Official 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290 Thread

my searay boat search has taken an odd twist. I had seen a 94 330da that we were leaning towards, but I got an email from a broker who has a 99 290da that I was hot on but which the owner wasn't being flexible at all. he now wants to play ball apparently. the boat has sock canvas that is in need of replacement. I found a vendor on ebay that has stock searay canvas sets or$2800 but most are for 330da's will any other model be compatible with the 1999 290da? he ay have it,but hasn't answered
 
capt steve said:
my searay boat search has taken an odd twist. I had seen a 94 330da that we were leaning towards, but I got an email from a broker who has a 99 290da that I was hot on but which the owner wasn't being flexible at all. he now wants to play ball apparently. the boat has sock canvas that is in need of replacement. I found a vendor on ebay that has stock searay canvas sets or$2800 but most are for 330da's will any other model be compatible with the 1999 290da? he ay have it,but hasn't answered
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Great lakes has the whole thing. I bought the entire enclosure with the slant back canvas for about $2200, that was during the time when they had 20% off. The sale happens at least twice a year otherwise you'll pay about 2500-2600 from them. Locally I received quotes varying from 3000-6000
 
Strecker25 said:
Great lakes has the whole thing. I bought the entire enclosure with the slant back canvas for about $2200, that was during the time when they had 20% off. The sale happens at least twice a year otherwise you'll pay about 2500
right on. thanks!
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magstang1 said:
330 and 290 are very different boats. Don't make a decision you'll regret.
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believe me ive been an insomniac due to this whole process. we did see a 290 before and liked it. I think it will work to get us into boating as a family (I lived aboard a 42 ft trawler as a bachelor). if it is something we all dig together my goal is to get into a 370 or 400 (late 90s) in a couple of seasons.
 
Try as I might I cannot find the official part number for the spin on fuel filters for my Mercruiser 5.7 EFI's.
The previous owner installed Sierra 18-7944 filters but I would like to start with the Merc part number and cross reference from there.
Also, is the genset filter on the bulkhead the same filter?

TIA
 
Good afternoon folks.

I just sold my 2011 260SD this week and looking to purchase what I would call a fixer-upper 1998 290SD.

Are there any trouble spots I need to be aware of when really peeling back the layers to judge the boats condition?

The owner has had the boat for 7 years and I just received all the maintenance records from when they had the boat surveyed in 2010 until last year when they changed oil and filters before putting the boat to sleep for the winter. Everything on paper says the owner had things checked and or replaced when required as well as had a major tune up on both 5.0's and the maintenance guys at the marina says it's a very good boat.

I could only find a few things I need to repair. CO detectors need replaced, Fire extinguishers bottle needs to be recharged, push to lock door handle or two need to be replaced, window screens, the hand shower at the swim deck is moldy and the entire boat could use a good cleaning inside and out.

The engines and bilge area look surprisingly clean. No oil or any fluids of any type except a small puddle of clean water where someone probably used a pressure washer to gave the boat a wash.

I'm going to take it out for a run tomorrow afternoon to see how she runs and then hopefully sign some papers. Of course I'm planning on having the boat surveyed before purchasing to give me that extra piece of mind but any helpful tidbits on what to look for would be great.

I've been dealing with this marina for a number of years so I hope they would not put that relationship in jeopardy by selling a bad boat.

Lets hope in a few weeks you will see a "fixer-up" thread with what I'm planning to do to bring back the shine of this 98. :)

http://www.erwinmarinesales.com/def...=D&t=preowned&year=1998&fr=xPreOwnedInventory
 
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looks to be in decent shape and seems like a fair price with the 5.0's

Specific things that I've dealt with on our boat recently: New canvas and rebedding/resealing the valence that holds the zipper to the arch. The screws pulled out and were leaking a little into the inside of the arch. Rebed all the port lights and bow rail stanchions. The bow rails get loose over time and the caulk dries out. Not a terrible job just a time consuming. I built a canvas extension for our aft curtain because the lazarette door does not seal at all. When it rained the water was running into the locker, over to the starboard side and behind the shorepower bulkhead. Behind the bulkhead they drilled a 1" hole for the wiring to go through and didn't seal it at all so the water was running into the engine room while it rained. Just look up on the rear port area of the bilge and see if the area is black from water intrusion. Mine was, which led me to finding the leak. It's all fixed now and I luckily didn't get any soft spots as a result.

Other stuff is normal for any boat, hull survey, oil samples, manifold/risers, etc.
 
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Prop update. As some of you know I'm trying aluminum 4 blades this year to get a feel for it and save some cash before plopping down a bunch for SS

I have a pair of 14x20 Diamond4 Quicksilvers on now and finally was able to run the boat.

minimum planing speed is now 24.4 mph / 3100 RPM or so. Full tabs, drives tucked.

Comfortable cruising speed is 27.6 mph / 3400 RPM, drives down, no tab needed. At that speed we're getting approximately 1.4 mpg.

WOT is 4500 RPM / 39-40 MPH.

Needless to say, I'm very happy with those numbers. The bottom is a bit dirty because we've been stuck in port for so long (lake ontario levels are 4+ feet high and we have speed limits everywhere near shore) so with a clean bottom we should still be well within the WOT range. Oddly enough the 14.25x18 Diamond4's had a slightly lower planing RPM (24mph/3000rpm) but the boat feels sluggish at that speed so I wouldn't run it there anyways. At 3400 the engines sound great and the boat feels very comfortable.
 
I'm finally a 98 290 SD owner. :)

Picked it up Saturday and was busy cleaning and gettin'er ready all weekend.

I did take'er out for a spin before I had to leave the marina.

Looking forward to spending the 4th of July week at float somewhere in the TN river.

2017062519_15_29-vi.jpg


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2017062519_17_19-vi.jpg
 
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Little Ducky said:
I'm finally a 98 290 SD owner. :)

Picked it up Saturday and was busy cleaning and gettin'er ready all weekend.

I did take'er out for a spin before I had to leave the marina.

Looking forward to spending the 4th of July week at float somewhere in the TN river.
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She looks good. i know you're calling her a fixer-upper but at least on the outside it looks pretty well taken care of.
 
Leak question: I'm a nut when it comes to bilge water. I don't like even the smallest drop in there. I have some kind of rain water leak on the port side, It is making its way down under the port engine and then eventually through the weep hole into the center channel. I looked down there last night with a flashlight and cannot see any type of water trail leading into the bilge from anywhere. I thought maybe it was running into the bilge through out blower vents but I've recaulked the cover recently and the seam looks sealed. I have to rebed the last stanchion still, but I would think I'd see that water coming from the aft and into the bilge.

Anything you guys can think of that I should check? The lazerette is now covered by canvas and bone dry, so nothing there. Water pump doesn't kick on, so pressure is held properly in the system. No water comes in unless it rains.
 
I have the same leak on mine & it was coming from the Port Exhaust Blower hose & dripping down onto the battery. Rather than replace the hose I drilled a hole at the bottom of the plastic battery surround & let it leak into the bilge rather than fill up the cradle with obvious consequences !
 
Shaver said:
I have the same leak on mine & it was coming from the Port Exhaust Blower hose & dripping down onto the battery. Rather than replace the hose I drilled a hole at the bottom of the plastic battery surround & let it leak into the bilge rather than fill up the cradle with obvious consequences !
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Thanks, I'll look closer. How was it getting into the hose though? It seems like it would have to be raining sideways to get up under the blower cover, but maybe not. I did recaulk the whole thing so it should be nicely sealed from the top and sides
 
I never had a chance to look as the boat is in the water. But it had a small hole in the exhaust hose. Maybe it was to prevent water entering the motor by the previous owner.
 
Looks like it's the rub rail. I'm guessing the screw holes since they're not really sealed from the factory to begin with. I'm going to pull the stainless section out today and peel back the plastic white part and recaulk with 4000UV. Hopefully that fixes it.
 
Been doing some tinkering this week ..... and wondered if anyone has removed the back panel to expose the AC unit? Any pictures? I would like to get back there and give it a good cleaning but would like to know what I'm getting myself into. The boat has an over all funky smell to it and just wondered if the AC condenser could be the culprit or do these boat just have an over all "old" smell to them.

I've tossed the 19 year old throw pillows, scrubbed the carpets, cleaned the bilge/sump box, head is odor free, frig has been cleaned thoroughly and is at proper temp, fresh water tank seems to be clean w/o water odor, tossed a few AC pan tablets in the drain pain to help clean the lines....... anywhere else to look?

Air from vents do not seem to have any odor ....so getting back behind the unit might just be for my curiosity.
 
As I get better antiquated with my 98 290 SD I'm going to be looking for user manuals for everything.

I added a link in my signature to a shared folder where I'm going to store documents so everyone will have access.

1st one I needed to find was for the HVAC ..... the SMX II control unit has so many hidden features it's great.

If anyone has any electronic copies of owners manuals and stuff please let me know .... I would love to get a hold of them.
 
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