Recent content by BarryCF

Ouch on the choke. Cold weather starting requires the choke to operate properly. If the mechanic disabled it to "get better gas mileage" he wasn't much of a mechanic..

An obvious finding - runs on starting fluid which means it's not getting fuel. Pump is working as verified by you finding gas while cranking. You have replaced and primed the filter. Only two items left, the solenoid and the carb. Bypass the solenoid. If that's not it the carb is the issue. That...

Back when I kept my boat in the winter water* I would use a couple of the 60w rough service bulbs to keep the freeze away. *It was in dry storage but during freezing temps I had to put it in the water to keep it from freezing since I didn't winterize. But on really cold days, which are rare...

Unlikely you have a Tig welder, but maybe a friend? I just find a nut that fits the shaft and tig weld it to the stud. After it cools I can almost unscrew it with my fingers. The high heat from the welding breaks all the corrosion. It always works for me.

That's some nice work!

If I ever find and purchase a 270 Sundancer it will be a single big block. Twin engines just mean there is no room to work on them. And twice the work of a single... Those disadvantages more than outweigh the advantages IMO.

I'm with keokie, I like the teak and never found it to be a problem.

Agree the lithium are not drop in. You need to limit the charge from the alternator. It is often done on motor homes with solar and lithium. You need to go with a Dc to DC charger. Also, the lithium batteries need to be discharged for best performance and do not like float charges. Sitting at...

My guess is the transom in perfect condition is not strong enough to support 1200+ pounds 3 foot or so back from the transom when the g forces are accounted for. From Sea Ray, mine is 2 inches thick, 2 x 3/4 ply plus 1/4 glass each side. For my bracket to hold a single outboard 30" back I'm...

I'm no stranger to being away from Club Sea Ray and returning years later :) Maybe I'm a bit picky here, not having done any calculations, but... It appears the "bracket" is just epoxy welded to the outer transom skin. I see you have additional bracing on the inside, but that does not help...

Do yourself a favor and put in lithium (lifepo4) battery(s). If you have freezing conditions make sure the battery management system has a cold charge shutoff. They provide almost 100% of capacity Vs 50% of lead acid, can be cycled thousands (3000+) of times Vs a few hundred for lead acid. See...

The 270 Sundancer beam is 10 foot. The 260 is the narrow one. I really like the 260, but the extra width sure makes a big difference if you want to spend a few days aboard.

"What you're running into was my biggest fear..." Yea, I would not take a boat with rotted transom and stingers if it were free. I wouldn't do this boat if I hadn't owned it for 29 years. It's a project based upon sentimental reason as it makes no economic sense. In any event I've read about it...

I did get the bellhousing/transom parts all off the transom. Nothing left inside now. The transom is as expected, completely rotted at the bottom. The good thing is it will probably be fairly easy to get the old wood out with it being that bad. I expect the stringers to have a fair amount of rot...

The more obvious, the u-joint could be bad, the steering arm sometimes get corroded, the steering "kingpin"* is sometimes worn out. I would think the people doing the work will be checking those things. *might be the wrong name, later models have a square drive that tends to get round with age...