Official 280 Sundancer Thread

[Gunn]

Question regarding AquaTraction Quote:

Greetings,

I had an authorized AquaTraction Dealer provide a quote for me on my 280 Sundancer. He is quoting me approx ($3,350.00) total including the swim platform and step into the cabin. Total job would be about 85 sqft according to him.

This honestly seems pretty high but was wondering what everyones thoughts where on this.

I spoke with SeaDek and they quoted me 700 per sheet (including measurements and install), they take care of everything, and told me my boat should be below 3 sheets total ($2,100.00)

Is the difference in cost because of how much each dealer is sizing me up to gouge as much as possible? Or, is AquaTraction a far more superior product?

I've seen mixed reviews for both companies. The color, would be a brown teak with black lines. Any feedback is appreciated.

Last summer I ended up going with Snap-In Carpet Flex Dek foam anti-slip flooring. Total cost for the 280DA cockpit was $1,932.60 complete. The template from their website lined up perfectly in my cockpit. They sent me plastic template of all of the piecesfirst, with the price of the template going towards the cost of the flooring if I bought it. I used it to confirm everything looked good.

https://www.snapincarpet.com/flex-dek.cfm

I did have them customized the walk-through transom piece to add the Sea Ray logo.

And they also have a swim deck template that I didn't get...maybe at some later date.

It's been a year and still looks brand-new! Very happy with it, and though the price is still crazy expensive IMO, better than anywhere else.

Tom

 

[Gunn]

Ok guys, I need some help in routing the water lines from the engine to the water heater heat exchanger and back. Several years ago I had to remove these lines due to the fittings of my original water heater failing.

But now I'm in the process of replacing the port side engine with a brand-new remanufactured engine. While I am at it, I have replaced the water heater with a new one (Kuuma 11811, 6-gallon, exact replacement, from Hodges Marine).

I would love to see a photo of the routing of these 5/8" rubber hose. Though I don't think the direction is important, there will be one hose running from a barbed fitting on the water circulating pump on the front of the engine and going in one side of the water heater exchanger. Then another hose coming out of the water heater exchanger and going to a barbed fitting on the intake manifold.

Overall the routing looks pretty straightforward, but I'd like to see the OEM configuration, and make sure I don't interfere with the pulleys or serpentine belt.

Thanks!

Tom

 

[Lazy Daze]

Ok guys, I need some help in routing the water lines from the engine to the water heater heat exchanger and back. Several years ago I had to remove these lines due to the fittings of my original water heater failing.

But now I'm in the process of replacing the port side engine with a brand-new remanufactured engine. While I am at it, I have replaced the water heater with a new one (Kuuma 11811, 6-gallon, exact replacement, from Hodges Marine).

I would love to see a photo of the routing of these 5/8" rubber hose. Though I don't think the direction is important, there will be one hose running from a barbed fitting on the water circulating pump on the front of the engine and going in one side of the water heater exchanger. Then another hose coming out of the water heater exchanger and going to a barbed fitting on the intake manifold.

Overall the routing looks pretty straightforward, but I'd like to see the OEM configuration, and make sure I don't interfere with the pulleys or serpentine belt.

Thanks!

Tom

You can really do it any way that you want to. There's no "best" way. For example, I had re-routed the OEM way on my boat because I didn't like how they were done and they were a bit in the way when I sat down in the bilge on the "shelf".

As far as getting in the way of the pulleys/belt - same thing - do whatever seems good for you and use some zip ties to keep them where you want to.

Don't overthink this one

 

[Jeff Delbuono]

Its a straight forward loop. Goes through the water pump. My advice is to conect the hoses to the hot water tank permanently with the hoses about a foot away have them conected to a brass barb. This way if you go to disconect for winter and drain you only have to disconect at second barb. The tank nipples are prone to corrode and mine only lasted 2 years before they broke off from messing with them to winterize

 

[MHorn0817]

We just bought a 30' slip and naturally we want to maximize the slip and get our moneys worth . So we're looking at getting into a 280. Looking between 2001 - 2005. Are there any big differences or changes between the two besides EFI and MPI motors?

 

[Lazy Daze]

We just bought a 30' slip and naturally we want to maximize the slip and get our moneys worth . So we're looking at getting into a 280. Looking between 2001 - 2005. Are there any big differences or changes between the two besides EFI and MPI motors?

From 2001 to 2009 it was the same hull. So the changes would all be at the accessory level.

 

[MHorn0817]

Ah okay, I didn't know if there would be any design changes inside or out. If a 2001 and a 2003 are apples to apples regarding options, maintenance, hours, etc. Would it be worth it to spend more money on a newer year and MPI over EFI?

 

[Davewillo]

Hi guys very general question but our freshwater pump (showers, toilet etc) stopped working last weekend. It was working fine but then started to keep running with nothing turned on and now we get a lot of coughing and spluttering but very little water! The tank is full but it feels like air is getting into the line/system somehow. Any thoughts ahead of a hot and lovely Easter break here in Australia?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Hi guys very general question but our freshwater pump (showers, toilet etc) stopped working last weekend. It was working fine but then started to keep running with nothing turned on and now we get a lot of coughing and spluttering but very little water! The tank is full but it feels like air is getting into the line/system somehow. Any thoughts ahead of a hot and lovely Easter break here in Australia?

First thing to always do/check is to clean the pump filter.

 

[Shaps]

Hi guys very general question but our freshwater pump (showers, toilet etc) stopped working last weekend. It was working fine but then started to keep running with nothing turned on and now we get a lot of coughing and spluttering but very little water! The tank is full but it feels like air is getting into the line/system somehow. Any thoughts ahead of a hot and lovely Easter break here in Australia?

At approximately 14 years old, I'm thinking replacing the pump is probably the best solution.

 

[Jeff Delbuono]

Change the pump, mine did the same and the easy fix is a new one,

 

[Davewillo]

Thanks for the replies. I tested the pump by attaching a hose to the inlet side and put that in a bucket of water and there is clearly very little suction so I'm swapping out the pump. Hopefully I'll have water for the Easter holidays!

 

[Lazy Daze]

It very well may be the pump - but always check the filter first as it can cause the same issue. I feel like I might have said that already...

 

[Capap]

It’s a good point.

 

[Davewillo]

It very well may be the pump - but always check the filter first as it can cause the same issue. I feel like I might have said that already...

Hi Lazy Daze
Yes you did mention that before and I didn't ignore the advice! I'll be honest and say that I cannot locate the filter despite referring to the manual and physically looking for one. Can you please advise the location of the filter? Intuitively I don't think it will be a filter issue as it went from working fine to the mentioned coughing and spluttering in the space of a weekend, which suggests to me that there has been a failure. If I replace the pump and (with help) locate and check the filter, I should have all bases covered.
Thanks again for the collective assistance and have a great Easter all!

 

[Lazy Daze]

Hi Lazy Daze
Yes you did mention that before and I didn't ignore the advice! I'll be honest and say that I cannot locate the filter despite referring to the manual and physically looking for one. Can you please advise the location of the filter? Intuitively I don't think it will be a filter issue as it went from working fine to the mentioned coughing and spluttering in the space of a weekend, which suggests to me that there has been a failure. If I replace the pump and (with help) locate and check the filter, I should have all bases covered.
Thanks again for the collective assistance and have a great Easter all!

Sure! The filter is attached to the pump on the inlet side - there's a couple different styles so it depends on what's on your boat right now. But they're all basically the same. They unscrew and you can remove the SS, washable, filter. If they get clogged with enough junk from the tank it can aerate the flow of water.

Worst case, you're back to replacing the pump - but now you know where the cleanable filter is and can add that to your maintenance schedule to do at least once a season.

Still another possiblity is an inlet water line that (at least partially) popped out from the socket or the o-ring has gone bad. These would both cause aeration. This is "more" likely to happen if a line was removed for winterization but could still happen.

Morale of the story... check the free and/or cheap things first - especially when they only take a few minutes to do. It's a good practice to get into rather than guessing and replacing something willy nilly.

 

[Jeff Delbuono]

I agree with lazy day, when my water pump started to act up at first i did take apart the filter system and clean the ss screen, but by the next year the 20 + year old pump just became a problem more often, a replacement new pump under $300 sure was a easy fix and have not had a problem since. The screen is ln the small clear piece at the pump

 

[Davewillo]

Hi all I was lucky to spend a lovely Easter break on the boat with my wife at Rottnest Island, which is our local favourite spot off Perth, Western Australia. If you've ever seen photos of a quokka (small marsupial) that is where they are from.
So it turns out I had already checked the strainer and it was fine. I was looking for something more like a fuel filter or just a finer grade filter. I swapped out the pump pretty easily (at 6'1" nothing is easy in there!) and it was clearly the pump. It wasn't perfect but much better. Once we got back to the marina we connected to water and blew the air out of all the lines. There was clearly an airlock in the system too as we topped off the tank quite quickly but then later it took way more water than we had used but the end result is we have better water pressure at every outlet than we ever had! Thanks for the advice and at $280 it's a cheap fix and good sense of achievement.

 

[bajturner]

Hi all I was lucky to spend a lovely Easter break on the boat with my wife at Rottnest Island, which is our local favourite spot off Perth, Western Australia. If you've ever seen photos of a quokka (small marsupial) that is where they are from.
So it turns out I had already checked the strainer and it was fine. I was looking for something more like a fuel filter or just a finer grade filter. I swapped out the pump pretty easily (at 6'1" nothing is easy in there!) and it was clearly the pump. It wasn't perfect but much better. Once we got back to the marina we connected to water and blew the air out of all the lines. There was clearly an airlock in the system too as we topped off the tank quite quickly but then later it took way more water than we had used but the end result is we have better water pressure at every outlet than we ever had! Thanks for the advice and at $280 it's a cheap fix and good sense of achievement.

Something else that can restrict flow are the faucet aerators. They clog with coarse particles and can completely inhibit flow. Maybe worth a check.

 

[Davewillo]

Thanks and I've checked the aerators and they are fine.