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    pulling the boat saturday. what to do?

    so we just finished our first boating season and will be pulling the boat saturday morning. its a 1986 sea ray sundancer 250 with a merc 260 (5.7) thunderbolt. i had the engine oil changed, new bellows, impeller and water intake house replaced before i put it in the water and might have about 7...
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    son hit a deer

    well everyone is ok, except the deer. he just started his sr year in college and worked an internship all summer and saved all his pennies and bought himself a nice used BMW about 2 months ago. deer ran out in front of him tonight and cracked the bumper and poked a hole in the radiator. had it...
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    lighting question

    i realized last night that i don't believe my boat has legal lighting. my masthead light when set to mooring (or whatever it is labeled) lights up 360* but when it is set to running lights that same masthead light only lights up in the front. so there is no white light visible from the rear. its...
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    lots of firsts tonight...

    well went down to the boat tonight for what was supposed to be a short time on the boat. went a little up river and dropped the anchor for the first time. sat around about 20 minutes and heard a call on the radio for a disabled boat on the ohio river. waited till he called a 3rd time with no...
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    merc 260 tune-up

    started my tune-up tonight but it got dark. got all the plugs changed in the starboard side but then it got dark. going down in the morning to finish it up. but i pulled my coil wire off and the plug well had a bunch of liquid in it. looked like water but i'm assuming it was oil? its a 1986 merc...
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    how much fuel in the tank when winterizing?

    hope this is the right place to post this. not really an engine question. how much fuel should i leave in the tank when winterizing? i'm in pittsburgh and we usually see temps in the 10's or 20's. it will be stored outdoors but winterized by a local marine shop. its a 75 gallon tank. i ask now...
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    VHF radio mounting

    got my standard horizon GX1700 today and planning to install it this weekend. any tips? i plan to solder the connections and use shrink tube. the manual says the radio should be at least 3' from the antenna? might be difficult to accomplish that. is it crucial? my antenna is on the right side...
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    PL259 connector?

    bought a shakespeare PL-259-G connector for my antenna. i don't have a radio yet but getting ready. my cable looks to be just under 1/4" thick but this connector looks like it has closer to about a 3/8" opening that is threaded. the instructions on the back say to thread it onto the cable. i...
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    5.7 260 tune up?

    so where do you get your parts? i will be doing a tune up on my 1986 5.7 260 (A593759. it may be A583759). what all do i need besides cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter? PCV valve? water separator? i found the recommended plug # in my manual but no other part numbers. is there a...
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    got this SS prop with my boat

    got 2 extra props with my 86 sundancer 250 5.7 260 merc alpha 1 gen 1. the numbers are 48-88438-17. 3 blade. sound like a good one to try out? i just changed the one that was on it when i bought the boat due to pilot error :D. i was told all 3 props were the same dimensionally. the one i put on...
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    some pics of our outings. the sunset pics were last night

    here are a few pics. the daytime pics are with the beat up prop. the late afternoon pics are the new prop. not sure if you can tell anything by these or not but let me know if you can. i have been running with the drive 100% down as far as it would go. i have tried raising it slightly but...
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    changed prop. lost RPM

    well banged up my prop when dropping the boat in the water. the PO gave me 2 extras when i bought it. according to him all were the same. i believe it is a 15x17. its a 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer 5.7 260hp. the old prop was in bad shape. it took a long time to plain but i could hit 30mph and...
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    alternator?

    have to check it out tomorrow but i'm thinking i may need a new alternator. how do you go about finding the right replacement? is there a catalog to look it up? how about the belts? i want to at least buy replacement belts to keep them onboard but if i replace the alternator then i will replace...
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    prop nut size?

    hey guys. 1986 sea ray 250 sundancer. 5.7 merc alpha one gen 1. what size is the prop nut? the boat is in the water at the marina and i can't see the nut. i need to change the prop as soon as the water is clear enough but want to have the tools at the boat ready. i read the manual that came with...
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    hard to plane. lack of speed

    hey guys. 1986 sea ray sundancer 250 5.7 merc. put the boat in the water yesterday for the first time. took the kids out today. the first trip we had 7 of us on board. about 1100lbs. plus a full water tank and about 1/2 tank of fuel. the first trip i maxed out at about 12 MPH at WOT. had...
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    putting boat in these waters? harmful?

    i am thinking of putting my boat in tomorrow and finally tying it up to our dock for the season. not looking to cruise around yet until the river clears up. i stopped by the dock today and talked to a guy there that said he won't even start his boat in these waters so not to suck dirty water...
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    shore power cable?

    dumb question here...lol. my boat is still at home here and i was going to plug it in for the 110. my cord has the same shape ends (one male the other female). my step father gave me a 30 amp adapter from his camper. i looked and told him i didn't think it was the right plug. he said it had to...
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    what to look for on gauges?

    newbie here. i am very familiar with engines (i used to race cars and built my own) but these I/Os are a little different. i'm used to seeing about 200-210* on the temp. from reading here that isn't typical on a boat? so what range should i be looking for and what is the danger zone? RPM about...
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    VHF antenna cable broke

    just noticed on my new to me 1986 sea ray sundancer 250 that the VHF antenna cable is broken off where the radio would be. like the end broke off. the other end goes inside the antenna. can this cable be replaced or repaired? or do i have to replace the whole antenna? there is no radio in it at...
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    starboard running light is out

    how are these replaced? 1986 sea ray sundancer 250. just got it back from a bellows/gimble job and going over everything before we drop it in the water.
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