you end up removing the door keep us posted.
Good luck!
 
I think it depends....I had this problem on mine a few years ago. When it was closed, I got on top of it to clean the dash and broke a wheel. Forgive me if this is totally wrong....

The wheels are fastened to to a bracket theat is screwed to the bottom of the door. The wheels roll in a channel....if I remember, the channel is screwed through the bottom and is made in pieces.

Can you take the screws out of the door?...unscrew the portion of the channel on the port side....open the door...and then slide out the wheel and channel on the port side?

I admit that I did discuss this with the Sea Ray people in Knoxville, and they said the helm had to be removed, but I think I found a way to do it.....it was just going to be too much trouble to do it. Hope it works.....

BTW, I've seen these wheels for sale on Ebay.

Don
 
A few years back I purchased 3 new batteries. They are a hybrid of starting and deep cycle batteries. I'm not sure how long batteries should last. Each winter I pull them and equalize them before the spring. I'd measure the electrolyte level, add acid if needed and once done, re-install. When not being used the boat is slipped with shore power and charger on. I wondering if I'm shortening the battery life by doing this. Before I purchase new batteries how can I tell what my battery charger will support? I know there are different battery technologies available and am wondering if I will need to replace the charger in order to go to a deep cycle or a blend of batteries. A day out usually consists of an anchoring followed by 8-10 hours of fun in the sun.
 
The original charger in my boat got to where it would boil my batteries nearly dry and I had to add water every week. Three years ago I replaced it with a 2-bank Guest Smartcharger. A year later I bought 2 new Interstate deep cycles. I use a starting battery for the genset and deep cycles for cranking and house. I rarely have to add water now. The charger can be set for different types of batteries and has lights to let you know what, if anything, is going on. Nary a problem to date but I still keep a check on the levels just to be sure and use a turkey baster to add water if needed. No un-installing / re-installing them heavies unless I'm changing out batts. I understand that if you get three years out of a marine battery that is about normal.
 
How many batteries do you have? I have 3, 2 in 1 bank, 1 in the other. I'm thinking of making them all deep cycle.
 
I have the same set-up. I had all deep cycle for a while. When I bought a new batt for the genset in 2008 (I think), I opted for a regular marine cranking battery as we don't use our genset a whole lot when we're away from the dock and cranking the genset is its only job. Smartcharger = best thing I did for my boat.
 
Sweet. So if I understand correctly, you have 2 banks. 1 Bank has a deep cycle and a starting battery, the other has a deep cycle battery. Which model charger did you purchase. No need for me to redo all your hard work ;-)
 
Nope, 1 bank has 2 deep cycles in parallel and the other has the starting batt. for the genset only. The neat thing is that if my deeps happen to get low enough to not start at least one engine w/emergency start, I can at least crank up my genset which will charge the two deeps. Sometimes I will do that before attempting to crank the engines if I think my deeps might be low, say after a weekend on the hook.

I remember it's a Two-Bank Guest Smartcharger, paperwork not handy right now so I don't know the model # but I ordered it online from Cabella's back in 2008 I think. They had the best price back then.
 
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Do you have any rod holders installed? If so where? I want to install one on the starboard side in the general area of the flip down step but have no access to the area :-(

Post some pics if you got 'em.

Thanks!
 
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