Just pickup up a 2000 280 SS out of Florida.

Boat is in good condition, but needs Y pipe and two sets of manifolds/risers.

Besides that, I have some small problems I need to address (why Formula doesn't have a cocpt cover over the glass is baffling).

1) New gauges - Stock VDO's work but have condensation damage to the paper inside.

Can someone tell me th best fix ? New VDO's (Viewlines) or Livorsi's (holes seem small for std gauges with bezels)? Or can someone replace my lenses and paper inside?

2) Swim Ladder bracket is broken on one side. Formula doesn't sell the bracket. Is this a common problem, is there a replacement part avail?

3) Previous owner cleaned some of the vinyl with bleach. Has black spots. Is there anyway to make it better without replacing the vinyl?

4) Cabin carpet has a blue stain from potty. Anything available to remove it, or move it?

5) Windshied has pitting. Is there a good pain that will work on it, once sanded down?

6) Can someone recommend good speaker locations in the 280? The boat has 2 6x9's currently in the cocpit. Have a 7 ch JL amp, Fusion Head Unit and wired remote to install over the winter.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric

just use a carpet cleaner from a local auto shop or have a professional detail it. The black spots should just be mold, clean with a spray away type of product then treat with aerospace 303 or a like product. For a 2000 the boat sounds like it was not very well taken care of.

Thanks for the info. The boats in good shape, 13 yrs of salt water use makes is rough on a boat. This is my second salty boat, they all are terrible compared to freshwater.

The boat is in very good condition, the previous owner kept it clean and ding free on the outside. The stain on the floor was from the head, from what I can tell. that owner wasn't smart with the chemicals used to clean the vinyl - which is my biggest issue with the boat. Good thing Formula sells replacements.

The other stuff is normal stuff due to age and salt water conditions. Glass still has a nice shine to it, just don't understand why Formula's cocpit cover didn't extend over the windshield to keep the interior from sun damage.

Here's what we did to our 2000 Formula 280 SS. http://www.nordicyachtworks.com/pro_...280sscust.html If the cockpit vinyl is original, consider it having served what it can. By now, the boat's almost 14 years old and even the most carefully kept vinyl will be at the end of it's life. Are you sure the cockpit cover is the original from Formula? Our 280 SS still had the original, (which we replaced) and that was snapped all the way down to the deck. If you want to redo the dash, prepare to get the panels replaced to accept standard gauges. We had ours custom made to accept new Livorsi gauges. To get the wind shield frame done right, remove it, take it a part and have it blasted and powder coated. To patch it up, sand the paint where it's flaking off, prime with good primer (Mercury primer or maybe zinc chromate) and repaint. It all depends on how far you want to go with it. For the stereos, we kept the two original locations and added two on the engine room "bulk head". We used Infinity 6x9's on all 4 locations, added a 4 way Clarion amp, two water proof remotes and an amplified Bazooka subwoofer in the port side storage locker.It's a great boat and very very well built, so if you're looking for a keeper, do it right and it'll serve you well for years to come.

Thanks!

Love what you did with yours. I was planning on sending my dash out for refinishing, possibly carbon fiber finish.

Id like to go Livorsi for Gauges, but the panel would need to be redone. did you do it yourself, or have a company do it for you?

We do refits our selves, so we used one of our partners to do the dash panels. They engraved the labels where needed and cut all the holes with cnc cutters. The plastic could have been a bit more rigid, as we needed to add more screws on the thin, long panel holding most of the smaller gauges.There's a company here in Ft. Lauderdale that does a lot of the OEM dash panels and they also do custom stuff if the budget is not tight and the schedule doesn't require the stuff to be done "tomorrow". The stock panels are of good quality, but they do limit you to use the VDO type gauges. I do believe Livorsi can also custom build new panels for you if you send the old ones to them and explain, that you want them to cut the holes to work with their gauges. I do believe we still have a bunch of stock Formula panels sitting around somewhere from the 280 project and probably some 400 SS panels as well. If you need a spare set of stock panels as a template before taking yours apart, let me know and I can see if we still have the original 280 panels somewhere.

iId love a set of the new formula panels, but likely my budget will keep me in the existing panels. did the left most upper panel have a GPS in it, or was it solid? My boat has the Raytheon GPS and looking for a blank.

Local SS welder fixed my swim ladder mounts. Like new!

The upper left panel on ours had some old GPS as well, so the one I have somewhere is not a blank either. If you need a blank one, I doubt it would cost too much to get a new one fabricated using the old as a template. A local sheet metal fabricator should be able to make one fairly cheap.

NYW- how much work is involved in switching out the throttles and shifters? I have the original Mercruiser unit on my 1998 280ss and it works but is pas its prime for sure.

any idea if the new dash panels fit in the place of the aluminum parts?