420/44 DB Owners Club

Carpediem44DB said:
Hard to tell from the pic. I’m not sure how the packing is sold but I would imagine it goes by OD of rudder post. Of course you will need to haul out to change to be safe. I’m sure you could get it done in the water but if you drop your rudder out you will have a big problem on your hands. Perhaps if you are close to sitting on the bottom at low tide that may help but I’m pretty sure I would want to do it on the hard. Mine is an 06 and I had plenty of adjustment left. Only had 200 hours on the boat though.
Where abouts are you located? No mention in your profile.
Carpe Diem
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I’m in Fort Lauderdale. Boat is on the hard until tomorrow afternoon. Trying to get everything done in time.
 
Irie308 said:
You may be right based on the threads I've read. We winter in the water so as long as we have no water entry at rest i'm ok but wanted to make sure I'm not getting salt water spray about the engine room which doesn't seem to be the case. So far i've invested in a small portable shop vac to get rid of the water that the pumps doesn't get.
Click to expand...
There was a recent conversation on the forum about various dry bilge systems that ranged from very expensive commercially available systems to inexpensive DIY systems that may be just what you should look into instead of having to use the shop vac every time you put the boat away. This is on my list to do for the pesky water that collects under my engine room center walkway tunnel.
Carpe Diem
 
Irie308 said:
You may be right based on the threads I've read. We winter in the water so as long as we have no water entry at rest i'm ok but wanted to make sure I'm not getting salt water spray about the engine room which doesn't seem to be the case. So far i've invested in a small portable shop vac to get rid of the water that the pumps doesn't get.
Click to expand...

I did the same things and bought a 2.5 gallon wet vac this weekend. It stores nicely under the stairs and sucks up the minute amount of water i get. I still have a weeping shaft i need to tend to. I stopped the port side by tightening, but getting leverage on that stbd side with a pipe wrench is tricky. I think Carpe is on to something with a large crowsfoot wrench, if i can find one big enough. I bought that crumby adjustable packing nut wrench from West Marine which was garbage as it doesn't hold its size as soon as you apply substantial torque to it.
 
I have a buddy with a big CNC gas torch cutting machine and he cut me out a wrench that we welded a 3/4 socket adapter to. I’ll post a pic and if anyone needs to use it I’d be happy to box it up and send it to you on loan. It’s not something one uses much. Just want to get it back.
Carpe Diem
 
I was wondering if anyone could identify the beige color vinyl in the attached photo. I’ve id’d the mystic white but the mustard like color has got me beat. Not even the SR parts manual list’s it.
 

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FYI the 44DB takes 5/16 ptfe flax shaft packing.
 

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Carpediem44DB said:
Never having changed a rudder packing I was thinking it may be a stock rope like packing instead of a formed seal. Looks like it you’ll have your leak solved.
Thanks for the share
Click to expand...
Actually it was 1/4 inch packing. Had to go back to west Marine when 5/8 didn’t fit inside the packing nut. The fun and excitement of DIY!!
 
Jeff Carrick said:
Does anyone know the size of the rudder packing for a 44DB?
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Shaft_Packing_Wrench_2.75.jpg


I've purchased 2-3/4", which was advertised to fit our packing. However, it's not true, as it's about 1/8" too small. I've used a grinder to open it up and it worked as expected. It's small enough to use a hammer on the handle to tighten the packing.

Oops, I just realized you were asking about the actual packing, but you can't do anything without that wrench anyway.

Good luck.
 
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Good morning,
We are currently in the market for a sedan bridge and the 420SB appears to fit our needs (perhaps 480 as well). While there appears to be decent inventory on the East Coast, we'd love to set foot on one in the Annapolis area prior to making any travel plans just so we can get a feel for the layout, salon space, etc. For reference, we are also looking at Meridian 411's and want to see how the SR spaces compare to those. Is anyone on here so proud of the 420SB in the Annapolis area that they wouldn't mind playing tour guide for 30-45mins one day? If so, please PM me and let me know. Thank you.
Kyle
 
AJSB said:
Good morning,
We are currently in the market for a sedan bridge and the 420SB appears to fit our needs (perhaps 480 as well). While there appears to be decent inventory on the East Coast, we'd love to set foot on one in the Annapolis area prior to making any travel plans just so we can get a feel for the layout, salon space, etc. For reference, we are also looking at Meridian 411's and want to see how the SR spaces compare to those. Is anyone on here so proud of the 420SB in the Annapolis area that they wouldn't mind playing tour guide for 30-45mins one day? If so, please PM me and let me know. Thank you.
Kyle
Click to expand...
Kyle, good luck on your search. Great boat, the 420SD. Make sure you do your homework on the 480CE. 44DB is same boat with the QSC series engines which don’t have valve drop issues. The 411 is a radically different boat and if your looking for spacious Salon the 44 or 420 will seem tight in comparison. We spend a bit of time on one from time to time and often wonder if it wouldn’t have been a better choice for us. We went SeaRay for the reputed higher quality and can say we are extremely happy. Just depends on what is more important to you.
Happy hunting
Carpe Diem
 
Greetings,

Perhaps this is not a great time to be looking for a boat as it is a seller's market but I am on the hunt for a 420 or 44 sedan bridge. And, I have a question for the group to hopefully provide some input.

Our intended cruising with be limited to the Caribbean Islands for the most part on multi-month outings.

Question: We intend to do most of our cruising at hull speed to conserve fuel and stay away from the fuel dock for extended periods of time(watermaker will be our friend). It is my intention to run the boat up on plane several times a day to 'blow it out'.

Are our engines(diesel) going to be happy with this mode of travel?

Thanks!
 
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The engines will be fine. I know several people that have done the loop at displacement speed.
I also have one for sale.
 
Bajarat said:
Greetings,

Perhaps this is not a great time to be looking for a boat as it is a seller's market but I am on the hunt for a 420 or 44 sedan bridge. And, I have a question for the group to hopefully provide some input.

Our intended cruising with be limited to the Caribbean Islands for the most part on multi-month outings.

Question: We intend to do most of our cruising at hull speed to conserve fuel and stay away from the fuel dock for extended periods of time(watermaker will be our friend). It is my intention to run the boat up on plane several times a day to 'blow it out'.

Are our engines(diesel) going to be happy with this mode of travel?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I run my 06 44DB with the QSCs at hull speed 80% of the time with occasional runs at 20 kts. Ive put 350 hours on it in the last five years with no mechanical issues at all. This would not be anything to concern your self with.
Cheers
CD
 
Can anyone enlighten me as to the best way to flush/descale the AC cooling lines. I don’t have access to the port side of the boat due to our slip setup. Would like to rig up a loop to run a descaling solution. Since we have two discharge lines curious where to feed and return the solution.
 
Irie308 said:
Can anyone enlighten me as to the best way to flush/descale the AC cooling lines. I don’t have access to the port side of the boat due to our slip setup. Would like to rig up a loop to run a descaling solution. Since we have two discharge lines curious where to feed and return the solution.
Click to expand...

Feed after your pump and tee the two discharge (return) lines together to complete the loop. Access them at the side discharge fittings from inside if possible without too much dissasembly if not at the units themselves.
 
Alex F said:
View attachment 91484

I've purchased 2-3/4", which was advertised to fit our packing. However, it's not true, as it's about 1/8" too small. I've used a grinder to open it up and it worked as expected. It's small enough to use a hammer on the handle to tighten the packing.

Oops, I just realized you were asking about the actual packing, but you can't do anything without that wrench anyway.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Alex, where did you pick up the wrench? I would like to get one.
 
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