Official 370 Venture thread

Its no problem to trailer solo with the right trailer, rig (F250/350) and oversized load permits. I live in Michigan, so my wife and I want to extend our usage season and head to various parts south during "storage" months up north. I've already talked to a trailer manufacturer that made a triple axle trailer specifically for a 370 Venture. But w/ 12'5" from keel to top of arch there's no way to get under the 13'6" clearance needed to trailer w/out lowering the radar arch... Can't seem to find anybody yet who's done this. Trailer company is trying to put me in contact with the owner they made the trailer for... fingers crossed they will be willing to talk with me. If anybody knows an owner or previous owner who's done this, I would be very grateful for efforts made to have them contact me.

Thanks! -Adam
 
ADR said:
Do any owners out there trailer your Venture? If so, did you have the radar arch hinged? Or, do you take the arch apart at the seam with the hull structure and lower it? In talking with trailer manufacturers they say there isn't enough clearance to trailer below 13' 6" w/out doing one of the above. Curious what you all do?

Thx. -A
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I bought my Venture 3 years ago in Pompano Beach. I had it transported on a trailer from there to the Panhandle. They removed the anchor light mast (laid it down) and the radar dome only. It may have been over 13-6, but most bridge clearance today is considerablely over that. You need an over width permit to haul anyway and the route can be planned to check overhead clearances.
 
been really busy with family and getting the cc ready for fishing season . Did get some time on the venture . Had 16 people on it for a cruise . 16 people and everyone had a place to sit , love this boat . Also took the family down into ten thousand islands for a few nights camping , boat performed well . Still haven't found the right led bulbs for the ceiling lights , tried 4 different ones but none worked properly . Will put some more time into it shortly . Did replace all the spots, bilge and anchor light with led . Easy upgrade .

Just about finished with the Lithium upgrade . This was a tough job . Don't know if any of you have had to replace batteries but it is a hard job . Batteries are tucked deep in the bilge . There is 4 of them and they weigh about 70 lbs each . Hard to get to and a big grunt to get them out . I'm using the standard marine lug terminals on the lithiums so the round battery terminal had to be replaced . The battery cables had a lot of extra length , they were wound up a zip tied out of the way . Since i was replacing terminals , i removed the extra length and cleaned things up .

I'm in the Lithium business , so i assembled my own batteries . The 2 starting batteries have about 50% more cca's then the 31m agm's yet only weigh 20lbs compared to 70lbs for the agm's . So dropped 100 lbs for the starting batteries . For the house battery went with a 260ah Lithium . This will have about 50% more usable amp hours then the 2 group 31's and is about 60lbs lighter. Was considering using something smaller but am thinking about installing an inverter to be able to run the ac for a few hours without the gen or while running the motors , without gen .

Still planning on the verado reflash but want to get these other upgrades done first .

Here is a picture of a starting battery next to a 31m. So much easier to install .
 
IMG_20190326_160732.jpg
 
got the starting batteries in and ran some tests . The resting voltage is about a 1/2 volt higher so the verado's start up real fast and batteries show very low voltage drop . Lithium has a lower internal resistance so most voltage regulators charge a little higher . The verado's went from 4.2v to 4.4v , about the same as the suzuki's on my center console. Have a little more clean up of the cables and have to install the battery covers . 2
lfp venture.jpg
things happened . The outboards are now out of the water when trimmed up . And the boat leans to starboard when no one is one it . Had my son sit at the cockpit table and the boat levels out so should help when a lot of people sit at the table . Hope the wind dies down so i can take it for a ride this weekend .
 
Whatta Life said:
Have a little more clean up of the cables and have to install the battery covers .
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. Do the battery covers completely cover all that exposed metal? I’m guessing they will, I know my boat was dinged twice during the survey for not having boots on a battery cable and on one of the starters.
 
My boat did not have battery covers either . They were the original batteries . Here is the picture with the covers.
covers.jpg
 
The cells for your starting batteries will be $70-90ea . you need 4 for a 12v battery so total of 8 . For the house battery it depends how much capacity you want . 200ah of lithium would be more usable then the venture came with . Those would be about $250/cell . Then about $250 in hardware and a bunch of time . For most people you can now by a drop in Lithium battery from Trojan called the trillium . Its the size of a 24 but has more power then a 31m and weighs like 25lbs. They are about 700/ea . They can be charged and fully discharged 5000 times . Thats every day for 15 years .
 
Has anyone looked at the 370 Venture in Clearwater Florida? Just curious if there was any feedback from someone who put their eyes on that vessel.

Thanks
 
Hey Everyone,
Sadly I just listed my boat for sale. Have a lot of life changes coming and need to downsize. PM if interested! also posted in the classified section here.
 
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Getting close to owning a 370 Venture! Both surveys went well. Sea trial is next Saturday. And financing is preapproved. 1 week to go and I can't wait for this week to go by! I'll update next weekend.
 
ADR said:
Getting close to owning a 370 Venture! Both surveys went well. Sea trial is next Saturday. And financing is preapproved. 1 week to go and I can't wait for this week to go by! I'll update next weekend.
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Exciting times. Looking forward to pics and hearing about your experience.
 
2018-09-17 20.55.29.jpg
Whatta Life said:
so we have agreed on price and terms , looks like this deal is going to happen . I really like this boat . I'm a performance guy , everything i own has been modified and so will this boat . Here are a few things i have planned . First , i'm in the Lithium battery business , so this boat, like my other, will be getting a set of custom built lithium batteries . I have to decide how i want to build them . Option one would have the same useable capacity as the boat currently has . Option 2 would have 3x the house capacity . This would be if i decide to install a huge inverter . Probably start with the smaller pack and then increase if i go the inverter route . Battery pack will 200lbs lighter than what is in there .

Second thing is a reflash of the verado's . This is a popular thing here in florida . Increasing torque in the 3500-4500 range . This will make the boat get on plane much faster . Top speed will be faster but i wont use it . 40mph is fine for me .

Third , new props . Going with more blade surface area . This boat has high prop slip , part of that is to make up for lower hp . With the increased hp should be able to go up 1" of pitch . Combined with the lower slip ,rpm's at 31mph should drop from 5,000 rpms to 4500 . Or at the same rpm cruise at 36mph . The newer props also have vents in them which make getting on plane even easier .

That will get me started . Open for any improvements others have done and recommend .
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5/17/19 Have a brand New Set of props 18"x22"Light Cup 370 SDA $650 + Shipping
Leydenjon@yahoo.com
 
Whatta Life said:
so we have agreed on price and terms , looks like this deal is going to happen . I really like this boat . I'm a performance guy , everything i own has been modified and so will this boat . Here are a few things i have planned . First , i'm in the Lithium battery business , so this boat, like my other, will be getting a set of custom built lithium batteries . I have to decide how i want to build them . Option one would have the same useable capacity as the boat currently has . Option 2 would have 3x the house capacity . This would be if i decide to install a huge inverter . Probably start with the smaller pack and then increase if i go the inverter route . Battery pack will 200lbs lighter than what is in there .

Second thing is a reflash of the verado's . This is a popular thing here in florida . Increasing torque in the 3500-4500 range . This will make the boat get on plane much faster . Top speed will be faster but i wont use it . 40mph is fine for me .

Third , new props . Going with more blade surface area . This boat has high prop slip , part of that is to make up for lower hp . With the increased hp should be able to go up 1" of pitch . Combined with the lower slip ,rpm's at 31mph should drop from 5,000 rpms to 4500 . Or at the same rpm cruise at 36mph . The newer props also have vents in them which make getting on plane even easier .

That will get me started . Open for any improvements others have done and recommend .
Click to expand...
5/17/19 Go with a BRAND NEW SET OF 370 SDA 18"x22" Light Cup I do Have set 2018-09-17 20.55.29.jpg 2018-09-17 20.55.29.jpg
 
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Escape Cay II said:
I'm thinking of selling my Venture. Want to go to a bit smaller day boat. Does anyone have recent sales data?
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My broker provided me sakes data when I bought my 320, not sure how accurate it is. Others have said its all on the sellers to be truthful, no verification.
 
Hey guys, has anyone considered a front bimini? I've been doing this 4-6 hour trips in Florida and its freken hot at the helm!
 
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