New Boat for us, 2006 340 Dancer

Zac

New Member
May 7, 2017
13
Redondo Beach, California
Boat Info
2006 Sundancer 340 (Good Kitty)
Engines
8.1 L Merc's V-drives
We just got our boat and are taking it out for its first voyage this weekend.
We're traveling from Newport to King harbor in southern California.
Any tips, advice, hazards?
 
Bring beer. Take your time. Enjoy? No clue about the area you're boating but hopefully the weather will cooperate.

And congrats on your purchase!
 
congrats on the boat - those are fabulous boats ( I used to have one).

Mark
 
Thank you - we are very happy with our find. Hopefully we'll have many years of enjoyment out of her with little problems.
 
What? no pics? shame :huh:. lol
 
I have same year boat. Feel free to ask questions and I will try to help..
Hi there,
I have same year boat. Feel free to ask questions and I will try to help..
Hey Villain Style, Thanks for offering help. We have been recently been doing some 3 to 4 day/night trips to a local island. I added 4 more battery to the Port side bank because I was running them down with our current use of fridges, lights, etc. We were having to run the generator everyday for about 2 hours. I am wondering if you have a sound box for you generator? Mine is is not to loud but it isn't quiet either. Also wanting to upgrade the on board battery charger to charge more quickly. Any thoughts?
Also wondering what speed/RPM you get the best fuel economy?
Thanks for your time,
Zac
 
Hi there,

Hey Villain Style, Thanks for offering help. We have been recently been doing some 3 to 4 day/night trips to a local island. I added 4 more battery to the Port side bank because I was running them down with our current use of fridges, lights, etc. We were having to run the generator everyday for about 2 hours. I am wondering if you have a sound box for you generator? Mine is is not to loud but it isn't quiet either. Also wanting to upgrade the on board battery charger to charge more quickly. Any thoughts?
Also wondering what speed/RPM you get the best fuel economy?
Thanks for your time,
Zac

Four more batteries? Holy smokes. Two good house batteries should be more than enough to run your boat with minimal (hour or so per day?) generator run time. I'd wonder if there isn't something else going on with your electrical system. You shouldn't need that many batteries for two fridges, lights and some tunes.
 
Hey Zac, I have no extra batteries or the Generator sound shield. Yes it can be a little noisy but with the radio going not bad. Does your boat have LED lighting? If not you may want to think about changing existing lighting bulbs over. LEDs produce less heat and demand less battery power. You should also think about running your Genny for an hour before going to bed and then have plenty of battery in the AM with only two refrigerators running... Don't be afraid to run your Genny during the day. Only uses about a gallon an hour..
 
Hey Zac, I have no extra batteries or the Generator sound shield. Yes it can be a little noisy but with the radio going not bad. Does your boat have LED lighting? If not you may want to think about changing existing lighting bulbs over. LEDs produce less heat and demand less battery power. You should also think about running your Genny for an hour before going to bed and then have plenty of battery in the AM with only two refrigerators running... Don't be afraid to run your Genny during the day. Only uses about a gallon an hour..
Hey Mark, We just got back from a 3 day 2 night trip & the extra batteries did the trick. We only needed to run the Genny to make food. Problem solved. I am going to have the refrigerators looked at though, I noticed the cockpit fridge runs a lot more than I think it should considering we don't open it that much. I can here it kicking on in the night too.
I haven't upgraded to LED's yet, but I plan on it soon. Any other upgrades you would recommend?
Also wondering what speed/RPM you get the best fuel economy?
Thanks for your time,
Zac
 
Has anyone modified your gas tanks to combine the 2 separate tanks into 1? Or add a equalizer tube so they act as 1 tank?

I had the starboard fuel pump quit on my way home. After an hour of only running on the port engine, I realized that we may not make it back with amount of fuel we had in the port tank. This made me wonder why they made them separate in the first place? I don't see the logic in this design. Can anyone share there thoughts and/or fixes?
 
ZAC - Two tanks was probably done for space reasons and to keep equal balance in the boat. Just my 2 cents... And for speed and comfort I cruise at about 3200-3400 RPM.... Sorry it took me awhile to respond to that question I am just seeing it today.
 
I'm sure they are physically separate to balance the boat and make the best use of space. The fact that they aren't plumbed together is a more interesting question depending on the size of the boat.

I assume the lack of a connection between the tanks on many boats of our size comes down to cost vs benefit. And perhaps you can argue it's safer to have two isolated tanks. If you get water/contaminant in one you should still have one good tank. And your generator can't drain both tanks if left on too long. Just a thought...

Although I must say that running two gas pumps at the fuel docks is pretty slick. Half the time at the gas dock....half the time to burn a hole in your wallet....half the time to get back on the water.
 
Has anyone modified your gas tanks to combine the 2 separate tanks into 1? Or add a equalizer tube so they act as 1 tank?

I had the starboard fuel pump quit on my way home. After an hour of only running on the port engine, I realized that we may not make it back with amount of fuel we had in the port tank. This made me wonder why they made them separate in the first place? I don't see the logic in this design. Can anyone share there thoughts and/or fixes?

It will be a huge job both cost and labour wise like pulling out both engines and tanks etc, but you can add fuel selector valves to feed either engine/gen from either tank and also the return fuel if your gas engines have them if you really need them for peace of mind in case of emergency.
 
ZAC - Two tanks was probably done for space reasons and to keep equal balance in the boat. Just my 2 cents... And for speed and comfort I cruise at about 3200-3400 RPM.... Sorry it took me awhile to respond to that question I am just seeing it today.
Thanks Mark
 
I'm sure they are physically separate to balance the boat and make the best use of space. The fact that they aren't plumbed together is a more interesting question depending on the size of the boat.

I assume the lack of a connection between the tanks on many boats of our size comes down to cost vs benefit. And perhaps you can argue it's safer to have two isolated tanks. If you get water/contaminant in one you should still have one good tank. And your generator can't drain both tanks if left on too long. Just a thought...

Although I must say that running two gas pumps at the fuel docks is pretty slick. Half the time at the gas dock....half the time to burn a hole in your wallet....half the time to get back on the water.

Thanks for your input
 
It will be a huge job both cost and labour wise like pulling out both engines and tanks etc, but you can add fuel selector valves to feed either engine/gen from either tank and also the return fuel if your gas engines have them if you really need them for peace of mind in case of emergency.
Thanks for your reply, I'm going to look into it and see what options I can get before I go the way of pulling everything out.
Zac
 

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